Low frequency 'boom' in cabin

[Alpha2110]

22 hours ago, guitarman001 said:

Firstly on a separate note, I'm not really hearing from the garage regarding the dent in the door. Might be getting fobbed off but hope not. 

 

Tonight I went out with 4x 2.5kg weights and a 12kg Bulgarian bag. Yes, this is what it's come down to. 

I put the weights on the shelf then in the foam space under the boot flap. 

I put the bag on the boot floor, and on the shelf (at the back and then the front of the shelf). 

 

I couldn't say for sure if any of that made a difference, to be honest. I *think* putting the bag closest to the rear window helped more. You could see it bobbing up and down as I drove. Taking the shelf off completely didn't make much difference - in fact, I think it may have made it worse. 

 

To be honest, I couldn't completely recreate the noise to my satisfaction. 

 

And during this entire time, it started to rain. Came in late feeling like a t!t. I should be spending time with my fiance, not dealing with this rubbish. 

 

Do you think if I wrote to SKODA UK and referenced this thread and told them the problem, they could advise on what the issue is and how I could fix it at my own expense? 

 

FYI my friend recently got an Audi A6 and it is much quieter in comparison. They're pretty much the same car but the Audi does feel more solid. Next time I'd spend a bit more. I just want this fixed. 

I understand you frustration like me your stuck where if you get shot of it you get whacked with the depreciation. I think the noise is from a number of sources, i messed around with ratchet straping the rear seats d ring to the boot floor, stoping the boot blind flaping next to the seat,  and sound proofing, all of which made very little difference indeed. Its probably related to the rear shocks preload, and the high tensile thiner guage metal used in the monocoque. Eather way its the pits of of a car, coupled with the wind noise from the wing mirrors, and all the other crapy trivial issues that don't need to he there.

 

High grip, or corrugated tarmac is especially bad, i think the only way you can definatly tell is if you wired the car up with vibration sensors and a decent acoustic mic and correlated the source and noise.

 

The A6 is a diffrent car from the ground up, the mk3 skoda is mqb platform, golf, leon, a3, and even then i recon all the good tolrence components go in the audi vw cars and all the bad ones go in the seat and skoda. The skoda is the price it is for a reason and vw arnt going to risk poor sales on its flag ship medium size car because everyone has bought octavias 5kplus cheeper.

[guitarman001]

Alpha2110 what was your story? Did you sell shortly after buying? 

 

This might sound ridiculous but I've also had a sore back... I never linked it but I realise it's since I got the car. Could it be the suspension? I feel it's not as good as the Ford I had (I wish I just kept that old banger running now - it was great). 

 

Agree with what you write! Last chance saloon might be WeBuyAnyCar some time soon and I'll have to take quite a hit. And considering what else is going on in my life right now, I'd rather it didn't come to this.

[guitarman001]

I mailed the Edinburgh Skoda garage again today but no reply. It was regarding a return. 

I don't want to take the day off work for the tech to say he can't hear the thrum - it'd be a waste of time. 

 

I'm going to "webuyanycar" it - £850 loss. Would be £650 if Edinburgh Skoda fund the dent repair, which they were going to get looked at, anyway. They could just deposit the dent repair in my account then never hear from me again. 

 

Such a shame - something's just not right, though. Many people would argue but it's just not good - poor acoustics which actually give you earache, pressure build causing the ear-pop, and I think the suspension isn't the best as I do feel the bumps and I swear I get a sore back every drive. Other than those things it's great - looks great, nice features, great engine. Absolute shame.

Edited 5 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[Alpha2110]

On 04/04/2017 at 21:46, guitarman001 said:

Alpha2110 what was your story? Did you sell shortly after buying? 

 

This might sound ridiculous but I've also had a sore back... I never linked it but I realise it's since I got the car. Could it be the suspension? I feel it's not as good as the Ford I had (I wish I just kept that old banger running now - it was great). 

 

Agree with what you write! Last chance saloon might be WeBuyAnyCar some time soon and I'll have to take quite a hit. And considering what else is going on in my life right now, I'd rather it didn't come to this.

