Engine vibrations through pedals and steering wheel

[New8avia]

I've had my 2.0 diesel for about 3 months and in that time it has been faultless, apart from an initial tow bar installation issue. Recently, I seem to be noticing an increasing amount of vibration through the pedals and steering that I had not noticed before. I know it's engine vibration as it occurs when stopped revving the engine and more irritatingly whilst driving. If I dip the clutch at any mph the steering wheel has no vibration other than tiny amounts transmitted from the road. What is worst is that about 2000 rpm or about 70 mph on the motorway, holding the steering wheel is a bit like holding a high frequency vibrating power tool but obviously not as bad.

I also think the engine note has changed, especially around 1700 rpm, since I have noticed this vibration.

Does anyone else experience engine vibration in their diesel through pedals, steering etc?

Before I present my observations to the dealer I want to know if this is just an isolated case or not.

I am starting to think loose engine mounts!

[Gabbo]

20,000km & 6-month later I have no change in the engine sound, vibration or road-noise of the car & absolutely nothing through teh steering wheel or pedals.

I'd get to the dealer to check it out as you suggest as lots of vibration is also not good for the general robustness of many components & fixings.

[davidlm101]

same here... I have the same vibrations on my new mk3 diesel dsg I bought 3 months ago.. I started to notice it at 4000 kms and now I have 6500 kms, I started to feel the same vibration on the pedal. About the steering wheel, I still feel it when I'm stop and not moving, so this way I ruled out wheel balance. It is annoying and I think I will be more annoying in a long trip.  I think I will wait until the first service to ask what is going on

[New8avia]

I have booked my car in and they will be investigating it on Monday. Considering this topic has been viewed a few hundred times and there has only been one reply, this problem is either not that common or people live with it.

This is by far the worst diesel car I have owned for vibration and to date the most expensive. I am hoping there is a solution for it as it is annoying to the point that I would consider selling the car, even with the considerable loss incurred so early on in ownership. Driving with constant vibration through the steering wheel and pedals is quite distracting and on a long journey could even induce white finger.

Of the few instances of this problem I have found searching around the various car manufacturers, it has been met with very little success from the dealer as levels of detection by the driver is considered more of a subjective response.

On a separate issue, whilst my car is in I will also report that the TPM system doesn't seem to work.

[Crogers]

Sounds like your car has an issue, I haven't noticed any such vibrations

[Gabbo]

From my side, I would say my vRS TDi is pretty refined & I'm more than happy with the noise & vibration isolation from the engine.

Stationary & even at high speed there is no vibration at all through the steering wheel or pedals.

Its perhaps not the quietest diesel engine I've had but at least comparable with my last Mondeo in the cabin.

 

Its sounds like you have a specific (fairly serious) problem with your car & I hope the dealer is good enough to sort it out quickly.

[Gabbo]

same here... I have the same vibrations on my new mk3 diesel dsg I bought 3 months ago.. I started to notice it at 4000 kms and now I have 6500 kms, I started to feel the same vibration on the pedal. About the steering wheel, I still feel it when I'm stop and not moving, so this way I ruled out wheel balance. It is annoying and I think I will be more annoying in a long trip.  I think I will wait until the first service to ask what is going on

 

When you've paid 18k GBP or whatever for a new car & you are not happy with it, why wait 3, 6, 9 months to take it to the dealer?

They may well be able to fix the problem in one visit & this will leave you much happier with your new car.

Worst case, you lose a couple of hours waiting at the dealer even if they dont fix the problem.

[New8avia]

I  took the car to the dealers yesterday and one of the technicians went for a test drive with me. During the test, the technician suggested there was nothing wrong that he could detect whilst driving. When we finally parked up back at the dealers, he revved it in neutral at 1500 rpm and the whole car was vibrating, both of us agreed we could feel the vibration in the seats and the door handles etc. He then proceeded to say this was an unusual condition for the car to be in as it is not under load. So,in his opinion there is nothing wrong with the car! I then said if the source of the vibration is the engine, what part of the transmission makes it any different under load. I indicated I was not happy with his diagnosis as it is a symptom that has recently developed. They still have the car and will be investigating it further today. I have also involved Skoda UK.

