As I have posted before I am considering the purchase of a Yeti. I am a bit concerned about the increasing number of posts mentioning squeaks and rattles developing in cars that are effectively brand new.

For better or worse I am one of those people who cannot cope with squeaks and rattles - they drive me mad! My experience of VAG group cars is not good in this regard. My wife ran a Polo and then 2 Golfs (mk 4) and despite the great build quality the motoring press always write about this is largely perceived by the public rather than actual. We also run a VW California which is coming up to 3 years old and is developing horrendous creaks from the dash and side panels. On the other hand my nearly 6 year old Subaru has absolutely no creaks, groans, rattles, or indeed wind noise - even though it has frameless doors.

Is there anyone out there who has experience of VAG products who can compare the extent of squeaks and creaks on the Yeti compared with other recent VAG makes? What concerns me in particular is that the higher spec Yetis are not cheap - if they were more of a budget purchase like previous Skodas one could justify 'taking a punt'.

Any views on this gratefully received. I am of course aware that it is probably too soon to come to any firm conclusions about 'actual' build quality.

Regards

GeorgeG

As I have posted before I am considering the purchase of a Yeti. I am a bit concerned about the increasing number of posts mentioning squeaks and rattles developing in cars that are effectively brand new.

For better or worse I am one of those people who cannot cope with squeaks and rattles - they drive me mad! My experience of VAG group cars is not good in this regard. My wife ran a Polo and then 2 Golfs (mk 4) and despite the great build quality the motoring press always write about this is largely perceived by the public rather than actual. We also run a VW California which is coming up to 3 years old and is developing horrendous creaks from the dash and side panels. On the other hand my nearly 6 year old Subaru has absolutely no creaks, groans, rattles, or indeed wind noise - even though it has frameless doors.

Is there anyone out there who has experience of VAG products who can compare the extent of squeaks and creaks on the Yeti compared with other recent VAG makes? What concerns me in particular is that the higher spec Yetis are not cheap - if they were more of a budget purchase like previous Skodas one could justify 'taking a punt'.

Any views on this gratefully received. I am of course aware that it is probably too soon to come to any firm conclusions about 'actual' build quality.

Regards

GeorgeG

I've ahd 3 Skodas and they all had one creak/squeak/rattle each as I recall!

the first was the rear seat back mounting and was cured with masking tape; the second in the driver'sdoor trim which I ignored as it was mild and occasional. My new Octavia has developed something recently (6 months old) where the front passenger door seems to touch the side of the dashboard. Not sure of the cause or location yet but it's irritating so will get it checked. otherwise pretty rock solid: nearly 10 years motoring between them.

Edited 7 April, 201016 yr by helix

im no expert here, but having driven 100's of cars in the last 25 yrs, i can honestly say the test drive i had last week, it was certainly quiet/creek free etc etc...certainly alot smoother than my 07 ford focus zetec ..id say if u havnt test drove one...go do it!!!!

The problem with this type of thing is that they tend to be unique to each individual car. A squeak may occur in a particular place in one Yeti and not in another 3,000. It depends on the person in the factory on that particular day doing the job properly and having the parts that fit exactly as they should.

There are so many parts to a car that it is staggering that there are not more squeaks and rattles. Each part that is screwed together has the potential to squeak. The build quality in the Skoda's seem pretty high to me and that is a good sign, it shows they are not skimping on the components. This would give the car a better chance than most of being squeak free.

To generalise that Subaru's are better because your particular one has not had a squeak does not really stand up. Is every Subaru squeak free? That can not be guaranteed. Also remember that no one is going to put up a thread stating, "my car has no squeaks". That would be fairly pointless.

I accept that you are looking for a theme here but I suspect you are looking a little too harshly. You may also be better going for a middle of the road spec, still higher than most of the competition, if you have some worries rather than going for the top of the range model. Look at the SE which has most of what you will ever need.

My experience with Skoda has been and is absolutely first class.

I drove an Octavia Combi 140PD for 4 years and 120,000 km. Except for a bonnet release cable, which puled loos the first week, and was immediately fixed, there was absolutely nothing wrong with that car - NOTHING. No squeeks or rattles, no brake pads or rotors replaced, nothing other than the 30,000 km scheduled service stops.

The Yeti has had its little problems:

The xenon light, which has not yet been fixed, but is a small irritation, easily worked around.

There was a loose clamp on the turbo outlet, which was tightened, and has been fine ever since.

There are no squeeks or rattles and the car performs very well in all respects. It feels surprisingly spaceous from the inside and is surprisingly small handy on the outside. Maneuvering in VERY tight spaces on the Spanish mountain roads and in the white villages was a breeze.

To generalise that Subaru's are better because your particular one has not had a squeak does not really stand up. Is every Subaru squeak free?

Not in my experience. Our Subaru Forester had the most persistent squeak from the instrument binnacle that the dealer could never cure. Our Mercedes SLK was the worst for squeaks. In fact, the only new car we've had that didn't squeak is our current Peugeot 207cc - not a make renowned for build quality!!

