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Rear suspension noise - are you affected?

Is your Mk7 Golf affected by rear suspension noise - Yes/No?


  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .

fuelboss

Go Kart Newbie
Location
United Kingdom & Portugal
Car(s)
GTI MK7.5 DSG
Resolved the rear shock absorber noise.

After 11 long months of stress, anxiety, futility, frustration, anger, disappointment, bewilderment, amazement, inconvenience, expense, wasted precious time, of listening to basically utter nonsense and a degree of bullshit from VWUK and VW Finance I can safely say that the rear suspension issue associated directly with the VW supplied shock absorbers is cured.

How did I do it?

By fitting Bilstein OEM replacement rear shock absorbers Type B4 Part Number 19-230559.

These were fitted last Thursday by my local auto shop. After having covered almost 200 miles since fitting, including a journey yesterday of around 130 miles that took in a variety of road surfaces including some quite poor roads within a large town I now feel that I have the car that I originally expected it to be and always wanted. I can now drive with a smile on my face and just can’t wait to get back in the car and drive again.

Volkswagen UK now has many questions from me that need to be answered. The conveniently so-called “characteristic” of the model has disappeared. Amazing that a set of shock absorbers from another manufacturer that costs less than the VW supplied parts can eliminate this “characteristic”. Volkswagen will probably not believe me but it’s the truth.

The faffing around that I have done, the letter writing, the emailing, the research etc has been bit of a nightmare to say the least. I have taken this issue to bed and woken up with it. Why, because it’s not some clapped out old banger but a £30,000 new car from Volkswagen UK who have tried to fob us off with arrogance, lack of understanding or real concern for our complaint. Well Volkswagen, I am now on your case and the process starts this week to seek compensation. Volkswagen UK, I will do anything to show you for what you are and that is a bunch of incompetents here in the UK. I will publically announce through whatever method I can, that an elderly man with a youthful attitude from Wiltshire in England can use logic, common sense, intelligence, determination and an aptitude for resolving a problem that a multinational car manufacturer could not or would not.

If anyone is still experiencing the rear shock absorber rattle, knocking sound or however you want to refer to it, I would suggest you get these fitted. Of course you may wish to go down the coilover route but if you want a simple fix that has without doubt improved the ride comfort along with totally eliminating the annoying noise then fitting these Bilsteins is a cost effective way to go.

Prior to fitting the Bilsteins I checked whether there was any lateral movement of the piston rod and found none. I have retained the VW fitted Sachs and on both shock absorbers there is a discernible lateral movement of the piston rod and a tapping sound. I achieved this by simply holding the shock absorber barrel in one hand and moving the rod with the other. Take a look at this short video of me giving the VW shock absorbers a good thump with the side of my fist while the car is actually on the ground. The comparison between the VW shocks and the Bilstein is clearly audible and my contention is that the rattle from the VW parts are responsible for the rear suspension noise that many owners complain about.

Mr Brian Kettenberg of the VWUK executive office does not consider this rattle to be significant as he contends that "such impact and resultant sounds are probable on most models and that shock absorbers are not designed to withstand lateral impact, but rather the forces caused by central compression transmitted as a consequence of road surface irregularities". Yes, I agree but lateral movement of shock absorber must take place to a certain extent and I believe that's where our irritating noise comes from.

Have a listen and see the difference between a VW supplied part and my new Bilsteins.
https://youtu.be/3aOK-BAk_To
 
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roblos12

New member
Location
Manchester
VW TPI

Hi Guys,

I thought I'd just add to this thread. I recently upgraded to a 1.4 GT (couple of years old). I too am affected by the rear suspension noise.

My car has been to VW in Stockport today to resolve this and after reading this thread I expected very little. However, I have just had a phone call from them to inform me that there is a TPI out on this issue from VW and that the issue is the shock absorbers.

As a result my car is being fitted with new upgraded shocks tomorrow all under warranty. Hope this helps anyone who is affected by the issue. The fact that VW have issued a TPI on the problem at least means it will get sorted under warranty now and they know what the problem is.

Cheers! :)
 

Arek

New member
Location
Poland
They do not have a clue what the problem is. The TPI has been available for over a year now and lots of people, like me, had the shock absorbers replaced. Initially there was a small improvement, but soon the noise was back. Sorry to disappoint you, but do not expect too much, unless this is a completely new solution.
 
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dr_mat

Go Kart Champion
Location
Berkshire
Same here, dealer acknowledged the TPI, fitted new shocks. Worked for a week. Back as bad as ever now, three months on.
 

Bryan1

New member
Location
United States
I had my rear shocks replaced 4 months ago. It fixed 80 - 90% of the noise. Although my car started shake/ vibrate at highway speeds (70 mph+). Has anyone else with shock noise been experiencing high speed vibrations?
 

Z27

Ready to race!
Location
New York
This has been driving me crazy. I have aftermarket suspension (Koni FSD + Neuspeed Sport Springs) and I get a light "knocking" or "semi-rattling" sound when going from a stop to low speeds.

I don't get it. Is this the same noise everybody else is experiencing?
 

EDM

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
SoCal
This has been driving me crazy. I have aftermarket suspension (Koni FSD + Neuspeed Sport Springs) and I get a light "knocking" or "semi-rattling" sound when going from a stop to low speeds.

I don't get it. Is this the same noise everybody else is experiencing?

That could be the coils. Since they are a progressive rate spring the top coils tend to make noise every once in awhile.
 

Davemac

New member
Location
preston
Lookers VW Preston supplied and fitted a pair of Bilstiens to my Gti yesterday. I'm pleased to say that the log roll/ rattle is now gone,the car handles and drives just the same.
It was done as a warranty job.
 

WIDE76

New member
Location
Finland
Anyone else who have fitted bilsteins? I have just fitted new oem dampers as a warranty job, but the problem is back again.
 

jdlavelle1975

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Arvada, CO
Hey everyone- after thousands of miles on oem, Bilstein B8, Koni Yellows, and VWR coilovers, I am getting that noise on each and every rear shock/coilover that has been on the car. I've been trying to diagnose something that may have been loose, but to no avail. Even my local high-end shop can't find where the noise is coming from.
 

Z27

Ready to race!
Location
New York
That's surprising!!! I can't wait for someone to point out the problem!
 
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