Edited 7 October, 2014 by New8avia

[andyvee]

At a wild guess it sounds DMF related. or engine mounts.

[New8avia]

At 3.7k miles on the clock, if the DMF is starting to fail it certainly falls into the category of premature failure but it's not unknown. Perhaps a component is on the early slope of the bathtub curve for component failure?

Anyhow, I will found out later on today what the verdict is but knowing the dealers, I am certain they will try and suggest there is nothing wrong. I have insisted on a comparison test drive with another 2l TDi to prove a point.

[New8avia]

The car was driven by one of the dealer's mechanics and his response was that he could not sense the same steering wheel vibration on the route we took and also when revved at idle. I left the car with them for further investigation and to cut a long story short they said "it is a characteristic of the car", which means in car retail speak - there may be an inherent manufacturers issue with the car but we are not prepared to spend any more time investigating the reported problem. I did not get a comparison test drive of another like for like car, which I requested. They did sit me in another car of the same type and revved the engine up to suggest they all have this issue. However, they certainly didn't think things through properly as the first mechanic said he couldn't detect any vibration but another mechanic said all the cars they checked had the same characteristics as my car. Hmmm, doesn't add up really. The top and bottom of it is that Simpsons in Preston are not going to do anything about it! I have been in dialogue with Skoda UK and they have arranged a second opinion at another dealer. Whether there is fault or not, I can feel vibration through the steering wheel and pedals that peaks at around 1300 rpm and again at around 1900 rpm and it has become very distracting whilst driving. I base this on the fact that it did not vibrate up until recently and other diesel cars I have driven have been well isolated from the engine in terms of vibration through the steering wheel. Short of of attaching some accelerometers on the steering wheel and testing the car on a rolling road, how do I prove it? It's opinion otherwise!

The test drive at another dealer tomorrow should shed some light on things. If other cars vibrate the same then, I am perhaps too critical of the car. If not then I want a fix for it.

If it is the former then perhaps I should sell the Octavia and return to the Mondeo again!

I would like to point out that Skoda UK have been very helpful to date and were great when the same dealer showed themselves up taking several attempts to correctly fit a Skoda towbar.

[andyvee]

I find that Simpson's are particularly useless at diagnosing faults.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[HotVRs]

Mine (2.0 TDi) is exactly the same and it really winds me up. It was fine until about 2,000 miles in, and has got slowly worse ever since. The worst point is around 2000 RPM, which equates to about 70 MPH. It has been so bad that on long journeys my hands have gone numb and then got pins & needles.

It's been into 2 different dealers 3 times, and all they say is that it's 'the same as others'. If that's how they all are then there is a serious design flaw in them.

 

Though to be honest, most dealers wouldn't find a fault with a car if it only had 3 wheels.

 

Mine now is at 28,000 miles and I find it feels like a crude old dog of a car.

 

If i press the clutch pedal and coast  the vibrations go, as soon as it is released it is back.

 

I've had diesels for over a decade, including a 3 cylinder Polo, 2 Fabia vRS's, a previous Octavia 2 PD, still have a Toyota 2.2 D4D, and none of them are as bad as this Octavia 3. The Polo had steering wheel vibration at idle, but was fine when driving - as were the others. 

 

The new Passat has a 'new' way of mounting the engine to reduce noise/vibration, and a What Car comparsion of the Octavia 3 and Golf stated the Golf was quieter too. Looks like Skoda skimped with the Octavia 3. I accept there may be compromised when it seems to be cheaper, but, the Octavia 3 is not particularly cheap, and vibrations through the steering wheel is a basic engineering fundamental concern.

Edited 10 October, 2014 by HotVRs

[New8avia]

Mine (2.0 TDi) is exactly the same and it really winds me up. It was fine until about 2,000 miles in, and has got slowly worse ever since. The worst point is around 2000 RPM, which equates to about 70 MPH. It has been so bad that on long journeys my hands have gone numb and then got pins & needles.

