Vibration at idle

dfdtruckie

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2006
Location
denver
TDI
03' Jetta
I've checked the forum and can't seem to find an answer. My car vibrates quite a bit when in gear and stopped. When I come to a stop I slip the gear to neutral and the vibration goes away. In drive and waiting to move, the car shakes like crazy. I tried a fuel treatment thinking maybe it was the injectors since it only vibrates in gear and not moving. Please help. It's a 05 passat
 
Last edited:

leicaman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
TDI
2015 Golf TDI SE, 2005 TDI GLS, RIP
It can be a combination of things:

1. balance shaft still chain driven and is going south.
2. alternator pulley going bad (new version is available).
3. belt tensioner could be starting to puke.
4. bad CV joint or bad quality chinesium axle installed.
5. bad motor mount. Take belly pan off and look for pink stains.

This car can be pretty sweet once the updated parts are installed. Find a guru who can work on this properly. Check out Gurus in the trusted technician section of TDI101.
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
I've checked the forum and can't seem to find an answer. My car vibrates quite a bit when in gear and stopped. When I come to a stop I slip the gear to neutral and the vibration goes away. In drive and waiting to move, the car shakes like crazy. I tried a fuel treatment thinking maybe it was the injectors since it only vibrates in gear and not moving. Please help. It's a 05 passat
Help is on the way......start reading and get your wallet primed.;)
 

apaustin

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Location
maryland
TDI
05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v
We've had the same condition with our 05 passat wagon and our ordinarily perceptive garage either fails to acknowledge it or hasn't a clue. While stopped in neutral with foot on brake, if shifted into drive (with foot still on brake and at nothing more than idle) you can feel and see the car strain ahead and the hood rise. At a stop it is impossible not to shift into neutral for comfort's sake. Once again, this is at a standstill and not moving. Can't be normal.
 

truman

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 18, 2000
Location
columbia,MO,usa
TDI
'05 Passat Variant, Still miss the 03JW
We've had the same condition with our 05 passat wagon and our ordinarily perceptive garage either fails to acknowledge it or hasn't a clue. While stopped in neutral with foot on brake, if shifted into drive (with foot still on brake and at nothing more than idle) you can feel and see the car strain ahead and the hood rise. At a stop it is impossible not to shift into neutral for comfort's sake. Once again, this is at a standstill and not moving. Can't be normal.
At the least, it sounds like motor mounts.
 

Tools

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2010
Location
NC
TDI
2005 Passat
Just went through this. Have your axles been replaced lately? I had 2 sets of chinese junk before VW axles were installed and that fixed most of the problem. Thanks to this forum for diagnosing the problem and convincing my mechanic that the axles can be the cause of this problem. He didn't beleive that a car in drive at a stand still could have vibration from the front axles being out of spec, but it's true.
 

apaustin

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2010
Location
maryland
TDI
05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v
We got the car new and the best decision was getting the extended warranty. Love the car. We've had this vibration issue for quite some time now and new motor mounts didn't help. The 100K limit is fast approaching and I want to get things taken care of that are covered. Tools, did my and dfdtruckie's earlier description match yours? And new, good axles fixed it?! If that's the case, I look forward to flying this by my mechanic. Thanks.
 

Ski in NC

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Location
Wilmington, NC USA
TDI
2001 Jetta ALH 5sp stock
The motor mounts are designed to "float" the motor. Motor normally makes some vibrations, and the float keeps the vibes out of the car. When in drive, the transmission puts torque out the axles to try to move the car. This torque loads the motor mounts, so if something is wrong with them, the vibes then get into the car. Also, in drive the engine creates more vibes.

A bent exhaust system can cause a sound short that transmits vibes into car.

Watch engine when gear is shifted f-n-r. Watch motion of mounts. Something is probably not right with one of them.

