Rear suspension noise - are you affected?

[fuelboss]

Is this still an issue on new Golfs? Should I go for torsion beam or independent? Quite tempted by TB as. Just about nothing to go wrong!

Dont take a chance. Buy with DCC and then you will not have a problem.

www.vwgolfmk7problems.uk

See my latest update on the site. Is it true or false. We will know this week (I hope).

 

[dr_mat]

Avoid torsion beam if you can, it damages the ride quality significantly. It also impairs handling but it's the ride you will notice all the time every day.

 

[fuelboss]

VWUK Trials 1 set of rear shock absorbers - What a joke

14/07/2015
Received today from the VW Executive Office

I cannot pass comment on what a retailer is alleged to have said, nor am I prepared to discuss another customer’s case. However, I can confirm that that we have been advised by our Technical Department that we are shortly due to receive a new set of shock absorbers to be fitted to one UK customer’s vehicle. We await the outcome of fitment of those new parts with great interest.

Volkswagen Germany had been made aware that we have a number of customers who have remained dissatisfied with the replacements previously fitted, so I am unsurprised that a further change may be being considered. Over the life of every model within the Volkswagen range, continual product development takes place on many components and this particular one is no exception.

I will be in contact again following trial of the replacement set in question. I must note, however, that should the test prove successful, there is no question of any “recall (being) on the cards”, as this is not a Safety matter. However, where we have customers who still remain dissatisfied, such cases will be reviewed on an individual basis.

Yours sincerely
Brian Kattenberg

Customer Relations Manager
Volkswagen UK Executive Office
Tel: 0333 003 7199
E-mail: executive.office@volkswagen.co.uk

So there we have it - just one set of revised shock absorbers to be tested in the UK. Its unbelievable when so many have reported this issue. Given the amount of effort and time I have put in to raising this issue I have not been considered for a set to try. It just goes to show what little faith they have in the new shock absorber.

So for the rest of us, how long do we wait before we can have a car that doesn’t have a rear suspension rattle. If you have the problem you now know who to contact and I urge you to contact the above and show this statement from Mr Kattenberg to your dealer as soon as you can.

 

[ColinStone]

Avoid torsion beam if you can, it damages the ride quality significantly. It also impairs handling but it's the ride you will notice all the time every day.

Road testers aren't so negative about TB. But I reckon if you run on rubber bands, then yes not so good.
I'd wager that if you put most people in a car on 16"
wheels, they couldn't tell the difference.
ML has more to go wrong! And DCC is not an option.

 

[EB2429]

Any update on the DEKRA test?

 

[fuelboss]

New Revised Shock Absorbers for UK GTI's

New rear shock absorbers available so says VWUK!

Volkswagen UK Executive Office advise a small number of customers that new shock absorbers are now available from Germany for fitting to a very small selection of cars for "evaluation" purposes. Joke - so three or four people will evaluate these parts and then what. Are we going to get paid for evaluating a component that should be thoroughly tested under all road conditions and speeds on their own test facilities in Germany.

One owner has now been let down 3 weeks in a row. First two weeks the excuse was VW had "mislaid" them en route to UK. Now this week after a promise of fitting yesterday, they failed to turn up - another joke, but he is hopeful for Monday but is probably not holding his breath.

My own situation is that I was due to have a set fitted yesterday Friday 24th July 2015 but an email from the dealer the previous day advised that 3 sets had been incorrectly picked - another joke. I have no idea when I will now have them fitted. The incompetence, bullshit out of VW here in the UK is beyond belief.

My DEKRA inspection last Monday the 20th took place and another post on this with full details will follow but suffice to say I was not impressed.

email 23/07/2015 from Mr B Kattenberg VW Executive Office

Dear Mr

Thank you for your email of 14 July 2014.

I am sorry you have chosen to interpret my earlier email in the manner in which you have. The current order for the first set is not a test requested by Volkswagen Germany, it is a replacement set advised by Germany that Volkswagen UK wish to see fitted and evaluated before deciding what should happen next.

It is your choice whether or not you wish to proceed with your DEKRA inspection. I have advised your retailer, Bath Volkswagen, that I would be pleased to ask our Technical Department to request a further set of shock absorbers to be fitted to your vehicle, whenever convenient to yourself, although believe we should await their arrival in the UK before arranging such a date.

