Kodiaq jittery shaky ride at stable speed 50-80 km/h

[Andriyus]

Hi everyone! I just bought a used Skoda Kodiaq 2019 with very low mileage (<20k km). Everything seems OK in the car except for one thing - when driving at stable speed of 50-80 km/h (for example on cruise control), the car seems to jitter / shake a bit. It almost feels as if it is riding in too high of a gear and has this almost stalling effect. It is also relatively subtle - not something that you notice immediately, but you can feel your feet, your hands on the steering wheel, your phone on the holder vibrating. The car is automatic with 7-speed DSG, has 19 inch Pirelli Scorpion tires (inflated to 2.7 bar). Should I be concerned? The car still has 3 months factory warranty on it, hence I am considering taking it to a dealer for a check, but has anyone else experienced this problem before? Or is this "normal" expectation? I had a Toyota Prius+ before, which had a very soft & smooth ride but perhaps I should not be comparing them?

[DaveMiller]

Difficult to decide from your description whether there’s a problem, or just a difference in ride quality from your Prius.  (Although it sounds like a problem.)

 

If it’s subtle, a dealer may just say “nothing found”.

 

I suggest you somehow get a drive in a different Kodiaq, and see if the jitteriness is there.

[olderman1]

Are you UK based ?

I'd suggest that initially you let some air out of your tyres. I have the same tyres as you and a recent tyre pressure check revealed they'd deflated by a few pounds due to lack of use during Covid.

The extra 3 or 4 pounds I put into back into the tyres certainly made a difference to the ride i.e. I can feel more imperfections in the road surface now and I'm pretty sure I didn't inflate them to 2.7bar. I could check if you want.

[Kenny R]

You don’t say where you are located or whether your car is petrol or diesel, or 4x4 and has it been serviced at all. Are you carrying a full load all the time that your tyres are inflated to 2.7 bar, I run my 2.0 tsi at the recommended 2.4 bar.

Certainly doesn’t sound normal, 

Edited 22 May, 2021 by Kenny R

[olderman1]

Kenny has jogged my memory and 2.3 bar is what I inflated mine to. As I said, that extra 3 or 4 lbs I pumped in does make me feel more road imperfections, so going to 2.7 bar is certainly going to make your ride harsher. I would definitely let some air out and try the pressures at the recommended 2.3 bar.

[Andriyus]

2 hours ago, DaveMiller said:

Difficult to decide from your description whether there’s a problem, or just a difference in ride quality from your Prius.  (Although it sounds like a problem.)

 

If it’s subtle, a dealer may just say “nothing found”.

 

I suggest you somehow get a drive in a different Kodiaq, and see if the jitteriness is there.

Thanks! I was thinking of doing that too, but wanted to first try to figure out what could be the possible cause. I am thinking maybe it is as simple as wheels not being balanced correctly?

[Andriyus]

1 hour ago, olderman1 said:

Are you UK based ?

I'd suggest that initially you let some air out of your tyres. I have the same tyres as you and a recent tyre pressure check revealed they'd deflated by a few pounds due to lack of use during Covid.

The extra 3 or 4 pounds I put into back into the tyres certainly made a difference to the ride i.e. I can feel more imperfections in the road surface now and I'm pretty sure I didn't inflate them to 2.7bar. I could check if you want.

I checked all the tyres, they are all at 2.7 bar and holding pressure well (at least over the course of the week that I had the car now).

[olderman1]

2 minutes ago, Andriyus said:

I checked all the tyres, they are all at 2.7 bar and holding pressure well (at least over the course of the week that I had the car now).

You've missed the point, 2.7 bar is too high. Try 2.3 bar and if it's no better then it's likely something is out of balance considering that it's not happening at all speeds.

[skomaz]

No issue like that with our Kodiaq but it's on 18" at 2.4 bar.  Recommended pressure is 2.3 as stated earlier.  Eco pressure is 2.7 bar all round IIRC and fully loaded is 2.6 front and 3.0 rear.

