Low frequency 'boom' in cabin

[guitarman001]

No problem @CookieMonster87! 

It's a bummer - really is... the Octavia 100% was the best car for me - I'm now finding it difficult to find anything else. 

Previous Focus was £8.5k 8 years ago. Maybe I should reconsider diesel... I do 70 miles a day. 

 

I just checked "Honest John real mpg" (which has been super accurate for me) and it looks like closer to 40mpg tops for the Volvos which is too low for petrol versions for me. That, coupled with the dash, is a deal-breaker for me, I'm afraid. 

 

Civic is the only diesel I think I'd entertain - that or a Ford. But Civic diesels have next to no problems compared to all other brands. 

--> One catch with Civics I've read is that their head-rests and tilted way too far forward, so it's almost like your chin is against your chest!

Edited 22 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[CookieMonster87]

The V40 interior and boot are too small for my needs by the looks of it.

 

If a used Octavia comes up I'll give it a thorough test drive with the wife and take it from there.

 

The Honest John Real MPG is something I use and tend to find fairly accurate too.

[andyh41]

Maybe some people are more sensitive to it than others, but it definitely varies from car to car. When I test drove my first Octavia I noticed the low frequency buffeting noise - fortunately the car I went on to buy was not affected in the same way, but it would still rumble a lot on certain road surfaces. They were both hatches with torsion beam suspension. I now have a VRS combi which is a bit better still.

Edited 22 April, 2017 by andyh41

[guitarman001]

What is it about torsion beam that is bad? What is the alternative? Can alternatives be fitted at a garage or is that not a done thing?

 

The more I look, the more I want to keep it despite the noise. Audi prices are rip-off. 

Is there another Skoda model you guys think I might like that wouldn't have this issue? 

--> Fabia?

Edited 22 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[guitarman001]

Just in wife's Vauxhall Mokka - no low frequency rumble that I can detect. So much nicer on the ears.

 

Fyi I never did get a reply from Skoda UK when I emailed two weeks ago

[Mr Grump]

3 hours ago, guitarman001 said:

What is it about torsion beam that is bad? What is the alternative? Can alternatives be fitted at a garage or is that not a done thing?

 

The more I look, the more I want to keep it despite the noise. Audi prices are rip-off. 

Is there another Skoda model you guys think I might like that wouldn't have this issue? 

--> Fabia?

 

TBH you could look for another Octy and drive on the roads you experience the issue to see if that one is better.

Other than that, a Superb maybe ?

 

FWIW My Octy vRS TSi is going next week, 2 years and 8k miles and no issues whatsoever, gonna miss her, but the bear is arriving

[guitarman001]

What's the bear?

[Mr Grump]

Sorry, Kodiaq.

[umbral]

Does Octavia III facelift 2017 1.0 TSI or other engine suffers from same boom ?

 

What is the cause ?

Edited 22 April, 2017 by umbral

[guitarman001]

Ah! Kodiaq's do look awesome...

 

 

[guitarman001]

I bet the issue hasn't been solved in newer models because they haven't even recognised it as a problem. 

 

 

[Gerrycan]

53 minutes ago, umbral said:

Does Octavia III facelift 2017 1.0 TSI or other engine suffers from same boom ?

 

What is the cause ?

Not heard from any facelift owners yet, probably not many out there and a bit early after the release for reports anyway.

Similar for the 1.0tsi. There are very few 1.0tsi owners in this forum so too small a sample to say they are not affected.

I'm pretty confident it is not engine related. 

 

My 2013 1.4tsi is generally a quiet vehicle to travel in but if I let the tyres get a bit low on pressure then I become aware of something 'back there' on bumpy surfaces.

Recently I put a heavy load of sandbags in the boot (don't ask why) and driving over a bumpy surface I was aware that 'something' was worse than normal but my wife who happened to be in the car remarked "what on earth was that" so it obviously disturbed her more than me.

Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to pump the rear tyres up, as I should have done, to compensate for the extra weight to see if that improved things, so it was an incomplete experiment.

It does confirm though that some people are more sensitive to certain noises than others and that should be of no surprise whatsoever.

We are just lucky that 99% of the time it is not a problem for us (well SWMBO).

 

I should add that we frequently have the equivalent weight of sandbags in the rear passenger seats (the in-laws) and that does not seem to cause a problem.

Edited 22 April, 2017 by Gerrycan

[umbral]

1 minute ago, Gerrycan said:

Not heard from any facelift owners yet, probably not many out there and a bit early after the release for reports anyway.

Similar for the 1.0tsi. There are very few 1.0tsi owners in this forum so too small a sample to say they are not affected.

I'm pretty confident it is not engine related. 

 

My 2013 1.4tsi is generally a quiet vehicle to travel in but if I let the tyres get a bit low on pressure then I become aware of something 'back there' on bumpy surfaces.

Recently I put a heavy load of sandbags in the boot (don't ask why) and driving over a bumpy surface I was aware that 'something' was worse than normal but my wife who happened to be in the car remarked "what on earth was that" so it obviously disturbed her more than me.

Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to pump the rear tyres up, as I should have done, to compensate for the extra weight to see if that improved things, so it was an incomplete experiment.

It does confirm though that some people are more sensitive to certain noises than others and that should be of no surprise whatsoever.

We are just lucky that 99% of the time it is not a problem for us (well SWMBO).

