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Going insane.Need Help. 2019 R Left turns from stop "tire gripping" / grinding sound with vibration

AR11

Ready to race!
Location
CA
My car is 4 years old so outside of the bumper to bumper warranty. When I brought the car in they wanted to charge me diagnosis fees as if to assume it wasn't covered under the powertrain warranty. I wasn't confident that the actual work would be covered under warranty so I walked.

I suppose I could try asking them to ride along but I doubt they would be able to determine if it would be a warranty job or not.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
My car is 4 years old so outside of the bumper to bumper warranty. When I brought the car in they wanted to charge me diagnosis fees as if to assume it wasn't covered under the powertrain warranty. I wasn't confident that the actual work would be covered under warranty so I walked.

I suppose I could try asking them to ride along but I doubt they would be able to determine if it would be a warranty job or not.

It's a crap shoot. If they ride along and can correctly diagnose it you would know if it's covered. But you have to trust them to be honest.
 

AR11

Ready to race!
Location
CA
@OP I'm curious if there were other conditions present that pointed to the diff as being the issue
 

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
My dealer has told me that at least initially, the diagnosis for any problem may be billed to me, but if they determine that it's a warranty item, the diagnosis is picked up under warranty. I'd ask for clarification about such.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
My dealer has told me that at least initially, the diagnosis for any problem may be billed to me, but if they determine that it's a warranty item, the diagnosis is picked up under warranty. I'd ask for clarification about such.

That's pretty standard in the industry. The dealers got tired of people using the dealer for diagnosis and getting it fixed elsewhere.
 

zepharus1

New member
Location
Syracuse, NY
@OP I'm curious if there were other conditions present that pointed to the diff as being the issue

Ive had GTIs for 15 years... this was my first R and I can tell you that I have been underwhelmed with this car from day 1. Something just felt "off" the drive, sound and feel was vastly different than my 2016 GTI that i traded in for. I chalked it up to the "quirks" of haldex all wheel, but in the back of my head thinking otherwise. When I took it to the dealer at 3K miles and explained it to them (for the courtesy check after purchasing) they told me just that... "these haldex systems are unique with all sorts of noises" .

When I brought it in at 20k I was way more assertive. I asked for a tech that was working on the car to be available at the front for a ride when I brought it in. I struck up a friendly covo with the tech , asked him to ride in the back and took him around turns and got a confirmation that he heard and felt it. The one question he ased me that i thought was odd, was "did the issue also happen in winter" I said yes but much less pronounced on my snows. then left it and about 4 hours later got a call that they were ordering the diff from VW under warranty. I think him feeling the vibration under his ass in the back seat was what tipped him off. Can only be a cpl things back there


Bottom line is that the car never felt right to me from day 1. I have not enjoyed the car the way i had hoped, and truthfully thru upstate NY winters, it was almost no better than my GTI (both with the exact same snow tires as i saved my winter setup) . If this Differential replace does not fix this issue, or it feels similar, I may look to move on to something else.
 

victorofhavoc

Autocross Champion
Location
Kansas City
Ive had GTIs for 15 years... this was my first R and I can tell you that I have been underwhelmed with this car from day 1. Something just felt "off" the drive, sound and feel was vastly different than my 2016 GTI that i traded in for. I chalked it up to the "quirks" of haldex all wheel, but in the back of my head thinking otherwise. When I took it to the dealer at 3K miles and explained it to them (for the courtesy check after purchasing) they told me just that... "these haldex systems are unique with all sorts of noises" .

When I brought it in at 20k I was way more assertive. I asked for a tech that was working on the car to be available at the front for a ride when I brought it in. I struck up a friendly covo with the tech , asked him to ride in the back and took him around turns and got a confirmation that he heard and felt it. The one question he ased me that i thought was odd, was "did the issue also happen in winter" I said yes but much less pronounced on my snows. then left it and about 4 hours later got a call that they were ordering the diff from VW under warranty. I think him feeling the vibration under his ass in the back seat was what tipped him off. Can only be a cpl things back there


Bottom line is that the car never felt right to me from day 1. I have not enjoyed the car the way i had hoped, and truthfully thru upstate NY winters, it was almost no better than my GTI (both with the exact same snow tires as i saved my winter setup) . If this Differential replace does not fix this issue, or it feels similar, I may look to move on to something else.
Yeah on my subaru I was getting a grinding noise when the cv axle had a small amount of too much play between gear teeth. It was far more pronounced in winter because with more slip the car would become one wheel drive essentially. If the diff doesn't resolve it, make them change the cv axles as well. When the car goes back to being awd it will feel totally different.
 

Fastlax16

Autocross Newbie
Location
Chitown
Car(s)
2019 DBP R
Brought my car in this morning. No issue w the rear dif but it was throwing a code for a bad haldex unit. Sounds like it wasn’t uncoupling so the car felt like a 4wd truck when turning. New unit goes in tomorrow.
 
