Pinging at idle

[Topend]

Hi,

My wife's new Golf VI is making a pinging noise at idle only. It can only be heard when outside the front of the car. Once off idle the sounds goes away. If the A/C is switched off the sound also goes away as the load is removed.

The sales person told me before we bought the car they always fill their cars before displaying them on their yard. It is a Feb 2009 model so has been sitting for some time. I have put it down to old fuel.

I spoke to the dealership and they had their service people look at it. They could not find any faults and also put it down to fuel. They want me to return the car after 1000km and will go over the car again free of charge.

We ran the car sedately until the tank was very low. I then filled it with 53.6 litres of BP Ultimate 98, therefore there was less than 2 litres of the old fuel remaining. I have only driven the car 20km since then and the sound is significantly reduced. I am expecting it to continue to improve.

The other issue was rusted brake discs. After a tank worth of fuel they have come good but I can detect a minor noise at car park speed. The service department can check this too.

When I take it back I might also ask them to change the oil and filter at my cost.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this?

Cheers,
Dave.

[Corey_R]

It's very possible that the pinging was due to 'old' fuel. So it's good that you have put a full tank of BP Ultimate in there. I wouldn't worry if it goes away.

As for the 'rusting' of the brakes. It'll happen even only a few hours after you've washed the car. Don't worry too much about it - after a few brake applications it goes away.

I would DEFINITELY be asking them to change the oil and filter though.... actually ask for an entire service for free. The service schedule is 15,000km OR 12 months. They've sold you the car 12 months old, so it's due for a service now.

[Topend]

Once the BP Ultimate has been used up we will normally run 95RON, my wife will probably use Shell and if I'm filling I will get Caltex.

If rust shows up on the discs after a wash, you can imagine how much rust was there after a year.

Dave.

[Corey_R]

yeah - it's just a surface reaction though - it doesn't actually rust into the disc...

[Guest0608]

Hi,

My wife's new Golf VI is making a pinging noise at idle only. It can only be heard when outside the front of the car. Once off idle the sounds goes away. If the A/C is switched off the sound also goes away as the load is removed.

The sales person told me before we bought the car they always fill their cars before displaying them on their yard. It is a Feb 2009 model so has been sitting for some time. I have put it down to old fuel.

I spoke to the dealership and they had their service people look at it. They could not find any faults and also put it down to fuel. They want me to return the car after 1000km and will go over the car again free of charge.

We ran the car sedately until the tank was very low. I then filled it with 53.6 litres of BP Ultimate 98, therefore there was less than 2 litres of the old fuel remaining. I have only driven the car 20km since then and the sound is significantly reduced. I am expecting it to continue to improve.

The other issue was rusted brake discs. After a tank worth of fuel they have come good but I can detect a minor noise at car park speed. The service department can check this too.

When I take it back I might also ask them to change the oil and filter at my cost.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar to this?

Cheers,
Dave.

Get them at the dealership to make sure the noise at idle isnt coming from the gearbox / flywheel, as you say the a/c is on you can hear it makes me think the engine is loaded up, if this is the case it MAY require a engine update to the latest version, this raises the idle speed of the engine very slightly so that the flywheel doesnt rattle under load.

Remember I havent seen/ heard you car and I cant quite remember the engine that the update is for, just ask about it, they should know about the update and can check if its required for your engine code or not.....VW....

Could still easily be fuel, aussie fuel eh!......

[Topend]

Get them at the dealership to make sure the noise at idle isnt coming from the gearbox / flywheel, as you say the a/c is on you can hear it makes me think the engine is loaded up, if this is the case it MAY require a engine update to the latest version, this raises the idle speed of the engine very slightly so that the flywheel doesnt rattle under load.

Remember I havent seen/ heard you car and I cant quite remember the engine that the update is for, just ask about it, they should know about the update and can check if its required for your engine code or not.....VW....

Could still easily be fuel, aussie fuel eh!......

I've driven about 80km on the 98RON fuel now and the pinging noise is still there at idle. I will talk to the service department today about the flywheel theory and ask about any updates.

Dave.

[tbone malone]

Not sure if this is 'pinging' or not...

While travelling in peak hour this morning I experienced a dull popping/knocking noise. It sounded like it was coming from the near end of the engine bay but was a bit hard to tell.

It was only occuring when coasting downhill in 2nd gear at approx 1600-2000 rpm with no throttle input... oh, and A/C was on low. Fuel is Shell vpower, half a tank left.

Can anyone diagnose? Any help is appreciated

[Topend]

My wife left the car with VW service this morning. They had no idea about the car or the noise even though I have spoken to them many times.

They asked my wife where we purchased the car.
They then asked if the car was purchased used.

One week ago we purchased this car new from them. They have forgotten about us already. We are previous customers to them that have bought a new car (Honda) and had it serviced with them for six years. We still have the Honda and have to get it serviced one more time before selling it. They should know us.

