Wastegate Actuator Rod rattle - SOLVED

[Crzypdilly]

Is this an issue on 2012s too? I just started hearing a rattle in low RPMs too. Like when in drive poking along at 45mph and accelerating a little I can hear it (among other times at low RPMs). If I go into a lower gear to accelerate such that the RPMs are higher, I don't hear it. Seems to be coming from passenger side...

Yep I have it under moderate acceleration. I'll be letting the dealership know when I take it in for the 90 day check up.

[vdubrus]

Just had it done. Car is very quiet! Kinda miss the rattle.

[oldvines]

Just had it done. Car is very quiet! Kinda miss the rattle.

How did you explain to service department... I want to make sure they understand what I'm talking about!

[vdubrus]

How did you explain to service department... I want to make sure they understand what I'm talking about!

I just told them I've heard you guys got the fix for the flapping noise. Said it was turbo waste gate.
It took them about 10 minutes to find the TSB. He showed me the print out, I saw the clip and said "yep that's the one".

May be this will help:
part number: 06J-145-220-A (I don't think it's the TSB number, I think it's the clip part number)
Description: INSTALL CLIP AROUND PIVOT AT WASTE GATE

I hope this helps.

[Trepex]

Similar experience as those here. I described the issue, mentioned that I'd read it was the wastegate actuator rod and that there was now a TSB for a clip. The Service Manager went away and came back within a minute with a printout. We looked at it and confirmed it was exactly what I was talking about. Fast forward to yesterday and they installed the clip, eliminating the sound. A couple of times under hard acceleration on the way home I thought I hear it again, but after rolling down the windows was pretty sure it was just tire noise or something else. Couldn't reproduce. Good enough for me!

By the way, I went to Hunt Club Volkswagen in Ottawa. Love those guys!

[eduardot]

I bought a 2012 GTI 2 days ago and was womdering what that sound was. Thanks everyone for the info on this thread! I hope the service reps at my dealership are not a PITA to deal with.

[Eviloliv3]

Just got it installed on my car... nice and quiet now.

Still hear it for half a second occasionally but its super quiet and not really too noticable

[DramatizedMinds]

I've taken my car to vw 3 times now for this rattle only to be told that the sound is normal. So today on my 10k service i took the advisor and the tech on a drive only to be told thats a normal sound for this model 2010 gti so i told him about both the tsb # and part # he went and checked came back and said it sounds like my exact problem but the tsb's are not for my car and the part is not in stock but they will order it and install it anyways. this is larry miller vw in avondale arizona.

All I can say is I sure do appreciate the service of mini in scottsdale after dealing with vw for the past 10yrs. But it is still not enough to lose the vw love

[Brett0712]

Just hit 1500mi on my '12 GTI Autobahn and have the rattle noise. I brought the car to the dealer to have them check out the noise and take care of it for me. They took it for a drive and told me the noise was normal. I mentioned the TSB and clip and was told that I didn't need it. I had them do my 90day check up and went on my way. It wasn't even worth my time trying to argue with them. Just bought the clip on ECS for $40 and will do it myself.

[austai]

If you have an opportunity to get the fix, and you've noticed the noise, then do it. I thought I'd notice the quiet only when my stereo is off, but there's a greater sense of smoothness now. I think that rattle affected my subconscious perception more than I thought.

[VWRedux]

My actuator noise has all but vanished by itself!

[acdelco]

I called the local dealership to ask about this fix and was told he never heard of it and they would not do it.
Called the dealer on the other side of town and have it scheduled for tomorrow

[DramatizedMinds]

Got mine fixed yesterday after 3 attempts, I now drive in a peaceful bliss.

[oldvines]

Went to dealer today for courtesy 90 day check and told them about the TSB and provided the number. Service advisor comes back when vehicle ready to tell my that my car doesn't have the issues mentioned in TSB. I said ok, then please look into the rattling sound between 2k-3k RPM in all gears since I need that addressed. He comes back 30 minutes later to say they have to order a part to fix that but couldn't say whether it was the one mentioned in TSB or not. Nice. I'm sure it is exactly that part that they ordered.

[aigoo]

yah i just installed it myself. bought the clip from ecs for 36 bucks + infinity for shipping to hawaii.

kind of a pain in the ass to install. put hte car up on one jackstand and slid under to work. very little room for hands where the clip needs to go.

[duke of chucchinchilla]

Holy **** I was going back through old threads and came across this. Thank you!!!! Dealer ordered part and will install for free using the TSB they performed over a year ago.

[modiGTI]

I'm taking my car in for service next month, so I wanted to check if this is the actual problem I have or not.

Every morning, I notice a faint rattling noise coming from the rear but it seems to go away after the car is warmed up. Is this normal or do I have a similar issue?

[Smoky_Llama]

To all the guys buying the clip yourselves after vw turns you away, go in there with the tsb number and force them to order it, if not call vw corporate, trust me it's worth it, no point in spending $40 when these are somewhat expensive cars that are still under warranty.

[slowMK3GTI]

i called my local dealer. they had no idea what i was talking about and i gave them a TSP # he said that wont help and just to bring it in and see if the tech can figure out what it is. then they will say everything is fine. what a bunch of fools!!!! i have more info after reading this forum. hope that helps, if not new im f'd

[jr05gti]

If they can't pull up the TSB number they are retarded and you should go to a different dealership. But good luck.

