Rear suspension noise.

[len A]

Haven't posted for awhile so thought I would share an issue I've had with my golf. For the last couple of months I've had and knocking/tapping noise at the back end of the car so when it went in for it's 10,000 mile service last week I asked the dealer to check it out. It turns out the bushes on the rear suspension struts are faulty causing the noise. They changed both struts because the bushes cannot be changed separately. My car is 18 months old and has 15000 miles on the clock so was surprised to have an issue with something like suspension struts after just a short time, anyone else had this problem ?

 

[fuelboss]

GTI Rear Suspension noise

The car is a 2015 GTI 5dr DSG Performance without DCC

What I can’t understand is even though MK7 owners have reported a rear suspension noise for a very long time on a number of MK7 variants and despite the reports of dampers being changed, sometimes twice, for some people it has not been a complete success despite the issue being brought to the attention of VW over 18 months ago. I had my rear dampers changed about 9-weeks ago and the peculiar "bobbling" sound is still evident at low speeds over certain uneven surfaces no matter how gently I drive. This hollow "bobbling" sound has a vague sort of plastic or rubbery sound to it that is very irritating.

The sound of logs rolling around as many have reported is appalling and remains the same when going over very uneven surfaces despite the damper change, though I am convinced this is probably just tyre noise and being a hatch will never be eliminated, at least on the MK7. But what really is the issue, is it dampers, poor sound insulation, the tyres, exhaust or quite just poor design. I am not convinced that VW have really gotten to the bottom of this issue? If they do understand what the issue is then a change of dampers might have helped but perhaps the bottom line is there is nothing they can really do about it until they bring out a MK8.

My dealer contacted me the other day and I suggested to him that if it were me I would remove the shock absorbers and try it then fit a smaller set of wheels with appropriate higher profile tyres and try it and just keep going until I could hopefully eliminate the component that creates the noise. Are VW just guessing it’s the shock absorbers and what real world tests have they carried out? If they think they have fixed the issue then I can say that in my case they haven't.


The Bridgestone Potenza tyres fitted to mine do not have good reviews http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk) in terms of noise, so are these to blame when travelling over a certain type of road surface, though I have to say that on a good road surface the car is extremely quiet with regard to tyre noise and is a real pleasure and fun to drive.

8 weeks ago I drove from UK to Portugal and on one 15km stretch of road the top layer of tarmac was broken up. No big ruts or bumps but just a thin broken top layer and the racket that came through the rear end was intolerable , so much that you could not hold a conversation. I appreciate my GTI with performance pack is essentially a sports car but for £30,000 I never expected this level of noise. Again I have reached the conclusion that the main noise originates from the tyres and perhaps a change of tyre would help. However, what really gets me is this kind of hollow knocking, tapping sound that just persists even occurring at times over gentle uneven surfaces.

I have removed everything from the back including spare wheel, parcel shelf, boot floor, tools and then laid the backseats down and the noise was in my view unacceptable. Just a word of advice for those who have a space saver wheel with a low profile Tyre. Place a straight edge across the Tyre and you will see that the actual wheel rim is touching the wheel-well floor and there is isn't much between rim and the metal floor. I have now laid cork/rubber pads under my spare and there is now a gap of 15mm. One other thing I noticed and that was the wheel retaining nut works loose no matter how hard I tighten it so do check that the wheel isn't bouncing around because that wheel well is just a big amplifier.

My car is with me in Portugal for nearly 6 months and therefore the case is currently closed with VW though they have promised to investigate further on my return to the UK. Amazingly VW only guarantee shock absorbers for 6 months if you look at their terms & conditions and that is absurd as no other manufacturer I have looked into offer ssuch a pathetic warranty. I think this is a VW policy that even dealers are unaware of. Why a 6-month or 6000 mile warranty, is that all they think they are good for. It’s hardly a consumable item like a Tyre, brake pads or wiper blade. A 6-month warranty does nothing to give you confidence in that component.
If your car is under warranty then the dealer should deal with it under warranty. I also urge any others who feel they have rear suspension noises to get back to the dealer. It’s easy enough to turn up the volume on the radio but that doesn't solve the issue. Apparently VW have a sound recording of the noise and I would be very interested to hear that so at least we all know what VW considers to be the fault.

Would I have purchase this model if I had initially been made aware of this rear end noise. Certainly not unless I could be guaranteed that I would only ever have to drive on smooth road surfaces where I think it’s a fantastic car to drive.

If anyone takes a test drive then turn off the radio, tell the salesman to be quiet and take it for a run over a variety of roads and just listen. Don’t be just impressed with its performance and gadgetry because you will have at some time to drive slowly over poor roads and you don't want to have a surprise like I had. If you like what you hear that's fine but if not then look at another make.

I have made a recording of the bobbling sound that I would like eliminated and you can listen to this on YouTube. I recorder this with an iPhone placed on the top of the rear seats. I have used a high-pass filter on the recording to eliminate actual tyre noise and therefore you can hear this strange bobbling, tapping noise. You will need to turn up your volume to hear what I am going on about but this is the noise that I think others are complaining about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_1cLNtr75Y You can also hear the original recording by downloading the file http://www.the-algarve.co.uk/original-GTI-MK7-recording

My dealer, VW UK and VW Germany are aware of this recording but natuarlly have no comment to make until they can have the vehicle at the dealers next April.

I would be interested to hear from anyone with a view on this matter.

 

[len A]

After having my shocks changed at times I get the same noise as before.Although I think it is better,

 

[blackcat1]

Maybe changing the shocks to other brand? Bilstein B6's?