1.4 TSI 122 Engine noise

[Jam_Roc]

Guys,

I was wondering if any other 1.4tsi 122 owner finds the engine noise to be quite deep and throaty sounding when reving?

Is this just normal on all Tsi models?


Thanks

[carmanvw]

mine's a 1.4 TSI 122, and i haven't noticed anything unusual in normal driving, except a little bit raspy under acceleration, as if there's a slight leak , which doesn't overly bother me as it's a slightly sporty sound, but i'm keeping an eye (ear) on it, as I've had the car in to get the exhaust heat shield looked at since it was causing a rattle due to loose fitting, and another sound which has since come to my attention is a sound like little glass bottles dinging together- hopefully not the catalytic converter.

The only other noise i find disconcerting is sometimes , on start up, the car sounds like a clapped out banger, for about 5-10 seconds, till its settles down to slow idle. don t know what this is, possibly oil making its way to the turbo?

[buster]

mine's a 1.4 TSI 122, and i haven't noticed anything unusual in normal driving, except a little bit raspy under acceleration, as if there's a slight leak , which doesn't overly bother me as it's a slightly sporty sound, but i'm keeping an eye (ear) on it, as I've had the car in to get the exhaust heat shield looked at since it was causing a rattle due to loose fitting, and another sound which has since come to my attention is a sound like little glass bottles dinging together- hopefully not the catalytic converter.

The only other noise i find disconcerting is sometimes , on start up, the car sounds like a clapped out banger, for about 5-10 seconds, till its settles down to slow idle. don t know what this is, possibly oil making its way to the turbo?

I have a 1.4 tsi 122 also, and I would have nothing to add to this description as it really covers what mine sounds like to.

[Jam_Roc]

Thanks for the replies guys,

Yeah thats prob a better word for it would be a "raspy" sound when accelerating or reving it when stationary. It's prob just how the engine is suppose to sound and gives it that sporty sound to go with the looks. I just wanted to get a second opinion as like you said it sounded a bit like a small hole in the exhaust which is unlikely since it's brand new out the wrapper 3 months ago.

P.S. I also get that start up noise which lasts for about 5 seconds until you watch the needle dip back down under 1000rpm. I don't get it on every start up tho. Strange!

[salsajoe]

If the start up noise is from cold then there is a thread on here somewhere about it. If my memory serves me it is something about ECU changing settings to improve warm up time.

[drfez]

Glad to hear its not just me with this horrible noise for first 20 odd seconds, revving around 1200 rpm, then drops to 800 or so and fine. How long have you had this guys?
Reading around, appears to be EGR warming up and actually normal? Fairly eager to get sorted...only had it for 2 weeks, but from a dealership about 100 miles away

[Jam_Roc]

I have had mine for about 5 months now and I am quite used to the noise now. I don't think you need to get anything sorted appears to be perfectly normal for the engine during a cold start.

[carmanvw]

I'm still a little disappointed with the noise the car is making. I've noticed, as others have, that it's intermittent. I can start the car in the afternoon with an outside temperature of 20 Celsius outside,and it'll rattle for 30 seconds before settling down. And that's after having been driven earlier in the morning, when it started quietly with an outside temperature of 15 Celsius.

On the quiet start, the engine revs go straight to 7,500 (normal), but on the noisy start, the engine goes to approx 12,000 revs for 30 seconds. Doesn't make sense.

I kind of wonder is the slightly uneven idling connected to this problem.

Ill give the main dealer another chance to rectify the problem. Disappointingly not up to the standard I have been used to and expect from Volkswagen. This could be my last, however, once its out of warranty, ill probably revert to my previous mechanic, who understands cars, and is guided but not governed by a computer.

Anyone heard anything new that can shed light on this??

[Mark V]

On the quiet start, the engine revs go straight to 7,500 (normal), but on the noisy start, the engine goes to approx 12,000 revs for 30 seconds. Doesn't make sense.

You might want to check those figures again!