After hearing all this from my wife I called the dealership. I was put through to the dealer principle who promptly put the mechanic on. I am now satisfied they are doing all they can. They now have the opportunity to get the car fixed and provide us the service we deserve. Here's hoping it all goes well.

Will post an update later today and thanks for the opportunity to vent my disappointment.

Dave.

[pologti18t]

You sure its pinging? That usually only happens underload. More likely just the noisey direct injection system

[Topend]

You sure its pinging? That usually only happens underload.

I agree, but it does sound like pinging. Another suggestion was a rattle from the flywheel/gearbox. I mentioned this to the mechanic so he can investigate.

[Topend]

As predicted here I had no luck at the dealer with the speedo inaccuracy. I will write a letter to VW Australia as I'm still not happy with the inaccuracy or their explanation.

The pinging noise is from the bell housing / flywheel. VW advise not to repair "as the noises are design-related and normal". They go on to say "the complaint is caused by the engine vibrations in the two-mass flywheel. This noise does not affect the service life of the affected parts".

I'm satisfied with the explanation on the noise issue. It can't be heard from inside the vehicle and if it does not affect the service life, I'm happy.

The dealership provided great service once this morning's hiccups were sorted. The wife is happy now too.

Cheers,
Dave.

[Corey_R]

As predicted here I had no luck at the dealer with the speedo inaccuracy. I will write a letter to VW Australia as I'm still not happy with the inaccuracy or their explanation.

Please let us know what their response back to you is.
I doubt any action will come from it though, as basically all new cars on the market now have this inaccuracy as mandated by the Australian Design Rules, and many international motoring regulations. Not all are 7% such as the recent VWs, but many are around the 4 to 6% range. It seems its very rare to see any with less than 4% now.

[pologti18t]

Please let us know what their response back to you is.
I doubt any action will come from it though, as basically all new cars on the market now have this inaccuracy as mandated by the Australian Design Rules, and many international motoring regulations. Not all are 7% such as the recent VWs, but many are around the 4 to 6% range. It seems its very rare to see any with less than 4% now.

Come on now... the inaccurancy is NOT mandated by ADRs. I think I posted a link to the ADR for speedo accurancy. It gives the maximum descrepancy between the speedo reading and the real speed. And stipulates that the speedo should never read LOWER than the actual road speed. This rule is also an EU requirement so the same calibration should exist for AUS market Golfs AND EU market Golfs.

The speed indicated shall not be less than the true speed of the vehicle. At the test
speeds specified in paragraph 5.2.5. above, there shall be the following relationship
between the speed displayed (V1 ) and the true speed (V2).

0 ≤ (V1 - V2) ≤ 0.1 V2 + 4 km/h

I think this is more to do with people using GPS etc to measure their speed (and compare it to the speedo reading).

Next people will be complaining that fuel guages aren't accurate and they want the manufacturer to recalibrate them so the when the needle is on E the car comes spluttering to a halt

[Corey_R]

So in effect the ADR is mandating that the speedo read faster than the real speed.
As I said - the 2% maximum inaccuracy that Topend is stating should be the case is just not appropriate given that the Golf can be upgraded from the standard 225/45R17 wheel to a 235/35R19, and it complies with the regulations of no more than a 2" upgrade from stock.
The 19" wheel will in effect erase that 2% inaccuracy making the Golf not (or barely?) in compliance with the ADR. In addition to that, it would not leave any 'analogue viewing inaccuracy' variation into how the driver reads the speed. Nor would it allow any 'throttle application inaccuracy' for the drive whilst they're driving through any of the traffic light cameras which now also are speed cameras (new in NSW, but been in VIC for quite some time).

So yeah - the ADR doesn't say "it must be 7%", but Topend's request for 2% is just now practical unless the government makes it illegal to change your wheels without also having your speedo recalibrated - which would just be a pain in the arse.

In the end - what does it really matter? If you need 100% accuracy, you use a GPS or laser based unit anyway - and Topend already has that equipment, which is why he knows about this issue!

[pologti18t]

In the end - what does it really matter? If you need 100% accuracy, you use a GPS or laser based unit anyway - and Topend already has that equipment, which is why he knows about this issue!

That's what I was coming to next... Who cares about speedo inaccurracy if you know what that inaccurracy is? Hardly a "write a letter to VWA" issue.

Golf can be upgraded from the standard 225/45R17 wheel to a 235/35R19, and it complies with the regulations of no more than a 2" upgrade from stock.

It should be:

The outside diameter of the wheel and tyre combination must be no more than 15mm over the largest diameter
wheel and tyre combination specified for the vehicle and not more than 15mm below the smallest diameter wheel
and tyre combination specified for the vehicle.

Which if you look at the figure is about the difference between a fully treaded tyre and a bald one of similar original dimensions.