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Suspension issue! PLEASE HELP!!!

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Oryx R

Ready to race!
Location
SE Michigan
titan253 said:
Wasn't there a problem with GTIs/Rs not having the suspension shipping pucks being removed during the dealer's delivery process? Might be worth confirming that they were removed, because unfortunately it was not an isolated oversight.

Here's hoping that it is something simple
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Yes most anything related to mk7s and suspension issues I've most likely already checked. I researched this for about 2 1/2 weeks before starting a thread to be sure it wasn't something silly or easy to resolve.
 
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Oryx R

Ready to race!
Location
SE Michigan
I do wonder though if they had forgot to remove them at first and went out for a couple test drives with them in. I've read that when this happens it can cause issues that may persist even after the pucks are finally removed.
 
C

catdog1

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Boston
Oryx R said:
I'll make this first post as short and sweet as I can. Please help me to see if the front suspension issue I'm feeling is "normal". What I'm feeling is 90% through the gas and brake pedals. Imagine you are a Doctor and using your foot/shoe like a stethoscope to feel the heartbeat of the front suspension.

While driving the car in "comfort" or any other driving mode while cruising and driving easy with your foot resting on the gas pedal do you feel like the front wheels are slightly "loose/clunky" or that there is a "rattle" feeling when going over pronounced cracks in the road or when the suspension is unloaded? It is not much play but it is definitely there and it was there from the first day I drove out of the dealership.

A little info real quick on my situation, I had to drive 300 miles to pick up the car because these cars are scarce in North America and I wanted to deal with the dealer that had it on their lot. I've taken the car into my local dealer and they drove it and called me and said "good news sir the reason your suspension was hard was you had it in "sport mode"! He said "you can adjust the setting to comfort and everything cleared right up!"

Give me a break. I know about the suspension modes and this was an insult to my intellegance. Also points out the fact that they weren't addressing the issue I am having.

Fellow golf 7 r owners please help to arm me with some firsthand experience from other owners of this car!
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Funny, i was thinking the same thing you are describing today in comfort mode over bumpy surfaces. Bottom line is that in comfort mode the car is underdamped for the stiffish springs and as a result when you hit a bumpy or rough road, there is a lot of weird frequencies that seem to be transmitted that makes the car feel like something is loose. If i switch to normal then that goes away and the car feels nicely together but of course less comfortable and now stiffer with more of the road irregularities jarring into the cabin. With race mode it's even more stiff. So i think the comfort mode is really just for comfort but the downside is that over bumpy surfaces it seems to feel like car is not 'together' or that something is loose in the suspension. That mode is a compromise, car feels best in normal or race but is then not comfortable (sigh)...

I don't think there is anything wrong with your car, i take it you checked the pucks have been removed...?
 
O

Oryx R

Ready to race!
Location
SE Michigan
catdog said:
Funny, i was thinking the same thing you are describing today in comfort mode over bumpy surfaces. Bottom line is that in comfort mode the car is underdamped for the stiffish springs and as a result when you hit a bumpy or rough road, there is a lot of weird frequencies that seem to be transmitted that makes the car feel like something is loose. If i switch to normal then that goes away and the car feels nicely together but of course less comfortable and now stiffer with more of the road irregularities jarring into the cabin. With race mode it's even more stiff. So i think the comfort mode is really just for comfort but the downside is that over bumpy surfaces it seems to feel like car is not 'together' or that something is loose in the suspension. That mode is a compromise, car feels best in normal or race but is then not comfortable (sigh)...

I don't think there is anything wrong with your car, i take it you checked the pucks have been removed...?
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What I feel is there in all modes. I understand what you are talking about and I don't think that is the same thing I'm complaining about. The road that my shop is on is completely destroyed and if I go faster than 10 mph I feel what you are talking about.

In my case there is a clunky feeling that is being transmitted though the pedals even on a smooth road when going over protruding cracks. It is felt exactly at the point that the suspension is unloaded and it is way more noticeable in independent wheel tests in the right wheel. If I go slow over speed bumps it clunks as I go over and the suspension becomes unloaded. It is the feeling of a loose suspension component being transmitted through the chassis and can be felt slightly in the wheel and in the floor it is just 100x greater noticed in the pedals. When I say a clunk in the pedals I mean it is VERY noticeable when cruising with light pressure on the pedal through my toes. Everytime the right front hits more than a tiny bump it is at all speeds 8-80+.

As soon as I can test drive another R or two to see if I feel it will be the only way I will be satisfied.
 
O

Oryx R

Ready to race!
Location
SE Michigan
After letting a friend look at it I'm really leaning towards it being something with the sway bar and/or end links.
 
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A

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
I may have figured out the cause of your problem

On a recent road trip I was driving with the suspension set to "Comfort," the dual-clutch transmission set to "Drive," and the engine setting set to "Normal"--something I seldom do in my normal day-to-day driving. I too felt a fair amount of vibration through the gas pedal, something I never noticed before. So as I drove (it was a 2000+ mile road trip) I paid attention to the vibration I was feeling and when it came on.

What I noticed was that I began to feel the vibration of the gas pedal as the Soundaktor began to kick in around 2000 RPM as I would start to accelerate, and the frequency of the vibration precisely matched the low frequency rumble that the Soundaktor was generating through the windshield and firewall (which the gas pedal attaches to). As the car accelerated or shifted, the vibration seemed to disappear, which may have been caused by the Soundaktor rising in frequency, and thus feeling less noticeable through my foot. In my typical driving, I use "Sport" mode most frequently, which keeps the revs up, which might be why I only felt some vibration on this long highway cruise.

