Fed up with noisy new Passat saloon

[MsCarolH]

Hi all, this is my first post and very new to this. I'm at the end of my tether with a noisy and very uncomfortable new 2.0 FSi SE Passat saloon (Sept 2007). All of the time it is more noisy than my old 1988 1.8T Sport which was almost 10 years old and some times the noise and vibration is unbearable, making me exhausted and even feeling ill!
It's been back to the dealer time and again and they keep saying that everything is OK, but when it starts vibrating at it's worst, it's like running along rumble strips, the vibration comes through the whole car. Other times there is a constant pulsating throb which seems to come from the engine, but is irrespective of engine speed. At idle it seems very quiet!!
Is this typical of the new Passat as I enjoyed the old one so much I assumed the new one would be even better, but it's terrible - except for the odd time that it runs smoothly and then I feel I must have been imagining it all.
Any ideas - or am I going insane??
A very dispirited female owner!

[Trapper]

Sorry to hear of your problems, I have only just ordered mine so I hope I don't get them.

Do not just give your car to the dealer and walk away, find a piece of road that always causes the problems and make an appointment with the service manager and take him and the car to said piece of road and show him what you mean. I once had a 406 with an odd noise and I nearly kidnapped the guy as the drive took so long but in the end the noise appeared and Peugeot sorted the problem.

You really have to push hard as its all to easy to say "It's okay Madam"

I have just got a 90% refund on a used 2.5 year old BMW 530D Tourer because of problems, just keep at it and you will succeed.

Good Luck.

[angus]

I don`t think you`re imagining it, my B6 Sport Estate is far louder than our B5.5 Sport, not engine noise, but the road noise is much worse.
Can`t say we have had any vibration problems, but numerous rattles, buzzes and groans from the interior plastics which are markedly inferior to the old model.
I`ve found that VW dealers vary from the very good to the absolutely appalling, it seems like you may have one towards the bottom end of the scale. If its not too inconvenient why not try another dealer, and if you get decent service reward them when it comes to changing?

[MsCarolH]

Thanks Trapper and Angus for the suggestions. I should have mentioned that the FSi is the petrol engine - you all probably know that anyway . I bought that as the old 1.8 20V T Sport was a fantastic engine. This one is rough and nasty by comparison and I wish now I'd bought the deisel version. Part of the noise comes from the engine - one service engineer, when I asked him to come out in the car for a drive, said "Oh, that's the normal noise of an FSi, it's the air valves (or something)". How can VW produce a car that has built-in engine noise?
But the rumbling, vibration and poor drive comes and goes - and I think it could also depend upon the road surface, but I've not yet been able to confirm that that's the case.
I can drive down the motorway for 100 miles. park up for a couple of hours and then drive back and the two journeys are as different as chalk and cheese as regards comfort and noise! Three times I've had engineers driving it and now they want it for a week.
Meanwhile I've expressed my anger and asked for a refund - living in hope maybe but Trapper's reply gives me heart.
Thanks again. Any other suggestions welcomed

[MalcQV]

I own the B5.5, and TBH in some ways disappointed with that in regard to quality. Firstly I do not think it is bad at all, I do rather like it on the whole (though if you had asked me 12 months ago I would of paid you to take it away ) but this is my first VW and I was always under the illusion that they were better than mainstream cars. Now I have only ever driven and been in my Passat apart from a Golf (a little of later) so am hardly an expert.

People here seem to think they are one up from Ford, Vauxhall etc, unfortunately I would dis-agree, they are only as good as IMHO (and my personal experience).

The VW Golf, that was a hire car in 2004, me and a few pals went from Manchester to London to see the MPH show. The car was a new 2.0FSI and if anything it was perfect. Certainly not noisy, quick and very well finished indeed. If I am honest when I was looking to replace my Accord it was the Golf that I hired that made me look at a Passat which was never in my list of cars.

So I now believe that the Passat B5.5 and B6 are not a patch on the Golf, the latter holds up the VW name IMO, whereas it seems VW don't give a monkey's about the Passat

[james_tiger_woo]

Road noise in my car was on the loud side up until a couple of days ago when I replaced my tyres. I'd read how much difference new tyres makes, but I didn't really believe how much difference there would be...

MsCarolH - Have you been out for a drive with an engineer? Sometimes they'll look at a car and deny a problem (like I'm having with the creaking suspension....) - Go for a drive and identify exactly where/when the problem is then drag an engineer or service manager for a drive on that same route.

Insist that you repeat the journey in one of their Passats to highlight the difference.

If they won't go for a drive with you, then try a different dealership.

Incidentally, have you had the wheel balancing checked? Go to somewhere like KwikFit and say that you're experiencing vibrating through the car and ask them to check the balancing on the wheels - one of the weights might have come off that balance the wheel (if they're even there). There's a slim chance the alignment might be out too, but you'd need a laser alignment check to check that.



