I have an ongoing rumble sound from wheels on my MY 17 Octavia petrol. This car was purchased with 14k miles and I have only done approx 2k miles. The rumble has been constant but not very bad so its only now that I decided to examine wheels and tyres. Tyres seem ok and wheels not loose ( checked all nuts/bolts)  However I noticed that all of the hub caps are damaged around the edges as if by a screw driver or tool of some sort.  I am wondering what work could have been involved. Front discs looked like they were new.  Any thoughts ?

 

 

 

 

Are you able to go round the car, jack it up and spin each wheel in turn by hand? Do you hear the noise? Is it any particular wheel? Does any wheel rotate less freely or spin less than the others? Do any of them sound different?

 

Rumbling would normally make me think wheel bearings but your car is way too low mileage for me to think this is likely. Sticky brake caliper or handbrake? Has it always done this since you had it? If you don't drive it much brakes can get sticky.

1 hour ago, Papfox said:

Are you able to go round the car, jack it up and spin each wheel in turn by hand? Do you hear the noise? Is it any particular wheel? Does any wheel rotate less freely or spin less than the others? Do any of them sound different?

 

Rumbling would normally make me think wheel bearings but your car is way too low mileage for me to think this is likely. Sticky brake caliper or handbrake? Has it always done this since you had it? If you don't drive it much brakes can get sticky.

Thank you papfox.  I will do that , jack each  and turn them. It has always been like this since I got it. Whatever work has been done previous someone made a hash of the wheel centre caps. I will report back on what I find.

Please be careful to do it on the flat and chock the wheels on the ground as you'll have to release the handbrake to do the rear ones.

 

Also try to get a good grip and rock the elevated wheel left-right and up-down. You shouldn't be able to. If you can then you may have a wheel bearing or suspension issue.

 

How do the brake discs look? Is one worn worse than the others or showing signs of heat discolouration?

 

Are there any signs of uneven wear on any of the tyres? Does the car have TPMS, ABS or Traction Control? Have you had any alarms from any of these?

 

Edited 1 March, 20197 yr by Papfox

More thoughts... Please forgive me if I'm telling you how to suck eggs but I don't know your experience level.

 

If you are going along and you dip the clutch then take the car out of gear for a couple of seconds (assuming it's a manual), does the noise change or go away?

 

Have a look at the drive shafts on the front. On the wheel end of each one there should be a rubber gaiter that protects its CV joint. Do the gaiters look OK? Is either split/missing/off the joint? If so and dirt has got into one of the CV joints, it could be failing and could quite possibly make a noise.

Edited 1 March, 20197 yr by Papfox

Wheel centre caps going white around the edges is a common complaint. Others here have managed to get the dealers to replace them. I tried my dealer at the last service, they seemed to know all about it from the reaction of the service person but told me it'd be 50euro to replace them and they'd have to be ordered in so i left it. They are 20euro on superskoda, could probably get cheaper on ebay etc. 

I replaced my nut caps with these and have been very impressed.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16pcs-Wheel-Lug-Nut-Center-Cover-4pcs-Locking-Types-Caps-for-VW-Audi-Skoda/272334441241

 

 

9 hours ago, lway said:

Wheel centre caps going white around the edges is a common complaint. Others here have managed to get the dealers to replace them. I tried my dealer at the last service, they seemed to know all about it from the reaction of the service person but told me it'd be 50euro to replace them and they'd have to be ordered in so i left it. They are 20euro on superskoda, could probably get cheaper on ebay etc. 

Thanks Iway.  Yes rediculous price from dealer. I've ordered new ones from eBay and intend to apply some grease before fitting as its obvious that a struggle has taken place with a screwdriver or other implement.

18 hours ago, Papfox said:

More thoughts... Please forgive me if I'm telling you how to suck eggs but I don't know your experience level.

 

If you are going along and you dip the clutch then take the car out of gear for a couple of seconds (assuming it's a manual), does the noise change or go away?

 

Have a look at the drive shafts on the front. On the wheel end of each one there should be a rubber gaiter that protects its CV joint. Do the gaiters look OK? Is either split/missing/off the joint? If so and dirt has got into one of the CV joints, it could be failing and could quite possibly make a noise.

Thanks papfox , I have a fair understanding of safety and previous to this car I've always done most maintenance myself. That could be why I notice the noise ,previous cars being Jaguar. Anyway I appreciate the points you made  and will attend to them. I would not want to do too much dabbling at this fairly new car, it being under warranty.

On 01/03/2019 at 10:30, Plantman said:

I replaced my nut caps with these and have been very impressed.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16pcs-Wheel-Lug-Nut-Center-Cover-4pcs-Locking-Types-Caps-for-VW-Audi-Skoda/272334441241

 

 

Hi plantman , yes I have those but it is the wheel centre  caps I'm on about. Anyway , thanks for interest. BTW the nut covers don't come off so handy, I find so I keep a pair of players in the boot in case of a puncture. ( dont think the tongs provided would do )

The tongs should go in then click into place. One they do that then the nut covers should come straight off. If you don't get the click then they are not grabbing the covers and will just come back out empty handed so to speak.

 

also, I'm unsure why you would need to take the centre cap off the alloy as it comes off along with the wheel

Edited 4 March, 20197 yr by Delberthot

On 01/03/2019 at 10:30, Plantman said:

I replaced my nut caps with these and have been very impressed.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16pcs-Wheel-Lug-Nut-Center-Cover-4pcs-Locking-Types-Caps-for-VW-Audi-Skoda/272334441241

 

 

I bought these cheap wheel bolt covers for my winter wheels and I’ve lost 3 already, total waste of money. Have now replaced them with genuine ones.

That's a shame. Mine have been on since around June last year and all good. They were a nice tight fit when going on too. Perhaps I should do a quick count to double check

 

The tongs also work pretty well but they are a bit flimsy.  I will try to plan ahead and remove the caps before I need any wheel or tyre work done because you can be sure most garages will just use brute force to remove them rather than the correct tool.

 

Melbury, sorry, I didn't read your post correctly there.  I wasn't aware the centre caps could be replaced easily.

 

On 01/03/2019 at 18:41, melbury said:

Thanks Iway.  Yes rediculous price from dealer. I've ordered new ones from eBay and intend to apply some grease before fitting as its obvious that a struggle has taken place with a screwdriver or other implement.

The cheap ones from eBay are false economy and will need replacing again soon, and would think with grease applied they will fall out soon anyway.

 Don’t know why anyone would try and remove centre caps with a screwdriver unless they were going to be replaced as they are guaranteed to be damaged. Remove wheel and caps can be pushed out from behind. 

9 hours ago, Delberthot said:

The tongs should go in then click into place. One they do that then the nut covers should come straight off. If you don't get the click then they are not grabbing the covers and will just come back out empty handed so to speak.

 

also, I'm unsure why you would need to take the centre cap off the alloy as it comes off along with the wheel

Hi there Delberthot,  yes I get that, but someone prior to my ownership must have done so , maybe many times. They are crimped all I he way round the edge, likely by a screwdriver.So will be replaced.

On 04/03/2019 at 14:28, Kenny R said:

The cheap ones from eBay are false economy and will need replacing again soon, and would think with grease applied they will fall out soon anyway.

 Don’t know why anyone would try and remove centre caps with a screwdriver unless they were going to be replaced as they are guaranteed to be damaged. Remove wheel and caps can be pushed out from behind. 

Hello Kenny,  Dunno If you caught up with all this nonsense but yes I know as well as most that wheel centre caps  can be pushed out from behind . its just that they are damaged however caused and will be replaced. That's the end of it!