Hi,
I wonder if any of you guys can help me out. I've got a rattling noise that's been there for about the past 9 months and I've been too busy to even think about it until now (new baby and work has been crazy). I've got a few days off and am looking into it now.
When the car is in neutral and the clutch pedal is UP, there is a rattle/ticking noise that comes from underneath the car.
Technical points
From speaking to the dealership and reading around, I have some theories as to what it might be but would appreciate any insight you might have first as to what it might be and what I should do about it.
Warranty annoyances...
OK this has turned into quite a long post. First post here but have been reading the forum on and off to be honest, it's a great community and resource.
Hope you guys can give some insight into what the cause might be. I'll try and get a video up tomorrow.
Cheers.
I wonder if any of you guys can help me out. I've got a rattling noise that's been there for about the past 9 months and I've been too busy to even think about it until now (new baby and work has been crazy). I've got a few days off and am looking into it now.
When the car is in neutral and the clutch pedal is UP, there is a rattle/ticking noise that comes from underneath the car.
Technical points
- I've got a Golf Mk6 1.4 TSI 122PS with manual 6-speed transmission, and it's just turned 3 years old last month with 41,000 miles on the clock.
- When the car is cold it barely makes the noise - I have to get out of the car and stick my head underneath to hear it.
- When the car has been driving for maybe 15 minutes it is more noticeable. With the windows closed it is just a faint ticking, with windows down it is clear, and when standing beside the car it sounds clearly like something's broken/loose.
- I will try to record a video tomorrow and post it here but it basically must tick/rattle about 3/4 times a second.
- If I am stationary and have the clutch pedal down, there is no noise. The minute the clutch pedal comes right up fully the noise returns. If I am driving along and in gear with the clutch up there is no noise (that I have been able to hear anyway). I've tried coasting in neutral with the clutch up and I must admit it was pretty hard to tell but I think I could hear the noise. The key thing is that it's when the clutch pedal is up and the car is in neutral.
From speaking to the dealership and reading around, I have some theories as to what it might be but would appreciate any insight you might have first as to what it might be and what I should do about it.
Warranty annoyances...
- Car is in VW extended warranty.
- VW extended warranty (at least the one in the UK) excludes the main components of the clutch/transmission if the issue is down to wear and tear (btw also the factory warranty would have been the same from what I can tell).
- Taken it to the dealership, they say the process is they do diagnostic work and then identify what they think the issue is and report it to VW UK warranty HQ. The warranty people then normally send out their own master tech to inspect the parts and determine whether it is attributable to wear and tear or not.
- Dealership was keen to help but made it clear that for example to remove the clutch/transmission and replace it again is around £450 (US$700). In the scenario where they identify an issue and the warranty master tech classifies it as wear and tear, then I am at least shelling out £450 PLUS any repair costs.
- One guy from the dealership said he worked in the warranty dept for 10 years and that clutches especially are the sorts of items where they tend to not give any leeway because they easily fall into the 'wear and tear' category.
- Dealership says they can sometimes claim 'goodwill' discounts from the warranty people but these are normally in the region of 20-50% of the total cost and there's no guarantee.
[*]The rattle clearly means something is not as it should be but since I've noticed zero impact on driving, mpg, etc. after 9 months to be honest I am thinking the low risk thing to do is avoid the dealership. I would however like to have some confidence about what it might be and what could go wrong before I do that. - The warranty is due to expire in the next couple of weeks but I am thinking about not extended it because it seems more economical to put whatever money I'd spend on the warranty into a pot for repairs.
OK this has turned into quite a long post. First post here but have been reading the forum on and off to be honest, it's a great community and resource.
Hope you guys can give some insight into what the cause might be. I'll try and get a video up tomorrow.
Cheers.