 

Thank you for the information. To me it looks like bad design of the car, where the people who worked on the car did not spot this error that obviously produces disturbing effects in the cabin.

[Gerrycan]

16 minutes ago, umbral said:

 

Thank you for the information. To me it looks like bad design of the car, where the people who worked on the car did not spot this error that obviously produces disturbing effects in the cabin.

I agree up to a point,  but I think your statement would be more factually correct if you said that the design has the potential to produce disturbing effects in the cabin, since not all Octavia suffer the same problem according to their owners.

Other makes and models can experience similar issues, even a Tesla owner who added a contribution to this thread about his woes with his expensive Model S EV.

 

As to your question about the cause, well at this stage it has not been identified, but my personal totally unproven theory is that the use of relatively thin sheets of high strength steel in the boot floor (to save weight and still have a very strong safe chassis) may well be a contributory factor.

Edited 22 April, 2017 by Gerrycan

[guitarman001]

In future I'm going to go for one with LESS space which weighs MORE to try and avoid this.

[Alpha2110]

2 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Not heard from any facelift owners yet, probably not many out there and a bit early after the release for reports anyway.

Similar for the 1.0tsi. There are very few 1.0tsi owners in this forum so too small a sample to say they are not affected.

I'm pretty confident it is not engine related. 

 

My 2013 1.4tsi is generally a quiet vehicle to travel in but if I let the tyres get a bit low on pressure then I become aware of something 'back there' on bumpy surfaces.

Recently I put a heavy load of sandbags in the boot (don't ask why) and driving over a bumpy surface I was aware that 'something' was worse than normal but my wife who happened to be in the car remarked "what on earth was that" so it obviously disturbed her more than me.

Unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to pump the rear tyres up, as I should have done, to compensate for the extra weight to see if that improved things, so it was an incomplete experiment.

It does confirm though that some people are more sensitive to certain noises than others and that should be of no surprise whatsoever.

We are just lucky that 99% of the time it is not a problem for us (well SWMBO).

 

I should add that we frequently have the equivalent weight of sandbags in the rear passenger seats (the in-laws) and that does not seem to cause a problem.

I agree its not engine related however the engine vibration can excite the issue. I have driven mine on a few occasions in 6th when i should have been in 5th and the noise is horrific. Basicaly labouring the engine but not just the engine noise comes with the reverberation probably from the rear engine mount and exhaust brackets. This is another mode of the reverb. I think its probably down to the suspention setup. One thing i can confedently say the golf and a3 dont have this issue as i have driven both.

[Alpha2110]

I have heard some people have used other dampers but i have not found any strait replacement. This may be a solution but may not get rid of the problem totaly. 

[guitarman001]

That's good info. 

So the noise isn't there in your other cars.

How did you like those other two cars? 

[guitarman001]

As nice as the high spec is on my Octavia, I'd rather have less features with a quieter cabin... But oh the cost of it all..!

[Alpha2110]

I found the golf a very nice car, its not masavly better in one area. Its alittle better in all areas, cabin quality, sound proofing, the ride is far better. These little differences add up to the big difference. The reason i bought the octavia is the price of the golf it was 8 grand more new. There is a saying save now and pay twice later. I thing the ride is better due in part to the IRS suspention and the cabin noise is less. 

 

The audi a3 has a much better cabin, less rattles, ride feels tighter, but not crashy. More tyre noise but thats due to the 18inch wheels. Mega bucks new.

 

[guitarman001]

I find the golf and Audi 1.4tsi are about the same price and given VW reliability is really poor going by online reviews, I'd rather go for the Audi. If it weren't for those reliability reviews I'd probably go for the golf.

 

Basically.. for a 2-3 year old golf or Audi 1.4tsi.. or a 1.6 iDTEC Honda, I'm looking at 14k. Skoda was 10.5k but needs new tyres.

 

Have read horror stories of engine failure on the new focus ecoboost so I'm staying well clear of those.

[guitarman001]

I'd love to try another person's Octavia who thinks the boom isn't there, to see if I can hear it or not. I suspect it's there in most of them but that some people are just deaf to the low frequencies.

[guitarman001]

Hmmmmmmmmm, have I found the issue? 

 

I padded the boot again with blankets. When I slap the boot floor with my hand, sounds ok. 

 

I put a blanket on the tray. When I slap it, I still hear something. What's it connected to? Well, check out the black plastic/material trim actually on the boot lid itself. If you slap that, you get a definite resonance. Sounds like there's nothing under there but bare metal and air... Any way to take this off and put in some stuffing? 

 

The car is maybe just too hollow - not enough padding between bare metal and coverings? 

 

-- I think I improved it marginally but I can still hear it. Will be driving it today. If it gets too much I'll see about another car. This entire car feels incredibly hollow now, next no to padding. And this is elegance spec!

Edited 23 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[guitarman001]

So far so good with two passengers doing motorway... Only slight hint of the boom. No sore teeth! One passenger in front, other behind that passenger. Boot and lid with blankets on.

 

Note to self : check out Mercedes a class blue efficiency

Edited 23 April, 2017 by guitarman001

[Mr Grump]

3 hours ago, guitarman001 said:

I'd love to try another person's Octavia who thinks the boom isn't there, to see if I can hear it or not. I suspect it's there in most of them but that some people are just deaf to the low frequencies.

 

Nope, My first had a small amount, my second has none, so its not like I can't hear it when it is there.