[damienedwards]

So only had the Arteon for a couple of weeks and already it looks like I will need to pull the door casing off!!!


Have a really annoying rattle in the door with speakers about 1/2 volume and at low levels there is a slight buzz almost static noise coming from the speakers on vocals.


Have downloaded the workshop manual so will tackle this at the weekend and let you know how it goes.


whilst the casing is off I am going to stick in a few pads of sound insulation stick backed foam too!!


Cheers,


Damien.

 

[snoopy]

I've had my Arteon from new for 5 weeks now. 10 days ago, the driver's door started buzzing/vibrating. It happens when I initially press the gas pedal or intermittently while on the move. My dilemma is whether to take it to the local VW dealer to get it fixed for free even though they have a poor rating or go to an independent specialist for a fee but with a high customer rating. Any suggestions?

 

[Lucien]

Well I don't really see the harm in having your dealer look at it first for free. And if you find that they aren't capable of properly addressing the issue than you can follow up with a visit to an independent shop. There probably isn't much involved in fixing the problem aside from insulting and securing the internals in the door.

 

[snoopy]

Thanks Lucien. As it's my new pride and joy (top of the range with many extras), I'm just concerned that they may not give it the care and attention it deserves when disassembling and putting it back together and may abuse it on test drives since their reviews are bolstered by numerous dubious "local guides" giving 5 stars without any comments. Without those, their ratings would be even lower. The ones with comments only give a rating of average at best. On the other hand, the independent specialist has glowing reviews which sound genuine.

 

[damienedwards]

I always do things like this myself. I'm an automotive engineer and used to work in NVH so have the gear required to strip down and sound proof the vibrations. A high frequency buzz is coming from the tweeter grille/bezel........if you tap it with your knuckle you can hear it. And the woofer in the door is causing something internal to buzz with low frequency bass. A session with the casing off, a few strips of anti squeak felt, sound dampening foam and possibly some plastic joint re-welding should sort it. I'll get some pics as i strip it down and de-buzz it to hopefully help others. I don't think i will be the only onevto have this issue.

 

[damienedwards]

Door pulled off over the weekend,


Numerous potential buzzing pits felt taped - mainly slightly loose connectors and some wiring that could vibrate and were taped down.


Biggest potential buzz point was the large triangular shaped piece of cavity plastic in the door which when tapped buzzed and rattled.


Solution was to wrap the edge of the hole in cloth tape all around the periphery and re-fit - no more rattle!!


Next big one was the pack of the door casing closest to the seat belt - really bad buzzing with low bass notes - hap to run a thin strip of felt tape about 6" long between door casing and door metal panel to cure.


My drivers door is coming off next.


Still a lot of buzzes and rattles inside the cabin that go off when the Dynaudio is cranked up!!!!


TBH not overly impressed with the build quality.

 

[rlaffey]

Thanks for this, I have the same rattles / buzzing so will try over the weekend also.

Out of curiosity have you any rattles from your front vents? I have a rattle at 80km/h on a certain roughness of surface. It stops once I put my hand on the top of the dashboard with no pressure or touch the central vents. Very annoying and not easy replicate close to my dealer, I've a feeling a new central vent will be required........but getting them to acknowledge could be troublesome

 

[TheGreatSoprendo]

TBH not overly impressed with the build quality.

Most cars seem to be built to the bare minimum standards these days, to be honest. My current Mazda 6 seems to be held together by sellotape once you look under the skin. There was a time when 'quality' car brands meant buying actual quality (I'm thinking personally about an old Saab 9000 I had which was beautifully screwed together), but those days are long gone.

 

[Lucien]

I mean this part of the reasoning behind dealers suggesting you bring your car for any issues. They'd probably prefer that you don't get a look at the internals to see where shortcuts have been taken. Glad to hear that you've been able to address some of the most noticeable spots, but it sounds like its going to be a pretty in depth fix.

 

[damienedwards]

Sorry been a while. So having come from a 8 year old Jaguar XFR the build Quality of the Arteon is quite frankly terrible. I have had numerous rattles i have had to fix.....doors, B pillars in the belt slide area. Glove box and centre console. And this morning the dash abive the vents. Which i think is the grilles to dash topper interface. Its i suppose relatuve to what you expect but even my other car which is a 2014 Jeep GC is more solid. I really want to love this car but the build quality is shocking. Also on my list is the Dynaudio centre speaker which i think is shot!! Jeese.....

 

[[email protected]]

Damien having worked in this industry for a long time, and by the amount of problems you are describing, it seems like you have on your hands one of the early models build, and that is why it may seem shocking! Keep in mind that when production starts on a new project, there are a lot of people with very little or poor training methods established when they assemble the car, and as time goes by, they make less and less mistakes. Also bad engineering when implementing the assembly process is to blame. Don’t get me wrong, i’m not taking VW part here, because their quality department should have picked this up before they started shipping them. But after the dieselgate scandal, quality in all vw products has dropped to cover the costs. I was also reading on the Emden Plant site that they are implementing some new way of assembly, or changes to the process, and that could also be a factor! Btw is the dynadio really worth the money? Cheers

 

[damienedwards]

Hi Mihay, yes i know all too well the industry. Served my engineering apprenticeship under BMW and spent 17 years in Cowley and now the last 8 years as a consultant for Jaguar and Landrover. You are correct about the early build and things generally improve, but come on VW. Most of the parts are carry over by design strategy. Its poor to say the least. I got lucky with a Dealer demo on my Arteon but to answer your question it depends what you are used to and what your benchmark is. I have had Mark Levinson, Bose, HK and Boston Audio. Mark Levinson being the best and the Dynaudio does not compare. That said too however i think the centre speaker is shot, maybe the voice coil and its going into VW next week for tests. Will report back.

