Hello all, wonder if anyone's got any thoughts on the following:

 

I have an early '14 140 TDI DSG Yeti.  Mileage is ~32k.  I've had it 3 weeks and put ~1500 miles on it, mostly motorway and A-roads.  

I've noticed there is a subtle whine, apparently from the rear of the car, which begins at around 55 MPH, and rises in pitch with road speed.  There's a subtle kind of 'spooling up' sound between 50-60 MPH, particularly if you accelerate harder than usual up to motorway speed.  Knocking the car into neutral makes no difference to the noise.  Oddly, it doesn't always seem to be there - some trips I haven't noticed it at all - but others it is quite noticeable and quite annoying.

Any ideas what it could be?  I've never had a car with Haldex before, so no idea if it's 'supposed' to be noisier than a normal transmission.  There's none of the subtle vibration I'd associate with a wheel bearing going, and 32k is very early for that kind of issue anyway.  I'm aware the car is approaching the interval for the first Haldex and DSG oil changes, so I don't know if these transmissions get noisier as you approach the end of the interval? 

 

If this is the first sign of some expensive trouble, I'd rather find out sooner than later.  The consultants I got the car through were excellent - I truly don't think that they'd have pushed a car with a known problem - but I'm trying to work out as quickly as possible whether this is something worth considering returning the car for.  Presumably to actually find out if it's a serious issue worthy of rejecting the car, I'd need to endure a sequence of attempts by an official garage to pin down the problem?

 

Any ideas would be most welcome!

Never noticed the Haldex causing any noises on either of mine.

First thing I would be checking was the wheel bearings, although these seem to be very good on Yeti's, and also what tyres are fitted to the rear. I do know that some tyres can be very noisy, especially the cheaper end of the market. What is fitted?

Thanks for the response.  It's got Dunlop SP Sport 01 on the rear.  I'd have thought tyre noise would be more of a roar - this is a definite 'note' rather than a rumble or vibration sound.  It's definitely not roof-bar whistling either.

Window slightly open or door seal damaged?

Good thought, but windows are definitely closed.  I'll try taping the door seals with electrical tape on a run and see if it makes a difference.  The sound doesn't sound 'buffety' like wind noise/whistling though.  I've had that kind of sound many time before on roof bars and the like. This whining definitely seems locked in sync to the wheel speed, and occurs whether or not I'm in gear.  No grinding or clicking or anything, just a soft whine which rises in pitch with speed.  I'll take the yeti out for a spin tonight and try to record some audio, see if it sounds familiar to anyone.

Thanks!

Sam

Agree with Llanigraham. Tyre noise or early indication of rear wheel bearing failure would be my favourite, and with you saying a noise like 'spooling up' I'd lean on bearing/s. 

Some tyres are just very noisy. Had some brand new Firestones once.... So noisy we had to change them. 

 

 

 

Edited 30 September, 20178 yr by FurryFriend

https://youtu.be/JZnx5an5qhc

The link is a couple of audio clips of the noise - quality isn't brilliant, but definitely good enough to hear what I'm referring to.

All audio was captured on M27 at around 70 MPH in 5th/6th.  As you'll hear, the sound isn't always present, but definitely seems to get worse in response to depressing and depressing the throttle in fairly short order.  I've noticed as slower speeds, if I blip the throttle there's a slight 'clunk' from the transmission as if there's some play.  I've just looked this up and it seems to affect a number of people.  Not sure if this whining noise is related or not.  Anyone have any ideas having heard it in the flesh?

Your link isn't working. Says video unavailable. 

Working now?

Sure is...but not enough to pin it down. 

Guibo coupling?.

Trying to figure out source of whine (apparently from rear of car)

 

The kids that were told to sit in the back?

The consultants I got the car through were excellent - I truly don't think that they'd have pushed a car with a known problem - but I'm trying to work out as quickly as possible whether this is something worth considering returning the car for. 

 

Well, having heard this, and it's something  that's not, in my view  able to be diagnosed without a proper underbody inspection to check out the rear transmission components, tyres, braking system, and diff, haldex, or whatever for oil levels, I'd be returning it. Could it be that they have inadvertently used incorrect oils. 

Whatever it is THEY not YOU need to resolve it before any warranties expire. Get it back to them is my advice. They sold it to you. Their  call. 

 

 

take it back to the garage, at least get the 'fault' logged into the system.

Thanks for your recommendations. Car was sourced from a car purchasing consultants, so it's not as simple as just driving it back to a local dealership. I'll definitely start a correspondence with them. Not sure about this but assume legally they have the status of a dealer rather than a private seller. If so I'm still within my 30 days period in which I can legally refuse the car under whatever the 2015 revision of SOGA is called, but any advice on that would be appreciated! 

I think wheel bearing noise would not be so dependent on throttle position; it sounds similar to diff. whines which used to be heard frequently in the 'old' days when there were many rear wheel drive cars around. If that is the case, it may be an expensive fix, and the previous advice to go back to the seller (if possible) looks sensible. Hope you find a solution.

