I’m the new owner of a Mk3 FL vRS TDI DSG in Race Blue (thread to come on this).

 

So far it’s been happy motoring however I have a query regarding a constant low howling/whining noise I’ve noticed on my first long drive since picking it up last week. 

 

It appears to be coming from the front of the car but not from a specific point (unlike the A pillar rattle which I’m glad to say I resolved very quickly).

 

At first I thought I thought it could be the DSG but when I knock it in to N the noise is still there which to me would rule out the transmission.

 

It’s less noticeable at low speed but picks up when accelerating and is constant when cruising on the motorway.

 

The car is a 17 plate that has done less than 10k miles and was owned by a Skoda employee that, due to personal circumstances, sold the car back to their dealership. Their partner was the dealerships Master Technician so I’m in no doubt that the car was looked after and that there is nothing untoward wrong with the car.

 

I’ve read that these cars can suffer with wind and road noise as well as boom so I’m hoping it’s just a characteristic of the car.

 

I can live with the sound as it isn’t intrusive, the car isn’t any noisier than my Mk2, as long as I know it’s mechanically sound.

 

In addition it has 18” wheels with what I’m guessing are the original Bridgestone tyres.

 

I’d just like to gauge other owners experiences/views on this to put my mind at ease before I look further in to it.

 

Thanks is advance!

Edited 9 March, 20206 yr by CookieMonster87

If it's a howling/whining noise do you think it could be something air flow related? For example is the underside of the car looking all ok? I know that in the under tray, all be it facing the engine, there are loads of MIS shaped blocks placed there deliberately to avoid sound resonation at higher speeds for example. So any annomoly could potentially be a cause like a part missing maybe? Long shot I know but I have a similar car and certainly don't hear any whining or intrusive howling noise?

How much tread is left on the tyres. Bridgestones are known to be a noisy tyre. 

Are the back tyres sawtooth is on the edge. Does it have a spare wheel in the boot. 

Mine is on 19 P Zeros which are again a noisy tyre and I can get a background hum depending on road surface. I have put a bit of sound deadening in places which helped. 

A peivous vrs I had I changed tyres to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric which were much quieter and griped better. 

Well I had the car checked on a Hunter Alignment system and all readings were within manufacturer guidelines. They did say they could tweak them a bit to get it perfect but I’d be wasting my money. So I didn’t have to pay a penny, not even for the check.

 

They did point out that the tyres were starting to look a bit perished, and looking at the manufacture date, were likely the originals from factory making them 3 years old.
 

I’m not inclined to get them changed just yet as there is still plenty of tread in them and I’ve gotten used to any road noise now.

 

I did, however, end up having to remove and refit the nearside A pillar trim as it was making a loud buzzing noise against either the window or dash. This has solved much of the noise I was experiencing!

I've had my VRS' alignment done a few times over its 5 years - but one thing the technicians said to me - both using Hunter machines with the required settings for the VRS - is how they're worried about the large amount of negative camber that the Hunter wants for the rear wheels. 

 

They said that it will cause excessive wear on the inside of the tyres - which makes sense. Is that meant to be the case given the sporty setup of the car? The dealer on a routine service noted the excess wear and suggested an alignment though I do know not many dealers are aware of the proper specs for the car.

 

Anyone else have this situation?