Hi all
Wonder if anyone might regonise this droning noise I've been hearing, i can't un hear it now and its anoying!
I've just had a new set of tyres fitted on the front and had these moved to rear, Then what was on the rear moved to the front to finish the useful life of those off.
Not sure if i had been hearing this droning noise before, i think i might of done but seems very noticable and louder now since tyres moved about.
I thought it was the new tyres but Im not so sure now. could just be coincidence.
Maybe a wheel bearing getting noisy or other transmission?
It starts building up noticably from 50mph, by 60mph is definetly there.
Not managed to try it on other roads at speed to see if it changes if it is tyre noise.
Garage suggested to reduce down to 30PSI all round to see if that changed anything. Still the same after that.
If i drop it into neutral and just coast the noise remains so dosen't appear to be engine or maybe directly gearbox related.
Though the transmission on mine isin't the quietest, been like that since new.
Here's a link to a short YT video with some audio.
First 1:20 is EQ's a bit to clean it up but is fairly good representaion of what Im hearing.
Last 1:20 is the same audio but with the sound more isolated.
Attached an mp3 too, didn't realise could do that.
Cheers

https://youtu.be/AQnv2ahr29o

Edited 21 March21 Mar by Gonzini

Difficult to tell but may be a wheel bearing on its way out. My sons sounded a bit like that His was the front and it change pitch/got louder/quieter if you steered left and right. Could also be a bad CV joint. Did the noise move from rear to front or vice versa when you swapped wheels/tyres. His bearing made noise but no noticeable play and felt fairly smooth. It was only when I compared it to new one noticed it was a lot stiffer.

Alasdair

The rears moved to the front can be mis-shaped from being on the rear. They might well be worn out soon. So what are the old tyres, size, brand, model. & what are the new rears? No matter all the experts, internet opinions etc etc there is no way i put the new tyres on as rears, (on a FWD car.) especially if they are the originals the car came with and are years old, even if only 3 years old. ?? Are the rears that you have, now fronts the tyres from 2019, or even manufactured 2018?

Edited 21 March21 Mar by Evolution13

50 minutes ago, Evolution13 said:

The rears moved to the front can be mis-shaped from being on the rear. They might well be worn out soon. So what are the old tyres, size, brand, model. & what are the new rears? No matter all the experts, internet opinions etc etc there is no way i put the new tyres on as rears, (on a FWD car.) especially if they are the originals the car came with and are years old, even if only 3 years old. ?? Are the rears that you have, now fronts the tyres from 2019, or even manufactured 2018?

Same. All the traction and 60% of the braking is done by the front wheels so fitting old tyres on the front and putting the new tyres on the rear isn't a great idea IMO either. You didn't swap sides at all did you and are they directional tyres i.e. with an arrow showing direction of rotation?

Cheers guys.
Garage that fitted new tyres did all the work.
Old tyres still have min 5mm tread, they're the original Dunlops. They look in good condition still, no cracking. But yeah i hear what your saying.
Sure direction is all OK, but will check again now you mention swopping sides. I'm sure they are aware of that one.
I don't think its the new tyres, sounds like the noise is coming from the front drivers side seems louder but hard to pinpoint as cabin accoustics affecting things.
I'm not doing loads of miles of late, work part time now for 3 days just up the road.
Need to try it on some different road surfaces but that droning noise always seems to be there.

If its a bearing it will get progressively worse although I had one that lasted for months until I got round to replacing it. Slight droning noise so I checked and there was no noticeable movement or play. Eventually became loud enough to pin point which one. Maybe the garage that did the tyres would pop it on a ramp for you and give each wheel a quick check.

Alasdair

Edited 22 March22 Mar by Alasdair1

Meant to add if they check the wheels get them to check undertray is secure. Have had one vibrate at certain speeds due to lack of fixings.

Alasdair

If it’s the bearing, you find the noise is worst at a certain speed and multiples/ fractions of that, and then quietens a bit in between.

Eg, if the noise is loudest at 50mph, it will also be relatively loud at 25mph and 100mph (hard to test that)

Or 20, 40, 80mph.

Reason being the frequency of the drone resonates through the bearing into the hub and chassis.

If it’s tyre related i expect it to change pitch depending on speed.

Other possibility is it’s part of t a wheel arch liner or trim piece that’s loose, and the airflow above 50mph is enough force to push it out and rub on the tyre or road. Might not be noticeable looking at the car when it’s stopped. I remember it took me ages to figure what a weird rubbing noise was on my old cordoba, turned out it was the under tray was loose and hitting the road at 54mph. Stationary it tucked itself back up out of the way. Drove me nuts for about a week until enough sandpapering on the asphalt wore it away enough to hang loose enough that I copped it.

I had a front wheel bearing becoming noisy in a 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI at around the 7 or 8 year point in its life and roughly 35,000 miles.

Initially I thought it was just a combination of having oldish winter tyres on and the road surface in a certain region of Scotland - as that one area was the only time I could hear this noise.

