Low frequency 'boom' in cabin

[Leonblue]

Lol, and fill the boot with rain water spray off the roads, then start a new thread "my car keeps steaming up!"

Well it's somewhat less permanent than drilling a hole

[snala]

I think earlier in this post, somebody had found that adjusting the rubber tailgate buffers, i.e the bits that the tailgate closes onto, sorted the problem. I have to admit that IMO the tailgate moving about makes more sense to me than air pressure. Lets face it this car has one of the biggest hatch tailgates in the business, such a large piece of metal / glass is bound to be prone to flexing and other effects.

Yes I was thinking along these lines as well. This is the part that's moving slightly enough to compress the air or just rattle as it has a big enough area for sure and can be aligned differently in every car. It's super heavy too.

Only thing is, didn't others say the combi has the noise too and that tailgate is vertical so not quite the same effect/potential??

Edited 7 June, 2014 by snala

[andyvee]

Yep - affects Combi & Hatch, multilink and beam rear suspension.

[mikenippard]

 I picked my new estate from Mansfield on Friday. I was previously unaware of this post, but the first thing I noticed when I drove away was the low frequency noise, that made my ears ring. I describe the resonance as very similar to the buffeting you get with a sunroof open before the wind deflector is deployed. This only occoured up to about 35mph

on less than smooth roads. Once I got going and for the majority of the 200 mile journey home it was fine. In all other respects I was really happy with it.  

When I got home I read the contents of this post. Today I went out on local urban roads and the noise was evident. As suggested, I tried opening the tailgate and closing only on the catch, not fully closed. Drove back home - surprise, surprise - no evidence of the low freqency noise!

Also went out later with hatch closed and still ok, then in the afternoon went out again noise was back, opened the back and partially latched and the noise went away

I am pretty sure this is a build up of pressure which is somehow affected by going over bumpy surfaces

I have also had a good tap around for other suspect items of trim in the boot that could resonate, such as the plastic trim on the rear door,

the raised floor, the spare wheel, tools, wheel well and cover all of which could contribute to the problem. 

I will try some some other ideas when I get time

[mikenippard]

Obviously Skoda Australia knows about this, referred to in

SKODA Octavia 2013 launch review 11/27/2013

 '>> Rear-cabin acoustic resonance'

Apologies if this has already been referred to

 

http://www.skoda.com.au/news/skoda-octavia-2013-launch-review

[andyvee]

Obviously Skoda Australia knows about this, referred to in

SKODA Octavia 2013 launch review 11/27/2013

 '>> Rear-cabin acoustic resonance'

Apologies if this has already been referred to

 

http://www.skoda.com.au/news/skoda-octavia-2013-launch-review

Interesting that they have put that on their own web site!

[ajtrader100]

"If we had one complaint about the Octavia it would be, again, that the level of road noise from the rear of the vehicle is ever-present. It’s a dull resonance that is unlikely to be heard over a boot full of luggage or a backseat of screaming kids. But when you’re on your lonesome cruising the highway it could get tiring."

Quote from that specific website link

[Leonblue]

Still puzzled as to why they don't all do it. Mines got other problems as discussed on other posts but I certainly haven't noticed this problem on mine. I must admit though i'm fed up with this bloody prototype of a car!

[ctx400]

Still puzzled as to why they don't all do it. Mines got other problems as discussed on other posts but I certainly haven't noticed this problem on mine. I must admit though i'm fed up with this bloody prototype of a car!

What kind of problems?

[Leonblue]

Still why does opening a window not cure it if it's air pressure? Noted that some people have removed the parcel shelf and opened the windows, so it can't be due to air  trapped in the boot area. Presumably turning on / off the aircon fan would have an  effect on cabin pressure too if this is the issue. By the way I'm happy to meet up with someone locally and see if we can figure out what is different about my car. If anything it would be an interesting exercise. I just hope that the difference is not the fact that i'm deaf

Edited 8 June, 2014 by Leonblue

[Leonblue]

What kind of problems?

See my long and drawn out post, http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/285844-suspension-steering-issue/. Mine has always handled badly.

Edited 8 June, 2014 by Leonblue

[Andy P]

I don't get the resonance on my 13 plate combi except on some rough anti skid surfaces of if I'm in maybe too high a gear. I personally don't believe it's anything to do with air pressure. I believe it's a combination of a very new chassis which may or may not have inherent problems and skoda skimping on sound insulation to save costs.

[frasreid]

Once again I am stumped. Drove over that same piece of road today again but not as an experiment, more of a coincidence. Three adults and one child in the cabin. The parcel shelf removed and slid in behind the rear seats, and a Bijon (small dog) in the rear. I could not believe the noise. It was easily twice as bad and totally unbearable. Can anyone explain this, as I did not expect the noise to be worse or is it that when the shelf is in position, it acts as a sound barrier ???

