Just picked up a 2010 vRS with 41k (Australia so k's not miles). Very well looked after car, although it intermittently makes what only can be described as a quiet horn noise/sound that rears its head at higher speeds (80km/h +), and becomes more regular (although not constant) the faster you go - there is no feedback through the wheel/brakes etc.

I have ruled out wheel bearings (it is not a mechanical grinding sound, and it doesn't matter if you load up the right/left side) tyres(brand new), dsg etc. My only guess is that the increased airflow across the front of the car is somehow managing to making a noise very similar to a horn (have checked the plastic engine guard and it is attached firmly), or the horn is somehow making this noise?

Anyone have similar experiences or suggestions?

Cheers

A leak in the air inlet tract perhaps...

Thanks will check that one. It definitely sounds like a 1/4 horn - even had a cyclist look at me when trying to diagnose the problem.

Also took out the horn fuse to rule out anything steering wheel based, problem still intermittently persists - it is never always "on" so it is a difficult one to work out.

Vcds is on the way, so can't check faults till then.

Edited 26 January, 201412 yr by thirdleg

I hope it's not the turbo dying.

Loose/contaminated auxiliary belt/worn pulleys?

What kind of driving brings it on?

Does it persist if you freewheel if possible with dsg?

Is it present when you accelerate/cruise/decelerate?

Only from cold or any temperature?

Well after plenty more searching and about an hour of driving I have found the problem - I'm embarrassed to admit what the cause was (not mechanical), but hopefully it will help someone else.

There are a number of threads about on this, and I will upload a soundclip for everyone to listen to - it was the drivers window somehow replicating the horn - listen to the clip I upload and you can hear me pulling on the doorskin and window making the sound disappear and reappear. I welcome anyone to tell me I was wrong and that it doesn't sound like a horn!!!!

Now to do some more reading on how to stop it - without having to put the window down all the time!

octaviahorn1.mp3

I had the exact same thing but for me it was the grill at front of car. Mentioned this at service time and they fitted a strip (I think) to close the gap between grill and bonnet. Not had the noise since

It's interesting that such great overall cars like these haven't had relatively minor issues such as the seals not ironed out before they are released!

Haha toot toot!

Glad you found the phantom horn, now all you gotta do is rectify it.

Good luck down under.

Hi thirdleg, I have the exact same noise coming from the drivers side (seems to be) of my wifes VRS. Very disappointing as it is a great car otherwise. Have you managed to rectify the noise? If so, please share how you did it, my life will be so much better (happy wife, happy life) :-).

Kind Regards, from Vic

Blackbird: I simply took a solution of water/soap and cleaned the seals for the entire area, wherever I could find - I think the previous owner cut/polished the paintwork causing this problem. It took all of 5 min to fix it too.

Hi Thirdleg, thanks so much for the tip, it fixed the problem, no more noise!

Wife can now really enjoy the car, I think the carwash solution I have been using may have contributed to the problem, it is a wash and wax formula. It does a brillant job of cleaning the car and making it shine, but it may be doing a number on the seals, anyhow if I need to I can always clean them again. Once again thanks so much for posting the problem and solution.