Then it was happening in more/most local roads, finally it was still making noises after I changed back to Summer wheels and tyres, so for me, it was game over - 2 F A G wheel bearing kits ordered followed by buying a cheap GEN2 bearing removal/fitting kit for the correct size of bearing that was fitted to that car.

Changing both sides wheel bearing assemblies sorted that noise out, I assumed that it was "just" water ingress into the bearing on one side that was to blame.

I had a similar issue on my old 2000 VW Passat 4Motion at maybe the 8 years 55,000 miles point - I prepared for the worse possible issue, ie front diff or gearbox - so was almost quite happy when my local VW dealership diagnosed it to be front wheel bearings, and I got them to replace both sides bearings.

It seems that in many cases, VW Group cars do require new wheel bearings sooner than you might be expecting from your past experience of running older cars from other marques.

It might be your recordings and EQ but that sounds more like a wind type of noise than bearings or perhaps tyre, my wife is better at identifying and tracking noise than me.

As already put check tyres and underside for anything loose. I would get someone else to drive and sit and listen in the front passenger and left and right rear seats to see if there are any differences to the sound you hear. You could poke around at the door and window seals just in case too. I also wonder if there are any flaps not working or partial blockages to the front or any part of the car. On my last car I had a whistle that I never did find and often wondered if it might have been the uprated ARB altering things or causing it but it could have been lots of other things.

It may be that the new tyres being newer and more subtle and if a different model or make to the Dunlops quieter so as they are quiet and you notice the noise more.

How loud does the stereo go. 😀

Lots of short journeys in some ways doesn't help the tyres or the engine or car in some ways.

Alasdair1 / mac11irl

I'll have a look at that and any other bits of plastic, thought did cross my mind if could be something like that.
rum4mo
Mines @ 32.5K.
Thinking back i think i noticed something before i had the tyres changed but not as loud. I noticed if i moved my head nearer the drivers door it got louder so just put it down to resonances building up in the cabin.
This time when i noticed it i thought it was something in the track i was listening to on the stereo, but having muted it i heard it much louder than before. Might just be a coincidence it lined up with getting tyres replaced.
I notice it does have a kinda beating sound character to it.

nta16
Can't do much about the shorter journeys at the moment, works just up the road about 8 miles away so 16 mile round trip.
Other than a quick local shopping run it sits there for 4 days now.
Then sometimes makes a grauching noise on first start after not being used... starter motor? Who knows..!

Edited 22 March22 Mar by Gonzini

8 miles is better than 2, at 8 miles, depending on the journey this time of year you might just get up to 90+c on the oil (not coolant) temperature.

I've seen other put about a grouching noise after car has been sitting for a while, not sure if it might be the starter motor or might be all stuff a bit stiff and resistant to belts turning. Mt wife's 2015 Fabia, used almost every day of the year was making a grinding type noise and I think it's (might be, or might not be) the air-con compressor with grit/****/debris on the belt, drive pulley, as air-con runs but it's used often.

If the car is unused for 4 days I'd suggest about 4 or so times a year doing preventative, not reactive use of an appropriate battery charger maintainer, following the instruction for the charger and car's 'Owner's Manual' and fully recharge the 12v battery to 100% to save the computers from causing unnecessary mischief.

The thought that wheel bearing might need changing at 7-8 years ****es me off, luckily this is one thing that hasn't happened on my wife's car.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

I put the "wheel bearing" issue, well on the 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI, down to the factory fitted bearing was "Made in France" SNR!

Probably a very good (cheap) part, if it's in one VW Group marque it is probably in all that use that hub assembly, or even complete suspension strut.

nta16
I just pumped the tyres back up to 32 PSI all round.
Didn't see anything hanging off or loose underneath and the wheel arch liners all seem to be good.
Wondered if they got removed when it went in for the expensive leak fix...
Think Im just going to see if it gets any worse or changes, i guess if it completely fails then will know what it was!
I have been charging the battery periodically, more in the colder months.
On the way back from the folks last xmas i had charged the battery up before the journey back but it triggered the ESP (i think its that one..) warning that i first saw with the old battery that i replaced. I guess it saw a voltage drop where its not 100% charging and triggered it.
After restarting when i got home I've never seen it light up since.
Always turns over OK, i never leave the auto start / stop enabled either.

rum4mo
Have to see what happens over time with it, cars only done 32.5K miles in 7 years. But nothings built to last these days it seems...

If your car calls for 32psi or like my wife's 30 or 35psi and you prefer 32psi fair enough, taking the pressure when the tyres are 'cold' with a reasonably accurate regular pressure gauge to keep things consistent.

If you can put up with that noise (it'd drive me mad) then yes see if it improves or gets worse.

Good to hear you are charging the battery, you do need to read and follow the instructions for charging the battery in the car's 'Owner's Manual' and for the appropriate charger maintainer and get the battery to its full state of charge.

Batteries don't like the cold but they also don't like the heat, at 30c weather the battery self-discharges twice as much as when weather is 20c, and twice as much again at 40c (as it hit here a few years back) plus of course things like air-con will be used more.

The battery can be too low for the car's computer systems even when the headlights seem bright enough and well, well before any difficulty starting the engine (the battery will be in a poor state of charge at that point). One of the first signs the battery is low is the start/stop not operating when it should but of course if you never use this then you won't get this sign.

