Strong Engine Vibration in neutral at low RPM's

2012 Golf TDI

New member
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Location
north carolina
TDI
2012 Golf TDI
I have a 2012 Golf TDI with tech package with 7,200 miles on it. Recently the car has begun to shake really bad while sitting in neutral at low RPM's. It almost feels the same as when cars blow by you while sitting at a red light causing the car to shake a little but much more noticeable and constant. It goes away when I start driving. The only bad thing is that the car doesn't do this all the time in neutral but it is getting more frequent. A buddy of mine said that it could possibly be bad motor mounts. Any ideas?
 

Henrick

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Location
Ireland
TDI
Golf VI TDI, 77 kW (CAYC)
This is a regen happening. If you pay attention you'll probably see other regen symptoms too: increased oil temperature, HOT exhaust, maybe fan running, etc.

Nothing to worry about. But yeah, it's annoying.
 

whiplash willy

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Location
Portland Oregon
TDI
2012 4-Door Golf TDI 6MT w/NAV & Sunroof
I can feel my engine vibrate under normal circumstances (IE While not doing a regen) when stopped in N, sometimes depending on the slope of the road I stop on.

When stopped on a decline, and/or an uneven road where the passenger side is lower then the driver side more then about 8 degrees. After fighting this for several months and doing alot of research, as well as replacing my mounts, I have come to belive it is normal.

1. Our car's engines are very rough. Just look at your engine while it is at idle. It vibrates so much, it almost looks like an optical illusion!

2. In order to keep this vibration isolated from the Chassis, our mounts are designed to be soft, and allow for quite a bit of play, before any rubber is contacted.

My theory, is when my car is stopped and idling on a decline, the engine is naturally leaning forward to the point where the deadspace in the mounts is being overcome, and the rubber parts of the mount contact the mount housing. This translates some of the violent shaking of our engine into the chassis, which can be felt by the driver.
 

edman007

Active member
Joined
Dec 19, 2012
Location
NY
TDI
2012 Golf TDI
I've noticed this a few times on mine too, not sure why, but it seems to be when the engine was cooler (not fully warmed up, or just warmed up), and not on any type of incline. It also happens only in N, so I suspect it has something to do with the engine warming up, not with a regen (and I noticed my idle rpm was normal, and I heard it goes up during a regen).
 

whiplash willy

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Location
Portland Oregon
TDI
2012 4-Door Golf TDI 6MT w/NAV & Sunroof
Since you are still under warranty, what does the dealer say?
This is just a guess but probley one of the following:

1. Unable to reproduce.
2. It's normal.

Whenever I hear someone say "You are under warranty, what does the dealer say?/Why not take it to the dealer?" It makes me think either this person has never taken their car to the dealer to fix a problem, or they are one of the lucky few that actually has access to a decent dealer.
 
Last edited:

secteur_cyclist

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 17, 2012
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
TDI
2011 Golf TDI DSG
Just like other contributors to the thread, I also experience a fair amount of shaking, which is likely caused by the "far from smooth" CR TDI engine in these cars. I come from a 2JZGE (in a 96 Lexus SC300) and even with metal motor mounts from a Supra it is still buttery smooth in comparison.

My guess is that you have abnormally loose engine mount(s) and you should have the vehicle inspected. It will not cost you anything, but a bit of time to try and replicate the problem at a local VW dealership.
 

Henrick

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Location
Ireland
TDI
Golf VI TDI, 77 kW (CAYC)
Well, maybe you guys are having failing flywheels. Honestly, my car is butter smooth. If/when the shaking happens it's 100% a regen happening. Checked that several times.
 

whiplash willy

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Location
Portland Oregon
TDI
2012 4-Door Golf TDI 6MT w/NAV & Sunroof
Well, maybe you guys are having failing flywheels. Honestly, my car is butter smooth. If/when the shaking happens it's 100% a regen happening. Checked that several times.
I though my flywheel could be failing too, until I drove a 2013 6MT TDI Golf with 20 miles on it, and it did the exact same thing.

I am guessing that you have a DSG, and that may be why yours is butter smooth.

To the OP, you probley should take it into the dealer to get it checked out. Even if they do nothing, which is likely what will happen, you will altleast have paperwork saying they checked your car and it was fine. That way if something is wrong and something bad does happen, you have documentation from them saying they checked your car and it was fine, and you can go after them for not noticing/fixing the problem.

One question for you though, is it possible that your car has always done this, and you just haven't noticed it until now, or is it really something that just started happening. For me, my car has always shakes at idle since new, under specific situations.

Good luck though, its stuff like this that is hard to get identified/fixed, and will drive you crazy.
 

Henrick

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 24, 2010
Location
Ireland
TDI
Golf VI TDI, 77 kW (CAYC)
I though my flywheel could be failing too, until I drove a 2013 6MT TDI Golf with 20 miles on it, and it did the exact same thing.

I am guessing that you have a DSG, and that may be why yours is butter smooth.
Nope. It's 5MT.
 
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