TrevorM

The noise might be an indicator of impending rear diff failure - as in the case of my 2010 Octavia II in June 2014 and, very recently, pipmurray's Yeti.  I recommend that you get the noise investigated as a matter of urgency to rule out that possibility since the cost of  repair would be very expensive.

 

 

 

 

The problem with virtually all 'under car' noises is that they are amplified by the whole car floor itself making them difficult or almost impossible to guess at, never mind pinpoint. 

A full examination is the only way to diagnose the noise, so for safety issues alone it needs to go back. 

You don't want a component failure 'testing it' at 70mph on a motorway! That's not a criticism, its common sense.

 

 

 

Edited 1 October, 20178 yr by FurryFriend

I do wonder about these "Consultancy" type purchases. Invariably all they do is act as an agent between the buyer and a selling dealership, therefore the legal aspects of the sale still apply to the dealer that provided it.

Thanks Graham, this is the distinction I need to get sorted. My concerns are sufficient that I'm going to raise a detailed description in writing to the consultants, and ask what they intend to do. The key thing I need to try to get straight (if anyone knows!), is whether these car consultants count in the eyes of the law as a dealer or a private seller?  The distinction is important for the 2015 Consumer Rights Act.  The firm in question is http://www.surecar.co.uk/ - I'm pretty sure they'll be reasonable about it, but it hadn't occurred to me that they might need to escalate it in turn up to the dealer who sold them the car (it's come from a leasing company I think). Anything that helps me know where I stand before kicking off a formal process would be much appreciated.

As said elsewhere, their website states that they buy vehicles for customers, so are therefore a "dealer" and would be liable as such under the Consumer Rights Act.

 

Having looked into the company I cannot find any complaints against them, and only comments on their own web site. Their accounts make interesting reading considering what they say on their website.

 

Thanks, I very much appreciate people's wisdom on this issue!  The consultant has been back to me, and communicated the following:

 

- Apologises for the issues.

- Communicates that he’s contacted the garage who prepared car to check if correct fluids were used.

- Advises to use a local trustworthy garage to get fault checked as first step.

- Advises to check the dealer who did the services previously to get the prior info and determine any fluid changes are correct (car came from Skoda Financial Services and has been main-dealer maintained).

- Says if there is a significant issue, a goodwill claim through Skoda should be possible.

- Reiterates we should see what a garage says first.

 

The tone of the response was polite and friendly (not at all defensive), but there's no explicit taking responsibility for payment of bills for inspection/repairs etc.  I do want to get it to a garage ASAP to try and get to the bottom of this, but I'm also aware that labour charges could start racking up quite quickly if the problem is difficult to pin down, and I'm aware I need to be clear who's taking responsibility for payment of any costs incurred before then!  

 

Does anyone have thoughts on what I might say on this front?  I'm still in a bit of a grey area with this 'consultancy' business as to whether the consultant or the original seller (i.e. Skoda Financial Services) are liable for the costs of any repairs under the Consumer Rights Act.  Obviously if this situation got serious, I'd get some official legal advice, but for now, without unnecessary escalation, I just want to be able to politely but firmly state to the consultant whatever seems to be the proper legal position and my reasonable rights.

If anyone can help with advice, I'd be most grateful!  

Sam

 

(PS - cross-posted to Yeti Owners Club)

He is passing the buck!!

As stated on their website they previously owned the vehicle so they are responsible for it's repairs and they should be arranging it. Their suggestions would cost you money, but there seems to be no offer to repay those.

 

Point 1 -  Was that garage an expert in VAG vehicles? Will he name them?

Point 2 -  I would be wanting to use a Skoda dealership or a known VAG expert, and for that you will have to pay!

Point 3 -  Do you know who serviced the car previously? The fact that the owner is shown as Skoda Finance is immaterial.

Point 4 -  How does he know that? And that will only be through a Skoda dealership.

Point 5 -  And it is him who should be arranging that, not you. As said, buck passing.

 

Sorry to say this, but having looked at the company accounts I am getting dodgy feelings about this. Looks like a very good reason not to use these sorts of people and stick to known, recommended large companies. I would suggest you start getting some legal advice now and be prepared to reject the car.

As I understand it outside of private sellers the rule is your contract is with the person who sold you an item and their contract is with the person that sold/supplied it to them and so on up the chain.  If you try to speed things up by, for example, sending a faulty item directly to the manufacturer then it can create all sorts of problems because you have no contract with the manufacturer.

 

I agree with Graham if this is a worry to you and the seller isn't saying the things you need to hear then get legal advice now. For reasons I don't need to go into here I've had to use solicitors a couple of times in the last few months and have been surprised at how reasonable the fees were for the advice given and you will at least know the advice is sound in law - a solicitor's letter might focus the attention!

Good advice, and your contract indeed is solely and entirely with the seller of the vehicle. It's not down to you to be put through endless hoops sorting it out with third parties. 

Go and see a solicitor, and put the matter on a formal basis. 

Not good enough.