As I'm looking to buy a TFSI vRS (pre ea888) I went today to see one. The car looked pretty good, well taken care of, no obvious issues, except one. After driving for about 5 min (normal driving) I pulled over and immediately noticed there's a knocking sound coming from the engine, clearly audible in the cabin. If I could compare it with something, I'd say it sounded like a diesel.

I immediately stopped the engine and checked the oil level: under MIN. So, drove back to the dealer and asked them to top it up, which they did. Only, the knocking/tapping noise didn't go away. The dealer assured me the noise is perfectly normal and is the noise of all FSI engines. Now here's the deal, I know FSIs are a bit noisy and I can understand a ticking noise from the injectors area, however this is a clear knocking which, hate to say it again, from the cabin sounds like a diesel.

I've driven two TFSI vRS-es before and I don't remember this noise (although, it's been a while). So, I'd like to kindly ask your opinion about it and for this I've made two small videos. In all fairness, the sound from close to the engine bay sounds worse in the videos, while the sound from inside the cabin sounds less serious (almost not audible in the video). Also, if any kind of aircon is turned on, the sound is very hard to hear from the cabin, but with the aircon turned OFF the Tack-Tack-Tack is certainly there.

<- video 1, close to the engine; the noise I'm wonderign about is the "tack-ing", not the "sewing machine" noise which I suppose is the normal one from the injectors

<- from inside the cabin, sadly it doesn't do the sound justice, it's barely noticeable in the video :(

Thanks in advance!

Lol you sure that ain't no diesel. Lol

On a serious note it is normal sound for a FSI engine.

I've just asked a similar question about my TSI engine octavia and someone replied its quite normal for it to sound a bit 'tappety'.

There are tons of petrol vRS's out there so you can afford to picky.

Knocking aside, I'd prefer to buy one from someone who can be bothered to check the oil before sticking it on the forecourt.

my PD170 is quieter i agree with silver1011 sack it off find another one !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-OCTAVIA-VRS-2006-VERY-CLEAN-5500-/121077763236?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c30cc0ca4

worth a look !

I would walk away from that one, Sounds rough to me, could poss be the high pressure fuel pump cam bucket that has worn. but defo its noisey from the top end

that does sound louder than normal , must have cause some damage due to the oil run low

Thanks all for the answers. Forgot to mention I'm not in the UK, but Switzerland, and there are not that many vRS-es for sale around here. Loads more in Germany, but I really don't trust the boy racers of the unlimited speed autobahns

I guess I'll keep looking then...

There are tons of petrol vRS's out there so you can afford to picky.

Knocking aside, I'd prefer to buy one from someone who can be bothered to check the oil before sticking it on the forecourt.

What he said ;-)

Mine sounds a bit like that (and I mean a bit!). Not as quiet as I'd expect a petrol to be but having listened (sad I know) to other vRSs and Golf GTIs etc, they're all the same so figure theres nothing to worry about. That one does sound pretty rough though - wonder how long/how far its been with below min oil?

If its been low on oil would you not worry something has worn prematurely.

I had a tfsi for a brief period and once the dealers had striped the engine they said I would start having to pay if they I wanted them to dig deeper but they def confirmed there was a big problem.

Just sounds like the EVAP purge valve to me, perfectly normal.

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Umm...I really don't think it was the EVAP valve. That one makes more of a clicking noise, while this was a tapping noise. I know...semantics maybe, but I really don't expect to hear the engine tapping at idle from inside the cabin on a petrol car :(

You would be suprised how loud the valve on mine is. The noise in the cabin maybe unrelated, does it sound like it's coming from the floor area?

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No, it sounds like it's coming from the engine bay. It's surprisingly well "isolated" from other noises which can be heard when looking directly under the bonnet. A friend of mine used to joke about petrol engines that sound like this, he said "sounds like Death"

My 2008 TFSI does not sound like that!! id walk away & look for another one,ive heard quieter diesels!

My 06 tfsi was much quieter. That sounds like a tractor. The fact that there was a low oil level should tell you all you need to know.

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