I’m hearing a whine at cruising speeds (it’s not the children complaining!).

It changes frequency depending on my speed, but doesn’t change if I drop down a gear, so it’s something in the final drive. Thought it might be a wheel bearing, but it doesn’t seem to be coming more from one side than the other.

 It’s a 1.8 tfsi with 7 speed dsg.  Audi says the transmission is sealed for life so doesn’t require oil service.

i recorded the noise on my iPhone, but it just sounds like wind whistling.

 Thoughts?

 Cheers

 Mark

"Sealed for life" does not mean immune to wear. How many miles has it done?

Hi

 thanks for the reply. It’s done 50k Miles, so quite low. I would have serviced the dsg at 40 but was advised to leave it by 2 separate Audi specialists.

There should be no significant wear after a mere 50000 miles, so the whine indicates something is amiss. I suggest you get the car assessed by an independant VAG specialist. Don't go to an Audi dealer who will either tell you the noise is normal or try to sell you a hugely expensive new transmission.

Wheel bearing whine can be hard to pinpoint sometimes, Jack up each side of the car and hold the coil spring tight with one hand and rotate the wheel, you might be able to feel a roughness. 
i know this sounds strange but the spring is under a lot of tension so works like a amplifier making it easier to detect wheel bearing defects 

I think it might be the tyres! they are starting to look a bit worn - even though they have a fair bit of tread I think the inner edges of the front are causing it. this guy explains it pretty well:- 

 

It's easy enough to measure wear with a cheap tread depth guage.

If it shows more wear at both shoulders than at the centre line the pressure is too low, and vice versa.

If the inner shoulder is worn more than the outer, the toe in is too small, and vice versa. The tracking needs to be adjusted.

I suggest you get the tyres and the tracking checked.