Knocking from rear driver side

[Andy Beats]

I'm going to get my wife to drive while I sit in the back and try to source the knocking.
Even if I turn up the stereo I know it's there, I need it fixed.

[chris.tayler]

I'm going to get my wife to drive while I sit in the back and try to source the knocking.
Even if I turn up the stereo I know it's there, I need it fixed.

Sounds like a plan. I had a VW master tech with half his body in the boot and half on the back seat to find mine

[monkeyhanger]

I'm going to get my wife to drive while I sit in the back and try to source the knocking.
Even if I turn up the stereo I know it's there, I need it fixed.

If you are getting knocking from the tailgate, you must have evident paint rubbing or chipping between the tailgate bottom edge and top of the rear bumper. Have a check.

[monkeyhanger]

I don't think you changed it at all. Mine free spin. If you are getting any clicks then it is rubbing the rubber stopper on the splined body.

To adjust the strikers, you unscrew the Allen bolt through the hole in the rubber striker bulb (its tiny, needing a 2 or 3mm Allen key) a little to slackened it off, then you can pull the bulb outwards by a click or more, or push it back in by a click or more and then tighten up the Allen bolt. The bolt tightens everything up again - like a screw through a rawl plug tightening it up in a hole.

Just did a little experiment on my scuffed/chipped areas.

At rest/closed there is a 4mm gap between the bottom edge of the tailgate and the rear bumper beneath it. I spread out flat a 1mm thick blob of blu tack. I then filmed the blu track and closed the tailgate as softly as I could with proper lock engagement, with 1 attempt that wasn't quite hard enough.

Every time I did it hard enough to close properly, the blu tack was indented. With the gentlest adequate touch, the tailgate comes at least within 0.5mm, assuming the blu tack doesn't cushion the blow. It seems inevitable for the 2 surfaces hit each other with reasonable force to close.

Very likely those surfaces collide when driving over even a minor road imperfection.

No these are definite clicks on the plastic threaded part that goes into the tailgate sides.
I'll measure later and see if the clicks are actually doing anything.
I can't see why they'd click if they weren't there for adjustment, I'm thinking the factory setting is something like fully in and then X clicks out.

I can confirm those bump stops do move, but you must pinch the loose rubber to engage the threaded bolt underneath. The garage showed me this as something to play around with until the vehicle goes in next week for them to look at (greasing seals, monitoring movement etc).

Sounds like they changed the design of the bump stops. Been as I described since the MK5 Golf and the MK7 uses same ones. Ridged splayed tube, ridged cap. Click the cap up or down the tube with clicks, then tighten up the Allen bolt to spread the splayed tube and lock so the cap can't move up or down the tube. The new ones kind of looked the same.

Not sure why they'd want to incorporate a design that is adjustable without tools and seems less secure - cheaper probably!

One thing's for sure, I will make sure I adjust out the new car's bump stops a notch or 2 as soon as I get it.

Car is going in for assessment at the local garage next Thurs. I mentioned the issue at Pulmans when the virtual cockpit hot fixed and theh wouldn't acknowledge the issue because they don't have a bodyshop and therefore "we don't do paint/bodywork claims".

So it has to go to Lookers (who do have a bodyshop but are very risk averse regarding warranty claims) to get assessed first, then referred to their bodyshop if they consider it a genuine claim to get fixed.

If they deny the claim I'll be annoyed, but it may be overkill to repaint the tailgate and rear bumper for bumper scuffs you don't see with the tailgate closed and small chips on the edge of the tailgate that could be smart repaired.

[Andy Beats]

Knocking from rear driver's side 'cured' by insertion of microfibre cloth between tailgate and body.
So definitely the tailgate rattling against the shell.
I'll get it booked in sometime, I'm rarely in the boot and happy to leave the cloth there to save me a dealer trip for now.

[chris.tayler]

Mines come back after a day in the workshop. All got re-adjusted, lube applied to seals.