In my opinion, it's just luck. More important is to ask whether Skoda dealers are good at fixing squeaks. Do they get adequate support from Skoda UK technical department to resolve these types of problem?

There are no squeeks or rattles and the car performs very well in all respects. It feels surprisingly spaceous from the inside and is surprisingly small handy on the outside.

When Nissan launched the Micra, what 6 years ago, the advertising campaign combined words to make new ones. Things like Safe and Space to form the word "Spafe". Really daft that one, but there was one word I really love, as it described my Audi A2 to a T and will also now describe the Yeti in my view (as you did just there Agerbundsen):

Compact and Spacious gives you Compacious.

Thanks for the replies which are fairly re-assuring.

Harvey, I beg to differ, you CAN generalise about Subaru's build qulatity. I know several owners and my son in law and his extended family ( farmers and race horse trainers) all run various models. They are all bomb -proof and they don't have sqeaks and rattles!

Before anyone says " buy another Subaru then", as I am now retired and have to accept that the level of taxation on fuel in this country can only go up , I have to be realistic and look for something that is close to the Forester in concept, but cheaper to run.

BTW, there are increasing numbers of mentions of the Yeti on Subaru forums, so it appears I will not be the first or last to be tempted by the attractions of said beast.

I've had 28 different cars over an 18 year period. Ranging from Peugeots, Renualts etc - to BMW's, Audi's and Mercedes. All of which were either brand new (company cars) or nearly new privately purchased. I can categorily say that not 1 of these cars has not had some squeak, rattle or noise of some sort to one degree or other.

As others had said it varies from car to car (even of the same model) - one of my colleagues had an identical 1 Series BMW to mine a few years ago. Had loads of issues, where as mine had none that were serious enough to recall.

'Luck of the draw' i think it's called.

Harvey, I beg to differ, you CAN generalise about Subaru's build qulatity. I know several owners and my son in law and his extended family ( farmers and race horse trainers) all run various models. They are all bomb -proof and they don't have sqeaks and rattles!

Well, as I've already posted, our 2006 Subaru Forester (costing £25k) had squeaks from the instrument binnacle which the dealer just couldn't fix. And our Subaru Impreza had water leaks from the driver/passenger side windows. No amount of adjusting by the dealer could ever stops these leaks. I was very un-impressed with Subaru build quality.

Come Saturday I'll finally be able to assess the Yeti build quality.

I must say squeaks and rattles and road noise too all annoy me but generally speaking I rather blame road surfaces than car manufacturers. It's amazing what cars get put through on a day to day basis and compared to any other consumer product they are pretty much unique in that respect.

I don't own a Yeti (yet) but haven't noticed any squeaks or rattles on the couple of test drives I've had. I also love the design of the Yeti's dashboard and the materials used in the interior, especially the silver trim bit on the dash of the Elegance spec cars, gorgeous

Tarbat, I take your point. I'm obviously lucky. I'm interested in that you are replacing your Forester with a Yeti, as I am considering. Is you Forester a turbo or n/aspirated? I've not had a chance to try a 1.2 as no local dealers have one. Presumably you found the performance adequate. I am inclined to go for a petrol model as I don't particularly like the NVH of diesel. I very much liked the 1.8 TSI, but there would be little point in this from the point of view of economy cf my XT Forester.

How did you find the ride quality on 50 asppect tyres compared with the Forester? I am used to 60 profile tyres and a comfortable ride.

Look forward to any comments you may have.

HectorG

I would have to be honest and say that my Yeti does have a creak from the r/h side of the dash which appears to be road surface dependant.

I will sort it but it's not as bad as my Passat.

I have to say though that the build quality is imho extremely good.

John

The last Subaru I went in banged and crashed all over the place, couldn't hear a squeak anywhere....

mind you it had no trim, a huge roll cage and some nutter behind the steering wheel who liked aiming at trees at silly speeds!!!!!

Terrible sueak and rattle from a 2010 140 bhp Yeti. Very annoying. Could almost not hear it over the rattle of something under the bonnet. Forget it.

My 9 year Audi has less rattles. Nuf said.

Mike

GeorgeG

We sold the Forester 2 years ago, when the chancellor announced the VED increase to £400 :( It was the 2.5 turbo, automatic, so went like .......!! Our car for the last 2 years has been a 1.6 Peugeot 207cc, which has similar performance to the 1.2 Yeti. Obviously I miss the awesome performance of the Forester, but for the driving we do up here, I just didn't need it. So expensive to run, etc.

The 1.2 Yeti was the only option for me, since we always drive automatics. The good fuel consumption and low VED are important to me, now that I'm retired. When I had the Forester I was earning good money!!!

I can give a better comparison between the Forester and Yeti after Saturday when I finally take delivery.

tarbat

Like you I acquired the Forester when running costs were less important. Now I am retired I am determined to give as little of my money as possible to the government in tax (I believe about 75p of the cost of a litre of petrol is tax!). Fortunately for me, my Forester is pre- March 2006 so my road tax last month was 'only' £215.

