2009 Jetta TDI making humming noise when turning

09 Jetta TDI 6 Speed Manual at 12500 miles. First service is done already...

I have been hearing this humming noise when I am making turns in low speed since probably 8000 miles...

I was going to mention it when I was getting my service done but since the dealer I went to, sucks I made an appointment with another dealer. Well they said nothing is wrong with the car, it is normal other same year Jetta Tdis are making the same noise yada yada yada..

I really did not want to get into argument with them, therefore I made an appointment with another dealer this Mon...


I am suspecting noise is coming from differentials but I am assuming since car is under warranty and dealer can not rape me, they dont want to work on the car....


Lets see what other dealer is going to say...

In the mean time any input will be greatly appreciated and just in case if they want to change the fluids and add additive, is there any special one like 507 oil for TDIs?

TIA

Did they rotate the tires at 10K service? Might want to do that again and see if the sound changes or goes away. It is unlikely to be the differential in my experience. If not the tires, it could be a wheel bearing.

dr61 said:

Did they rotate the tires at 10K service? Might want to do that again and see if the sound changes or goes away. It is unlikely to be the differential in my experience. If not the tires, it could be a wheel bearing.

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Tire rotation was done when I took the car to dealer for 10k service...I had this humming noise coming before the rotation was done and after as well....

Dealer claims they had the car on lift and checked everything...They say nothing is wrong but this noise is driving me nuts!!!!

Don't know if this applies. There is a TSB for the transaxle oil that is listed for the 2006 and all the way back 1998 on some models.

TSB 34-06-02 changed the transaxle oil to an improved type due to customer complaints of "humming sound" during turns. Said to be most noticable during turns with steering wheel almost at full travel.

Applies to 5 speed manual 02J and 0A4.

For new Jetta (A5): VIN 1K_5M000001 to 1K_6M648609.

Does apply to some extent to all dubs with 02J and 0A4 as far back as 1998.
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Noises are wrong,and should be fixed on a new car. Im in the process of explaining that to my dealer and the regional rep from VWoA right now....

Sorry.... can't.... resist......

Maybe your car is humming because it doesn't know the words to the song....

Does it hum louder when turning one way or the other? If so, it is likely a wheel bearing. If turning left and the noise is louder, the right bearing is probably the culprit. Pay close attention and turn each way several times to try and see if there is a difference (an open country road is good for this as you can just weave back and forth). A slight hum may not be visible by an inspection, but as it gets worse, the wheel will rock back and forth (top and bottom) if you push-pull by hand with the front end off the ground.

HTH.

I only hear it 10 mph and below...Basically when I am getting out from my driveway or making turns in city....

I tried to listen today...I went to empty parking lot I made left and right circles...Noise is very mild coming both when making left and right....

First dealer I went to says nothing is wrong, I am going to another dealer tom to see what they are going to say....

So I went to another dealer today....Here is what they told me:

Noise is normal and it is coming from hydraulics....lol

I asked the service adviser what hydraulics, he said call back tom, mechanic will explain....

This god damn noise is driving me nuts.....Well I paid/paying a lot of money for VW therefore there should not be any noise!!!!!

Update: BTW noisw ws not there this morning or after I PU the car from dealer...I went to empty parking lot to make low speed left and right turns....It makes the noise on both left and right turns but it is quieter now..

Abra Cadabra said:

So I went to another dealer today....Here is what they told me:

Noise is normal and it is coming from hydraulics....lol

I asked the service adviser what hydraulics, he said call back tom, mechanic will explain....

This god damn noise is driving me nuts.....Well I paid/paying a lot of money for VW therefore there should not be any noise!!!!!

Update: BTW noisw ws not there this morning or after I PU the car from dealer...I went to empty parking lot to make low speed left and right turns....It makes the noise on both left and right turns but it is quieter now..

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Hydraulics?!?!? Your Jetta does not have hydraulic assisted power steering - it's electric assist. And it's not the hydraulic brakes. So what other hydraulic system is there? The dealer is clueless,,,

My other car (Mini) has a noise from the electric power steering during low speed (parking lot) tight turns. It is common on most Minis and the factory says is normal. Our JSW TDI has no noticeable noise under similar parking lot tight turns.

I dont know if it is power steering or anything else but; I hear the noise in the morning when first time car is turned on for the day...then I drive 50 miles, car sit 4-5 hours at work's lot until lunch time; I get in the car no noise...When I am going home 5-6 hours later I hear the noise again...

It might be very minor but it annoys the hell out of me just like a small mosquito bothering you when you are asleep. lol

alnmike said:

Noises are wrong,and should be fixed on a new car. Im in the process of explaining that to my dealer and the regional rep from VWoA right now....

Click to expand...

What's up with your case? Did you get it solved?

