Any others notice this or any ideas?

Just finished my first real trip 400 miles in the Superb. Really comfy, great power but saddened by noisy motor .at 65 in 6th, no noise, at 80, no noise but at 70 to about 78 the engine seems noisy. If I change down to 5th things seem to quiet down. Unfortunately fuel consumption is hammered in 5th and the car is just too responsive for a cruise. Driving down the m1 and m42 with all the stupid overhead cameras does not allow the speed to drift too much so the ride ends up quite noisy. Outside of this speed range things are really quiet and refined, I actually don't think I can put up with it for another long journey. I travel a lot for work so am actually really concerned about this issue. The noise is actually there in every gear when sitting at 2000rpmor just above.

Any ideas or suggestions would be most welcome.

Isn't over 70 illegal in this country, so why worry

What engine is it?

Are you sure that it's the engine and not some engine-speed-related resonance in the engine compartment? I had this in my former car and found it was the shroud around the radiator. A little re-positioning and added foam strip solved it once and for all.

What if the OP travels abroad, Jimi182? Speedometers must be accurate to within 10%+2mph in this country, so as they're not allowed to read slow AT ALL, their tolerance must be upward. Hence, a reading of 70mph could actually be 62MPH and an indicated 79MPH could be perfectly legal.

Ray

Cheers Ray. I've heard this before. I'm guess a good sat nav will tell you a more accurate speed?

J

The engine is the 2.0 170. I reckon it could be resonance rather than engine. The speedo over reads by 1 mph ( according to my tom-tom). As for the speed limit, that is the problem, at 70 it is noisy.

I found the same thing in my Octavia VRS estate, sort of an exhaust drone. Whilst trying to reduce road noise in general, I put some second skin damplifier in the boot ( behind the rear seats/spare wheel well ) and it seems to of got rid of most of this noise.

Edited 20 July, 201015 yr by kprida77

Isn't over 70 illegal in this country, so why worry

Over 30 is illegal in much of the UK so why worry. Seriously though, I would image that many Superbs will be bought as long distance cruisers and spend a lot of time on mainland motorways. I know my wife's will put most of its miles on doing 130 on French motorways so noise at this speed will be extremely annoying. I would have the car back to the dealers to sort out.

Any others notice this or any ideas?

Just finished my first real trip 400 miles in the Superb. Really comfy, great power but saddened by noisy motor .at 65 in 6th, no noise, at 80, no noise but at 70 to about 78 the engine seems noisy. If I change down to 5th things seem to quiet down. Unfortunately fuel consumption is hammered in 5th and the car is just too responsive for a cruise. Driving down the m1 and m42 with all the stupid overhead cameras does not allow the speed to drift too much so the ride ends up quite noisy. Outside of this speed range things are really quiet and refined, I actually don't think I can put up with it for another long journey. I travel a lot for work so am actually really concerned about this issue. The noise is actually there in every gear when sitting at 2000rpmor just above.

Any ideas or suggestions would be most welcome.

I recently drove to Northumberland and back in my Superb 170cr. About 380 miles each way, mostly on motorways. I set the cruise control at 75 and enjoyed a quite cruise. I think you must have a problem with something in the car resonating. I recall a problem like that with an S Type Jaguar some year ago. It proved to be some loose trim under the car. It's a job for the dealer to sort out.

I think it's tyre noise, not the engine.

at 70 in 6th my PD140 DSG is more or less silent apart from road noise, same as you go between 70-80mph with just the road noise increasing. Having recently completed a 4225 mile round trip to southern spain and back, i can say the superb was far quieter than the Octavia I used last year for the same trip.

I have noticed the same as the OP. Between 70 and 80 there is definite engine noise, above 80 is quiet and below is fine. I have a 170 DSG too. I may try and test drive another to see if it is the same.

Thanks

I have noticed the same as the OP. Between 70 and 80 there is definite engine noise, above 80 is quiet and below is fine. I have a 170 DSG too. I may try and test drive another to see if it is the same.

Thanks

My Superb 2.0 TDI spends its entire life on motorways around the 65 to 70 mark (kms here so my calcs. are rough). No unusual noises to complain about (although sometimes my wife does jabber a bit). In fact, my car is almost like the old Rollers where you can hear the clock ticking if there was one.

Will experiment on my next motorway run. As a matter of interest, is the overall gearing the same between DSG, 2WD manual and 4x4 manual for the CR170?

Well looked for any loose stuff and apart from a few things not clipped in properly, nothing.

