Hi, I’m new here but joined to try get some advice, I’ve read forums before for previous cars & problems etc, but never joined one, so thought I may as well! 
 

I recently got a Skoda Fabia Mk3 it’s a fantastic car and I’m very happy, my only issue is once I hear a slight noise, that’s all I can hear and it’s driving me insane lol. The noise I have is a rattle/knock from the B pillar or possibly the seatbelt adjuster but I’m starting to think it’s not the seatbelt adjuster as the noise is still clear when I hold it still while driving.

 

I just wondered if this is a common thing with noise coming from the B pillar, it’s only really over bad road surfaces but here in Huddersfield (like the rest of the U.K.) the roads are normally all pretty badly maintained, if anyone has any advice, I’d love to hear it! Thanks.  

Hi, welcome.  Have you checked that the seatbelt adjuster is fully locked into position (3 IIRC).

 

From the owners manual. -

Hey thanks for your reply, so I’ve just had a look, I re adjusted and checked it was secure, all seems to have clicked into place, I believe it was all good before but I will see if perhaps this has solved it and will have to update later once I drive it, thanks again. 

27 minutes ago, nta16 said:

Hi, welcome.  Have you checked that the seatbelt adjuster is fully locked into position (3 IIRC).

 

From the owners manual. -

 

Hey thanks for your reply, so I’ve just had a look, I re adjusted and checked it was secure, all seems to have clicked into place, I believe it was all good before but I will see if perhaps this has solved it and will have to update later once I drive it, thanks again. 

 

•  
• Quote

 

My wife's late June 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI has a slight annoying buzz coming from the driver's side upper seat belt area in the B pillar, a sharp tug of the belt tends to stop it for a while, it has had that from new I could really be bothered interesting VW in sorting it out as normally one thing gets fixed and a few more things go wrong or at least get damaged!

 

I've never even got round to altering the height of that adjustable top mounting to see if it solves it if I change or correct the height to suit me, hopefully it currently is adjusted to suit my wife.

 

One other annoying noise I got rid off was from the seatbelt buckle/mounting bracket touching a bit of metal work when the seat etc was in "my" correct position - to sort that out I just copied what VW Group fit to some other cars including my 2011 S4 - ie a wide strip of self adhesive Velcro - the soft half.

12 minutes ago, rum4mo said:

My wife's late June 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI has a slight annoying buzz coming from the driver's side upper seat belt area in the B pillar, a sharp tug of the belt tends to stop it for a while, it has had that from new I could really be bothered interesting VW in sorting it out as normally one thing gets fixed and a few more things go wrong or at least get damaged!

 

I've never even got round to altering the height of that adjustable top mounting to see if it solves it if I change or correct the height to suit me, hopefully it currently is adjusted to suit my wife.

 

One other annoying noise I got rid off was from the seatbelt buckle/mounting bracket touching a bit of metal work when the seat etc was in "my" correct position - to sort that out I just copied what VW Group fit to some other cars including my 2011 S4 - ie a wide strip of self adhesive Velcro - the soft half.

Hi, thanks for commenting, I’ve seen that a few of the vw owned group cars have similar noises but doesn’t seem common enough for there to be loads of info out there. And yeah I’m also reluctant to take it to a Skoda dealer as I known dealers in general can cause issues and also charge a lot. 

 

I’ve given the seatbelt a good tug and it locks as it should, I’ve tried to get the height right so it makes the least amount of noise if I press on it so I’ll just have to see if that solves my issue! Thanks for your comment! 

I always like to try the quick, easy and free things first, particularly if it keeps my hands clean.

 

If the car is under warranty you could perhaps get them to have a look but sometimes it's as rum4mo says and it can also be even if you do it yourself, taking plastic clipped panels off and on can introduce further issues, hopefully a lot les so in a 4 year old car, and you might not even fully stop the rattle.  A knock I think might be a different issue but what I judge as a knock might be different to you.

 

Perhaps slightly adjusting the seat might easy the seatbelt noise.

 

If you can do a recording of the noise it might(?) help.

 

Good luck let us know how you get on.

