GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Scratching / rattling noise at low rpm while accelerating

4wheels

New member
Hi there,
I recently bough a used Golf 2.5 (automatic) with around 40k miles on it, and now I'm worried about a noise which I initially thought was a normal engine noise, but am now unsure.

Windows have to be up to notice the noise, it is usually present while accelerating and at low rpm, most noticeably in 2/3/4 gears and between 1000-1500 RPM. It is a faint and smooth/consistent scratching/growling sound that's only present when my foot is on the pedal and there is a load (i.e. not when revving the engine in neutral). It seems to be coming from the front of the car.

Is this a normal sound? The sound disappears at faster RPMs or when foot is off the pedal. I still have 1yr. powertrain warranty, is this something I should be talking to a dealership about?

Thanks!
 

sijray21

Go Kart Newbie
you can try to bring it in, but I bet it's a dust shield on your rotors or a heat shield on your exhaust. There tends to be more vibrations at lower RPMs, but I'd check those out first to see if there are any loose connections or tight tolerances.
 

4wheels

New member
If it's the heat shield, wouldn't the sound be coming in from the back instead of the front? As for dust shield, would that be correlated to the RPMs / load on engine?

I'm thinking of bringing it in if they can possibly explain the sound without charging me any money.
 

///Audience

Ready to race!
I have this same problem and my assumption is a loose heat shield as well. It can extremely misleading trying to locate the source of a sound outside your vehicle, especially when the car is moving. This is due to reflections of sound being bounced around between the road and the vehicle.
 

sijray21

Go Kart Newbie
If it's the heat shield, wouldn't the sound be coming in from the back instead of the front?

heat shields near the cat or turbo (not sure which ones there are for the golf mkvi, to be honest as I haven't had to worry about them yet) could produce a sound like it's coming from near the front of the car. I've had cars in the past that sounded like it was from the front and it ended up being a catalytic heat shield.
 

4wheels

New member
If it's just the heat shield, I'm not worried about it, as the sound doesn't actually bother me. I'm just worried if it could be the transmission, and if it will cause me future problems. I don't know a lot about transmission/engines though.
 
Top