'05 VW Passat Noise???

Vegeta

My mate at work has a '05 Passat which he has just bought. On the test drive he didn't notice the problem as he was going low speeds but between 90-100kmph the car is making a humming noise.

There is no vibration in the wheel and the noise is not present at other speeds, so does anyone have an idea what it may be?

He has brought it back to the garage where he bought it and after it being in for a week the sales guy had the cheek to say he couldn't hear the noise. :rolleyes:

macnab

Wheel bearing maybe? Dodgy door/window seal?

Vegeta

My initial thought was wheel bearing.

Could it really be a seal or road noise, its not constant just at a particular speed.

Its driving hime nuts

Raytown Rocks

Roofrack????

Vegeta

chef wrote:

Roofrack????

Nope, no rook rack, its a weird one. The car looks mint all round but it has this one fault which is completely head wrecking.

You don't spend 20K to get a problem like this.

whippet

it's not the turbo ?

JHMEG

Check after you've been driving for a while if one wheel (not tyre) or better again, brake disc, is hotter on one side of the car than it is on the other.

I've come across sticking calipers on one or two of these cars, albeit older ones, and with the constant heat generated it causes the wheel bearing to fail prematurely.

BrianD3

I had a vague humming noise once, wasn't wheel bearings, couldn't figure out what it was. I "cured" it by swapping the front wheels with the back. Never found it what was causing it but I think it was either wheel nut or tyre related.

In your case, if it is indeed a wheel bearing the humming should increase/decrease when cornering depending on which side of the car the bearing is on and whether it is a RH or left hand bend.

Another quick diagnostic test - pick a straight, empty piece of road, when the humming starts stick the car in neutral with your foot off the gas. Does the hum stay the same or go away. If it stays the same then it's probably not gearbox or engine related.

Noises can be a real pain to track down. You could find that your noise is something weird like an exhaust touching off a heat shield and only producing an audible sound when you reach a certain speed.

crosstownk

I remember back in the mid 90s that there was a humming/droning problem in VW Golf & Vento diesels. Basically there were two manufacturers of air filter for VW. One brand was slightly smaller that the other and caused a humming noise in the air intake system that could be heard throughout the car - a change of air filter cured this. I'm not saying that this is the problem in this case but it could be anything. The best thing your mate can do is drive the car with the mechanic beside him and demonstrate the noise.

Finding the noise could be difficult depending on whats causing it. It could be anything from a wheel bearing to a slightly insecure component that vibrates at a certain speed.

Vegeta

Thanks for the info lads, there are things there I would never have thought of checking

He has been out in the car with the mechanic already.

He's going to forward all your ideas to the garage so they can check them. Thanks, keep them coming if anything else comes to you

cubalibre62a

Was your mate ever able to find the source of the humming noise? I noticed a very similar noise this week on my '02 Passat and was hoping to guide my mechanic to the the problem. He thinks its a head shield, but I would appreciate and update on what your mate discovered.

WHITE_P

Probably a wheel bearing, just had one of the front ones on my 06 Passat replaced under warranty, only 24000Kms on the clock, have the car since new and was very surprised when it started humming. started to get loud from at 80kph and got louder the faster I travelled, particularly once the car had warmed up. Mechanic in the garage told me they have replaced a few in new model Passats.

cubalibre62a

Thanks for the suggestion I have a 2002 Passat (B5.5) not the B6 that was introduced in 2006, but I'll have the mechanic check the front bearings.

Green Hornet

Its most likely the tyres themselves if its not a wheel bearing. They can cause a whining sound at certain speeds and the only way to rectify the problem is by changing the tyres.

Sometimes road surfaces can also cause a resonance or whining. There are certain stretches of road that I drive every day and whatever the hell it is, it causes a droning noise. Same thing with my last 3 cars.

Damien360

Heres a weird one.

Saw a Passat on the M7 lately and when he got to 100kph and over you could see a panel under the car vibrating. Looks like it was an engine guard. I know there is a better name for that but I am sure I saw a golf do the same on the M7 another day. Get someone to drive behind you at a distance so they can see the any vibration. Also saw the exhaust of a Civic do the same at speed. Old style Civic with main section of exhaust mounted sideways.

groupb

The 07 passat I had , had a failed wheel bearing among its multitude of problems.

Green Hornet

groupb wrote: »

The 07 passat I had , had a failed wheel bearing among its multitude of problems.

I thought VW were pretty reliable if overpriced? Seems that the quality of most manufacturers is dropping - with the exception of Renault who are already at the bottom!:)

WHITE_P

Green Hornet wrote: »

I thought VW were pretty reliable if overpriced? Seems that the quality of most manufacturers is dropping - with the exception of Renault who are already at the bottom!:)

Like any make you can be luck or unlucky. The company I work for run a fleet of 4x4's and since 01 we have been using Toyota Landcruisers, of the 100 odd of these that would be in the fleet at any given time there is always a few that give trouble. In some cases I would look at the drivers as being responsible for this, but there are those that just give trouble, almost from day one. We all know Toyota's bye line, "the best built cars in the world" and consumer organisations world wide would crucify them if they couldn't back that claim up.

maidhc

Green Hornet wrote: »

I thought VW were pretty reliable if overpriced?

The new passat has a pretty dire reliability record.

Boggins127

I know if its the 1.6 it revs high at 90-160km Maybe its tht