 

[Andriyus]

1 hour ago, Kenny R said:

You don’t say where you are located or whether your car is petrol or diesel, or 4x4 and has it been serviced at all. Are you carrying a full load all the time that your tyres are inflated to 2.7 bar, I run my 2.0 tsi at the recommended 2.4 bar.

Certainly doesn’t sound normal, 

It's petrol, front-wheel drive, 1.5l 4-cylinder engine (with 150 horsepower), and a 7-speed DSG trasmission. Sorry, typo above - should be 18 inch tyres. These are Pirelli Scorpion 235/55 R18. On the car sticker it says that 18 inch tyres should be inflated to 2.7 bar for eco drive.

[Andriyus]

35 minutes ago, olderman1 said:

You've missed the point, 2.7 bar is too high. Try 2.3 bar and if it's no better then it's likely something is out of balance considering that it's not happening at all speeds.

Clear, thanks. Will try lowering to 2.3 and see if the vibration disappears. The dealer has loaded them to 2.7 upon delivery, and that's what the sticker says as recommended pressure for eco drive.

[MrTrilby]

50 minutes ago, Andriyus said:

Thanks! I was thinking of doing that too, but wanted to first try to figure out what could be the possible cause. I am thinking maybe it is as simple as wheels not being balanced correctly?

Wheel balance issues can cause odd vibrations at particular speeds 

[xman]

You may be experiencing the slight shuddering/roughness when the engine is operating in 2 cylinder mode. You can check when this is active on the maxidot, the small eco symbol appears in the bottom of the display. If you select the fuel consumption page, it will give a large text message when 2 cylinder mode is in use.

 

When you put your foot down on the throttle, it will exit 2 cylinder mode and the vibration should disappear.

 

The vibration/shuddering is felt most during low revs (between 1400-1700 rpm) and near the allowed power limit of 2 cylinder operation (25% of max available torque or about 60Nm). Which is on a very light throttle position. Its worse with some engines than others, and in my experience using super unleaded helps reduce the effect. Most people wont notice it though.

 

If it annoys you, simply change down a gear (easier with a manual than a DSG I appreciate), it will still end up using 2 cylinder mode (more often in fact), but once the revs go above about 1800-1900 rpm, it will be more or less imperceptible, you will also find the engine more economical in that rev range and the DMF will not be under so much strain, so its life will be prolonged.

 

The other possibility is your tyres/wheels are unbalanced, but that usually is felt at a higher speed of 100kph+.

Edited 22 May, 2021 by xman

[SurreyJohn]

I would get all the wheels balanced, probably a rear wheel if not getting it through steering.

 

Might be worth getting the wheels swapped around, certainly won’t do any harm, but if there is very slight balance problem might help it.   If it still happens after doing this I suspect you have a faulty wheel bearing, so get it changed before warranty runs out.

 

There is a trade off between 2.7bar for Eco (fuel saving) and lower pressure (about 2.4bar) for comfort.  Personally I would be choosing comfort, If you want an Eco car then Kodiaq was strange choice.

[Andriyus]

3 hours ago, xman said:

You may be experiencing the slight shuddering/roughness when the engine is operating in 2 cylinder mode. You can check when this is active on the maxidot, the small eco symbol appears in the bottom of the display. If you select the fuel consumption page, it will give a large text message when 2 cylinder mode is in use.

 

When you put your foot down on the throttle, it will exit 2 cylinder mode and the vibration should disappear.

 

The vibration/shuddering is felt most during low revs (between 1400-1700 rpm) and near the allowed power limit of 2 cylinder operation (25% of max available torque or about 60Nm). Which is on a very light throttle position. Its worse with some engines than others, and in my experience using super unleaded helps reduce the effect. Most people wont notice it though.

 

If it annoys you, simply change down a gear (easier with a manual than a DSG I appreciate), it will still end up using 2 cylinder mode (more often in fact), but once the revs go above about 1800-1900 rpm, it will be more or less imperceptible, you will also find the engine more economical in that rev range and the DMF will not be under so much strain, so its life will be prolonged.

 

The other possibility is your tyres/wheels are unbalanced, but that usually is felt at a higher speed of 100kph+.

