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

Well.... regardless of what VGA (Volkswagen Group Australia) decide to do, Volkswagen of America are now taking this seriously. Their TSB now determines whether the issue IS the wastegate actuator rod or not.
Best of all, if the issue IS the wategate actuator rod, they're asking that dealers log a ticket - presumably so that each instance of this can be tracked.
If it's NOT the actuator rod, they're asking the dealers to continue to investigate!

I mean, it doesn't really matter where the action comes from - as long as someone is looking at it. If America solves it, then that gives Australian consumers much more options and/or information to take action with.

I think the downpipe diagnosis may be a wild goose chase. The new bulletin states to "Use caution when diagnosing the origin of the noise. Although the noise may be originating from the turbocharger, it can be amplified through resonance to the catalytic converter and be misdiagnosed as a loud converter."

One GTI owner in Perth has replaced their exhaust with a full APR RSC turbo-back unit and confirmed that the rattle has disappeared. Perhaps the Reflective Sound Cancellation technology works in such a way that it removes the rattle. Maybe it's still there after all, but it just can't be heard.

As it turns out, my dealer doesn't have time to do the diagnosis today so we won't get an answer just yet. Perhaps somebody more mechanically inclined than me could perform the troubleshooting described in the bulletin themselves.

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Originally Posted by MurphyTheElf

I think the downpipe diagnosis may be a wild goose chase.

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Wouldn't surprise me. Hard to know what gets transmitted into the cabin so despite the similarity of the sound observed in the cabin to the sound I heard when tapping the DP, this may simply be coincidental, not causal evidence.

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Originally Posted by MurphyTheElf

As it turns out, my dealer doesn't have time to do the diagnosis today so we won't get an answer just yet. Perhaps somebody more mechanically inclined than me could perform the troubleshooting described in the bulletin themselves.

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Can't wait to hear how you go with the dealer, Murphy!

Maybe just a good excuse to do the APR thing :) any idea what it sounds like afterwards? I love the GTI sound as it is. Don't want something that sounds like a $15K jap import.

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Originally Posted by MurphyTheElf

I think the downpipe diagnosis may be a wild goose chase. The new bulletin states to "Use caution when diagnosing the origin of the noise. Although the noise may be originating from the turbocharger, it can be amplified through resonance to the catalytic converter and be misdiagnosed as a loud converter."

One GTI owner in Perth has replaced their exhaust with a full APR RSC turbo-back unit and confirmed that the rattle has disappeared. Perhaps the Reflective Sound Cancellation technology works in such a way that it removes the rattle. Maybe it's still there after all, but it just can't be heard.

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Yeah - this is very true. Supposedly the turbo/wastegate didn't change between MKV and MK6, yet this issue never occured on the MKV. It doesn't mean the issue wasn't present on the MKV, just that we couldn't hear it![/QUOTE]

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Originally Posted by reaction

Maybe just a good excuse to do the APR thing :) any idea what it sounds like afterwards? I love the GTI sound as it is. Don't want something that sounds like a $15K jap import.

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The APR exhaust with the RSC is even quieter when just cruising, yet when you put your foot down it's raspier. Sounds great. NSW's local APR dealership has a GTI with the full TBE RSC exhaust installed so we can hear. Unfortunately the WA dealer doesn't have one...

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Originally Posted by coreying

Yeah - this is very true. Supposedly the turbo/wastegate didn't change between MKV and MK6, yet this issue never occured on the MKV. It doesn't mean the issue wasn't present on the MKV, just that we couldn't hear it!

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The whole thing is a bit odd, probably some component of the exhaust. However most normal exhausts would amplify the sounds through the engine/downpipe etc.. Worth getting an exhaust like the RSC anyway as you'd be listening to the tone instead of trying to hear the rattle. On full throttle I dont think i've heard the sound anyway it's just on very light inputs.

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The APR exhaust with the RSC is even quieter when just cruising, yet when you put your foot down it's raspier. Sounds great. NSW's local APR dealership has a GTI with the full TBE RSC exhaust installed so we can hear. Unfortunately the WA dealer doesn't have one...

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I have heard it and pretty quiet while cruising, which isn't too bad then opens up when you're getting up it. Better than droney homogenous sound IMO.

While the dealer was replacing the waterpump (started leaking after 15,000kms) I asked them about the rattle, their response was " test drove vehicle and heard rattle noise. investigate noise found exhaust gas pulsations causes flap and rod of the waste gate to vibrate at the start of boost. this is normal operation. no fault found at time of test".

- its a pity that a characteristic of a car of this class, is a tinny rattle under certain conditions.

I seem to unable to detect this rattle sound, maybe just my car is one of the few 'lucky' ones, or maybe based on my standard I did not consider any noises you guys were hearing/happened around those mentioned rpm are 'rattling' my cage.

Having driven around in my car now for a week I too have the slightly tinny rattle around that 2300-2500rpm mark, but to be honest I just assumed it was a characteristic of the car as it was the same on two demonstrators we drove (one manual, one DSG).. it was only upon reading this thread I realised it may be an issue. I guess I fall into the 'not fussed' camp.. at least until someone tells me it's causing a problem with the car. If I wanted something dead quiet all the time I wouldn't have picked the GTI.

Im sorry but that last bit is laughable. This is not about having a dead quiet car, the GTI's noise is very sexy and we all love it, having to listen to a very obvious rattle that makes your car sound cheap is not on.