Unfortunatly i dident sell and left it, and i have had the car a year its lost 7k. I originally thought it was noisy tyres and chainged 4 brand new tyres with goodyear and that actually made a difference, how ever the over presure is still there, so somtimes i turn the climate control off to see if that's it,  it sort of helps. Again its lots of little things that add up to something big.  Dont waste time with the dealer they cant do anything and won't.

 

Loosing 800 quid is better than the stress and turmoil of dealing with this car dealerships. The trade in prices i have been offered are derisory on a par with we buy any car, being fair it was bmw.

 

I thought i was buying the new saab, however what i actualy bought was a agricultural tractor with no refinement at all, basicaly there a taxi for a good reason.

[guitarman001]

WBAC low-balled me, would be £940 loss. I refused on principle. So either I try to sell privately on autotrader (but who has that cash lying around...) or take a hit trading in. But for what....

Honda's are 13-14k and diesel (not sure that's a good bet now), VW have poor reliability, toyota meant to be boring, Focus is brilliant but poor mpg and I read about coolant issues on the new engines. 

I like the TSi engine but don't think I fancy another brand that uses them.

 

I feel I have to shift this as soon as possible.

[guitarman001]

I did query tonight if I was being harsh but no, the problem is there. Even worse, I seem to be developing a sore back. I never got this in 10 years driving a Focus.

[guitarman001]

Right!!!!!

 

I found a garage who will take my Octavia for £10k, only ~£500 less than what I paid. Great garage. 

I'd be going for an Audi A3 1.4 TFSI which gets great reviews. I THINK it's the same engine so if I got it, I'd hope for 55mpg+. 

It's smaller, no leather seats. It's great build quality. No folding mirrors. Basically, the Elegance spec is really great and I'm loathe to lose that. Even tried the sat nav on the way back which was unobtrusive and worked well. 

 

So I'd be shelling out an extra £3.5k + £500 (the "loss") for the A3... it was definitely quieter than the Octavia. No deep sounds when going over bumps. Over rough ground, no low frequency rumble. 

 

I'm so undecided... it's the best offer I'll get on the Octavia. Do I get the dent fixed, put in my own lumbar support and seat cushion (to minimise the vibration I feel through the suspension).... (those are not biggies)... and then just live with the low-freq boom? £4k.... I just don't know!!

[mikenippard]

26 minutes ago, guitarman001 said:

In my opinion you should just bite the bullet and get rid of it. This what I did. You are lucky you are only losing £500

You will never fix the awful low frequency boom, as like like me, you are unfortunate enough to suffer form this.

Regards

Mike

Right!!!!!

 

I found a garage who will take my Octavia for £10k, only ~£500 less than what I paid. Great garage. 

I'd be going for an Audi A3 1.4 TFSI which gets great reviews. I THINK it's the same engine so if I got it, I'd hope for 55mpg+. 

It's smaller, no leather seats. It's great build quality. No folding mirrors. Basically, the Elegance spec is really great and I'm loathe to lose that. Even tried the sat nav on the way back which was unobtrusive and worked well. 

 

So I'd be shelling out an extra £3.5k + £500 (the "loss") for the A3... it was definitely quieter than the Octavia. No deep sounds when going over bumps. Over rough ground, no low frequency rumble. 

 

I'm so undecided... it's the best offer I'll get on the Octavia. Do I get the dent fixed, put in my own lumbar support and seat cushion (to minimise the vibration I feel through the suspension).... (those are not biggies)... and then just live with the low-freq boom? £4k.... I just don't know!!

I am amazed this issue is still going three years on. I had this problem with my 1.4 tsi estate from June 2014, tried all sorts of solutions, but in the end got rid of it

in Jan 15 as I could no longer stand it. I was so dissapointed, but concluded this was an inherent design fault. I lost money of course, but was so glad it was gone.

Good luck to you all!

[guitarman001]

What did you get instead? 

[mikenippard]

Once I got rid of it I was car less, so I just got a run around which was a Hyundai I30 to recoup my losses.

I now have a 2016 Nissan Pulsar 1.6 petrol 190hp bonkers Q car.

 

 

 

 

[guitarman001]

Right!