The difficulty for me is that I have to justify 'liberating' money I have invested to change my car. I therefore have to make reasonably substantial savings in running costs to make up the loss of interest in my investments. Consequently, I was particularly interested in the 1.2 TSI., Like you, I must have auto as I have not driven manuals for 25 years and I look forward to reading any feedback you post on your new Yeti as regards both performance and quality issues. I am sure your comments will be very pertinent to me as a fellow Forester driver.

Keep us posted!

Hi George,

I also don't like squeaks and rattles. My yaris rattled, my Jazz rattled, my golf plus rattled, my monster doesn't....yet! I

t's the luck of the draw!

Rattles and squeaks? Not yeti (5000 miles).

I wouldnt expect to pay 20k for a new car with squeaks and rattles. Either the price is wrong or the pre- release testing is inadequate. Some people on here have a low opinion of French cars but 5 years ago I bought a new Citroen and ran it for over 3 years with no problems of any kind only visiting the dealer for servicing and a new alternator on a recall. I couldnt fault the fit and finish. Paint quality was also good. The only thing that wasnt as good as Skoda was the quality of the interior materials but with an on the road price of 8k with auto lights, auto wipers and climate control air con I wasnt complaining.

As I have posted before I am considering the purchase of a Yeti. I am a bit concerned about the increasing number of posts mentioning squeaks and rattles developing in cars that are effectively brand new.

For better or worse I am one of those people who cannot cope with squeaks and rattles - they drive me mad! My experience of VAG group cars is not good in this regard. My wife ran a Polo and then 2 Golfs (mk 4) and despite the great build quality the motoring press always write about this is largely perceived by the public rather than actual. We also run a VW California which is coming up to 3 years old and is developing horrendous creaks from the dash and side panels. On the other hand my nearly 6 year old Subaru has absolutely no creaks, groans, rattles, or indeed wind noise - even though it has frameless doors.

Is there anyone out there who has experience of VAG products who can compare the extent of squeaks and creaks on the Yeti compared with other recent VAG makes? What concerns me in particular is that the higher spec Yetis are not cheap - if they were more of a budget purchase like previous Skodas one could justify 'taking a punt'.

Any views on this gratefully received. I am of course aware that it is probably too soon to come to any firm conclusions about 'actual' build quality.

Regards

GeorgeG

Wow you've opened a real can of worms, haven't you !!

3k now on my 170 TDI 4x4 Elegance. No squeaks or rattles so far except rear centre roof mounted seatbelt buckle which flaps and makes a bit of noise over rough surfaces.

Had a 1.4 petrol Seat Ibiza 12 years ago and from new the gearbox growled so it was louder than the engine. Dealers advice was..." Switch radio on and you won't hear it ! " Cheeky S*D.

My son was a mechanic for a well known French brand. Their ' cure ' for squeaks was a squirt of Pledge furniture polish. It works but needs regular applications.

Our new Yeti - 250 miles has a rattle from somewhere lowish in front and off to the right side of the driver, base of A pillar kind of area. Have to say disappointed about that.

Having said that all cars rattle in my experience (except 2 I have owned) these include cars in excess of 50k (BMW X5). It used to bother me but have learned to live with it because again only my experience dealers are unable to rectify the problems.

My current BMW rattles, can't be arsed to book it, inconvenience myself only for the dealer not to fix it.

Just got back from holiday, had a Merc E class car owned by the hotel collect us from the airport - it rattled on Mallorca's billiard smooth roads!

Oh, the two cars I have owned that were resolutely silent - a Subaru Legacy and a Subaru Impreza.

You see the original poster makes a very good point about actual and perceived build quality. Often magazines will bang on about build quality and yes on the surface the mterials used will be excellent and tightly fitted, also they are most likely 'press' cars which have been 'sorted' shall we say. A case in point was a Golf R32 I owned, beautifully made interior, looked fabulous but after a few thousand miles rattled and squeeked like a good un!

Edited 9 April, 201016 yr by octy888

My car has several rattles and noises. One coming from the headrest of the passenger seat. Others from the doorpanel driverseat, other from other side back doorpanel.

Then some rattle from the back seat, i am still not sure where it comes from, seems to be the middle seat. With increasing temperatures, noises get worse.

All very annoying and they should not be there in a new car. After the "inventory" has been made i'll go to the dealer to have all fixed.

After having 3 Skodas and waiting for my 4th I can say build quality is very good unlike a Peugeot 306 estate I had from new that was so bad I only kept it 9 months.

My first Skoda was a 1.8T Octavia estate 4X4 brilliant car.

Number 2, another Octavia estate, 2 litre diesel 4X4, another very good car.

Number 3, My wife's Fabia 2, diesel, very slight rattle from inside the front passenger door, which she can't hear, but overall a very good car.

I am waiting for my Monster and if it is as good as those before I will be a happy bunny.

Chris.