[Thad E Ginathom]

Rattles and squeaks?

This is very odd: I haven't noticed them for a while in my '11 1.6 Polo Highline. Does this mean they've gone, or that my brain is just filtering them out? I honestly don't know!

[AtheK]

I think I am experiencing this in my week old vento tsi, will give this a shot over the weekend. Thanks.

[leprechaun]

Originally Posted by manas27587

My rapid has this rattling sound.
It sounds as if something is lose and is bouncing there.

I dont think it is from the door as it sounds as if it is coming from the engine bay above the left tyre.

I dont see anything lose inside .
One of the two pieces is metal for sure.
The second can be hard plastic or metal.

Any suggestions?

Hey Manas, I had the same rattling sound, sometimes at low speeds especially while driving over the rumblers. On inspection, I found that the plastic trim covering the engine was loose, that could be the culprit!

[DWC]

So after a year and a half I finally got to the bottom of the squeaks coming from the front of my Polo. The sound used to come every time the road was a little uneven, so pretty much all the time.

I tried all the things possible; the tubing of the door panels, waxing of panels, applying WD40 to the roof struts. The problem persisted. Finally I managed to narrow down the sound to be coming from the front bumper. A little pressure applied to the bumper and the squeak-squeak sound was back. So told the VW SA to open the bumper at the last service and check for the cause of the squeakiness. He calls me back and tells me some plastic part is broken and will cost Rs. 8000 to repair. I thanked him and asked him to put the bumper back on the car.

Took the car to Devabhai, who services our Santro and asked him to work his magic. He opened the bumper and narrowed down the problem in 2 minutes flat. There are holes for nuts and bolts on either side of the radiator WITHOUT the nuts and bolts. He added the nuts and bolts and fixed the radiator more securely to the frame. Viola, problem gone. Total damage - Rs. 400. Peace of mind with a silent cabin - Priceless.

Now what the hell were VW thinking by omitting something like this??? Makes my blood boil.

[sid93]

Awesome DIY @d_himan.Took 10 mins and all rattles magically disappeared. Now the cabin is super silent as expected in a German Car. Thank you

BTW for others who are planning for this DIY, get the tube from local hardware shop. 5 meters of 1/4" food grade plastic pipe costed me ₹35 (₹7/meter) whereas they sell it for ₹100 on ebay for the 5 meters.

[DWC]

So the quest for a silent car persists. Just when I though I had solved all the squeakiness of my beloved and shut her up once and for all, she comes up with a new rattle. So far I have fixed rattles in my hood dampener, the hood strut, the radiator and the plastic trim from inside the engine bay. In the process of trying to figure out the source of rattles iv'e also got the tubing and collinite fix done on the doors.

Now the latest source of the rattle is the glove compartment. Any leads?

On a lighter note, I got a call from the VW service centre asking me when I was bringing my car in for the free 6 month general check up.
I bought her over a year and a half ago. Better late than never?

[nova9]

Originally Posted by d_himan

until i stumbled upon this fix.

Solution:

1. Buy a 1/4" white plastic pipe. I bought it from here:

http://www.ebay.in/itm/10-mtrs-Food-...item35de300caf

2. To all the 4 doors, insert it into the door-top weather strip as follows. The first picture is self-explanatory. A 5 minute job.

3. Open and close the doors firmly a couple of times and check if the pipe is in place.

4. Apply a thick layer of Collinite 845 (recommended) on the metal surfaces highlighted in yellow in the second picture ( borrowed from rtm_8055's Polo posted on the forum)

5. Enjoy the silence!

Hi D_himan,

My GT Tsi is only 2 months old and all the 4 windows have that annoying rattling which is only prominent when i go over rough roads or bumps.

I had some similar transparent tubing ( used for my aquarium) lying around and thought that i might as well try out your fix. (click pic for bigger image)



I dont have collinite so i skipped that step. The noise has almost gone, About 5% noise can still be heard.

Is your tubing thicker than what ive used and more rigid (hard) and so provides better noise insulation? Or do you too have some minor noise persisting?

If you have achieved 100% then i too shall buy the tube from ebay.