 

Edited 3 January, 20233 yr by nta16
spelling

22 hours ago, nta16 said:

I always like to try the quick, easy and free things first, particularly if it keeps my hands clean.

 

If the car is under warranty you could perhaps get them to have a look but sometimes it's as rum4mo says and it can also be even if you do it yourself, taking plastic clipped panels of and on can introduce further issues, hopefully a lot les so in a 4 year old car, and you might not even fully stop the rattle.  A knock I think might be a different issue but what I judge as a knock might be different to you.

 

Perhaps slightly adjusting the seat might easy the seatbelt noise.

 

If you can do a recording of the noise it might(?) help.

 

Good luck let us know how you get on.

 

Hi Nigel, so after trying what you suggested I have driven my car and it has not really got any quieter which is a shame, it is definitely a rattle as oppose to a knock, perhaps knock was the wrong term, I am at the moment trying different seating positions and seatbelt height to see if that helps any further. 

 

It is such a minor thing but so frustrating when I have a rattle in my ear, I do not want to let it get to me too much cos I have done this in the past with other cars when I hear a noise, it really puts me off! haha. the only solution that works at the moment really is louder music, but I do not always want to have my music loud enough for it not to be heard.

 

Finally I called Skoda just to ask if this is something they have dealt with before in Fabias, however the technician did not seem to recall having a noise in the B pillar/Seatbelt adjuster before, must just be my luck! Cheers.

Rattles and noises annoy me too particularly if I don't know the cause - but all is not lost yet.

 

Noises like leaks have a habit of not showing at where they originate so you do need to check.  If you can get someone else to drive you can be in the back seat with a listening device - length of hose (garden, fuel, coolant, I've even used vacuum cleaner) and check that the noise is from the seatbelt adjuster or the B-pillar and not elsewhere.

 

My wife identified a buzz type rattle as being from the seatbelt reel(s) of my car but it's intermittent and internal, been like it for years and the seatbelts are fully functioning so I ignore it.

 

Next post I have 'how to' remove top and bottom parts.

Edited 9 July, 20223 yr by nta16

The Workshop manual is available on the net as a pdf but I can't remember where I got my copy.

 

(hope this all displays for you)

 

 

 

 

17 minutes ago, nta16 said:

Rattles and noises annoy me too particularly if I don't know the cause - but all is not lost yet.

 

Noises like leaks have a habit of not showing at where they originate so you do need to check.  If you can get someone else to drive you can be in the back seat with a listening device - length of hose (garden, fuel coolant, I've even used vacuum cleaner) and check that the noise is from the seatbelt adjuster or even the B-pillar and not elsewhere.

 

My wife identified a buzz type rattle as being from the seatbelt reel(s) of my car but it's intermittent and internal, been like it for years and the seatbelts are fully functioning so I ignore it.

 

Next post I have 'how to' remove top and bottom parts.

I was thinking perhaps the doors could be causing it, as of course they are right next to me, I have seen some people mention that spraying silicone spray on the rubber weather seals around the door frames can stop noise, trusted it is the doors, I'm not sure how that stops door noise but do you think that might be worth trying?

9 minutes ago, nta16 said:

The Workshop manual is available on the net as a pdf but I can't remember where I got my copy.

 

(hope this all displays for you)

 

 

 

 

Cheers I will use this if I decide to take the pillar off 

13 minutes ago, Dyl4n said:

I have seen some people mention that spraying silicone spray on the rubber weather seals around the door frames can stop noise,

That would probably be more about wind noise (but perhaps if really bad(!) rattle from the door catches).  Putting something on the door/window rubbers can generally help as a form of lubricating.  I use AutoGlym Bumper & Trim Gel or silicone oil applied with a 35mm cube of sponge or a silicone spray or GT-85. 

 

But if the door is rattling I doubt lubricating the seals will do much to help with that.

 

Edited 9 July, 20223 yr by nta16

3 hours ago, nta16 said:

That would probably be more about wind noise (but perhaps if really bad(!) rattle from the door catches).  Putting something on the door/window rubbers can generally help as a form of lubricating.  I use AutoGlym Bumper & Trim Gel or silicone oil applied with a 35mm cube of sponge or a silicone spray or GT-85. 

