Hi everyone 

 

I have an Audi Q3 2L TDI 2016, it’s got a few issues I need help with. 
 

firstly, the video I attached. It’s making a knocking sound from the front when on cold start only. Once the cars warm and driving, no knocking noise. Anyone have any ideas what it could be? 
 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2025Dec 4 by Faz2325.

Does the knocking get louder when the engine is run faster with no load? Is it louder when under load i.e. when driving?

The sound goes away once car is warm & when driving. 
 

its only when the car is cold, it comes and goes every say 15-20 seconds. But once driven it goes away. 
 

I did also recently notice engine oil was very low so got the local garage to do a 1L top up but not sure if they used low quality oil or also if it needs to be topped up further but it is between the min & max lines. 

Its not any louder under load or when revving. Stays the same loudness when revving

33 minutes ago, Faz2325. said:

I did also recently notice engine oil was very low so got the local garage to do a 1L top up 

There you have a possible answer. If you have been running it with very little oil the engine may be damaged. How many miles has it done? How much oil does it use? Is there any smoke from the exhaust once warm? Does the car have a full service history?

The noise has just started a few weeks ago & not many miles have been done on it. 
the engine oil light has never come on, I randomly checked it & it was low so got it topped up. 
 

car has no smoke coming from the exhaust once warm, only when cold. 
 

full audi dealer service history. Car brought in May & that’s when the last oil service was done. 

"Not many miles" doesn't really answer the question, which was about the odometer reading. Nevertheless I suggest you get the car inspected. It may be suffering expensive wear of the bearings or maybe cheaper wear of the timing chain tensioner.

Its got 64k on the clock now. 
brought it and driven 4k miles since May. 
 

okay I see. Thanks for your help. It’ll need to get inspected. 

Let’s not assume the ticking noise is catastrophic. To be honest, sounds like a diesel in winter.

In my experience a well maintained 2 litre TDI doesn’t use oil. It very much depends on history to date. Get into habit of doing oil changes every 8-10k miles.

I’d scan the car with VCDS obviously just to see what’s going on. I’d also drop the engine tray to see if it’s dry as a bone. Any oil staining will show up quite quickly, such as leaking sump gasket, rocker gasket or sump plug.

When was the timing belt last done? On 2 litre, then 60k miles or 5 years, changing water pump and tensioner pulley. Noise could very well be tensioner pulley, or indeed a worn bearing elsewhere. Check condition of auxiliary belts too. Under engine cover, any evidence of fuel or oil staining?

I understand, however this knock has only made an appearance very recently in the last few days and sounds very bad. 
 

timing belt was last done at 47k miles so done pretty early from Audi. It has a full Audi dealer history with gearbox service done too. So pretty much on paper its very well maintained and has only ever gone to Audi.

I understand, however this knock has only made an appearance very recently in the last few days and sounds very bad. 
 

timing belt was last done at 47k miles so done pretty early from Audi. It has a full Audi dealer history with gearbox service done too. So pretty much on paper its very well maintained and has only ever gone to Audi.

Was the timing belt changed at an Audi dealership? 

Yes the belt was all done at the dealership