Hi folks,

I have recently bought a 2008 Octavia 2.0 TDI with the PD140 engine.

 

On paper it fits my requirements perfectly but I've noticed that on longer journeys - I have a 300km commute - that my hands get numb and my elbows hurt.  I hadn't noticed the vibration when I test drove the car prior to purchase, and even now it doesn't feel excessive to me - all cars vibrate, after all - but for some reason it is definitely causing me pain :/

 

It's a low amplitude, high frequency vibration that I think is coming from the engine.  The vibration is noticeable when stationary, but is worse when driving.  Worst of all seems to be long gentle curves at cruising speed, as the slight load on the steering under those conditions seems to transmit the vibration to my hands better.  This vibration is noticeable throughout the interior but it's the steering wheel that is causing me problems.

 

I took the car to Skoda today, and they checked the car thoroughly, test drove it, and confirmed that there isn't a technical problem.  The vibration is just normal.  In a way I'm not surprised, as I'd never have noticed it if it hadn't been causing me pain.

 

I've driven dozens of different cars and HGV's  (I'm a professional driver) and this isn't a problem that I've ever had before in over thirty years of motoring.

 

Has anybody else had a similar situation with these cars, and if so was it possible to find a solution?   I've been wondering about some sort of steering wheel cover, maybe foam or gel padding could help filter out some of the vibration?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!

 

 

I'd start with making sure the wheels are balanced - if a balancing weight has dropped off then it could cause this

 

I dont notice anything like that in mine, although mines a 2006 petrol vrs

Thanks for the suggestion - it's a much higher frequency - more like a buzz type of vibration - at highway speeds though, and it alters with engine rpm rather than road speed.

Possible warped brake discs.

Sire, as you state that the vibration is evident whilst stationary, (therefore not brake discs or wheel balance!) does it change if you increase the engine revs?  Could there be a problem with the engine mounts?

 

Also, is there anything worse than the stealer saying that there is no technical problem, or "That's quite normal sir".

Cheers

Clive

If it's doing when the car is stationary, good chance it could be the DMF.

Sire, as you state that the vibration is evident whilst stationary, (therefore not brake discs or wheel balance!) does it change if you increase the engine revs?  Could there be a problem with the engine mounts?

 

Also, is there anything worse than the stealer saying that there is no technical problem, or "That's quite normal sir".

Cheers

Clive

Thanks.  Yes it changes with engine revs. Skoda told me specifically that there wasn't a problem with the engine mounts, and that there weren't any signs of problems with the flywheel.

There is something worse than them saying "That's quite normal sir".... namely that in addition to basically saying "That's quite normal sir", the mechanic that I spoke to could hardly stop laughing.

The Skoda dealership might find the situation funny, but from my point of view it's actually a very serious problem.

I think my next step is probably to test drive a similar Octavia with the same engine, for comparison purposes.  I'm keen to find a solution - and certainly don't want to give up too easily. I can't think of another car that, on paper at least, fits my needs so well.

Well, I had another long drive today, as a result of which I have had some further thoughts:

 

The engine vibration that I have noticed through the steering wheel both while stationary and while driving might in fact not be the vibration that is giving me the hand and elbow pain.

 

If I dip the clutch at cruising speed (here that's 100kmh/60mph usually) the painful vibration stays the same, whatever I do with the engine revs.

 

The vibration I'm feeling is about 100Hz as far as I can tell, and stays subjectively more or less the same, independent of road speed throughout the cruising range, say 80 - 120 kmh.

 

I'm struggling to understand this really, but have had a couple of thoughts -

Firstly, could it be that the power steering motor is making small inputs at this frequency - some misalignment between steering angle sensors maybe (this is just a total guess, electric power steering technology is totally new to me and I haven't really looked into how it works)?

 

Or, could this be tyre related?  It doesn't feel remotely like a balancing issue, it's a much higher frequency / lower amplitude vibration than I've experienced with faults like that in the past, and also it doesn't seem to be worse or better at any particular speed.  If anything though, it is slightly better on smoother road surfaces, which tends to lean me towards suspecting a tyre issue.   The tyres I have are absolutely new, fairly hard compound summer tyres (Nokia Nordman) on steel 15" wheels.

 

Does anyone have any further ideas?

Edited 13 May, 201511 yr by Sire

You said that you feel this vibration when the car is stationary. In such case I wouldn't blame tyres.

Stationery vibration is DMF for 100%, had the same issue

Sorry I'm not explaining myself well.

I meant that there seems to be vibration from at least two different sources.

1.The engine vibration that I can feel both when stationary and when moving, and

2. another vibration that seems to be there across a wide range of normal road speeds, independent of engine speed.

Although (1) is more noticeable, skoda have told me it's normal. I only really identified the presence of the other vibration (2) yesterday and I think that it is probably this latter vibration that is in fact causing the pain.

I like the previous suggestions of DMF.

 

Here's a long shot.  Many years ago, I was running a Vauxhall Vectra, as were several colleagues.  Mine had a vibration on the throttle pedal, which was coming from the engine along the throttle cable to the pedal. We called this effect 'Tizzle' and it can occur for example on a choke cable or a gear lever.  (But then who has choke cables these days?). 

I cured mine by winding about 200mm of heavy gauge solder wire around the throttle cable, close to the dashboard so it wouldn't be spotted by a service technician.  The interesting thing is that my colleague's car had exactly the same problem but he didn't seem to be aware of it. So, it might be worth taking off the steering column shroud and trying the solder wire trick.  It loads the component and changes the resonant frequency.

Cheers

Clive

Interesting thoughts, thanks!  I wonder if I could add some test weights to the steering wheel and see if that helps filter out the "buzz"   Or even create a "dual mass steering wheel" with a heavy rim insulated from the hub with vibration absorbing bushes  

 

I'll be away from my car for a bit over a week now, but when i get back I could experiment a bit with the weight idea.

I've just done a full service and cam belt + water pump change on my 2.0 tdi pd 140bhp. I have noticed a vibration through the steering wheel, gearstick and brake pedal which I don't remember being their before the service. It's more noticable cruising 70-80 mph. I have checked tyres, wheels etc all fine. My next step is to check the engine mounts and cam belt pulleys.

One of the posts above refers to DMF, what's that??

I'll update here if I find anything definately or loose.

DMF - dual mass flywheel. An expensive thing and if it has failed then you have to change it...

 

But don't you think you should start with the garage? Maybe they have done something wrong and that's why your car is acting weird. Being fine before and not so fine after that - seems like it's their fault. Sure, there is always a possibility that it's a simple coincidence. God works in mysterious ways.