The engine is quite noisy but it's a Diesel, obviously some great soundproofing work done. I tried checking for any distinct difference at just over 2000rpm but listening in the engine bay, no noticeable difference, leads me to think it could be exhaust but it sounds fine from the outside.

It is going to the dealer on Wednesday so hopefully they can identify something. Knowing my luck it will probably go silent all of a sudden. I find the noise quite obvious and it can even be heard over a reasonably loud radio. Hopefully they have another 170 to compare against. If it is the same and can't be fixed, it is bad enough to get rid of the car and that scares me cos I love it to bits. Only a few things I would change, upgrade the sound system, auto dimming rear view mirror, parking sensors on the front, fit the Ipod interface (that's one for Xmas).

Will experiment on my next motorway run. As a matter of interest, is the overall gearing the same between DSG, 2WD manual and 4x4 manual for the CR170?

I tried various motorway speeds in my CR170 4x4 manual at the weekend. I found no clear speed range in which it's noisier than any other. I noticed a slightly throaty engine sound from time to time but that was when the engine was under increased load, as in going up a long motorway incline. On backing off on a level road, it cruised as quietly as I would expect, at all speeds from 55 to 85.

The low-profile tyres are sensitive to surface texture and reinforce my wish for smaller wheels/tyres on the Elegance. There was a very marked contrast in noise between the concrete section of the M25 in Surrey and the newer tarmac section round Heathrow, for example.

I hope you get to the bottom of the problem on your car.

Hi I have the same problem between 70 - 80mph ,its noisy but once over these speeds its fine,must be a tyre or vibration within engine bay at that specific speeds.

skoda superb tdi 115bhp

Well, the feedback from the dealer.

They are passing the query up to Technical Support UK and "The Factory". At least I know that I am not hearing things.

With the workshop manager, went for a drive in my car and then in another Superb, the other car was quieter but did have a little extra noise at the same rev range.

The dealer said he thought it could be something to do with something that cleans the carbon, that kicks in at just over 2000rpm when the car is warm, sorry pal but it's the same from cold. He agreed there was definite noise and even had a fellow workshop guy confirm it. No unusual noise from the engine bay etc, they could not find any loose bits or air leaking anywhere.

So now I have to wait for the technical support / factory to respond and see if this issue is noted anywhere or is new, sounds like a never ending story about to commence. We'll wait and see.

If anyone else has the issue, please contact your dealer and drum up more queries on this, I suspect if I am a one-off nothing too much will happen. Spent another couple of hours on the motorway today and it really does mess with my head. Wish I had got the upgraded sound system.

I also have the 170 CR version of the Superb_II 2.0L and have the same problem at exactly the same speeds. My first thoughts were about something loose/resonating and did find some loose trim under the car which I have tried to fix. My fiddlings did reduced the volume of the drone a little but the sound is still too anoying to drive at 70. As I do not drive that often on Motorways I have not done much more about the problem but I think I will also ask my dealer to take a look now that I see quiet a few owners have the same problem.

Thanks for raising the issue.

I have the same issue with my CR170 and posted a similar topic on 22 May 2009 but with fewer responses. The engine is noisy at, and slightly above, 2000rpm. I think it has quietened a little with age but at 70 on the motorway it is still quieter in 5th than 6th. Unfortunately I couldn't get the dealer to recognise the noise, partly because the roads around the dealership were not particularly appropriate for demonstrating the problem. My guess is that it is a resonance in the exhaust system, probably due to a design or manufacturing fault. I'll take it up with my dealer again.

I have to say I've not noticed this in my CR170 manual and I too spend large ammounts of time on the motorways at about 2000rpm. I'll be keeping an ear out on a run up to Manchester at the weekend now. If I notice anything I'll be sure to report back.

Well, the dealer had the car for a day on Friday. Removed and refitted the DPF (they say it kicks in at 2000rpm) and moved one of the intake hoses. A good effort by the dealer (Startin Skoda).

Net result, at first it seemed quiter but once warmed up and on the motorway, same issue.

Next step, who knows, Skoda UK I guess. I will give my feedback to the dealer on Monday. I am giving it a LONG run on Monday so will have a better idea on various road surfaces, but on M6, M5 today, same issue.

At 68 you think you are in a limo, at 72 you don't. Maybe it's just the problem I have heard of some people being more sensitive to lower frequencies.

Any other suggestions most welcome.

Very frustrating and sad really, it's such a great car otherwise, fun to drive, spacious, comfortable etc etc