Here's a strange one.

Brand new vRS - when I corner hard, I get a sound from the opposite side of the car that I swear is the door lock auto-locking (or unlocking).

If I turn hard right at speed, it comes from the left. If I turn hard left, it comes from the right. Seems to be from behind me so sounds like the back doors.

Anyone else experienced this?

Have you got a spare wheel? If so have you made sure the locking wheel nut hasnt fallen in to the tyre well. It happened to me and i got a strante knocking when cornering....

No, I've got the poverty gel and pump combo!

Welcome to the forum.

What country are you in?

(in the UK the Fabia vRS gets a spare wheel as standard.)

I would remove everything that is loose from the rear of the car,

fold down the rear seat,

taking turn to do one and sit in the other seat.

get someone to drive the car while you listen to see what exactly it is making the noise or the approx position.

(or you drive and get someone with a good hearing to sit in the back.)

I take it that the car is set to lock the doors as you drive off.

Once they have locked,

Can you then press the button at the front so that they are unlocked,

then see if it is he same noise.

Maybe the car just needs run in a little more and the suspension will settle.

First find out if it is the Trim, the doors, or a Mechanical/suspension noise.

george

Thanks George - I'm in the UK.

Yes, the doors are set to auto-lock. I'm 90% sure it's a door lock mechanism I'm hearing rather than any other rattle/knocking from suspension. I've had a lot of older cars so I'm used to hearing those.

I'll do some more experiments!

Why no spare wheel & kit in the car as supplied to you?

Is this a brand new car just received very recently,

how many miles has it done?

george

No idea. Spare wheel is an optional extra in the UK. Most likely to reduce the weight and keep emissions down.

The thing is the Spare Wheel is standard in a Fabia mk2 vRS in the UK,

or it was untill yesterday when i was last in a showroom looking at one.

the Co2 emissions is 148 g/km and the tax is £140 a year. 'F Band', Unless that has changed.

Polo, Ibiza, A1 with the same engine is 139 g/km. £125, 'E Band'.

I would ask the Dealer where your Spare Wheel and Jack is.

george

Hmmm I'll give it a try.

I would remove the door cards and then get someone at the back seat to check while turning. Might as well be something loose on both sides but then again that would never sound like lock/unlock.

As far as I know all doors lock/unlock together - how is it possible for the doors to unlock individually?

With a 'brand new car' i would be dismantling/touching nothing myself.

Other than the obvious looking around, in the wheel well, adjust the tyre pressures, give the car a chance to get run in..

I would try and find the source of the noise through the senses,

then hand it to the dealership for them to rectify if any faults there, (tell them or not what you think it is that is wrong)

let them use their expertise, and get a courtesy car while they sort it out.

If they say they can not find anything, then certainly tell them what you think it is, if the noise is still there.

george

The thing is the Spare Wheel is standard in a Fabia mk2 vRS in the UK,

or it was untill yesterday when i was last in a showroom looking at one.

the Co2 emissions is 148 g/km and the tax is £140 a year. 'F Band', Unless that has changed.

Polo, Ibiza, A1 with the same engine is 139 g/km. £125, 'E Band'.

I would ask the Dealer where your Spare Wheel and Jack is.

george

Agreed,the UK vRS model has a spare wheel as standard...but Manufacturers often say they reserve the right to change specs without notice.So perhaps this has just,only just, happened.When you ordered the car did you order it from a brochure that stated spare wheel included?In which case you are entitled to one...unless the salesman made it clear that the spec had just changed and you accepted that you were not getting one.

It might be a safety thing? The car might be opening the doors thinking you have had an impact?

The weights in the rear bumper could be loose and knocking together

Thanks all.

I bought the car a week and a half ago - the Skoda website and brochure both have the Fabia vRS as coming with a spacesaver.

I'll ring the dealership and just ask them the question. And as a poster has already said, no way am I dismantling the car - it's got a 3 year warranty!

Annoyingly, I test drove a car that had a space saver, then the one I bought didn't have one.

Anyway. This noise - I will scrutinise it some more, but I'm almost positive it's door locks!

The wheel that it comes with is not a Space saver, it is a steel rim with a proper 195/55R 15 tyre.

(almost the identical Total Diameter, but obviously narrower and needs you to drive slower till the 205/40R 17 is fixed or replaced.)

Best check if someone has swapped over the wheel for the puncture kit at the dealership.

?? How was the Recovery Tow Hook, Locking wheel nut socket & wheel nut cover removing tweezers packaged?

Is there a wheel nut wrench with the car?

Is there anything in the 2 side pockets in the boot?

george

Try locking and unlocking the doors with the button while you are driving and see if any different. If no difference then locks have nothing to do with the noise.

& the locking and unlocking is pretty noisy, because for some reason i was doing it yesterday when driving.

With super hearing it could just be rear brakes and ESP working,

but that would be something if you were driving really hard and hearing that.

Seat belt buckles would be something i would be looking at,

Rear pacel shelf clipped in properly.

(& as suggested, the Rear Weights, but that really would be a 'Fail' by the factory if they were loose,

and that is involved getting in to check them.)

New rear suspension noises would still be my favourite.

*** For the sake of safety i would go and check the tightness of the wheel nuts.

Easiest done if the Tweezers & Wheel nut wrench is supplied with the car.***

george

One easy solution, don't corner so fast

On a different note, I did a rapid merge to a dual carriageway from a petrol station today and had the boot fly open!!! I had to pull onto the hard shoulder and close it.

Think I might have blipped the boot unlock button when locking the car by mistake, and the acceleration forces made the boot fly open. Embarassing!

Wow, that must have been a hell of an acceleration to fling the boot open .

Car should definately have a spare wheel. Cheeky dealers - did it pass the PDI ? Surely thats a box to tick that says spare wheel.

Good luck with the noise, keep us posted.

Wow, that must have been a hell of an acceleration to fling the boot open .

Yes it was enthusiastic. It's funny as I was accelerating suddenly there was a huge whoosh sound... at first I thought what a cool noise, then realised it was wind noise through the rear hatch!

Yes it was enthusiastic. It's funny as I was accelerating suddenly there was a huge whoosh sound... at first I thought what a cool noise, then realised it was wind noise through the rear hatch!

Come to think about it perhaps it is a hidden feature - additional rear downforce to stabilise the car during super hard acceleration

Well just an update - the noise has never happened since! So no idea what it was - it could have been a piece of luggage or another item in the car for a few days.

 

But the good news is - I went back to my dealer and asked for a proper spare/jack and was given one without quibble!

 

So thanks to all of you for making me aware of that.