It's been into 2 different dealers 3 times, and all they say is that it's 'the same as others'. If that's how they all are then there is a serious design flaw in them.

 

Though to be honest, most dealers wouldn't find a fault with a car if it only had 3 wheels.

 

Mine now is at 28,000 miles and I find it feels like a crude old dog of a car.

 

If i press the clutch pedal and coast  the vibrations go, as soon as it is released it is back.

 

I've had diesels for over a decade, including a 3 cylinder Polo, 2 Fabia vRS's, a previous Octavia 2 PD, still have a Toyota 2.2 D4D, and none of them are as bad as this Octavia 3. The Polo had steering wheel vibration at idle, but was fine when driving - as were the others. 

 

The new Passat has a 'new' way of mounting the engine to reduce noise/vibration, and a What Car comparsion of the Octavia 3 and Golf stated the Golf was quieter too. Looks like Skoda skimped with the Octavia 3. I accept there may be compromised when it seems to be cheaper, but, the Octavia 3 is not particularly cheap, and vibrations through the steering wheel is a basic engineering fundamental concern.

That doesn't sound great as far as I'm concerned. If the problem has been acknowledged by Skoda or even VAG but they are not going to do anything about it as it’s an inherent design flaw, I wonder if the car can still be rejected 3 months on and with less than 4000 on the clock. In any other retail situation, if you take items back within 6 months they are obliged to offer a repair, replacement or full refund. I was expecting to keep this car for around 5 years but if there is no solution other than to put up with it, I will have to reconsider this option at great expense.

[New8avia]

I had given my objections to Skoda UK about the diagnosis obtained from Simpsons by the fact that they said it was characteristic of the car. How do characteristics develop??? Skoda UK arranged for a second opinion at another dealer on Friday 10th in the afternoon. It was supposed to be a comparison test drive of another 2.0 l diesel but turned into a complete agreement that these symptoms on my car were anything other than an acceptable "characteristic" and they believed it to be a manufacturing flaw in the fuel pump damper causing excessive vibration. The chap at the dealer said he had reported a similar case on a Superb, which has an identical engine but as it's a completely different car, the same diagnosis cannot really be transferred to my octavia. I asked him why don't you just replace the pump. He said it will cause the same issue after a few thousand miles and when they claim for the repair off Skoda, they will say the unit is not faulty! He suggested that once enough people report this issue, a fix may be on the horizon. I mentioned that I have consciously started to modify my driving style to work around the vibrating steering wheel.

I contacted Skoda UK customer services again and told them the story I got from the second deal but I will have to wait until Monday 13th for a response to this new information. They informed me that they would need to speak to the chap I dealt with at the second dealer and ask how he has processed his findings to ensure it is escalated to the technical team correctly.

Although this sheds new light on the situation, it certainly doesn't help my predicament of driving a car with low mileage that is uncomfortable and very distracting to drive and as far as Skoda is concerned, is a mightily convenient excuse not to do anything about it.

[andyvee]

And yet again - another fault presented to Simpsons is diagnosed as a characteristic.

 

Perhaps they should spend less time poncing around in a rally car and concentrate on their customers who are paying for their very expensive hobby.

[New8avia]

Skoda UK customer services called and seem to be progressing the tech report submitted by the second dealer that acknowledged the vibration as an issue. Whether this will result in some diagnostic work authorised on the car, who knows. Anyhow, it seems a great deal more promising than the diagnosis obtained from Simpsons.

I will keep posting info here as it arises as it helps in two respects.

1. It may help others that have the same issue.

2. It is a useful record for myself for the progress that is made that I can refer back to.

[davidlm101]

Skoda UK customer services called and seem to be progressing the tech report submitted by the second dealer that acknowledged the vibration as an issue. Whether this will result in some diagnostic work authorised on the car, who knows. Anyhow, it seems a great deal more promising than the diagnosis obtained from Simpsons.

I will keep posting info here as it arises as it helps in two respects.