 

Test drove another Audi A3 1.4 TFSI petrol. 

No eco mode but if all it does is control throttle, it's no biggie. 

Not sure I like electronic handbrake. 

Definitely a lot quieter and less cabin vibration than the Octavia. 

Very well built. 

No leather & alacantra seats and less of a spec than the Elegance Octavia (no folding mirrors, no touch screen etc). 

Smaller than the Octavia - not sure how big an issue this is. It's maybe a tad too small, whereas Octavia is very spacious. 

Several £k more than the Octavia. 

It felt slightly under-powered compared to the Octavia - I might be talking rubbish here, though.. more of a sedate drive. 

Audi depreciates less but costs more so not sure if it evens out. 

 

In all honesty, if it weren't for the cabin boom and ride (not convinced what my sore back is due to..) I'd be a very happy camper. I feel I'd be giving up a great spec car for a more expensive one that, while quieter, has less of a wow factor. Can I live with the cabin noise............

 

If I don't do a trade before Tuesday (honeymoon) I'll leave the car with Skoda. They'll fix the dent and they want to ride in the car with me to check the sound. By the way... the trader today (a genuinely good guy) said he could hear the cabin boom - not too much, but just enough. He noticed my tyres have uneven wear, one or two are budget and one has a nail in it! Still, I'm not convinced it's the tyres... but if I keep it to test this theory that will cost 4x tyres + fitting + tracking & camber adjust. I'd rather not spend another £3-4k if I can help it but to get new tyres etc then discover the issue remains... 

 

On another note... I once again tried a Civic diesel. And that will be the last time. Too big and bulky and whilst excellent mpg (65+ for a short trip!) the diesel absolutely stank and I feel petrol is a better drive. So - no diesel for me.

[Alpha2110]

The audi is a good car every thing the skoda should have been, im going bmw or merc when i get shot of mine. Glad you have it sorted.

[guitarman001]

That's the thing, though - apart from this issue, I think the Skoda is great and prefer driving the Octavia. Love the leather & alacantra seats etc. 

I've also been recommended to change all 4 tyres and get tracking & camber done... I'm tempted to do that and if the issue persists, just stick with it for a while. 

Can't imagine spending another £3-4k on an Audi that's the same engine as this with less stuff to it (no leather seats, no folding mirrors etc)... but then it's maybe less and more solidly built. 

 

Basically by tomorrow I'll have to decided to either trade for an Audi or buy 4 tyres etc and keep the Skoda...

For the record, I don't think 4 new tyres will solve it.

Edited 9 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[glosrich]

I used to notice the noise when I first got mine, especially on rough roads. But you get used to it and kind of tune it out.

It's a budget car, and this is the sacrifice.

Or maybe mine has improved with use.

Definitely worth spending sometime checking the hatch is tight shut, and get some decent tyres.

It only really happens between 20-40mph, above that the car cruises nicely. 

It's no Lexus, but acceptable.

[ExSEAT]

Mines been bad recently since its 1st service. Turns out the tyres have been inflated way beyond what I would normally have them.

 

Have to disagree with the above sentiment however. I had the same issue with SEAT owners over problems with my Leon. The Leon was a 22k car brand new and at one point had around 9 issues at the same time. They told me 'what do you expect? Its a budget car' well forgive me for being old fashioned but 22k on a hatchback is not budget, neither is 25k for my VRS. Its those kind of attitudes that have allowed manufacturers to get away with inherent build quality problems.

 

Budget would be the 6k brand new fiat panda, or the sandero. They always get great power survey results because their owners expect nothing having spent 8k. 

[glosrich]

ExSeat you are correct they should engineer these problems out. But why would they, they need to justify charging more for Audi.

But relatively speaking isnt paying £22k for a Leon or £25k for a VRs is too much when the boggo model starts at approx £17k?

Alright they might be faster and have more bells and whistles, but the same flaws remain.

I always wince when someone spends the best part of £30k on a VRs 230. 

Think of all the proper cars you can buy for that if you go maybe 1 year used?

[guitarman001]

Got mine for 10.4k which is a good price, about £500 below typical. But now I see it's because I need 4 new tyres and a re-alignment.... 