 

But if the door is rattling I doubt lubricating the seals will do much to help with that.

 

Hello, thanks for your advise Nigel, I will attempt at some point to record the audio and post it, I might try using some spray on the door seals just on the off chance it does anything, ill see how I get on trying a few things and will post to let you know if anything is successful. 

17 minutes ago, Dyl4n said:

... I might try using some spray on the door seals just on the off chance it does anything, ill see how I get on trying a few things and will post to let you know if anything is successful. 

If you have some spray you might as well give it a go, at least it will lubricate the seals and offer a little protection.

 

As sprays tend to go everywhere, and Sod's Law to places you don't want it to, best to use a straw on the can nozzle or apply to cloth or sponge first.  Follow the instructions and the can and shake the can well if directed.

 

If you need to buy a spray get GT-85 as it has other uses too and smells nice (once British but taken over by the American WD-40 Company years back).

 

It has been reported on many of these motoring forums that strange noises can come from the door seals when the body<>doors move relative to each other, it tends to be Krytox etc that people are advised to use - that stuff is used a lot on car that have folding steel roofs it seems.

 

I am just clarifying that nothing more.

Not disagreeing just thinking if that'd be more of a rattle and if so perhaps from the door catch, hopefully not the hinges.

 

I've never heard of Krytox so it might be the best thing since sliced bread but I remember with VW's Eos folding roof seals it was suggested to use a product called Gummi Pflege which I discovered was just German for Rubber Care, now VW seem to be on Krytox.

 

A quick Google and Krytox seems to be an offshoot of DuPont and Krytox has Teflon as one of their brands (possibly some sort of corporate/family dodge as they're not been the most pleasant of owners).

 

Krytox AUT U14 "Low viscosity PFPE oil with soluble UV indicator - Elastomer weather seals" (I wonder what the UV indicator is about).

 

Krytox GPL 105 "Medium viscosity, additive free PFPE oil - Headrest posts, seatbelt mechanism, interior surface NVH".

 

https://www.krytox.com/en/products/automotive

 

If it's a door rattle from door to body movement there can be another explanation but that's another matter.

 

 

Edited 10 July, 20223 yr by nta16

I acquired a bottle of Krytox as at one point we needed it to lubricate O-ring seals in systems that contained some curious F-Gas product - it is safe to use with any/most F-Gas refrigerants!

Yeah but saying Krytox is like saying Ford, there's lots of variations they all might be brilliant or some better than others.  I can't dispute any as I don't know but I'm free to question it as I don't have anything to worry about from an American corporation or 'family', who needs enemies when you have certain Americans as 'friends'. 

Hi all, so nothing seems to have worked so far, I have got some of that GT-85 on the way as I ordered some the other day on Amazon, which I will use because I may as well seen as I bought it it!

 

However, while browsing the other day online trying to find anyone with the same issue I came across a post on a “Dashboard rattle” thread that read this:

 

“On my Fabia it is the fabric of the ceiling rubbing against the plastic covering the B pillar.

For now I hav just squeezed in some paper between the fabric and plastic”. 

I will attach an imagine so you can see. I thought I may as well try this for the sake of it and just need to drive the car now, I’ll be driving to work in the morning so I’ll try remember to post an update, I’m not hopeful but I’ll happily try anything just on the off chance…

 

4 hours ago, nta16 said:

Yeah but saying Krytox is like saying Ford, there's lots of variations they all might be brilliant or some better than others.  I can't dispute any as I don't know but I'm free to question it as I don't have anything to worry about from an American corporation or 'family', who needs enemies when you have certain Americans as 'friends'. 

 

Not really, at the time I got that bottle, it just came in different forms like oil or stiffened up like grease for different applications, ie ease of use, I could quote the actual version/form if I looked at the bottle.

 

I've got American relations, they visited recently, in no way are they "red necks" or "Tumpists" quite the opposite, but it seems all Americans know the only "good" Ruskie is a nuked one, and that caused a bit of friction as I suggested that this area of Europe could quite easily be the waste ground when the "big guys" start throwing really big munitions around.