1. It may help others that have the same issue.

2. It is a useful record for myself for the progress that is made that I can refer back to.

 

Good to know they finally acknowledged the issue.  Next monday I booked with a skoda dealer in order they check the same problem you have, but I have low hopes they acknowledge the problem, well will see.  I will keep you posted.

 

David 

[New8avia]

I had an update from Skoda CS and I suspect it's going down the path that they won't be doing anything about it. The fact that they are trying to arrange a test drive of another like for like vehicle means they are attempting to prove there is nothing wrong with my car or perhaps that is the cynic in me. They must be asking around the dealers to find a car that has the same symptoms as mine and then they can say they all have this "characteristic"? I think they are fully aware of the issue but it's probably too expensive for them to resolve. If the comparison car is like mine, where do you go from there?

Edited 21 October, 2014 by New8avia

[vrskeith]

I had an update from Skoda CS and I suspect it's going down the path that they won't be doing anything about it. The fact that they are trying to arrange a test drive of another like for like vehicle means they are attempting to prove there is nothing wrong with my car or perhaps that is the cynic in me. They must be asking around the dealers to find a car that has the same symptoms as mine and then they can say they all have this "characteristic"? I think they are fully aware of the issue but it's probably too expensive for them to resolve. If the comparison car is like mine, where do you go from there?

RAC or AA for an independent check. Recover cost if their report highlights an issue.

Tell Skoda UK CS what you are proposing in writing. Have you got a history Case No. issued by Skoda UK CS?

[Gabbo]

Agree with Keith, make sure you have good documentation of the dates, times, discussions you made with the dealers & SUK.

This goes a long way when trying to make a more official complaint or contacting a 3rd party.

[Matt Pez]

Might be a long shot but I had a vibration through steering at around 1300-1500 revs, very annoying in 4th gear at 30mph, and it turned out to be a loose heating duct, the pipe feeding drivers side had come loose and was rattling on steering column making the steering vibrate at certain revs, appreciate the dealer is advising a fuel pump issue but you never know, it could be something simple like happened to mine?

[davidlm101]

After 2 days on the dealer, they sent me an email saying "we have your car ready..."  and I thought "Life isn't that good, sure they didn't do anything to my car" and I found I was right.  They said "we drove your car and we felt the vibration you described, but it's normal and it's a characteristic.  We feel the same vibration on the fabia diesel."  They also said they checked the car and they didn't find any problem.  I asked to talk to the mechanic which tested my car and did the diagnostic, but he said the same thing, that vibration it's normal, it's a characteristic on the octavia diesel.  I argued if it was a characteristic it should be there when I bought the car but it wasn't.  I also said to him there are other people with the same problem, but he said he didn't found any other case on the database (TPI portal) where any other skoda dealer in the world were confirmed this as a problem which has to be solved.  Then I asked to talk with the supervisor and gave me the same speech.  Finally I saw the girl which sold me the car and I explain all the situation.  She said she never heard from that characteristic and there wasn't any other client which ask her for that problem.  She called to someone important and they said they will send a specialist to check my car but I have to wait they call.  After a week anyone has called me, so now I'm feeling very down because my "new" car,  which I paid a lot of money ($17000 pounds here in Chile ) it's a piece of ****.  I am very disappointed with skoda and I think the only solution is to sell the car.

[Frallan]

My friend bought the diesel vrs and had the same strange vibration. I did a fast scan with vcds and found out that if you change the brake assist to any other value (hard, medium, soft original medium) like hard the car will vibrate like crazy and then change to normal the vibrating thing goes away.

Give that a try.

[Redshift]

Hi,

 

I have a 2005 diesel 2,0 Tdi that has no vibrations at all (25500 km). This monday I got my new Octavia 2,0 Tdi 150 hp (100 km). I have experienced exactly the same vibrations especially in the steering wheel. I will talk to the workshop next week since this is far from ok! I can´t have my left hand on the steering wheel for a long time without resting it. My wife and both daughters experienced the same vibrations. The vibrations stops when I stop revving the engine so it is not the tires.