Hi

Its been ages since I posted on here as there has been nothing to report.

The car does just what we want and without any complaints - until recently that is.

 

When the engine is idling there is an uneven noise (halfway between a rattle and a knock).

In gear and driving it goes away, which makes me think its gearbox related.

 

In the old days one could put this down to a noisy lay shaft, but from what I have read transverse mounted front wheel drive cars do not have them.

 

Its not what i would call a worrying noise, but if left to their own devices, things have a nasty habit of getting expensive...

 

Any thoughts?

More than likely just a characteristic of the three cylinder engine.

My Citigo has stop/start so I didn't hear the engine idling until winter when it was too cold for it to work. I was rather surprised how lumpy it sounded.

Clutch release bearing I'm sure. I've been to the dealers about it many times but get told the same old answer.

Foot down on the clutch and all is quiet [emoji57]

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Faulty clutch release bearing would be noisy when clutch is pressed.

No it wouldn't. It's on idle. The bearing would screech when taking up drive. It rattles on idle. You try it and all goes quiet. Even the dealer told me this.

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I wonder what the dealer was thinking.

Clutch release bearing disengage the clutch, so it's under pressure when clutch pedal is pressed. Faulty bearing would be noisy when it's under pressure. If all goes quiet when you press the clutch pedal, it's something else than clutch release bearing.

Edited 16 March, 201511 yr by Emil

...

 

When the engine is idling there is an uneven noise (halfway between a rattle and a knock).

In gear and driving it goes away, which makes me think its gearbox related.

 

...

I can hear the same noises from our 2013 Citigo every now and then. Especially when engine and transmission is cold. I heard same noises from demo car as well, so I'm not worried. I think it's related to uneven idling of 3 cyl engine. Transmission oil might be quite thin to achieve better fuel efficiency. And noises can be heard more easily as there is not too much of noise insulation.

More than likely just a characteristic of the three cylinder engine.

My Citigo has stop/start so I didn't hear the engine idling until winter when it was too cold for it to work. I was rather surprised how lumpy it sounded.

 

^ This.

My GT has stop/start so I rarely get a chance to listen to a non cold-start idle. I did this winter, and it's definitely lumpy sounding. However, you need to remember this is a non-soundproofed 3-Cylinder car with other strange setups. There are many things I disagree with when the dealer says "This is just a characteristic of the car" (Clutch click for example). But this lumpy sound definitely is! It seems to also get gradually more noticeable after a few miles. My friend's Up! has it (with 20,000 on the clock). My Citigo has it with 14,000, and the courtesy car Citigo I had also had it, as did the one I test-drove before buying. I wouldn't worry about the noise at all - it's just because of the setup of the car.

I bet "clutch click" comes from the gearbox as well. If you cannot hear it when engine is stopped. If you mean "pedal click", it's another matter.

Edited 16 March, 201511 yr by Emil

on mine it goes away once a bit heat gets into the engine. I was thinking its a heat shield close to the exhaust somewhere under bonnet and once it warms up, bit expansion takes place and all is well?

Yes that heat shield is a common problem on these and the UP. I had to have mine replaced.

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Is this not the famous gear cluster rattle (that I also experience) when the gearbox is cold? I've noticed it occurs to a lesser extent on the 2 courtesy cars I've had as they have the more recent "push down for reverse" gearboxes which seem to have better soundproofing. Mine is a 63 plate whereas these have been 14 plate and 64 plate.

 

Unfortunately another one of those noisy "normal" quirks

It is all normal. The famous "characteristic" again [emoji57]

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I bet "clutch click" comes from the gearbox as well. If you cannot hear it when engine is stopped. If you mean "pedal click", it's another matter.

I refer to it as Clutch Click as most here understand the problem; it's well known. Yes, it's clutch pedal click, if you really must be pedantic.

The gearbox noise you refer to IS a characteristic of the car, and isn't the clutch; it's the gearbox. Hence I refer to 'Clutch Click' to try to refrain from typing 'Clutch Pedal Assembly Click', because it's uneccessarily long.

So what I originally said, cleared up: 'the Clutch Pedal Click is definitely not a characteristic of the car, despite what they say'.

There is no Clutch mechanical click. There's a gearbox knock on gear change, if that's what you thought I was referring to - which I wasnt.

Is this not the famous gear cluster rattle (that I also experience) when the gearbox is cold? I've noticed it occurs to a lesser extent on the 2 courtesy cars I've had as they have the more recent "push down for reverse" gearboxes which seem to have better soundproofing. Mine is a 63 plate whereas these have been 14 plate and 64 plate.

Unfortunately another one of those noisy "normal" quirks

Interesting. My car is a 14 Plate. No push down for reverse gearbox?

Interesting. My car is a 14 Plate. No push down for reverse gearbox?

 

2014 seems to be a transitional period for the gearboxes, have read of many other 14 plates with the old design like mine, so unfortunately you've just missed out on the new gearbox which I have to say just feels so much better to use, and I'm convinced they have made efforts to soundproof it somewhat. I don't know if the new box was being installed in 100% of cars by the time of the 64 plate models, but it's surprising just how little information is out there about this quite noticeable update.

2014 seems to be a transitional period for the gearboxes, have read of many other 14 plates with the old design like mine, so unfortunately you've just missed out on the new gearbox which I have to say just feels so much better to use, and I'm convinced they have made efforts to soundproof it somewhat. I don't know if the new box was being installed in 100% of cars by the time of the 64 plate models, but it's surprising just how little information is out there about this quite noticeable update.

Odd! Nonetheless, haven't had any problems with gearbox so I've no complaints!

Mine is a 64 plate and has the push down for reverse gearbox. 

Mine is a 64 plate and has the push down for reverse gearbox.

Oh stop it, you! You and your '#ShouldHaveBoughtAMonteCarlo' nonsense.

Haha [emoji106][emoji16]

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It is all normal. The famous "characteristic" again [emoji57]

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I like the "Character" noises........reminds me of my old Mini days (proper one not that new fangled BMW rubbish). Its probably one of the reasons why I'm very fond of little Buck over my Octavia it had much more of a life to it than the Octavia. 

 

I will be sad to see him go as he's been such a good lil boy!

I wonder what the dealer was thinking.

Clutch release bearing disengage the clutch, so it's under pressure when clutch pedal is pressed. Faulty bearing would be noisy when it's under pressure. If all goes quiet when you press the clutch pedal, it's something else than clutch release bearing.

I'm sorry Emil but you are mistaken. The clutch release bearing sits between the clutch fork and the clutch diaphragm. This allows the clutch to spin and the clutch fork to remain stationary. Clutch release bearings tend to get noisy with the clutch disengaged due to the bearing not being under pressure and starting to rattle. It goes quiet when you press the clutch pedal as the slack in the bearing and clutch components is taken up. This is what the dealer was trying to explain.

 

Regards,

Mark

So is this Citigo/Mii/UP! thing then? As it would be new to me, if clutch release bearing behaves like that. Usually faulty clutch release bearing is noisy when pedal is pressed and clutch is disengaged -> under pressure.

Anyhow. I'm sure the clutch release bearing isn't the issue in our -13 Citigo. Rattling stops when clutch pedal is pressed half way down, that's the point when shafts and gear cogs in gearbox stops spinning.