Sitting still in drive I too would not suspect axles.
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
We've had the same condition with our 05 passat wagon and our ordinarily perceptive garage either fails to acknowledge it or hasn't a clue. While stopped in neutral with foot on brake, if shifted into drive (with foot still on brake and at nothing more than idle) you can feel and see the car strain ahead and the hood rise. At a stop it is impossible not to shift into neutral for comfort's sake. Once again, this is at a standstill and not moving. Can't be normal.
The hood rise is normal. The car idles at almost 900 (861 I think) RPM and when you put it in Drive a hold your foot on the brake, you load up the mounts and axles.

Here is what I did to get rid on MOST of the vibration (can't get it all out):

UPGRADED motor mounts,
OE axles with rebuilt outer joints,
New alternator pulley,
BS module and gearing.

Keep in mind, these cars exhibit worn camshafts under 200K miles, especially if the wrong oil was used for a good length of time. A worn cam lobe or two will cause engine vibration at low RPMs and idle.
 

Tools

Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2010
Location
NC
TDI
2005 Passat
We got the car new and the best decision was getting the extended warranty. Love the car. We've had this vibration issue for quite some time now and new motor mounts didn't help. The 100K limit is fast approaching and I want to get things taken care of that are covered. Tools, did my and dfdtruckie's earlier description match yours? And new, good axles fixed it?! If that's the case, I look forward to flying this by my mechanic. Thanks.
Yes your description matched what happened to me. We had the "clicking" when turning indicating CV joint issues and decided to replace both front axles (we live in the mountains so the joints get a good workout). The dealer wanted $700 for each side to replace them so had a local shop with VW experience do them. We got the car back and it would shake your teeth out while at a stop with car in gear. I took it back and the mechanic determined the motor mounts were bad. They were replaced and adjusted several times, but the vibration continued. I took it back with documentation from this forum and the mechanic was finally convinced that the axles "might" be the cause. He put in another set of chinese stuff and the vibration was still present. He finally ordered OEM axles which cost more and installed them and most of the vibration is now gone, but not all. At least you can tolerate being at a stop with it in gear now. I plan to have the BSM replacement done in January by TurbineWhine and suspect that this will take most of the rest of the vibration out. The vibration did not start until the axles were replaced. I think Oilhammer indicated in other posts that replacing the axles in the first place was probably the wrong thing to do, and should have just been rebuilt instead. Once the old OEM axles are replaced, that option is no longer available. Hope this helps.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Never install Chinese axle assemblies in your Volkswagen. :p

But yes, even older/higher mileage axles can cause some vibration in gear at idle while stopped. In some cases regreasing the joints will eliminate this. I really think the right side, by the exhaust, gets the grease cooked faster than the others, despite being under a heat shield.

But I gotta tell ya, if I get one in here that is vibrating and still chained, I go straight for that first.
 

RI_TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
May 8, 2001
Location
Providence RI
TDI
'05 B5.5v, '89 DOKA Syncro
The hood rise is normal. The car idles at almost 900 (861 I think) RPM and when you put it in Drive a hold your foot on the brake, you load up the mounts and axles.

Here is what I did to get rid on MOST of the vibration (can't get it all out):

UPGRADED motor mounts,
OE axles with rebuilt outer joints,
New alternator pulley,
BS module and gearing.

Keep in mind, these cars exhibit worn camshafts under 200K miles, especially if the wrong oil was used for a good length of time. A worn cam lobe or two will cause engine vibration at low RPMs and idle.
Well I have the vibration too, though not at a level that puts your dental work at risk (yet). What I have had done:

[Sep 2009, 80k mi]
BS Module / Gearing
Replaced Motor Mounts (Pls explain 'upgrade')
New Alternator Pulley

[~May 2010 110k mi]
Replaced RT outer CV joint.

[this week, 127k mi]
New Alternator Pulley, again (clutch failed already)
Cam Inspection (by Keith Harley @ KMH in Chelmsford) report is clean.

How much wallet priming is typical for axle replacement with proper units? Are they only to be sourced from dealers?

Thx
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Axles: If you don't have the OE axles in the car, then you can obtain better than "Chinese" axles from Raxles as some members have done. I have not as I have the OE's and rebuilt the joint when it was time.

Motor mounts (note part numbers):

 
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