[xcoderx]

Dear friends,
i have similar problem in my tdi leon fr.It has 6 speed dsg and 170hp hp, leon fr 2011.
I have a noise when i am accelarating hard or braking hard and also sometimes crossing from hump .
I have thought that it is because of dsg , but after reading that treat, i am confused.
Noise is just like "tık tık tık" and metallic. no noise when neutral or accelerating slowly
Does my car has wastgate like yours? I will go to my dealer but i dont think that they have enough knowleadge about this kind of problems.
thank you

[evosky]

Dear friends,
i have similar problem in my tdi leon fr.It has 6 speed dsg and 170hp hp, leon fr 2011.
I have a noise when i am accelarating hard or braking hard and also sometimes crossing from hump .
I have thought that it is because of dsg , but after reading that treat, i am confused.
Noise is just like "tık tık tık" and metallic. no noise when neutral or accelerating slowly
Does my car has wastgate like yours? I will go to my dealer but i dont think that they have enough knowleadge about this kind of problems.
thank you

the wastegate noise that we are talking about usually happens when you are under mild throttle in the 1.5-3.5K RPM range and doesn't depends on whether you have MT or DSG. it will sound like a can of small rocks rattling. it doesn't happen on hard braking or from body flex - those may be body creaks that you could possibly fix with some tape on the metal door lock mechanisms. a TDI does have a turbo, and i did a quick search of leon tdi fr's, and there are some threads that talk about this a little bit, but not widespread.

[warri]

My 2011 has it. I noticed it within the first week of owning the car. I think the people with 2011's who are saying they don't have it are either playing their music too loud to notice or just don't know what to listen for. I think they all do it. When I told my dealer about it the tech said he couldn't replicate it, and afterward I told him he'd have to be deaf not to notice. He said next time I come in he would ride along with me so I could point it out to him, but this is pointless until there is an actual fix from VW.

I have this noise, but really only notice it in parking ramps(garages) etc. Its not actually that annoying and until this thread, thought it was normal

[evosky]

I have this noise, but really only notice it in parking ramps(garages) etc. Its not actually that annoying and until this thread, thought it was normal

it is normal, but it's a design flaw that can be mitigated. got mine fixed at a willing dealer for free.

[warri]

it is normal, but it's a design flaw that can be mitigated. got mine fixed at a willing dealer for free.

Is Fixed a weight on it?

Some people said that weight can cause future problems and that it was not a fix, but rather a troubleshooting step.

[evosky]

it's a weighted clip that is actually an Audi part and was written up in the TSB.

[jr05gti]

Anyone know if the TSB applies to 2012's? I had it done on my 2011, and now my new 2012 sounds terrible. I want to have the clip put on asap.

[einy]

Just had my '11 done during 10k service ... MUCH nicer without the 'can full of marbles' sound !

Now, if I could only get the **** rear washer nozzle to quit inadvertently "pee'ing" (despite dealer installation of the check valve) !!!

[veedublvr]

I just took my '12 autobahn in for it's courtesy checkup... I had to do two test drives with the shop foreman. He said he didn't hear it. Then I mentioned the tsb and he got all po'd . Of course they don't have the clip in stock so I get to take it back, again.

[acdelco]

shop foreman. he got all po'd .

That would worry me enough to stay away. Will they let you take the clip home and install it yourself? Looks like a simple install

[07Jetta]

I just dropped off my 2011 GTI this moring for the 30,xxxmile maintinance....I know, 30,xxxmiles already...... but i mentioned the TSB in this thread, because I have the same noise. Not as bad as some, but sounds the way that ESC explained it on their site, "the sound of rustling leaves when accelerating. I just called because I figured they didn't look it up and to my surprise, the service advisor had already looked up the TSB and part#... I'm not sure if they have the part in stock, but do believe they are looking for it. I will update when I get the call back.

I don't know why some people would buy this part if it's covered for free from VW?

[07Jetta]

I would like to give a thumbs up to VW in Hartford CT! Not only did they fix the rattle with the TSB, the service advisor took the time to print out a diagram of what the clip looks like, how it's installed on the car and explained why the rattle noise was there in the first place. I already knew, but it was much appreciated that he took the time to explain it. And the best part...no more rattle!!

[JaPe954]

I just told them I've heard you guys got the fix for the flapping noise. Said it was turbo waste gate.
It took them about 10 minutes to find the TSB. He showed me the print out, I saw the clip and said "yep that's the one".

May be this will help:
part number: 06J-145-220-A (I don't think it's the TSB number, I think it's the clip part number)
Description: INSTALL CLIP AROUND PIVOT AT WASTE GATE

I hope this helps.

Told the dealer the same thing a few months ago and it worked

[Blaylock1988]

I brought the TSB to the dealer and told them I needed that part installed. They were hesitant to take my word for it and told me they had to test drive it. When I came back they said they test drove it but couldn't replicate the rattle (I think they just didn't know what to listen for because I noticed it right away after a couple thousand miles). They were nice enough to go ahead and install the part anyways and asked me to call them back to see if it worked.

My car has been rattle free for a month now

[TheEvilEmpire]

For those of you who wish to do it on your own, looks like ECS has the clip for $34.95

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/06J145220A/ES2210978/