[drfez]

Sounds the same as me carman. No rhyme or reason to it...doesn't appear to be related to outside temp - the warmer weather appears to have made worse if anything so am not sure I buy into the 'needs to warm the cat up' explanation.
I'd be happy to upload a vid to anyone wants to compare.
Anyway, took to VW this week and they think its a, yes you guessed a timing chain problem and they want the car for 4 days to repair

[Komar]

That is normal guys, many other cars have the same about 1200 rpm

[carmanvw]

Oops yeah, 750 and 1,200 respectively.
I can handle that the revs are normal while it uses a bit of choke, but the racket the car makes is not normal- sounds like an ashmatic puppy. A bit concerned, another thread which relates to the 160ps model, I think, was a sign of engine trouble to come. Honestly, despite the annoyance, I could live with it if I didn't think it would progress to something worse, and this puppy needs some cough drops of some sort.
I'd certainly be interested to see if your garage can find the cause and cure, drfez. Good luck with it.

[drfez]

Thought i'd feed back to guys with similar issues after picking up the car from VW - they replaced the chain, camshaft adjuster (apparently I had early one which had/has issues) and tensioner. Early doors but no noise on start now...
( i had the clatter for around 30-45 sec revving at 1200 then dipping down to 800 and quietens down - if i tried to pull away it would struggle).
VW chap told me known issue and they see it fairly often

[carmanvw]

cheers for that drfez. i'm keeping a note over last few days of when it has normal starts and when it does the clatters. lately, it doesnt make any difference what the temperature outside is, so when it's in next, i'll mention your remedy to the garage. hopefully thats a long term fix for you.

[drfez]

Bit of an update..
So all that changed/replaced...and 5 weeks being with VW..they replaced the tappets and lo and behold it hasn't made the slightest difference!
Maybe it is a normal trait of the engine but just worry with talk of chains going/solenoid valves etc from other posts something is still amiss.

[3t3p]

I really like that start up sound!

I've tried to establish a pattern for when it does it but haven't.

It's the only time the little engine sounds cool in my opinion, I like it when it does it in front of people haha

[carmanvw]

i'm kind of resurrecting this topic, because, i can now narrow it down slightly- for the entire winter, the problem was non existent but the problem has returned.soon as the weather has become warmer.
when the outside temperature is in the region of 15' celcius, then starting the car from "cold" (meaning not having driven it for a few hours), then the problem arises. it's as if the choke only activates when it's warm, on start-up.
don't know how the modern engine works, as in if a thermostat controls the regulation of choke or its equivalent, but that appears to be the fault. so it's booked in again for a look.

[carmanvw]

so, i left the car in, kind of guessed what the result would be. no fault on diagnostics, they checked to see if there was a previous report which there was. explained it basically by repeating to me more or less how i described the problem, and stating that as the reason, and stating also that its normal.

SO, ACCORDING TO A VW MAIN DEALER, IT IS NORMAL FOR A LESSTHAN TWO YEAR OLD, LOW MILEAGE, VW SCIROCCO, 1.4 TSI, TO MAKE AN INTOLERABLE RACKET ON START UP IN WARM WEATHER.
I'LL CERTAINLY KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN I REPLACE THE CAR.......

someone in the UK had the right idea a couple of years ago- had a catalogue of all the faults of his Land Rover or Range Rover, had them in large print all over his windows and parked his car outside the dealership who'd sold him the vehicle and fobbed him off.....

worth thinking about methinks. but im gonna see if VW in Germany can shed any light on the subject. anyone had contact with VW Headquarters over any quality issue. i know i only have to make reasonable attempt to get explaination from dealer/manufacturer. its covered by the sale of goods act here.

[carmanvw]

just thought i'd add a youtube link to highlight this noisy start up issue.
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[lewihoga]

Dont worry guys I have exact same thing as carmanvw in that video. It certainly seems to be the norm as have heard LOADS of people have this happen. So yeah I wouldn't worry about it, I think its just one of them things we have to live with. I haven't noticed a trend as of yet. But have any of you tried turning it over, then if it makes that growling noise, turn the engine straight off, then start it up again and it disappears. It's very strange.