# B&O Rear Deck/Subwoofer Rattle/Vibration?



## BGR (Jul 23, 2014)

I asked my dealer about this, but they basically said don't worry about it. 

At certain frequencies (seems to be lower in the Hz range), there is an obnoxious and annoying rattle/vibration coming from the rear deck where the subwoofer is. I have heard it since mile 1 when I drove the car off the lot. I noticed in the sound settings when I took delivery of the car that both the Bass and Subwoofer settings were set to the max, so I don't know if someone from the dealer was cocking around and blew the sub, if something loose, if the amp is just over-driving the sub, or what. 

Does anyone else get this? I have my bass/subwoofer settings at 4 "clicks" from max, no active sound (or whatever the enhanced sound is), surround set at medium, and no bias for passenger. 

Not sure if some dynamat would help, or if I need to have the dealer rip everything apart to figure out what is going on. It really detracts from the otherwise great sound system.


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## TurboZach (Oct 20, 2014)

My B&O sub rattle and Audi won't really do anything. Also my speakers crackle over bluetooth like a stun gun. There is no fix for these problems right now. sucks


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## LostWaldo (Mar 1, 2008)

I mentioned this issue to my dealer when I did my 5k service and they are replacing the sub out of good faith due to them not having another B&O A3 to test with. My guess is that it won't fix the issue, and have had a friend suggest putting a piece of rubber between the rear deck and the metal which apparently has been a popular mod/fix for a similar issue in A4s with B&O systems.


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## jgreer3746 (Sep 22, 2014)

I have an S3 with B&O and it does this too. It sounds like resonance coming from the rear deck. I haven't tried it yet, but I think a little dynamat applied to the bottom of the rear deck will fix the problem. A lot of guys have to do this when they swap out the factory sub on the b8 S4s.


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## BGR (Jul 23, 2014)

Thanks for the responses. The fact that it only happens at certain frequencies leads me to believe that it is a rattle like others have said.

I don't have a crackle over Bluetooth with my iPhone 5s, but have read about others with the issue. The music I have on my iPhone is all downloaded directly from iTunes I believe, so not sure if bitrate has anything to do with it or not.


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## graphicsworks (Jul 11, 2000)

Also check to make sure it's not your rear license plate. If you don't have all 4 screws in and tightened down, you will get a lot of noise from there...


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## hoffdano (Dec 19, 2014)

FWIW - I have B&O on my 2015 A3 and it does not have a rattle. My car has just 2000 miles. I am not a basshead but I listen at good volumes. 

A blown driver will make lots of noise - could be a persistent rattle, scraping and not very sensitive to frequency.


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## LostWaldo (Mar 1, 2008)

Dealer swapped out the sub for me, and issue was still there as I was expecting. I'll have to mess around with the rear deck over the weekend and see if I can locate where its vibrating and causing the noise.

I wouldn't say I'm a basshead for the most part. I have the sub turned up a couple clicks in the settings and can hear it on specific songs when the volume is set close to 20. If I crank it to the 30s its much more pronounced and is actually distracting. With that said, I do think I'm using the whole system in a way that was not originally intended which this issue just happens to be the result of. No harm no foul on the Audi design side.


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## TurboZach (Oct 20, 2014)

LostWaldo said:


> Dealer swapped out the sub for me, and issue was still there as I was expecting. I'll have to mess around with the rear deck over the weekend and see if I can locate where its vibrating and causing the noise.
> 
> I wouldn't say I'm a basshead for the most part. I have the sub turned up a couple clicks in the settings and can hear it on specific songs when the volume is set close to 20. If I crank it to the 30s its much more pronounced and is actually distracting. With that said, I do think I'm using the whole system in a way that was not originally intended which this issue just happens to be the result of. No harm no foul on the Audi design side.


It's fun to listen to both Tupac and some Bach with these monsters hahah


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## TnTNYC (Aug 1, 2012)

LostWaldo said:


> I wouldn't say I'm a basshead for the most part. I have the sub turned up a couple clicks in the settings and can hear it on specific songs when the volume is set close to 20. If I crank it to the 30s its much more pronounced and is actually distracting. With that said, I do think I'm using the whole system in a way that was not originally intended which this issue just happens to be the result of. No harm no foul on the Audi design side.


Holy cow, I must be getting old. I can't really bear my music at much past 20. That's about as high as I can stand. But, 30's?! :what: You ain't gonna hear much after that...


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## jgreer3746 (Sep 22, 2014)

I was fortunate recently to sit in one of the Pre-Production Audi eTron sportbacks. This car had the B&O stereo, so I took the opportunity to play with it. The sub is mounted under the spare tire since there is no rear deck. Even at very high volumes there was no rattle like I think most of us have been experiencing in the Sedans, just pure clean bass. This has convinced me that dynomat to stop resonance in the rear deck is most likely the solution to the issue, I will be getting some very soon.


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## PSUguy (Nov 6, 2014)

jgreer3746 said:


> I was fortunate recently to sit in one of the Pre-Production Audi eTron sportbacks. This car had the B&O stereo, so I took the opportunity to play with it. The sub is mounted under the spare tire since there is no rear deck. Even at very high volumes there was no rattle like I think most of us have been experiencing in the Sedans, just pure clean bass. This has convinced me that dynomat to stop resonance in the rear deck is most likely the solution to the issue, I will be getting some very soon.


I took my S3 in yesterday for a CEL  and mentioned the rattle from the rear deck and that it didn't sound like a blown speaker but just something rattling around in there. They called me today and said they were going to replace one of my speakers that was blown (passenger door) and that they would felt tape everything down in the rear deck. i'll update tomorrow when i get the car back.


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## LostWaldo (Mar 1, 2008)

TnTNYC said:


> Holy cow, I must be getting old. I can't really bear my music at much past 20. That's about as high as I can stand. But, 30's?! :what: You ain't gonna hear much after that...


Yeah... after years of audio competitions I probably have a bit of hearing loss.


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## gtphilup (Jun 8, 2016)

Has anyone found a fix for this rattle? It's pretty much the only thing that annoys me about my S3. Are there any instructions on removing rear deck to add dynamat or rubber cushioning?


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## ESSS 3 (Mar 5, 2016)

*YES, a new TSB was just issued to fix the issue*. 
Just read this information last week but for the life of me I can't find the TSB number.
The person got the info directly from the dealer...good luck !!!


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## SDZ007 (Aug 7, 2014)

any updates on this, my b&o sub sounds like crap, lots of distortion and crackling


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## jmargaretis (Sep 27, 2014)

A bit off topic, but...

I would like to upgrade the bass to the system. All I can find is guys upgrading the deck speaker. I'm wondering if I just get a spare tire sub like a Helix? Anyone have insight on this? The B&O is no where near as good as my GTI's Fender system. IMO.


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## ctAL (Mar 7, 2013)

This thread is a shock to me, I love the B&O system. Maybe I got lucky?

No issues with mine.


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