Yours sincerely

Brian Kattenberg
Customer Relations Manager
Volkswagen UK Executive Office

Tel: 0333 003 7199
E-mail: executive.office@volkswagen.co.uk
Internet: www.volkswagen.co.uk


For the moment, if anyone has issues with rear suspension noise then contact your dealer, tell them about these so-called shock absorbers for evaluation and refer the dealer to B Kattenberg at the Executive Office at Milton Keynes. Just put pressure on these people as this may be the only way we can get the problem resolved.

If anyone wants more info then feel free to email me at richard@fuelboss.co.uk

 

[napadirt]

My GTI rear suspension is making a knocking rattling noise at low speed on rough or bumpy roads. The noise is completely gone or at least unnoticale at freeway speed. It started at ~5000 miles and is getting worse.

I thought for the past few weeks that the noise was from something loose on my stiffer rear sway bar. But after confirming all bolts are tight I am convinced it's something else and it doesn't sound or behave as I expect a sway bar noise would.

Then I saw this YouTube video posted by fuelboss. The sound the shock absorber makes is similar to what I am hearing. I will try this on my own car. I am hesitent to go to the dealer because it seems they have not definitively resolved the issue yet. I at least want the problem diagnosed by me first.

http://youtu.be/5bvS3g2vXFI

 

[fuelboss]

New shock absorbers - we are still waiting

Unbelievable that despite the promises from the VW UK Executive Office we still have no date when these phantom shock absorbers will arrive in the UK and be fitted. They will not even respond to questions relating to my videos of where I can make the darn things rattle. I have questioned if this is normal but obviously they are afraid to answer as this could open the up a can of worms for them.

The recent DEKRA report was in my view a shambles and contradictory. VW Finance who instigated the so-called inspection effectively slammed the door in my face as DEKRA concluded it was a characteristic yet admits there is a rattle and an adverse noise is present. Since when did a rattle become a characteristic. In my view the DEKRA report was influenced by VW who gave DEKRA instructions to refer to the rattle as a characteristic. I will post the report as soon as I have an email copy.

If anyone else in the UK or other parts of the world has this rear suspension noise then refer your dealer to the UK office for the attention of Mr B Kattenberg and refer the dealer to my posts and videos.

If these latest production shock absorbers do not fix the noise then the only way as I see it here in the UK is to fit KW Street Coilovers at a cost of around £1300. Going down a legal route with this outfit will be time consuming and I dont have the time. Selling the car will incur more costs and exchanging it for one fitted with DCC will incur costs that I am not prepared to pay considering the noise issue was there from the date of purchase.

I do think that given the opportunity to take this to a court of law would go in our favour with the evidence I have collected over many months.

Most off the UK owners are, to say the least, completely pissed off with VWUK and their arrogant stance on this issue. My dealer has been very understanding and clearly frustrated as I am with VWUK.

Remember, if you have or had an issue with the rear suspension noise then please email me if you wish with your story.

 

[fuelboss]

My GTI rear suspension is making a knocking rattling noise at low speed on rough or bumpy roads. The noise is completely gone or at least unnoticale at freeway speed. It started at ~5000 miles and is getting worse.

I thought for the past few weeks that the noise was from something loose on my stiffer rear sway bar. But after confirming all bolts are tight I am convinced it's something else and it doesn't sound or behave as I expect a sway bar noise would.

Then I saw this YouTube video posted by fuelboss. The sound the shock absorber makes is similar to what I am hearing. I will try this on my own car. I am hesitent to go to the dealer because it seems they have not definitively resolved the issue yet. I at least want the problem diagnosed by me first.

http://youtu.be/5bvS3g2vXFI

Hello from the UK,

Please see my post below yours. Why not do as I did on the video and give the shocks a knock and see if you induce a rattle. I am still trying to find someone who can tell me if that is normal or not. If it will rattle by be me knocking it with my hand then surely it can do the same when on the road. I take it that you have standard shocks and not DCC?

PM or email me if you wish to let me know how you get on.

Rich

 

[miginus]

Just hit 4,000 miles and heard a noise coming from the rear. I assume it's suspension cause it only does it (sometimes) when I hit bumps.

It's loud of enough for my dad to say, "what was that?" And he has horrible hearing.

Anyone help me out with what it might be?

 

[napadirt]

fuelboss,

Thanks for all the information you have provided on this issue. It has been very helpful for everyone with rear suspension noise. Hopefully it will push VW into providing us all a solution, though it looks like they are determined t deflect and delay for now, as is their best financial interest so long as the noisy suspension is not a hazard.