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Coolrunning39

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Denver
Get my car back tomorrow and they found a bad “new” left wheel bearing. I had a new one installed 6 months ago and they found it to be bad.

I told them it was bad the day I got it back 6 months ago and they just refused to believe me. Glad to see I was right but what a pain in the ass it’s been.
 

zepharus1

New member
Location
Syracuse, NY
* Final update*

FIXED!! Dear god... for a year now i've tried to convince myself that that maybe my GTIs were just that good and this was as good as the R was... in the back of my head i knew something was off, but the dealers rebuked it each time I brought it in until the last when i was forceful.

The entire Final Drive unit replaced. First drive from the dealer and THIS IS THE FUCKING R I EXPECTED IT TO BE. THANK YOU BABY JESUS! Smooth, quick and zippy as hell. Before, in addition to the grinding noise and vibration on 90 degree turns at take off, the car felt completely lifeless. It was boring to drive and felt like something was missing. Gear engagement was never smooth and accelerations felt lagged and lackluster as hell . I chalked it up to the "new 7 spd" and the "quirky Haldex" and was Strongly considering selling the car I've wanted for a very long time. the car put a smile on my face for the very first time since purchase.

Let my story be a lesson for anyone finding this post in the future with similar symptoms. Fight, and demand a resolution and tech ride along. do not accept quirks and excuses. If it feels "off" , its off. I think this R was dragging the rear wheels for 20k miles now.

Lastly.. im convinced this car was built after a long , drunk german weekend. When I picked it up with 6 miles on the odo there were issues. Left rear wheel liner warped and rubbing, had to be replaced over a weekend 10 minutes after driving away from the dealership. from the time I get the car home I start to notice the grinding noise on turns from take off and the lack of "fun" factor from the car. 100 miles in leveling sensor dies and sets off constant ECU lights and disables DCC. takes a month to get the sensor. 1000 miles back pull down turn brace handle breaks off on first use.... so its been a journey but I finally think this R is whole. Long live the Mk7.5
 

popoff44

New member
Location
Boston, MA
Just accidentally stumbled upon this thread. Thanks for sharing your experience @zepharus1 (y)

I've been having identical symptoms with my manual 2017 Golf R for a while. I asked both VW dealership technicians as well as an independent mechanic I use to help diagnose the problem multiple times, but they always come back saying they don't hear/feel anything 🤷‍♂️ That will drive you crazy when you know it's definitely there... 🤪

Do you, or anyone else reading this, know of any way to verify the issue is (or most likely is) with rear differential, since other causes are still technically possible even thought it looks identical? I imagine that any evidence I might be able to gather would be helpful in getting either the dealer or my mechanic (in case the dealer refuses 'cause my car is tuned/has aftermarket parts such as clutch, suspension, etc.) to take a closer look at the diff specifically.

In other words, if any self-diagnostic is available for a possible "bad rear differential" scenario I'd be interested to hear about it :)
 
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zepharus1

New member
Location
Syracuse, NY
Just accidentally stumbled upon this thread. Thanks for sharing your experience @zepharus1 (y)

I've been having identical symptoms with my manual 2017 Golf R for a while. I asked both VW dealership technicians as well as an independent mechanic I use to help diagnose the problem multiple times, but they always come back saying they don't hear/feel anything 🤷‍♂️ That will drive you crazy when you know it's definitely there... 🤪

Do you, or anyone else reading this, know of any way to verify the issue is (or most likely is) with rear differential, since other causes are still technically possible even thought it looks identical? I imagine that any evidence I might be able to gather would be helpful in getting either the dealer or my mechanic (in case the dealer refuses 'cause my car is tuned/has aftermarket parts such as clutch, suspension, etc.) to take a closer look at the diff specifically.

In other words, if any self-diagnostic is available for a possible "bad rear differential" scenario I'd be interested to hear about it :)


First do this. have a friend/family member drive. you ride in the back seat on the passenger side. At 90 degree turns, from a stop give constant but mild throttle and "hold" the turn ( open lot or slight uphill turns work best) This is how I was able to replicate my issue 100%. If it a bad diff, you'll hear that odd grinding noise and FEEL a very noticeable vibration under your ass in the rear passenger side seat. The Differential is almost exactly under there.

If yours is similar to mine, you'll HEAR & FEEL this. Then move on to the next step...

Book an appt at the dealer and explicitly request the tech that will be working on your car, meet you when you drop off and take a short ride with you. Put the tech in the back seat where you sat and felt this. Take the car to an open lot area where you can duplicate this and have him verbally acknowledge he hears and feels it. Tell him it isn't normal and reference this post if you like. If its a good tech he will diagnose and fix. Hopefully yours will be warrantied.

Again, hope this helps
 
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