The successful charging of the battery will get rid of the various warnings and warning lights from battery charge getting too low for the car's computers but the computers are very, very dumb, they need reminding the battery has been charged. If any warnings remain one way to sort the computers is to, start the engine, put the air-con on, blower and lights then turn the steering wheel full lock both ways then turn off, lights, air-con and blower as required, that heavy electric load and the battery (and alternator) coping with it should send a message to the computers that they can understand.

You are better to be proactive than reactive and charge the battery before it gets too low, prevention rather than cure. If you aren't going to use the car for a week or two or more then a battery maintainer will help prevent further unnecessary battery life disappearing.

If you are having to too regularly recharge the battery then it may be already be not in the best health but could if looked after give more useful life.

What expensive leak was fixed, could any of the work (taking things apart and back together again) done then possibly have caused the noise(?).

3 hours ago, nta16 said:

If you can put up with that noise (it'd drive me mad) then yes see if it improves or gets worse.

What expensive leak was fixed, could any of the work (taking things apart and back together again) done then possibly have caused the noise(?).

Now i can hear it, its driving me mad. I'll see what its like tomorrow...
Or at least would be good to know what it is.

Battery was replaced a couple of years back, should be good for a while longer.

The passenger footwell was filling up with water, really hard to pin it down looking myself.
They found a seam was leaking, would of been up under the window area i guess.
Like that from new no doubt, but i guess opened up more to become a noticable problem.
They would of removed the whole interior, seats and centre console.
Hopefully its not leaking anymore but hard to say without ripping all the carpets up again...

£625 later... but they did replace the failed passenger window regulator that failed when i picked the car up under the extended warranty i took out. Guess the drivers side will be next...

Edited 24 March24 Mar by Gonzini

Sorry I should have recognised your member name, looked familiar but I forgot.

Now you have put the details it's all flooding back to me.

Sorry, but you have to laugh about these cars or someone would get hurt.

All or most at least of the stuff to do with the leak would have effected stuff inside the car but did you notice this noise before this work was done?

Do you have any record of service, maintenance (and repair) for your car from before you bought it?

How many gears does th DSG have?

Time for tea.

Fabia, Mk2, 3 or 4 only get 1 DSG, the DQ200. Twin Dry clutch, 7 forward and 1 reverse.....

On 24/03/2026 at 18:23, nta16 said:

All or most at least of the stuff to do with the leak would have effected stuff inside the car but did you notice this noise before this work was done?

Thinking back i did notice something but it was much quieter, just put it down to cabin noise.

On 24/03/2026 at 18:23, nta16 said:

Do you have any record of service, maintenance (and repair) for your car from before you bought it?

Brought from new, full service history etc.

On 24/03/2026 at 18:23, nta16 said:

How many gears does th DSG have?

Zero, its a 6 speed manual

On 24/03/2026 at 18:23, nta16 said:

Time for tea.

Always!

On 28/03/2026 at 14:24, Gonzini said:

Zero, its a 6 speed manual

😆 After I put that I thought I'm not sure it is a DDG but I'll leave it in case. I doubt it's the manual gearbox but never excluded anything, other than its a DSG. 😀

6 year old Dunlops you'd hope wouldn't be too noisy but who knows, a name means little now.

Managed to get Skoda to look at this today, been like nearly 2 months.
They agreed that its a wheel bearing on the way out, hopefully extended warranty will cover it.
Cars at 32500K miles, would expect a longer life than that.
Skoda quote is £385, i asked another place up the road cost of a replacement and they reckon around £200.
So i know where I'm going if they refuse... Though there is a good will option having spoken to the warranty people.

Edited 11 May11 May by Gonzini

@Gonzini Who is the warranty provider with a 'good will option'? Only 32,500 miles but done over 7 miles. That is longer than many might expect out of a bearing, but then you know how and where the car is driven. As to the main dealer price, if they are £120 plus vat or even more an hour for labour that is where they get the quoted price. Not that a warranty underwriter will pay that ridiculous price.

Edited 11 May11 May by Evolution13

I had a loose windscreen trim on a Yeti it droned, I drove up to Norfolk and it got hit by a stone then it whistled

I took it off and had it replaced under warranty.

Skoda dealer will use Skoda OEM part which will be expensive plus £100 plus and hour labour. Independent will be cheaper for part and labour and probably aftermarket bearing. Last wheel bearings I got for my Mk2 octavia was £40 APEC brand. Took about 2 hrs in total to replace by myself and that was on a mk2 08 plate so had to take my time as things were a bit corroded. Check that the warranty provider will pay for the repair before going ahead. Glad you got to the source of the droning noise.

Alasdair

4 hours ago, Evolution13 said:

@Gonzini Who is the warranty provider with a 'good will option'?

Was the 2 year All in cover that Skoda do. Covers 2 services, minor & major, 2 MOT's, roadside recovery, extended warranty. And maybe something else I've forgotten.
Actually made sense to do it looking at the numbers, glad i did as passenger window regulator failed a few months back so covered.