I did try tapping on the damper unit as you did in your YouTube video but I could not replicate that sound. I did not have the wheel off as you did so the reduced load may help to induce the noise. But I did tap on it pretty hard with a hammer. I did it from under the car since I had to be absolutely certain all of my sway bar bolts were tight, and indeed they were.

Correct, I have standard GTI damper, no DCC. I am also considering coilovers, not just to rid the noise, but I want to try for same rear roll stiffness that my sway bar provides but with better ride quality. I love the way the car handles with the sway bar. Rotates nicely on corner entry.

What's strange is the noise is erratic. Some days the "log rolling" noise is loud and persistently obnoxious. However, some days it is quiet, even over speed bumps, with only an occasional knock which can be expected. To my ear the noise seems to originate (from inside the cabin anyway) from the shock tower / wheel well. It could be the damper or the upper mounting interface. Your info would seem to suggest the damper.

What I do know i it's not just me, because even my near deaf 85 year old grandfather pointed it out.

I imagine VW knows the damper is the issue. My guess is it's a design flaw.

Feel free to use any part or all of my posts with VW. Good luck with your car. And keep up the fight! I am determined to find a solution and will keep you updated.

 

[fuelboss]

VWUK are full of bullshit so it appears

In my previous posts I wrote that VW were bringing "new" shock absorbers over to the UK for fitting to several cars, including at least 2 Golf GTI models. The first person to receive them was told two weeks in succession that the parts had been mislaid and on the 3rd week that 3 sets had been mispicked.

My personal view is that was a lie and I stand by that.

Today I receive an email from my dealer that supposedly is an extract from an email from Mr B Kattenberg of the VWUK Executive Office. So after 6 weeks of waiting this is what VWUK have come out with

Subject: RE: Shock absorber date

Thank you for your emails of 3 February 2015. We have now received further information from Germany which I would like to share with you.

The delay in fitting shock absorbers recently was not due to incorrect part numbers having been sent, but because we had wanted parts from the latest production week. As previously advised to you, we understood changes to have been made as part of Volkswagen‘s continual product improvement process.

We have now been advised that the change recently made was not for the Golf GTI shock absorber but another vehicle in the Golf range. There is therefore no point in fitting the latest shock absorbers currently used in production as we believe this would make no difference to the noise you find so distressing when driving your vehicle in the manner you do over certain road surfaces.

We do not deny, nor have ever denied that a noise is audible in certain conditions, but this is a noise, not a vehicle fault. I have expressed our apologies in previous correspondence that you find the noise such an intense source of irritation, but I must again stress that we do not regard this as a fault. All vehicles from all manufacturers have their own unique characteristics, including suspension and body noises, and the Golf is no different in this regard.

Yes folks, it only took them 6 weeks to come out with this story. It sounds very much like a bunch of incompetents work in this so-called executive office or perhaps VWUK is full of them. Not even an apology for keeping a number of owners dangling on a hook with expectations that our rattle would be cured. You simply could never make up this story.

If you are a director of Volkswagen UK reading this then I suggest you start employing people who actually care about the customer and who have something between their ears that doesn't end with the letter T.

If you are one of the unfortunates that has rear shock absorber issues then I suggest you email the Managing Director of Volkswagen Cars alex.smith@volkswagen.co.uk as I am sure he would be pleased to hear from you.

 

[fuelboss]

Replacing shock absorbers for a set of Bilsteins

Given that VW and VW Finance are virtually ignoring those owners who complain of the rear suspension noise, I have now found a set of Bilstein B4 rear shocks with part number 19-230559, that are apparently as close to the originals as you can get.

The had to be shipped in from Germany and arrived with me today 18/08/2015 ad will be fitted this Thursday. This should be of great interest to anyone suffering the widely reported noise issue. Once fitted I will post on whether there has been an improvement. I can't imagine it can be as bad as the 4 factory sets fitted over the past 3000 miles.

I am sure that VWUK will also be watching out for my opinion on these, as I know they are aware I am trialling a set from another manufacturer. If these do the job and eliminate the rattle, knocking noise or call it whatever you like noise, then it will be interesting as to how my dealer and VWUK respond.

Watch this space as next post on Thursday evening 20/08/2015

 

[ColinStone]

I recall having exactly the same issue in 1982 with a new Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra 1.2S with all of 60PS!
GM came up with revised rear shock absorbers within a few weeks and sorted.

 

[dr_mat]

I've had similar clunking noises on the shocks on my Corrado about eight years back. They had 110,000 miles on them at the time. No noises whatsoever from the replacements, now 45,000 miles old..