[ctx400]

Once again I am stumped. Drove over that same piece of road today again but not as an experiment, more of a coincidence. Three adults and one child in the cabin. The parcel shelf removed and slid in behind the rear seats, and a Bijon (small dog) in the rear. I could not believe the noise. It was easily twice as bad and totally unbearable. Can anyone explain this, as I did not expect the noise to be worse or is it that when the shelf is in position, it acts as a sound barrier ???

I experience the same thing, more people/load in the car = worse noise.

[Telboy5]

My last car, a vauxhall insignia biturbo, had certain booming noises, however this was largely down to the 20 inch alloys so when I got my VRS, I was happy that the road noise was reduced, if not still a little boomy.

 

I have to say though that I have just last 8.5k miles and there is a dramatic improvement so maybe it i related to the suspension and that over time improves??

 

I haven't checked the rest of this topic, all 11 pages, to see the sort of mileages people have on their cars, however all I can say mine has improved by a healthy enough margin for me to be happy enough....

[snala]

Tried the tailgate on just the latch too on a bit where my car is especially bad every day and it's like a different car. No booming noise at all. 

So is it the tailgate touching the rest of the car when its closed properly and having the vibrations channelled into the rear window or the back pillars or something. I don't reckon its air now either, its the tailgate weight making a noise when the car hit bumps. When on the catch, what ever contact area there is isn't enough to generate the sound.

I tried the rubber plugs out a far as they go to lift the door away from the catch a bit but then it won't close so that didn't work. Still thinking.........

[frasreid]

Hi. I tried turning the rubber bump stops on the tailgate out as far as they would go and adjusted the plastic stops at the sides up as far as they would go. No difference. This was referred to in an earlier post but did nothing for mine. Back to the drawing board.

[Leonblue]

Is something loose inside the tailgate such as wiper motor, glass etc. The motor is a fairly heavy item I suppose that would thump if not mounted correctly?

[frasreid]

No. I am reasonaby sure there is nothing loose.

[ski1]

I think that with good damping of boot area (silent coat, dynamat) the noise will be much lower, because as I saw, under carpet the boot area is plain metal without any isolation or dumping stickers. When you hit carpet in the boot area, you get the noise like you hit the drum (same dull noise).

[toni8b]

By the look of some of the replies in here one would get the impression that the car is almost undriveable

 

I must say I dont really notice this problem on my side, but maybe my hearing is not the best of it.

 

Still, is it possible that Skoda still hasnt officially acknowledged existence of the issue after so many customers complaints?

[Daveinuk]

I can't say I am suffering the "boom", which I did experience during test driving the diesel version, but I do seem to suffer a constant vibration when driving over any sort of uneven road, however slight the bumps. It seems to be the whole car, not just a dashboard or other loose trim. This is despite having fitted an anti-vibration pad under the spare wheel and having the genuine Octavia thick rubber bootmat.

When I was washing the car yesterday, I noticed that it doesn't take too much pressure to flex the roof panel or the bonnet and I am wondering if the thickness of the body shell metal could be a factor in many people experiencing the boom and me experiencing the vibration. Most people seem to think the boom/vibration is coming from the rear, but if it is a body shell problem, it could be coming from anywhere. I can't pinpoint the source of the vibration, but it spoiling the car for me.

[willkiwi]

I'm due to pick up an rs wagon next week.  This thread is quite concerning.  I'd be interested in hearing if this "boom" or resonance would have stopped anyone from buying the car had they known about it beforehand.

Edited 15 June, 2014 by willkiwi

[Leonblue]

I can't say I am suffering the "boom", which I did experience during test driving the diesel version, but I do seem to suffer a constant vibration when driving over any sort of uneven road, however slight the bumps. It seems to be the whole car, not just a dashboard or other loose trim. This is despite having fitted an anti-vibration pad under the spare wheel and having the genuine Octavia thick rubber bootmat.

When I was washing the car yesterday, I noticed that it doesn't take too much pressure to flex the roof panel or the bonnet and I am wondering if the thickness of the body shell metal could be a factor in many people experiencing the boom and me experiencing the vibration. Most people seem to think the boom/vibration is coming from the rear, but if it is a body shell problem, it could be coming from anywhere. I can't pinpoint the source of the vibration, but it spoiling the car for me.

Yes I agree with vibration, mines had a wheel bearing and driveshaft replaced, but it still vibrates through the steering wheel and pedals. It's as though the slightest imperfection in the road gets amplified through, there is no such thing as a smooth road in my car. I am running a Polo on hire at the moment and it is much smoother than the Octavia.

[toni8b]

I'm due to pick up an rs wagon next week.  This thread is quite concerning.  I'd be interested in hearing if this "boom" or resonance would have stopped anyone from buying the car had they known about it beforehand.

 

Thats what I am talking about. Havent we all more or less took test rides, and this is a new 40k$ car, and it sounds like its unusable..