 

Thanks a lot for your explanation. Indeed I notice vibration the most when I am driving around 70 km/h and DSG is in 6th gear and the engine is around 1500-1600 rpms. I just now tried manually downshifting to a lower gear, but cannot tell that the vibration changed in any way. Although to be honest it is a bit difficult to tell. I will try more driving with downshifting to a lower gear and see if I notice this at higher RPMs or not. If low RPMs are the cause, perhaps changing the driving mode to Sport would be an option as I believe it normally maintains higher RPMs and switches geras a bit later. Anyways that would be easier to maintain long term than keep downshifting manually.

 

But still - is this normal behavior if indeed I can confirm that it only happens at lower RPMs? Or is this still cause for potential warranty repair?

[xman]

The way to tell if 2 cylinder mode is to blame is to see if the vibration is only present when the 2 cylinder mode is active. As I explained there is an indicator on the dash that tell you when it is active.

[Andriyus]

2 minutes ago, xman said:

The way to tell if 2 cylinder mode is to blame is to see if the vibration is only present when the 2 cylinder mode is active. As I explained there is an indicator on the dash that tell you when it is active.

 

Yes, I can see when the 2-cylinder mode is engaged. Based on my investigation, vibration happens both on 2-cylinder and on normal (4-cylinder) mode. 

[Andriyus]

I tried to take a video. You cannot see the vibration that well on the video, but if you watch my hand or later my finger next to the steering wheel you can see the vibration. In this case most of the time it was driving in 2 cylinder mode, and then later it switched to normal 4-cylinder, yet it did not seem to have any effect on the vibration.

[olderman1]

4 minutes ago, Andriyus said:

I tried to take a video. You cannot see the vibration that well on the video, but if you watch my hand or later my finger next to the steering wheel you can see the vibration. In this case most of the time it was driving in 2 cylinder mode, and then later it switched to normal 4-cylinder, yet it did not seem to have any effect on the vibration.

 

 

You need to stop drinking, you're shaking and driving on the wrong side of the road 

[Andriyus]

1 minute ago, olderman1 said:

 

 

You need to stop drinking, you're shaking and driving on the wrong side of the road 

 

 I wish it were just me shaking  but unfortunately everything in the car is shaking a bit (as you can see from my fingers). I am in the Netherlands - hence it's the right side of the road for us

[DaveMiller]

The vibration is very regular, so I don’t think it’s anything to do with hard tyres / ride quality.  It looks like something is unbalanced.

 

(incidentally, on my 1.4 Tsi DSG, going into 2-cylinder mode has never produced any discernible extra vibration at all.)

[skomaz]

If the vibration is at a constant speed regardless of gear, engine speed or 2/4 cylinder mode its got to be something that rotates with the wheels at that speed, so tyre / wheel / brakes / driveshaft / CV joints.  It can't be gearbox, clutch or engine related.

 

Have you checked all tyres for any bulges or damage?  Have you hit any big potholes that could have damaged them or a wheel?  Also what make are the tyres as I have heard of certain makes having balance problems as they wear.

[snala]

You could try while on a slight hill, putting the car in neutral and taking the motor out of the equation, and rolling/braking to a stop? I wouldn't try re-engaging gear while moving with a DSG.

If it still does the vibration it's more likely to be steering, wheels or suspension based then.

I have VRS with 20 inch wheels and inflate to 2.7 bar and the ride is fine, so don't think your tyre pressure is the reason, that just changes the firmness.

Check the tyre wear and if anything is stuck in one, or even better you don't have dry mud hidden on the inside of the rim. Vibes through the steering wheel are common with a lot of built up mud on the rim, or simply dropping a wheel balance weight, which you won't necessarily notice from the outside.

Edited 24 May, 2021 by snala

[Ootohere]

No issues for the DSG being put out of gear and re-engaging gear, let the car do it,   you just enable 'coasting' function and then just see how things are on a down slope or off the accelerator. 

Edited 24 May, 2021 by e-Roottoot

[whitevx]

Have you checked to see if all four (4) tyres are still I  balance ? I did see someone mention it previously yet don't recall seeing if that had been done.