 

[[email protected]]

Cheers for the reply, I have been working for toyota in Qc, and I know what they expect and what to look for, trained eye i guess, but i have noticed driving almost all new models of VW that their quality is in decline, and because i own a Passat Cc from 2009 which has a terrible rattle in the passenger side vent, deep inside the dash, i was ademant to the dealer that if i discover any types of rattles or faults with the arteon, they can have it back. That being said i had to choose between this arteon, an e class, or a5. Arteon won based on looks alone. As for the audio sistem, i have the dynaudio in this CC, but tbh it doesn’t impress me! That is why i asked how it sounds and if it’s worth the grand that they are asking for. I did spec it on the car, but was wondering if it is money well invested, or should give it up and put something else on, and go for aftermaket. The car i drove as a test did not have it, and i do have high expectations of it for that price. Thank you again for your answers. Cheers

 

[TheGreatSoprendo]

I have been working for toyota in Qc, and I know what they expect and what to look for

Interesting discussion. I don't have the inside knowledge you folks do, but since you mention Toyota QC, I'd be delighted if my Arteon is half as reliable as the Avensis I had for four years 2010-2014. Solid as a rock, not a squeak or rattle, and not even the slightest issue to sort out in four years. Similar experience with the three different Hondas I had before that (Civic, Accord, FRV). My current Mazda 6 doesn't even come close...one problem after another, and as mentioned earlier, noticeably flimsy in construction.

 

[[email protected]]

Interesting discussion. I don't have the inside knowledge you folks do, but since you mention Toyota QC, I'd be delighted if my Arteon is half as reliable as the Avensis I had for four years 2010-2014. Solid as a rock, not a squeak or rattle, and not even the slightest issue to sort out in four years. Similar experience with the three different Hondas I had before that (Civic, Accord, FRV). My current Mazda 6 doesn't even come close...one problem after another, and as mentioned earlier, noticeably flimsy in construction.

We have very strict rules and PIS (parts inspection standards) which basically are pictures with types and quantity of defects allowed, and also bonuses if we find as many as we can. That is how we motivate people to be very strict when it comes to quality and try to do the best we can. as for the defective parts that we do encounter they are sent back to our suppliers, and not only do we receive another good part free of charge, we will also do follow up visits to their factories, to ensure that such defect will be contained and will not receive the same type again. On top of that we can implement hefty fines to our suppliers if they do not respect the quality required.That is why the quality is so good, but even we can do mistakes, that is why there are no perfect brands and even we have some cars that do come back in warranty to be sorted, but I can only assume that VW being such a large manufacturer in Germany, and around the world have dropped Qc standards a bit to not cause massive losses in material, labour, and recoup some costs paid in fines as diesel gate. i can tell you for sure that a recall of about 100 k cars costs a minimum of 15 milion to implement.

 

[damienedwards]

Hi Mihay. Yep i think you are about right with the re-call costs and as you know the cash will need to be found somewhere!! Dash rattles are the worst!! I'm proficient in pulling most pieces of trim off but the dash is one of the first things to go in and pulling it out only leads to other issues!! Tbh i reckon for a grand i would go after market co ax, amp and sub. Used to play around with cars in my younger days and always had aftermarket gear. A nice Infinity set up would do well...... i know you would have to pull the door pads off and some other trim.....but hey they bloody rattle anyway so a good chance to add some felt tape in!! Ha ha.

 

[Arne]

Hi Mihay, yes i know all too well the industry. Served my engineering apprenticeship under BMW and spent 17 years in Cowley and now the last 8 years as a consultant for Jaguar and Landrover.

Hi Damien,

My "hobbycar" is a MY 15 Jaguar F-type R Coupe. Built year is 14 and that is (as I am shure you know) the first production year of the coupe model.

I am pleased to say that there has only been a few small (and easilly resolved) issues with my F-type, and it feels rock solid. No rattles and after a software update, very good quality of sound from the 770 w Meridian sound system.

I don't know if you have been involved in the F-type, but if you have, my thanks to you! This car is a keeper for me 🙂

 

[Matthew Ford]

Hi there, I can bear the buzzing no longer! Booked into the dealer on Monday. Will report back when they've sorted it.

 

[Matthew Ford]

Further to my dealership visit yesterday.... Guess what... It didn't buzz when they drove it! Sod's law. However, judging by the difference in range mileage before and after the visit, and knowing they've not driven it far, I deduce that they ragged it around with the radio up high and aircon on full. This appears to have shaken whatever was vibrating into a different position. Drove the car home last evening with no annoying buzz! Time will tell whether it's cured or not.

 

[Matthew Ford]

Not cured