Good afternoon new member on here and new to skoda ownership

I have a mk 2 octavia scout estate 2010 estate 2ltr diesel 

it has an annoying screech/whistling noise which starts as i go over 60 mph and will only stop when I drop below 20 mph it will not start again until I go over 60

I've tried the following with no change in volume or pitch whatsoever 

in gear out of gear, rev up in and out of gear rolling downhill out of gear, braking air con on and off everything electrical on and off windows up and down etc.

now losing the will to live ill just drive everywhere at less than 60

 

anyone any ideas what it could be 

I take it from your list that the screech is independent of engine speed, gear or road speed but only starts at 60 and stops at 20 or below.

 

If you drive at 50 but for a little while does the screech appear?

Hi mike, no I drove 40 miles to manchester airport yesterday at between 50 and 60 mph silent all the way including a stint through 50 mph roadworks

the only thing I haven't tried is find a downhill road somewhere get the noise going then switch off the engine (very aware of steering lock) and see if the noise continues without the engine running

this is the noise but no answers on here

I was wondering if the noise could be coming from the temperature-controlled radiator fan/s and thus would be more influenced by ambient temperature and cooling system heat than by engine or road speed.

 

From the video I think that makes the fan issue unlikely as failing bearings tend to screech/squeal/rumble (or all three), whereas what I could tell from the audio sounded more like a squeal or whistle or some sort.

 

Just to check, if the noise starts whilst you are out on the road can you change gear and have the noise remain constant without change of road speed?

 

Edited 21 September, 20223 yr by MikeTheThinker

Yes I can it remains constant regardless of which gear I'm in up or down the box it also stays constant when going over 100mph on private roads obviously 

You won't lose power steering until <5 mph.

LHD, is that your car or another youtube video that has the same sound?

 

The noise sounds familiar, I think I may have experienced it with either an aircon pump failure, partial failure of the pulley shear plate or possibly the alternator one way clutch.

 

With that in mind I would remove the auxiliary drive belt and go for a test drive to rule out all of the above.

 

Another thought would be a corroded  brake disc backplate fractured around the mounting bolts, again I had a similar noise but I could only hear it at lower speeds with the windows open, this is very common on your vehicle so should be looked at as well.

Reading the comments below the video, the fix is to stop (by tape?) the air blowing through the gap between the bonnet and the upper chrome part of the radiator intake around the centre of the car. Have you tried that fix?

 

Didn't notice the tape trick on the video. been out in car all taped up no difference also tried driving up to sixty ish noise started then coasting along with the ignition turned off so engine stopped  not in gear noise still there ?

 

Have a passenger locate the general area of the sound source then take it from there.

The source appears to be the front but as for which side it's really hard to tell and opening the windows doesn't help have tried this with 3 passengers all agree front center ish. just to add insult to injury didn't know it locked itself left key in boot last night had to break rear quarter window to retrieve keys 

1 hour ago, osprey6500 said:

it locked itself left key in boot last night had to break rear quarter window to retrieve keys 

 The self locking happens if the locking system believes that you have unlocked the car but not opened a door.

Many of us have had this problem. Caused by a microswitch in a lock not operating, or a broken wire from the door to the car body (often in the flexible trunk from the drivers door to the body).

Easily checked by looking for the door open icon on the display every time you open a door. If not there, it will self lock again.

Can be intermittent (such as a broken wire). 

 

Thanks for that I'll check the doors 

ALWAYS keep the key in a pocket when not in the ignition!

Hi osprey6500, I have the same sort of whistling noise at high revs. It started to happen when I had to have the turbo changed because the exhaust casting broke. (I believe) I have put it down to the garage probably using an after market part but have not investigated it further. Though mine is a petrol 2008 Octavia vRS. Not sure if that helps. Would love to know if this is a thing with turbos or not. thanks.

25 minutes ago, charlest said:

I have the same sort of whistling noise at high revs. It started to happen when I had to have the turbo changed.

 

Does the whistling noise go up and down in frequency as engine revs change? Worse still if sounds like a police siren as the revs rise and fall.

If so, the bearings on the new turbo are on their way out. 

No the noise is constant and I have now managed to get it to make the noise by starting at the top of a hill ignition off only steering lock disengaged roll down hill out of gear noise eventually started at what I would guess is 60ish mph and only stops at tha bottom of the hill when the car stops 

Ps. Braking makes no difference 

I'm going to guess the heater fan has a dry bearing/bush or fouled brushes.

 

Airflow related to road speed spinning the fan with an overrun on deceleration.

So when driving normally at up to 60mph no noise at all heater on or off regardless of fan speed still no noise 

11 hours ago, pikpilot said:

 

Does the whistling noise go up and down in frequency as engine revs change? Worse still if sounds like a police siren as the revs rise and fall.

If so, the bearings on the new turbo are on their way out. 

No. The noise is a constant frequency that definitely sounds like an airflow whistle of some sort, much like in the video, but a purer tone to my ears.

Hopefully that means the bearings are ok!

Many thanks for your reply.

I’ve got this same noise  80mph plus , it’s definitely a wind noise of some form. Just a struggle pinpointing what’s causing it. Hard finding private roads where it’s safe todo that speed 🙈

Yes. At last I have got the car back to a decent garage and they could not see anything wrong with the turbo. The noise is definitely not revs related. But its going to be a long process to identify what it is. It does seem like some weird airflow problem and not an issue with the turbo. Will report back if we find anything.

I'm still trying to find the noise as I said earlier I can get it to start rolling down a hill with the ignition off I nearly run out of hill but the noise still kicks in. weirdly during the recent cold spell ( -7)  the noise started at between 40 to 50mph