MK6 GTI - Rattle upon acceleration - Resolved via TPI: 2021062/7

[audi-tone]

i know this is the mk6 forums, but i have a very similar thing happen to my mk4 gti; when i upgraded the downpipe the rattle appeared. i always thought, bigger dp more actuator noise (this is what i was told from the exhaust shop) but now it could possibly be that my dp is just a dodgey make after all.. annoys the bejebus out of me so i'd be complaining if my brand new car did it for sure!

[mfl]

. I am surprised that VW has been able to get away with specifying a rattle as normal operation. .

I tend to agree, every time I hear the rattle, I find it annoying, like having the indicators on the wrong side of the steering column, but its not a fatal flaw. Actually wish the exhaust had some more character to it, just a bit too subdued at the moment, it might even help hide the rattle a bit more.

[Corey_R]

I find it annoying, like having the indicators on the wrong side of the steering column

Yeah, it's cool that VW's have the indicators on the correct side of the wheel - unlike most silly Australian manufacturers

[mfl]

I find it annoying, like having the indicators on the wrong side of the steering column, .

Yeah, it's cool that VW's have the indicators on the correct side of the wheel - unlike most silly Australian manufacturers

don't forget the silly Japanese manufacturers ........ at least the Italians copy VW

[mebius9]

Yeah, it's cool that VW's have the indicators on the correct side of the wheel - unlike most silly Australian manufacturers

Actually, VW's indicator stalk might be on the wrong side.
In Germany driver side is on the left and the indicator stalk is on left because you have to shift with right hand
It appears that European makers are not bothering with converting the indicators while Japs do.

[Corey_R]

Lol - you're both silly :p hehe
I mean, in Australia we drive on the wrong side of the road... or do we? I mean, who is it to say which side of the road, or which side of the steering wheel is right or wrong?

Personally I love the indicators being on the left - ESPECIALLY in a manual car. You can leave your right hand on the wheel and operate everything else with your left hand. It means, amoungst other things, you can actually navigate round-a-bouts properly, including "exit indication" without having to do the "hand shuffle" midway-through the turn.

Anyway - I knew what you meant in your original comment mfl, I was just playing devils advocate

[G-rig]

when i upgraded the downpipe the rattle appeared. i always thought, bigger dp more actuator noise (this is what i was told from the exhaust shop) but now it could possibly be that my dp is just a dodgey make after all.. annoys the bejebus out of me so i'd be complaining if my brand new car did it for sure!

You'd hear more mechanical noise though any exhaust/headers but think you also hear more turbo spool which wouldn't be bad.

A full exhaust may be better for the GTI as the stock sound is a bit bland/dull and needs a bit better note to it. People may not concentrate on trying to hear a rattle then .

[mfl]

Lol - you're both silly :p hehe
I mean, in Australia we drive on the wrong side of the road... or do we? I mean, who is it to say which side of the road, or which side of the steering wheel is right or wrong?

Personally I love the indicators being on the left - ESPECIALLY in a manual car. You can leave your right hand on the wheel and operate everything else with your left hand. It means, amoungst other things, you can actually navigate round-a-bouts properly, including "exit indication" without having to do the "hand shuffle" midway-through the turn.

Anyway - I knew what you meant in your original comment mfl, I was just playing devils advocate

I know this ot but: I found the opposite, there are times when changing lanes and pulling out into traffic, where i need to change gears and put the indicator on at the same time.

I remember my old ford escort, had the indicator on the left and the when I test drove an XR5, Ford was still leaving the indicator on the left. So obviously drivers in the UK, have the same problem.

and Coreying, I liked the humour...

[jwastrel]

So - the downpipe is the culprit... Ive come to accept it, but it does sound a bit "cheap". As long as its doing no damage it shouldn't be a worry.

I wonder whether 2011 build mk6 gtis will exhibit this problem?

[G-rig]

Can barely hear it and is only on very light throttle can't hear it with normal driving.

[Nate]

I just picked up my new GTI MKVI manual this afternoon and, without knowing about this problem, heard the rattling sound within the first hour of driving. I find it most easily reproducible in 3rd and 4th at low revs.

So when I got home I immediately googled it and found this thread. Like a lot of other people on here I find it really annoying. It may not be very loud, but when I first heard it I was like wtf!?!? My first reaction was "Someone has fanged the **** out of this car and caused it to 'ping'", something you usually only hear in crappy old cars. I'm pretty sure this isn't the desired reaction VW would like from a first time driver of one of their cars.

After reading through most of the posts I reckon the best thing to do would be to start up an online petition on a site like this: iPetitions: Start a free online petition / Create a petition

Then get everyone on here with the same problem to sign it and also hit up the other VW forums for more signatures. Then email it to the most appropriate VW representative. Seems like the most constructive thing we could do, rather than individually going into dealerships and recreating the issue only to be told "it's a characteristic of the car", which is by the way the biggest load of **** I've ever heard.

[REXman]

Best thing anyone has suggested so far. As for ignoring the sound, turning up the radio etc - PLEASE!!!

Get VW to fix this on an otherwise great car. If I bought a watch and it skipped a second, and it was not just a rolex but any watch over 500-1k, I'd return it. People who wouldn't mind good luck to you but I definitely would.

Great idea on the petition and hopefull some action comes of it.

[elisiX]

That is actually not a bad idea.

While I am getting used to the sound after 5000km... it still disappoints me when I do hear it.

Just sounds cheap and nasty.

[MurphyTheElf]

Nate, would you like to create the petition, or do you want me to? I probably should have done this from word go since I was one of the first to get delivery of the GTI at official launch. I tried to get this sorted on my own firstly through my dealer and then through VWA, but I've hit such a wall of stubborn resistance that I've given up getting a satisfactory response.

I'm actually putting together a case (Murphy vs Missus) for an aftermarket downpipe, but why should I spend more money on something that I wouldn't put up with on a 1984 Nissan Bluebird? I didn't pull that model out of the air, I actually owned one that suffered from an almost identical sound. I spent a couple hundred dollars getting it sorted out even though the car was probably worth only $2000 at the time. Perhaps this demonstrates how livid I am with the GTI situation....

[Corey_R]

This sounds like it's action in a positive direction to me. I don't know how much detail people put in these on-line petitions, but considering most people still think this issue is the waste-gate, I don't think it would hurt to start compiling what you think the information will be in some posts in the thread here - what do you think?

- I was thinking a brief description of the sound
- A brief history of the VW response (maybe a reproduction of the official VW letter than many have been handed)
- A summary of what the issue actually is (i.e. downpipe)
- Evidence which confirms that it is the downpipe
- Finally of course, the course of action or response you'd like from VW

The reason I suggested compiling the information for the petition here, is you'd want to get the facts straight and an agreed concensus on what is/has happened - otherwise the petition could be plagued from the start.
Also - the "Evidence which confirms that it is the downpipe" may be the hardest one to get info on at this stage. I know that there has been a few people overseas that have changed the downpipe and had the issue go away, but I don't recall any forum members here having done this yet (although Guy_H said a customer in WA did have the issue go away).

Anyway, just some thoughts