I've never heard any noise from my P/S. I'd be curious to know what hydraulics the service adviser is referring to.

Does it happen whether you're turning right or left? Have you tried applying a little pressure to the brakes when it happens? The '09s have ESP and EDL, maybe it is the differential, as someone mentioned above.

I have heard it too on my 2009 - fairly regularly and under the same conditions. I'm going to bring it up to my dealer too as I'm going in for the 20K service tomorrow. I really don't think it's a wheel bearing - probably a normal but annoying sound.

MayorDJQ said:

I've never heard any noise from my P/S. I'd be curious to know what hydraulics the service adviser is referring to.

Does it happen whether you're turning right or left? Have you tried applying a little pressure to the brakes when it happens? The '09s have ESP and EDL, maybe it is the differential, as someone mentioned above.

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It happens both directions but it seems louder when turning left...Noise does not go away when I apply the breaks...

I'm WNY PAT said:

I have heard it too on my 2009 - fairly regularly and under the same conditions. I'm going to bring it up to my dealer too as I'm going in for the 20K service tomorrow. I really don't think it's a wheel bearing - probably a normal but annoying sound.

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Keep me posted to see what your dealer will say...I went to two different dealers here in NNJ....they have no idea what they are talking about....

I am going to take the car to regular mechanic to see what he is going to say...

There is an interesting note in the owners manual (pg. 241) that states if the steering wheel is turned all the way to the left or right for more than 15 seconds while the engine is running could damage the power steering system.

I could see some situations while driving in the city or for that matter having to maneuver in some private driveways that might go over the 15 second limit.

What gives? Is this electro-mechanical system so delicate that if the steering wheel is in full left/right position for over 15 seconds that it would actually damage it? What part of the system would be damaged?

The dealer is giving me a loaner for a week on the 4th of July weekend to fix the rattles. If its not fixed, im gonna have to escalate it further. Hopefully, I wont have to as that means I have to buy a ford. (Only 1 dealership here, dont want to risk being on their bad side)

Abra Cadabra said:

I am going to take the car to regular mechanic to see what he is going to say...

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Any findings with your steering issue?

Yes....

I took it to diesel truck mechanic. He said it is a possible steering issue. He said car is too new for him...He told me to take it to a few other dealers to see what they say and he recommended TriCounty VW in Clifton NJ...

I also thought about the best way to describe the noise. lol
Well, I dont know if you have ever blow into hald or quarter filled old school coke bottle or any other similar bottle; but the howling noise is same noise as coming from my car...and it is very very annoying....

I called the very first dealer that I went initially and told them that noise is still coming from front end...I asked for an appointment date...I am going to leave the car to dealer this wed night....See what happens on Thurs...

Update

Nothing happened again....They keep saying they cant find anything wrong with the car....I asked the service advisor to see how he came to conclusion, his answer was he went to test drive with mechanic...I asked him if he did hear the howling sound he said yes and they dont know where is it coming from...

I asked him to put his service manager on the phone....Apparently service manager went to test drive as well and he says he hears the noise but they can not find anything, he asked me the take the car to another dealer to see if other dealer knows more on TDIs.

I really dont know what to do anymore, independent diesel mechanic says there is definitely something wrong with steering and dealers are saying it is normal...
I dont know howling noise from new car is normal....and I bought a new car to enjoy it w/out headache, I did not buy a new car to annoy me with this annoying noise....

I was going to buy extended warranty from VW but because of this bull**** I dont want to buy it...

Is it time to contact VW of America?

Bump

Just wanted to keep this on the front page just in case if anyone else has the same problem and has a solution...Dealers are clueless...

CRTDI said:

There is an interesting note in the owners manual (pg. 241) that states if the steering wheel is turned all the way to the left or right for more than 15 seconds while the engine is running could damage the power steering system.
What gives? Is this electro-mechanical system so delicate that if the steering wheel is in full left/right position for over 15 seconds that it would actually damage it? What part of the system would be damaged?

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Because they use (some kind of) electrical actuator to assist the power steering if you turn the wheel all the way in one direction and hold it there that actuator will be trying to push the whole time and will heat up.
I think (maybe I should say "assume") that if you were to back off from full lock a little bit it would probably be fine.

Which was true for hyduraulic assisted power steering as well, or at least I thought it was always good practice not to keep it locked for extended perioids of time.

I am 22500 miles and noise is still here...Same as first day it is not louder nor stays longer....First 5-10 mins after start up in slow speed turns....

I have visited 2 other dealers to troubleshoot, no luck but aggravation!!!

One CAN get crazy reading these threads (not just yours mind you!) but, I sware I have the same humming! I'll have to pay more attention to it to get some more of the specific situations when it occurs...or seek professional help if others can't hear it when THEY are in the car! Yikes!


Karl

Abra, have you called VWoA to complain?