Edit - just read your second post (sorry) and you say that you've been out with an engineer - as I've said, try a different dealership. And try driving one of theirs on the forecourt - Engine noise shouldn't be "standard".

[MsCarolH]

.... I was always under the illusion that they were better than mainstream cars.
..snip...

The VW Golf, that was a hire car in 2004, me and a few pals went from Manchester to London to see the MPH show. The car was a new 2.0FSI and if anything it was perfect. Certainly not noisy, quick and very well finished indeed. ..snip...

Hi MalcQV, thanks for the comments. I agree with the first part and had previously had nothing but praise for the VW, being prepared to spend "over the odds" for a quality and sold, safe, comfortable car!

I too have driven a Golf and agree that it is a good car. They tell me that the Golf and Passat have totally different chassis, the Golf still being an 'older' one but the new Passat is a new floor pan or chassis - seems they haven't got it right

I almost bought the new Mondeo but decided against it as it was a totally new car and possibly had 'bugs' - Oh the value of hindsight!!!

[MsCarolH]

Road noise in my car was on the loud side up until a couple of days ago when I replaced my tyres. ... snip ...

Insist that you repeat the journey in one of their Passats to highlight the difference.

If they won't go for a drive with you, then try a different dealership.

Incidentally, have you had the wheel balancing checked? Go to somewhere like KwikFit and say that you're experiencing vibrating through the car and ask them to check the balancing on the wheels - one of the weights might have come off that balance the wheel (if they're even there). There's a slim chance the alignment might be out too, but you'd need a laser alignment check to check that.


Edit - just read your second post (sorry) and you say that you've been out with an engineer - as I've said, try a different dealership. And try driving one of theirs on the forecourt - Engine noise shouldn't be "standard".

Hi James. thanks for the advice - some of it I've already tried. Car only has 5,000 miles on it so tyres are like new. I had already asked for the wheel balance to be checked. Problem is the noise comes and goes and I've just done a 40 mile trip each way up and down the M6 - the first couple of miles were fine, I stopped for half and hour and when I started again the 'bouncing' and rumbling started. The return journey was dreadful. I can't pin it down, it seems at times like the engine is literally throwing itself around in the front of the car, but when I stop and let the engine idle the noise dissapears, but not when I de-clutch and coast along at any speed in neutral. Tomorrow it could be smooth as silk again on the same road.

It's driving me totally insane . They have agreed to take it in for 5 days next. I've also asked for a Passat loan car for comparison, but I guess it will be diesel! They have also offered to get second opinion from another dealer. So I can't complain at the dealer, but do wonder if they stil think it's all in my imagination!

Thanks again for all the responses.

[MsCarolH]

An update and question for all.

I've now had a brand-new 2.0 diesel SE B6 Passat for 4 days, while my own is being "examined" to get to the root of the problems of noise and vibration. Guess what, the new one does the same!!

I saw another thread on here asking if people were really happy with their Passat and it begs the question, "If many (or most) people are happy, what sort of rubbish did they drive beforehand?" I've driven many dozens of different cars over the past 38 years and never experienced anything like this Passat.

I've been out today and did a 7 or 8 mile each way journey on mixed roads. The outward journey was smooth and the car felt good, but after parking up for half and hour or so, and returning in the opposite direction, the car was bumpy and shaky all the way home. Only difference was going east instead of west! Same stretch of road. Now some people may drive the car and feel it's perfectly fine, but it's absolutely rubbish compared with my 1998 model Passat. How can VW claim in their add's the "Beautifully engineered Passat"?

Does no-one feel that the drive quality of this car is pathetic? Could it be aerodynamics as it is far worse in cross winds or head winds? I'm running out of options - please help

Thanks, Carol

[Quatrelle]

Just to bring a bit of balance to this. I wanted a quiet, comfortable cruiser, and that is what my Passat is. There is some road noise, but this may well be the Bridgestone tyres, noted for their longevity but not necessarily for quiet running. Other than that it is fine. The diesel growls on acceleration but is quiet otherwise, and the car is not affected by crosswinds. The ride is not as comfortable (smooth) as our other car, a Laguna, but French cars, whatever their other failings, are softer sprung generally. That said, the Passat corners flatter, a result of the stiffer suspension no doubt. At 130kph it is virtually silent.

I had the usual buzzing from the glovebox area but I cured this with some PTFE spray. The rest of the car feels very solid. Yes, it has a few shortcomings but, as someone so cleverly said on here somewhere, I wasn't consulted at the design stage!

The car is a 140 saloon - I thought about an estate, but couldn't justify the extra cost and, ironically, in view of what others have said about estates, my wife reminded me that estates are generally noisier....

All the above is imo of course.