VRS MK2 intermittent front wheel hum at 75-80mph

[keith23]

This noise has appeared during the past 3 weeks and i thought it was due to the sawtoothing of the old Contis, a problem i knew nothing about until i joined this excellent forum, thank you.

 

I was buying new tyres anyway and had a new set of Vredesteins Ultra Vortis fitted by Autofit, near Brighton, plus they did the complete Hunter Geometric alignment and balance, plus checked the wheel bearings manually whilst they were at it and gave the all clear there. The brake pads are at around 50% wear all round.

The car is now stuck to the road, even lovelier to drive and far quieter but that damn hum appeared again when i took her back up to 75!

 

It appears to be coming from the front wheel, not the rear as i read about the "mooing" sound that rear brakes can make in another thread. It isn't apparent below 70mph and only begins at 75-80 but is totally intermittent, not constant, as i can drive from Brighton to Portsmouth without a sound but will drive back with it happening quite alot! It is a humming noise lasting anything from a couple of seconds to 8 seconds and i feel it is a vibration more than a rubbing sound.

Could it be an ambient temperature thing as i drive out about 10 a.m. and return around 3 p.m. when it's been far hotter? I can only remember hearing it a couple of times earlier on in the morning but whether that was i particularly hot morning i don't remember? Driving hard into corners doesn't seem to cause or quiet it either.

 

I brake quite hard so whether is to do with worn pads just vibrating at that frequency maybe?

 

My VRS is a 10 plate estate and has done 56,000 miles. I have another month left of the Skoda 2nd hand, Retailer approved 6year/72k and Retailer App Linked warranty which came with the car from Sparshatts of Botley which is a fair drive from where i live just outside Brighton. My nearest Skoda dealer is Rivervale in Portslade who don't appear to be very good according to members reviews on here but if anyone has an update on that i'd be very happy to hear it.

 

If anyone has any ideas on what maybe causing this noise and could help solve it i would be very grateful, and whether it may be covered by the remaining warranty?

 

Thanks in advance,

Keith

 

 

 

 

[mattcut]

If the geo is all good.

 

Then it could be the actual tyres. I have had a few makes of tyres on the front of mine. I found that toyo's give the least amount of road noise/hum when compared to others I have had fitted.

[dainott]

Unreal how may VAG cars have this issue and cant really say an exact solution to it. My octavia does it about 45 mph, my missus leon does it about 35 mph and the old mans a6 does it at 60mph. Changed tyres, done wheel alignment, checked bearings etc etc and just seems that whatever VAG car u have it appears at some point. Yes some people have managed to resolve it, but some have spent big money and not solved it.

 

Very strange issue and not what u wanted to hear i know, but just dont throw money changing perfectly good parts chasing it. Swap the front tyres with the back and see if it helps and if its under warranty get skoda to do a 4 wheel alignment. At least you know where you are then.

One little thing i got told by a tech in VW is that the rear bearings are prone to being noisy on the whole VAG range (noise doesnt always sound like its coming from the rear) and they will fell solid when the wheel is shaken so people think their fine.

[firestormwest]

The age and mileage of yours is similar to mine when the front wheel bearing went.

Mine was noticeable on motorway initially but slowly got worse, it is hard to diagnose even an independent and main dealer could not ponpoint. In the end my gut feeling to change passenger front bearing was correct. Modern bearings are sealed don't show signs of play or make a sound when hand spun ie not under load. New one fitted is about £180.

[keith23]

Thanks for the replies everyone, much appreciated...........seems like a difficult one for sure!

 

I took it into Rivervale, (local Skoda dealer), and chatted to Terry the service manager who was a really nice bloke and seemed honestly interested in finding out what it was as he wasn't sure himself. On his advice i took it up the motorway and tried changing gear, and then with clutch depressed to see if the noise vanished but no difference. Yesterday it made the noise alot, about 80-85 very loud and constant so i'm thinking wheel bearing as Firestormwest has suggested as he had the same symptoms. This morning i drove it at the same speed without a trace of the noise whatsoever!!!!!

 

So, went into Rivervale again and played Terry a recording my daughter made on her phone of the noise yesterday and they took the warranty info' and have booked it in for an inspection on Tuesday morning next week to try and get to the bottom of it. I've asked them to tell me exactly what is happening at all times because i don't want a surprise bill for things mysteriously not covered by the warranty, (i've read terrible stories!), but they said if it's the bearing then that shouldn't be a problem but better safe than sorry!

 

I'll update you all as i learn anything from them................hopefully it will be a straight forward resolve and we'll all learn some more about mystery noises coming from our cars!

 

Cheers,

keith

[keith23]

Right...............an update.

 

Rivervale had the car all day Tuesday and couldn't replicate the noise so a technician took it home that evening and discovered the noise at 80 mph so they now believe there is a problem somewhere. He says it's coming from the back somewhere though so that's me confused for sure!!!

They had it all day today, Wednesday, and still couldn't get to the bottom of it so they want it again on Monday to carry on the search as i need to use the car for work over the next few days.

They really seem to want to help and sort it out so i'm hoping all will be resolved on Monday...............fingers crossed!

[Bazzavilla]

Did you ever get a fix on this?? What was it, Im suffering from same problem?

[fulhamfcboy]

I have exactly the same issue.....mine seems to have arisen since I had a new tyre on the front after a puncture....brand is the same, wheels were balanced etc.....  Really strange.  Any thoughts?

[JT3173]

Any news?

I had a new set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Aysymetric 2's fitted last month and in the last 2 weeks my car has been doing the same at 75-80 and above, it's very loud at 100 too (autobahn).

It sounds like it's coming from the NSF....

[keith23]

Rivervale never did get to the bottom of the problem and lost interest so i never did get a definitive answer, sorry.

Strangely enough, shortly after all this investigation it seemed to disappear and i heard it only once or twice in the coming months but not a glimmer of it for the past year at least!

The Vreds are now shot so i'm going to fit the highly recommended GY Eagle F1 asymmetric 3's and play with them :-)