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The GTI Rattle and solution thread

Stocktastic1

Go Kart Champion
I've got a new one.


Rattle/crackle/wind noise. ONLY ABOVE 60MPH!?!?!

Left front cabin area.

It may be coming from under the car. It may be a resonance sound rattle.

It didn't start until I went to Conti DWS's but has progressively gotten worse. They are much louder than my Conti DW's from before.

Bugs the shit out of me.

I'll look into it tomorrow.



As for the hatch foam, I'm going to pull it out, ride around and get a feel for the noises actually IN the gate itself, and the ones caused by the foam.

Then I'll get some stickyback velcro and velcro the foam to the floor.

I'm pretty depressed that I'm having these issues with a $27k car.
 

McQueen77

Banned
We rode in my wife's friend's 2011 A4 today.

Solid. As. A. Tank.

Not a rattle, squeak or anything. So anyway, there's that.
 

Stocktastic1

Go Kart Champion
We rode in my wife's friend's 2011 A4 today.

Solid. As. A. Tank.

Not a rattle, squeak or anything. So anyway, there's that.

Mine was too.

When it was new.

Roads here suck, plus the stock GTI setup is pretty stiff for DDing.
 

vdubstep59

Ready to race!
finally! I had a terrible rattle, couldnt figure out where it was coming from and it ended up being my amp under my seat lol.
 

McQueen77

Banned
Mine was too.

When it was new.

Roads here suck, plus the stock GTI setup is pretty stiff for DDing.

Yeah, a lot of it is the stiff suspension, the 18s and same here, in LA, just terrible, terrible roads. Wasn't there supposed to be like, some biiiig stimulus package that was going to create all of these jobs, like, fixing the roads?? Whatever happened with that whole thing? I was just in Mexico City a few weeks ago and the roads in L.A. city proper are worse.
 

Stocktastic1

Go Kart Champion
Yeah, a lot of it is the stiff suspension, the 18s and same here, in LA, just terrible, terrible roads. Wasn't there supposed to be like, some biiiig stimulus package that was going to create all of these jobs, like, fixing the roads?? Whatever happened with that whole thing? I was just in Mexico City a few weeks ago and the roads in L.A. city proper are worse.

It's absolutely horrible around here.

From the tar filling in the cracks, to the uneven old to new transitions.

Most of our roads are 40+ years old.

And I don't even go downtown just because it's still brick road down there.

I can imagine the car will develop rattles, I'm pretty sure German roads are pretty sweet. Even if they do a ton of R&D over here, rattles are just part of it, I suppose.
 

rondocap

Ready to race!
I purchased some "fat mat" sound deadening material, which is like Dynamat. I put it over the metal in the rear hatch around the spare tire area, and I did not hear much of a difference, still a few rattles.

Then, I placed about 3 large towels under the spare tire, as to give it cushion when it moves around. That did make a difference, I hear a bit less clanking over bumps. I also put felt tape around the Styrofoam units where the tools are around the spare tire, but did not seem to have any effect.

I am still getting a rattle or two from the rear hatch area. It's either in the hatch door/light assembly itself, the styrofoam inserts (my next step is to remove them along with the tools and see if they are the cause) or somewhere under the car in the rear.

Aside from that, the other thing that bothers me is the wind noise at higher speeds. I wonder how much is normal, and how much can be adjusted.
 

Stocktastic1

Go Kart Champion
I put some velcro under the foam.

Frankly, I'm not that impressed.

I STILL have the one IN the hatch. Didn't have it until the washer fix. Thanks again, Bob King.

I'll be taking it to National VW to have it looked at along with my 20k service.
 

rondocap

Ready to race!
stocktastic, did the velcro under the foam make any difference at all that you can tell? I may just end up removing the foam if it is the cause, and wrapping the tools with a towel under the tire area. Will test tomorrow and report, it's possible the foam isn't even making noise.
 

Stocktastic1

Go Kart Champion
I think I hear it trying to pull away from the velcro.

The foam has to be there to hold up the mat.

SOMETHING has to work. Sheet metal screws through foam/car? :lol:
 

Stocktastic1

Go Kart Champion
And honestly, I rushed through it a bit.

If I had taken the rear jamb panel out, it would've worked better.

The foam is not flat on the bottom, so it's hard to place the velcro.
 

rondocap

Ready to race!
Ah, that's true, the carpet is held up by the foam. What if you just put felt tape all over it? or maybe a towel layer under.
 

Stocktastic1

Go Kart Champion
Hmm.

The issue I have is the foam bouncing over bumps.

The front is secure, but the rear part of it just flaps in the breeze, so to speak.



Idea.


What if I cut a towel and fastened it to the foam, therefore deadening the impact sound from the foam to floor?

Honestly, there HAS to be a VW fix for this, maybe DBESTGTI will pop in here.
 

McQueen77

Banned
My hatch area is fine. Even my b pillar tick is gone. Only thing is the passenger door handle area that sounds like someone scrunching an empty chip bag every time I go over the slightest rough patch. Felt tape solved my glove box rattles and creaking door seals.

For those with wind noise issues, I had it too and it was fixed under warranty. They completely replaced the passenger side seals and channels and it's silent now. Dealer attitude on rattles is "tough shit"
 

rondocap

Ready to race!
So today I removed the styrofoam area, and even the carpet - and the noise isn't coming from there.

So I think either it's in the actual hatch, perhaps the light assembly, or the middle center console in the back that the cup holders pop out of.

That center console is really a bit noisy, and it seems like it's inside the part that bends down, and not the cupholder part. Anyone have any dealings with this area?
 
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