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'13 TDI Engine "Hum"

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Dreadnought-NH

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Good morning all!!

I'm new to the forum and the VW world, so please pardon any ignorance!

I picked up my '13 Touareg Exec TDI last weekend. I had taken it on several test drives, and overall I am pleased with the Reg. I am concerned about 2 things (#1 more so than #2).

1) This morning I had to drive down to Boston (about an hour away), and this was the first time I had the opportunity to really open it up for an extended period of time. I notice that at speeds over 75mph (my typical cruise speed) I hear and feel a constant "hum" from the engine (about 2100 RPM). I thought it was tire rumble, but if I let up on the accelerator, it drops out immediately, so don't think its the tires. Is this a normal diesel/turbo noise/sensation? For $60K, I thought I would get a bit more silence from the engine.

2) Wiper chatter. REALLY noisy wipers. I read the posts about alcohol on the wipers, Bon Ami on the windshield, and/or replacing with Latitudes. I'll try the above, any other ideas?

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to being part of the forum.

-D.NH.
 
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#2 ·
If you would do recording of the sound on your iPhone and post it here then we would be able to judge if you hear anything other than regular engine hum. Clean your windshield with regular Windex and wipe the edges of your wiper blades with Windex as well using paper towels or something of the kind – check if it is better now. My wipers were very quiet and the first set lasted 1.5 years which is unusually - triple - long for the Minnesota conditions. The premature Latitudes replacements were mostly done to fight Touareg shimmy/vibrations showing up at speeds 65-75MPH on some vehicles. Allow me congratulate you on your financial strength if you’d be replacing tires for the reason of noisy windshield wipers.

P.S. According to the user Manual, the first 650 miles of your vehicle life is a break-in period and speeds up to 75MPH are not compliant with the break-in standards.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Conservative Consumer,

Thanks for the reply.

I should have added, my Touareg was a "demonstrator" and already had 4500 miles on it, so I figured the break-in period had been completed. Whether or not it had been done correctly is a different discussion....

I will try to do a sound recording soon. Thanks for the idea.

I'm 90% sure the wiper chatter is purely wiper/windshield contact and not the result of tires. :)

D.NH
 
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#4 ·
If cleaning doesn't work, replace the wipers. There should be no chatter at any speed.

+1 to post video of engine hum.
Does it go away over a certain speed?
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
rinaic said:
If cleaning doesn't work, replace the wipers. There should be no chatter at any speed.

+1 to post video of engine hum.
Does it go away over a certain speed?
Click to expand...
At 75mph, the hum seems to start, as if the engine has to pull that much more to maintain that speed or greater. I had it up to 85 and the sound did not dissipate. I didn't want to push my luck with the NH troopers.

The extra power required from the engine to stay above 75 would strike me as odd for a vehicle the size of the Reg.
 
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#6 ·
You have something else going on for mine has no issue getting to those speeds and does it effortlessly.
 
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#7 ·
That's a wide range. Sounds like something is amiss.

I'll try to take the highway home and see what my RPMS are at that range.

With light pressure on the accelerator I can advance smoothly through that entire range and above, effortlessly (I like to say unassumingly) enough that the DW won't know how fast I'm going unless she looks at the speedometer :-$
 
#8 ·
#2 is normal, #1 is not.
 
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#9 ·
Motor or drivetrain issue, try some driving in some steep mountains at lesser speed and see if you can recreate the sound/load on the drivetrain at a lower speed. Could also be wind across the side view mirrors, is it directional, only happens on way to work, not on the way home?
 
#10 ·
Dreadnought-NH said:
At 75mph, the hum seems to start, as if the engine has to pull that much more to maintain that speed or greater. I had it up to 85 and the sound did not dissipate. I didn't want to push my luck with the NH troopers.

The extra power required from the engine to stay above 75 would strike me as odd for a vehicle the size of the Reg.
Click to expand...
Why is that... E =mv2... you increase the speed 25% fuel consumption from 60 to 85 about doubles. Speed is the enemy of fuel efficiency, a lot of work is being done doing nothing but pushing air out of the way faster. 60 mph gets me 37-40 mpg on the flats, 85-90, I might see 21 or 22. YMMV, it gets much worse on winter fuel, and cold dense air being pushed around at high speeds.
 
#11 ·
nickm said:
#2 is normal, #1 is not.
Click to expand...
Not sure I agree on #2
#2 might have been normal on older generation, but both my T3 are perfect to date.

#1 I just checked on the highway on the ride home.
Cruising RPMs in that speed range are a hair under 2000 rpms.
When cruising (not accelerating) the Touareg is dead silent, pretty much the same maintaining speed as it is with the foot completely off the accelerator.
Accelerating it isn't any kind of an abnormal pull or hum.

I would consider it very quiet relative to either of my gassers or other SUVs I have driven recently.
 
#12 ·
Have you tried using tiptronic to hold at the car in each gear at around the 2100 rpm to see if you can replicate the hum at lower speeds in lower gears?
 
#13 ·
rinaic said:
Not sure I agree on #2
#2 might have been normal on older generation, but both my T3 are perfect to date.
Click to expand...

Mine kept saying "SQUEAK" on my new T3 until I cleaned them using the windex trick. no big deal in any case..just assumed they had some sort of weird coating left on them.
 
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#14 ·
The issue might be worth a trip to the dealer for either your 30 day customer satisfaction visit or even 1 year 12,000 miles customer all inclusive warranty or 10k service interval . We are not hearing what you are hearing, so that is the reason for the recommendation. However @ those (described) rpm are where the turbo starts to come on (opaque and probably TMI). So I would swag that is what you are dialing into.
 
#15 ·
If the 'hum' were load dependent - ie going up a gradual hill at 75+ makes the sound but going down does not (or vice versa) - then the turbo boost might be related but if not then something else is going on. Tires are one possibility - different brand / tread may make different noise and be speed dependent.
 
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Discussion starter · #16 ·
Sorry about the delay in getting back to the forum. I had to run around the country for the past 2 weeks.

Wiper issue - RESOLVED. The Windex treatment worked a treat. A LOT of black grime came out of the wipers. This vehicle sat on the lot for a long time, and there is a coal fired powerplant nearby (causes anything white in my area to become black marbled within a month).

Hum issue - Not quite resolved. My cruises at 75-80mph around 2100RPM. Seems higher than the other stated ranges from other forum members. I will take it to the mech next week for the follow-up and see what they say.
 
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#17 ·
I've noticed a resonating hum which I attributed to either the A/C condenser fan or engine coolant fan, or both. I also noticed this happens at highway and lower, 30-40mph speeds

Try turning off the A/C when you're on the highway and see if you notice any difference. Was the A/C on when you heard the hum?
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
The AC has been on constantly since I bought the Reg (hotter then blazes up here). I will sweat it out this afternoon on the ride home and listen carefully.
 
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#19 ·
Standing in front if an idling TDI with the AC cranked in high heat is like being on a runway. :)
If its in front of my open garage the whole house resonates.

Don't really notice any abnormal level of noise when driving though.


I still think your RPM seem slightly high. You should be able to drive another TDI and see difference. Does your dealer have one on lot?
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
OK! So I spent some time driving without the AC on, and really paying attention to the hum at different speeds/gears.

I no longer think its the engine. I firmly believe its the tires. Hum/roar comes in at almost precisely 75mph (with no ramp up, just ON at 75mph), but then disappears at 85mph.

I DO still cruise at 2100rpm, but nothing appears abnormal.

Any suggestions on how to put this to the VW mech next week?

-D.NH
 
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