Hi Briskoda-ites

I know there are acres of posts about timing chains, and other mysterious rattle/ticking noises, and I’ve read a lot of them (some way beyond my technical level) but would be grateful for thoughts on my specifics.

Current Fabia 1.2 tsi combi (2011) always had the customary 2 second rattle on start up. I don’t remember the 2009 one having it, but I noticed it when I test drove this one, which was 4yrs old when I bought it.

It was consistent and caused us no trouble tho til about 20 months ago, when a perfect storm of issues (including an elusive oil leak) meant a lot of garage work required, including chain replacement.

A few weeks ago I noticed a new ticking noise. It didn’t sound like the chain at first so I was convinced it was something else, and read a lot of posts about pipes and pumps on this forum.

It was present at start up, would continue for a few minutes if engine cold, and was definitely engine- related as followed revs rather than road speed.

But now the character of the noise seems to vary between chain-like and ticking/something else very hard to describe.

I’ve tried twice to record it but it’s like it knows I’m listening and refuses to perform on demand. I’ll keep trying.

Extra info, which may or may not be related or relevant:

• engine occasionally sounds like it’s hunting a little on idle

• Fuel consumption has dropped/is inconsistent, though I feel that started before the noise.

I’ve read up on replacing the tensioner, as I could do that myself, but I don’t feel it should need it less than 2 years after chain replacement. What does anyone else think?

It’s got over 180k miles on the clock so I know things will wear out and drop off.

Edited 21 February21 Feb by MijIsTired
Typo - corrected hinting to hunting

I doubt its the timing chain/tensioner after less than two years unless it was a cheapo one that was fitted or wasnt fitted correctly. Still shouldnt rule it out though. Next time it happens try and locate roughly where its coming from. I use a length of hose with one end to ear and move other end around engine bay till the noise gets louder. It might be a bad fuel injector if your mpg is dropped. Difficult to say .

Alasdair

@Alasdair1 just been doing that. It’s defo the chain side of the engine, and appears to be higher than lower (ie around top cover area) though as I can’t get my ear much lower in the bay it’s hard to be sure.

My brain is particularly bad at isolating sounds (auditory processing disorder), even tho my ears are fine, and with so much else going on it’s hard to be more specific than that.

Audio of idle & a few revs. Recording didn’t work first time so it’s not as cold as it was, and the start up itself wasn’t noisy at all today, typically.

This is with the phone as close to the engine - with bonnet open - as I could reach with my foot still on the pedal.

As a recording device it’s not subtle, and the ticking actually sounds way worse than I can usually hear, even with my head over it.

But then, when it’s at its most noticeable, it almost sounds like an air cooled Beetle. Not quite that extreme, but reminiscent of that sound.

Edited 22 February22 Feb by MijIsTired
Confirmed too soon, added detail.

It doesnt sound right but cant work out what the noise may be. Might be worth getting it checked with vcds. I read that it can detect a stretched chain etc and may ping up fault codes/bad injector etc.

Alasdair

I've got an OBD11 (I know it's not proper, but it was all my budget could stretch to), which I plugged in since I noticed the change. There are a couple of error codes as I've got electrical gremlins again (assuming the rudimentary boot loom repairs need redoing and have a cracked earth) but I didn't see anything new.

I'll plug it again this coming week, see if anything's changed.

I read with vcds it can tell what degree the chain has stretched. Ai says

VCDS checks a timing chain by reading the "Camshaft Adaptation Intake Bank 1" value in the engine control module to measure chain stretch in degrees of crankshaft rotation. For TSI engines, this is usually found in Measuring Block 93 (or Advanced Measuring Values), where a value approaching -5° or more indicates significant stretching requiring service A bit above my tech but maybe a VAG specialist or someone near you with vcds could scan it or you.

Alasdair

Another thing that can apparently make a nasty noise is wear to the HPFP's cam follower.

At your mileage I guess that may be a candidate.

Ive had a few different cars with chain issues, including one car with the exact engine of yours. It doesnt sound like chain issue, when ive heard the chains they are much louder than that.

Id be tempted to have the rocker cover off and just inspect the general health of the top end of the engine as best as possible as other has said camshaft potentially. 180K on a petrol its certainly getting up there in milage its likely wear and tear elsewhere in the engine is probably fair to assume. You did well to get it to where you did on its first chain ones ive seen are around 100k miles it needs doing.

Thanks folks, slow replies as I thought I’d have more time to work through suggestions last week, but life had other plans.

On 23/02/2026 at 10:29, Alasdair1 said:

…

VCDS checks a timing chain by reading the "Camshaft Adaptation Intake Bank 1" value in the engine control module to measure chain stretch in degrees of crankshaft rotation. For TSI engines, this is usually found in Measuring Block 93 (or Advanced Measuring Values), where a value approaching -5° or more indicates significant stretching requiring service A bit above my tech but maybe a VAG specialist or someone near you with vcds could scan it or you.

Alasdair

I will have a rummage in the apps/live data in my OBD. It’s no substitute for garage level dx but it can often help to narrow down the source of an issue.

On 23/02/2026 at 10:43, Breezy_Pete said:

Another thing that can apparently make a nasty noise is wear to the HPFP's cam follower.

At your mileage I guess that may be a candidate.

Thanks, will find out more about this too. I’ve seen the fuel pump mentioned in other threads so definitely worth a look.

On 26/02/2026 at 16:32, Space_Cow said:

Ive had a few different cars with chain issues, including one car with the exact engine of yours. It doesnt sound like chain issue, when ive heard the chains they are much louder than that.

Id be tempted to have the rocker cover off and just inspect the general health of the top end of the engine as best as possible as other has said camshaft potentially. 180K on a petrol its certainly getting up there in milage its likely wear and tear elsewhere in the engine is probably fair to assume. You did well to get it to where you did on its first chain ones ive seen are around 100k miles it needs doing.

Thanks, may need to, though it did have a new chain around 18,000m ago. Still good going for the first one, but it’s the reason I think it is (or should be) something else this time.