Advice on a couple of niggles

[A1Dan75]

As mentioned in another thread, just bought a 4 year old 170bhp Sport Estate with 90k+ on the clock.

Generally drives very nicely, and smoothly with no nasty sounding noises from engine or clutch / gears, but having taken it on an "extended test drive" to London over the weekend (fortunate combination of driving conditions to have to go through the day after purchasing - Country roads followed by motorway followed by gridlocked city!), a couple of little things emerged.

Both are minor enough that I never noticed in the actual test-drive, so I'm hoping there's no real issue with either, and she's going into my mechanic tomorrow for a good old going over, but any advice on either in advance, in case I can give him the heads-up on what to check would be handy!


1. Although the power delivery is very smooth throughout most of the range, and there are no other signs of the slightest hesitation or nasty noises or vibrations, if you give it absolute full welly in the mid gears (3rd mostly - eg overtaking a granny doing 30 on an open A road, up a bit of a hill) it flies up to 3,000 revs no probs, but a little over that it totally hits the buffers, and seems to "bounce" off the top, giving an abrupt and shuddering end to the power delivery, if that makes sense (about the best description I can come up with!).
It's pretty much like it's hitting a non-too-subtle rev limiter, but it would seem very low to have the limit, as it's not that hard to hit, kicking in when you'd still expect to get a bit more before you shifted up.
It is only in fairly extreme driving though, I suppose, as I gave it a fair bit of welly on the test drive and never noticed it.
From a little bit of reading up on here, one suggestion seems to be trying turning the ESP off. I've not had a chacne to get out on the open road and do this, but I could see it being related - thinking about it, the jerkiness is similar to when, in my previous car, you floored it frmo start on a bit of a loose surface, and the ESP kicked in. Doesn't seem particularly appropriate for it to be kicking in on a perfectly good piece of road, in the dry, when you're trying to go past a granny though?


2. While stuck in the lovely London traffic, I noticed that sometimes, when you shift down into neutral, as you let the clutch back up, it makes a noise as you come through the biting point (or where the biting point would be if you were in gear). Sounds like its engaging with something still... the first words that sprang into my mind, given the suggestion the sound made of something still spinning were "fly wheel". Having read about DMF problems, that of course got me quite worried!
It's not a particularly loud or nasty noise, but once I noticed it, it did make me a little nervous every time. I'm hopeful that it's just totall normal - maybe something that always occurs witha DMF, I don't know.

Again, any ideas?

[A1Dan75]

Right, I've had a chance to see if turning of ESP sorted out issue 1, and unfortunately it didn't.

I erad another thread in which somebody likened the effect to a formula 1 car with the limiter on in the pit lane. Notwithstanding the obvious differences between the sound of a Passat TDI and a Red Bull RB6, I know what that poster meant, and think they must have had a similar issue. It's a quite abrupt kind of barking noise as it "bounces" off the high revs, almost a abit like a the uh-uh-uh-uh machine gun noise you'd do in the playground as a kid.

Any of that making any sense?

[fat controller]

Your description makes perfect sense to me - my Merc used to make a similar noise when it hit the rev limiter;

I can't help you with your problem though, as my TDI revs all the way up to the red line. Might be worth getting a code read done?

[A1Dan75]

Might be worth getting a code read done?

Yeah, going to get my mechanic to do so. I presume it can record errors withouth any error actually displaying on the MFD?

[fat controller]

Yeah, going to get my mechanic to do so. I presume it can record errors withouth any error actually displaying on the MFD?

Sorry, no idea (not much use, am I? ) - hopefully someone with a lot more knowledge than I have will be along to answer shortly.

Hope you get to the bottom of it.

[patomlin76]

Get a code read done, probably the safest thing to do to see if there is any underlying cause...

[A1Dan75]

Yeah, talked to my mechanic and he said he'd do just that. Just need to get it into him sometime...

[DSG4ME]

VW's are set up throaty, and resonance will also play it's part, so if you are comparing with another firms car, don't, it's not the same, I blew a good Superb out once cos I thought the back box was gone, it's just how they make em. hth.