I hope this may have finally solved your mysterious vibration riddle for you.
 
S

Stevie1

Ready to race!
Location
Lincoln
Oryx R said:
I'll make this first post as short and sweet as I can. Please help me to see if the front suspension issue I'm feeling is "normal". What I'm feeling is 90% through the gas and brake pedals. Imagine you are a Doctor and using your foot/shoe like a stethoscope to feel the heartbeat of the front suspension.

While driving the car in "comfort" or any other driving mode while cruising and driving easy with your foot resting on the gas pedal do you feel like the front wheels are slightly "loose/clunky" or that there is a "rattle" feeling when going over pronounced cracks in the road or when the suspension is unloaded? It is not much play but it is definitely there and it was there from the first day I drove out of the dealership.

A little info real quick on my situation, I had to drive 300 miles to pick up the car because these cars are scarce in North America and I wanted to deal with the dealer that had it on their lot. I've taken the car into my local dealer and they drove it and called me and said "good news sir the reason your suspension was hard was you had it in "sport mode"! He said "you can adjust the setting to comfort and everything cleared right up!"

Give me a break. I know about the suspension modes and this was an insult to my intellegance. Also points out the fact that they weren't addressing the issue I am having.

Fellow golf 7 r owners please help to arm me with some firsthand experience from other owners of this car!
Click to expand...

There is a European recall on for front wheel bearings. I would def get it down to the dealer and get it checked.
 
O

Oryx R

Ready to race!
Location
SE Michigan
Al_in_Philly said:
On a recent road trip I was driving with the suspension set to "Comfort," the dual-clutch transmission set to "Drive," and the engine setting set to "Normal"--something I seldom do in my normal day-to-day driving. I too felt a fair amount of vibration through the gas pedal, something I never noticed before. So as I drove (it was a 2000+ mile road trip) I paid attention to the vibration I was feeling and when it came on.

What I noticed was that I began to feel the vibration of the gas pedal as the Soundaktor began to kick in around 2000 RPM as I would start to accelerate, and the frequency of the vibration precisely matched the low frequency rumble that the Soundaktor was generating through the windshield and firewall (which the gas pedal attaches to). As the car accelerated or shifted, the vibration seemed to disappear, which may have been caused by the Soundaktor rising in frequency, and thus feeling less noticeable through my foot. In my typical driving, I use "Sport" mode most frequently, which keeps the revs up, which might be why I only felt some vibration on this long highway cruise.

I hope this may have finally solved your mysterious vibration riddle for you.
Click to expand...


I've heard of that before as well. There was another member that was having horrible vibes and it turned out to be the soundaktor. I have mine off.
 
O

Oryx R

Ready to race!
Location
SE Michigan
Stevie said:
There is a European recall on for front wheel bearings. I would def get it down to the dealer and get it checked.
Click to expand...

Thank you I'll have to look into that. I replaced the passenger side wheel bearing myself already and that did not resolve it. It really doesn't seem to have gotten much worse. I think it may be just some play in the axle/inner tripod joint. I can move the axle side to side pretty easy by hand and think it may just be rattling around when I drive.
 
O

Oryx R

Ready to race!
Location
SE Michigan
FIGURED IT OUT FINALLY!!!!

Ok I'll make this quick for anyone who comes across this with a similar problem


All it was the whole time was a plastic piece under the cowl on the passenger side rattling against the the firewall near the bottom of the windshield. Thing drove me crazy and I for sure though it was suspension.

I jammed a towel in there and viola! My car is now perfect. The irony is that I found this out as I was replacing the stock springs so I can go sell the car. :( figures
 
KASPER1

KASPER1

Go Kart Champion
Location
AMONGST U
Post a pic, would be appreciated, especially if mine starts doing it :)

I won't have the patience/persistence you have had over 2.5/3 years. You might save me from trading in within a month of having the same problem lol
 
H

harmsy

New member
Location
Melbourne, Australia
I have an Australian 7R, and I get what I think you're describing.

For me it feels like a wheel is out of balance sometimes, but not all the time. It feels a bit like you're driving over tiny bumps in the road even on a perfectly flat highway. It can only be felt though the floor/feet/seat, and for me is not felt through the steering wheel. The vibration does not get faster with speed and seems somewhat random.

I've been back to VW numerous times and they have not been able to solve it, and when comparing back to back with a brand new R it has the same characteristics but mine just feels 3 times worse. I've tried re-balancing wheels, rotating wheels, different tyre pressures, then brand new tyres, and even swapping wheels/tyres with a brand new golf in the dealership.

I've essentially given up and decided I can live with it. But it's the one thing that annoys me about this car, but the funny thing is that passengers can't really feel it so I think i'm just uber sensitive to this now, but the tech at VW could feel it too and tried very hard to find the issue, and couldn't, but didn't seem willing to start replacing parts like bushes and struts in a blind attempt at finding the problem.

Let me know if you ever find a solution, because I would be immensely grateful.
 
H

harmsy

New member
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Oh wow didn't realise the age of your original post and that you were the OP.

Well done on finding this, i'm definitely going to take a look.

Would love to see a pic so i know exactly what you're referring to please.


Oryx R said:
Ok I'll make this quick for anyone who comes across this with a similar problem


All it was the whole time was a plastic piece under the cowl on the passenger side rattling against the the firewall near the bottom of the windshield. Thing drove me crazy and I for sure though it was suspension.

I jammed a towel in there and viola! My car is now perfect. The irony is that I found this out as I was replacing the stock springs so I can go sell the car. :( figures
Click to expand...
 
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