So this is one of those posts that is intended to be a short post looking for feedback and maybe a bit of sanity, but something tells me that I might get a little more verbose than I originally planned. I'll admit that it's been a while since I've posted on Teamspeed. When I had my 911 GTS, I was on here all day, every day. But moving from being an obsessive Porschephile to just a general car fanatic with an Audi has definitely changed my participation in this forum (and others). I've posted this on a couple of other similar forums, so apologize if you've already seen it...just want to get a broad spectrum of feedback, and TeamSpeed crew knows their $hite.

I leased a new 2015 Audi S7 at the end of last year (VERY END - 12/31 4PM). I traded my FULLY LOADED 2013 A7 for this German Sports 'Sedan'. No, it's not a E63 or M5, but it's still a blast. Why did I make the change? Because I Love the feeling of the acceleration, really enjoy the pull of the TT 4.0V8, and especially enjoy the sound (although somewhat muted) of the V8 over the V6. The quilted leather interior & carbon fiber trim doesn't suck either. My S7 is basically fully loaded, minus the Burmeister (is has Bose). $89K sticker.

But that's where the trouble starts...trying to hear the anything that I want to hear over the CONSTANT rattles, squeaks and vibrations. Any speed over 25 mph generates a rattle. Any surface other than smooth asphalt causes a rattle. Any moderate acceleration causes a rattle. I can't even enjoy getting on the gas a bit without being annoyed with the car. It started with rattles coming from the upper dashboard. After a couple of trips to Audi Dallas in the Spring and then a 2 week stint in their shop (and I think a fair amount of felt tape), they seemed to have licked that issue. Thank You Audi Dallas. I was loaned an A8 and they did their due diligence to resolve the issue. They even asked me to take the car out with them to replicate the issue. I appreciated the effort, moved on after I got the car back. Turns out is was the MMI Display that was causing the noise...whether it was active/open, or closed in the dash.

Fast forward to August. No more noise coming from the display, but now I start getting this really annoying noise from the lower sections of the driver side. Being that it was on the driver side, I couldn't exactly check what was causing it while I was driving. I suspected it might be the speaker cover in the door, but no way to tell. It produced that thin metallic squeak/rattle that just sounds like really thin metal. So, another trip to Audi Dallas. And ANOTHER 3 1/2 weeks in the shop. Yes, I was given a nice loaner (another A8), but I don't want to drive a German Caprice Classic. I want to drive my Sports Sedan! I eventually get it back. We take it for a test drive and the noise appears to have been taken care of. More felt tape...I think everywhere under the dash except the speaker covers.

So all is good...until a couple of weeks ago. Any guesses??? Now I have the rattles from BOTH sources again. I can't go anywhere in the car without a constant distraction of rattles. So, another call is in to Audi Dallas to try this again. Let's see how things work out this time. I've had the car for less than 10 months and it's already been in the shop for this issue for almost a total of 8 weeks over that period.

I must comment that Audi Dallas has been so very professional in handling the situation with me, always willing to listen and go the extra mile. I don't see this continuing issue as a reflection on them...I want to make that clear. But I have almost lost 100% faith in the brand. This is my 3rd Audi (Q7 4.2, A7 & S7) and I've been pleased with them for the most part. But this is by far the nicest one I've owned, and to have such a small issue continue to nag like this just drives me up the wall. A $90 car should NOT have this issue. I've owned 4 Porsches ( 911 GTS, 911 C2S, Panamera S and Boxster S), M3, E63, and Pontiac GTO. Not a single one of them ever produced the type of ongoing noisy distraction as this one. And this is a Lease...so no option to get out of it for a couple of more years. Unless this gets resolved ASAP, this will be my last Audi. Don't care if it's fluke situation...it SUCKS. Yes the car still drives great. Yes it looks great. Yes it feels solid. Yet I can't stand being in it having to listen to that crap all the time.

So, I'm working on writing a much abbreviated letter to Audi USA to communicate my displeasure with this car. Not sure if it will make even a ants-fart of a difference, but you never know until you try.

My question to the collective group that have chosen to read this far: am I right to be so PO'd about this, or is a Chill Pill needed? I just can't accept that such an expensive vehicle is delivering such a poor experience.

And yes...this is a 1st World problem...I get it...but doesn't mean that its acceptable.

Thanks for listening, interested in your feedback...