Is collinite a major part of this fix or can it be skipped?

Thanks

[d_himan]

Originally Posted by nova9

Hi D_himan,

My GT Tsi is only 2 months old and all the 4 windows have that annoying rattling which is only prominent when i go over rough roads or bumps.

I had some similar transparent tubing ( used for my aquarium) lying around and thought that i might as well try out your fix. (click pic for bigger image)



I dont have collinite so i skipped that step. The noise has almost gone, About 5% noise can still be heard.

Is your tubing thicker than what ive used and more rigid (hard) and so provides better noise insulation? Or do you too have some minor noise persisting?

If you have achieved 100% then i too shall buy the tube from ebay.

Is collinite a major part of this fix or can it be skipped?

Thanks

Its 100% gone. Try with the eBay tube. Any long lasting wax would do. No wax may also work.

[nova9]

Originally Posted by d_himan

Its 100% gone. Try with the eBay tube. Any long lasting wax would do. No wax may also work.

Thanks.. Ill give the ebay tube a shot!

[nova9]

Originally Posted by d_himan

Its 100% gone. Try with the eBay tube. Any long lasting wax would do. No wax may also work.

Just got the tubing from ebay and installed it, and the rattling is 100% gone!!!

No wax needed. Thanks d_himan, just that tomb like silence in the vehicle now.

[DWC]

So sent my polo for the 45k service, mentioned the rattle from the glovebox to the service advisor. Got the car back with a piece of tape stuck to the glove box door! I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by DWC

... Got the car back with a piece of tape stuck to the glove box door! I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

That might depend on whether or not they charged you for the piece of tape!

[DWC]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

That might depend on whether or not they charged you for the piece of tape!

If they charged me, i'm pretty sure I would have cried.

[GTO]

Anup Nair drops the following note:

Hello Bhpians

I am writing this note to thank BHPian 'd_himan' for his thread "DIY - VW Polo/Vento: Getting rid of Door Rattles".

I took the delivery of my POLO Tdi on the 4th of June 2016 and the very next day I started experiencing rattles from the door. Being an avid reader and a keen follower of Team-BHP, I knew the issue will not just have a mention, but also a thorough discussion on the possible reasons and solutions. My hunch proved right when the search option brought up 'd_himan's' thread.

So without even bothering going back to the VW showroom complaining, just ordered the plastic tube online (from the website suggested) and performed the DIY procedure on the 4 windows. Though others who tried the same had corroborated the results they experienced after this DIY, I was simply amazed by the silence and solidity this simple procedure brought to the whole cabin. Still don't know the science or logic behind this procedure yielding the desired results, but they don't matter.

I am grateful to 'd_himan' and TeamBHP for helping me out before rattles from a new car drove me crazy. Thank you 'd_himan'. Thank you TeamBHP

Anup Mumbai

[Guite]

Originally Posted by daniel990

The doors squeak when turning over ramps and road inclines driving very slowly ! Audible clearly in silent locations. The solution is a foam beading of about 1/4" dia inserted in the main beading. It has to be vociferously demanded from your dealer, else they act as if you are hearing things !! The chassis definitely flexes, not confidence inspiring to say the least !

If you buy this car , its only for the gem of an engine. Period. Every thing is bad bad bad for a Rs 12+ lakh car .

Positives: the S mode with the surge of power , puts a evil grin on your face . Makes you forget the negatives

Cross posting and quoting from the "Volkswagen India: The Way Forward" thread as it would be going off topic there.

I suppose a monocoque chassis inherently have a certain amount of flexibility as it is built of sheet metal. It's not made of tubular or box sections like a roll cage, so I suppose it cannot be expected to be extremely rigid. People more familiar with automotive design may kindly enlighten us laymen here.

Having said that, is the VW Polo / Vento chassis more flexible than other cars that this kid of squeak happens? Or maybe other manufacturers use softer compound rubber in the beading?

Coming back to the original solution, I believe the reason d_himan's flexible tube works is because it forces the rubber bead to press harder on the frame so that there is no more movement of rubber bead against frame of the car. The movement now happens within the rubber bead. So now there is more stress in the bead.