@rum4mo not all but a lot in the States (and they are in states) are brainwashed about a number of things going back decades and for generations and some seem to think they're separate from the rest of the world - but I've already got a couple of bullets with my name, altho' one said I was worth the 2c(?). 😄

 

WD-40 do numerous lubricating sprays, such as  GT85, some might be netter than others that was the way I was thinking of Krytox.

@Dyl4n great you're getting the GT85 for general use but don't you ever go near any shops as I've never found amazon lowest price on anything I've looked at and the last two can of GT85, one for a neighbour, were £2 each, wish I could remember from where though, both cans were fine and I'm still using both for me and the neighbour.  I will declare I stopped buying from amazon a few years back as I've hardly plugged the DVD player back into the mains let alone turned it on.

 

Paper is fine to try, beer mat might be too thick - it's free and easy to try say it's a paper template if you want.

 

I fine the plastics tend to move, vibrate, squeak more when its cold and perhaps damp so if the paper works you may need to modify it later in the year.

 

If this works debate on the weight of paper, number of folds or alternative materials available may be discussed.

  

Edited 3 January, 20233 yr by nta16
hyperlinks

On 11/07/2022 at 15:29, nta16 said:

@Dyl4n great you're getting the GT85 for general use but don't you ever go near any shops as I've never found amazon lowest price on anything I've looked at and the last two can of GT85, one for a neighbour, were £2 each, wish I could remember from where though, both cans were fine and I'm still using both for me and the neighbour.  I will declare I stopped buying from amazon a few years back as I've hardly plugged the DVD player back into the mains let alone turned it on.

 

Paper is fine to try, beer mat might be too thick - it's free and easy to try say it's a paper template if you want.

 

I fine the plastics tend to move, vibrate, squeak more when its cold and perhaps damp so if the paper works you may need to modify it later in the year.

 

If this works debate on the weight of paper, number of folds or alternative materials available may be discussed.

  

So, the paper did not work, however, I have finally fixed it, to some extent at least. I used the GT-85 on a small bolt or whatever it is that holds the part the seatbelt threads through, sorry it’s hard to explain without knowing exactly what it’s called (I will try to remember to post some photos when I’m next in the car).

 

Anyway… it has significantly reduced the rattling, if not taken it away completely, to hear anything now you need to turn the music all the way down, have the windows closed and the fans turned off, at that point you can hear many plastic parts creak and make noise but they are to be expected especially with the roads over here, but yeah it’s basically impossible to hear the seatbelt rattle now.

 

The only thing I’m interested in now is seeing if it comes back at any point and seeing if I’ll have to re apply the GT-85, I did apply some to the door locking mechanism for good measure haha, so far though the rattle is fixed and makes the car way more enjoyable! 

Good news.

 

Do be careful about not getting anything on the seatbelt webbing, cover it if spraying nearby.

 

On 13/07/2022 at 09:13, Dyl4n said:

I used the GT-85 on a small bolt or whatever it is that holds the part the seatbelt threads through, sorry it’s hard to explain without knowing exactly what it’s called (I will try to remember to post some photos when I’m next in the car).

Yes or put an arrow on the diagram from the previous post.

 

I doubt if the spraying has cured it but it has located the area and relived it for now.  It might ne that a bolt is loose and needs nipping up but I'd hope not with anything to do with seatbelts or it might be like a lot of car servicing, maintenance and repairs in that it just boils down to clean and lubricate.  GT85 does both.  I keep cleaned used toothbrushes for brushing out muck, grit and debris, first dry with perhaps a vacuum nozzle near to collect the crud and then depending on what, where and what is needed use the toothbrush with the GT85 or just spray with GT85 and work it in by repeatedly moving whatever is needed.

 

For lubricating GT85 is obviously thin and sometimes a more heavy duty lubricant is need for longevity but even then GT85 can be good for an initial use.

 

If you're getting a lot of rattles check that your tyres are all correctly inflated and that the potholes haven't damaged your wheels or suspension.  The fashion on modern cars is to have oversized wheels and wide very low profile tyres so these transmit more road noise and vibration which is opposite to what is needed after the deterioration and lack of upkeep from the previous economic downturn. 

Edited 3 January, 20233 yr by nta16
hyperlinks