 

I'll drive it to work today but this morning's thought is.... I really trusted the guy at the garage yesterday and all I've had is problems with this car so I'm half tempted to just get the Audi off him.

 

Honeymoon tomorrow so let's see..

It's annoying as if it is the tyres, it's a gamble of another several hundred quid which might not work out... At least this guy puts good tyres on all his cars and they're all well services before he sells - he has to have a good rep, being an independent. So I could be chucking a good car away all because skoda garage skimped on a few wheels etc. A budget tyre was pointed out to me before I bought but this guy pointed out the uneven wear on all three and he is right, I can see it. It really should have been brought to light.

 

I'll need to check insurance costs out for the Audi, also...

 

Saying all that... Having just got into work, was getting 54mpg out of it. Would be gutted to trade, only to get 40s or of the Audi (same same engine but don't know what it gets). It's no excuse that the noise is mainly for lower speeds, but my main commute is 30 miles motorway/bypass so there is an argument for that. 

Edited 10 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[glosrich]

Its not just the tyres, there is a design fault with the hatch, that causes it to rattle making the booming and pressure.

 

Decent tyres and alignment will help, but it wont get rid of the noise.

 

[WillM82]

1 minute ago, glosrich said:

Its not just the tyres, there is a design fault with the hatch, that causes it to rattle making the booming and pressure.

 

Decent tyres and alignment will help, but it wont get rid of the noise.

 

 

Presumably though this was sorted on later (mine is a 2013 and does it) and post-facelift models.

 

If so, presumably there was a part change (eg. a counterweight in the rear tailgate trim?) that could potentially be retrofitted?

 

Anyone know if there were such changes?

[guitarman001]

Mine is 2014 model. 

God I really hate this uncertainty.

[WillM82]

15 minutes ago, guitarman001 said:

Mine is 2014 model. 

God I really hate this uncertainty.

 

Mine was November build, December register, not far off a 2014, originally registered in Scotland on a GB '63' plate (I never did get round to re-registering it on an NI plate)

 

Still early enough as I don't think the mk3 was launched until 2013?

 

I've adjusted my rear stoppers so it doesn't buffer with pressure anymore, but I still get a vibration from the bootlid.

I still want to remove the interior rear tailgate trim as I'm not convinced it isn't buzzing off the back window, but I can't find any workshop manual.

I think the plastic clips are easy enough to pop off, but it appears that the lock catch is part of the trim.

[guitarman001]

I thought it was worse if you tightened the stoppers...? Apologies if that's what you mean. 

So are you ok with it or miffed or...? 

 

This is really going to be a last-minute decision for me!

 

Insurance on the Audi is less than the Skoda. Though workmates telling scare stories of how much they cost to repair. 

Edited 10 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[imikk3]

37 minutes ago, WillM82 said:

 

Mine was November build, December register, not far off a 2014, originally registered in Scotland on a GB '63' plate (I never did get round to re-registering it on an NI plate)

 

Still early enough as I don't think the mk3 was launched until 2013?

 

I've adjusted my rear stoppers so it doesn't buffer with pressure anymore, but I still get a vibration from the bootlid.

I still want to remove the interior rear tailgate trim as I'm not convinced it isn't buzzing off the back window, but I can't find any workshop manual.

I think the plastic clips are easy enough to pop off, but it appears that the lock catch is part of the trim.

The is a useful info in the workshop sticky thread where you can download the relevant info you need or you can use this which is just copied from there 

 

http://www.fileshare.ro/e31335605

[WillM82]

2 minutes ago, guitarman001 said:

I thought it was worse if you tightened the stoppers...? Apologies if that's what you mean. 

So are you ok with it or miffed or...? 

 

This is really going to be a last-minute decision for me!

 

I adjusted the stoppers 1/4 of a turn until it seemed a bit better, but the bootlid really needed slammed, then it wound it back 1/4 of a turn.

 

The buffeting doesn't seem as bad.

 

Just a vibration now, sounds like either the bootlid or some trim vibrating off the bootlid.

[guitarman001]

This whole thing really is a bit of a joke.