The noise is gone!

[RUM4MO]

Mines come back after a day in the workshop. All got re-adjusted, lube applied to seals.

The noise is gone!

Ah, Krytox the preferred seal "fixer" also very useful to stop door seals freezing to the frame in winter.

[chris.tayler]

Latest update - Both issues are back again.

The dash noise only manifests when either someone >12 stone sits in the passenger seat OR the AC is on low.

The rear squeak is more of a knocking now, can be ok after sitting for a period but go over a speed bump or a particularly rough spot and it comes back.

I'd maybe have let this go had the courtesy car not been completely rattle and creek free, with more mileage on it.

[Andy Beats]

Latest update - Both issues are back again.

The dash noise only manifests when either someone >12 stone sits in the passenger seat OR the AC is on low.

The rear squeak is more of a knocking now, can be ok after sitting for a period but go over a speed bump or a particularly rough spot and it comes back.

I'd maybe have let this go had the courtesy car not been completely rattle and creek free, with more mileage on it.

For the knocking, try putting a thin cloth between the bottom of the tailgate and the shell.
If the knocking stops, you've got tailgate issues same as me.
The cloth in mine has stopped me going insane over the past week or so.
If the tailgate was still knocking combined with the erroneous TPMS warning last night, I' think it would be in flames while I danced around it right now.

[chris.tayler]

Latest update - Both issues are back again.

The dash noise only manifests when either someone >12 stone sits in the passenger seat OR the AC is on low.

The rear squeak is more of a knocking now, can be ok after sitting for a period but go over a speed bump or a particularly rough spot and it comes back.

I'd maybe have let this go had the courtesy car not been completely rattle and creek free, with more mileage on it.

For the knocking, try putting a thin cloth between the bottom of the tailgate and the shell.
If the knocking stops, you've got tailgate issues same as me.
The cloth in mine has stopped me going insane over the past week or so.
If the tailgate was still knocking combined with the erroneous TPMS warning last night, I' think it would be in flames while I danced around it right now.

I'll give the cloth a shot! Do you have a picture of where you've put yours?

[Andy Beats]

I'll give the cloth a shot! Do you have a picture of where you've put yours?

Here you go
Literally bottom right of the tailgate.
Overlapping the seal, but not enough that it pokes out of the bottom of the tailgate when closed.

[chris.tayler]

So I tried the cloth trick and it didn’t go away.

I’ve just spent the last 2 hours with someone else driving investigating this myself. I’ve isolated the issue not to the rear (which I do think was a problem that’s now been fixed) but to the front passenger side corner.

So when the cars sat over night or for a couple of hours there is no noise. After driving for a short period and going over one of the many speed humps around where I stay, the squeaking appears! This gets progressively worse as the driving goes on and noticeable on anything but the smoothest surface until about 30mph (at which point wind/tyre noise blocks it out). I’ve made an appointment request again, will report back.

[DaveNI1979]

I must get my noise looked at, it is starting to annoy me along with the screen randomly blacking out every so often too.

[Andy Beats]

So when the cars sat over night or for a couple of hours there is no noise. After driving for a short period and going over one of the many speed humps around where I stay, the squeaking appears! This gets progressively worse as the driving goes on and noticeable on anything but the smoothest surface until about 30mph (at which point wind/tyre noise blocks it out). I’ve made an appointment request again, will report back.

Sounds like bushes, most likely the anti-roll bar bushes.

[chris.tayler]

So when the cars sat over night or for a couple of hours there is no noise. After driving for a short period and going over one of the many speed humps around where I stay, the squeaking appears! This gets progressively worse as the driving goes on and noticeable on anything but the smoothest surface until about 30mph (at which point wind/tyre noise blocks it out). I’ve made an appointment request again, will report back.

Sounds like bushes, most likely the anti-roll bar bushes.

Funnily enough that was my initial thought during the first visit, but they disregarded due to mileage (<5k). I'll be insisting they look this time round!