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Engine Noise

14K views 27 replies 9 participants last post by  Golfmk56 
#1 ·
Hello I wonder if I could have some views please.
I have an 8 month old 8,000 mile Ateca SE 1.6 TDI Ecomotive 115 PS 6-speed manual.

A few weeks ago I took my car in for the 1st service.
The dealership, who have so far been 1st class, called me to say could they keep the car for the rest of the day, as there was a strange noise coming from the engine.
Later that day they called me back to say they can't find the fault and that I would have to book the car back in for 4 days.
I agreed with this as they have given me a loan car.
As far as I can describe the noise is a sort of rubbing knocking noise coming from the left hand side as you look at it.
No warning lights have ever come on and it seems to be running ok.

However, as far as I understand, the engine is going to have to be stripped and the fault investigated.
As yet I am waiting for news and I have informed Seat head office( who also so far have been 1st class).
I have to say I am really unhappy with this situation , although it is obviously under warranty my trust is gone.
I'm not unreasonable but what should I expect Seat to do in your opinion ?

Many Thanks
 
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#4 ·
I'd take the positive that they identified there was an issue - there's lots of stories of garages saying they can't find issues, so it sounds like you've got a good service department there. You're still under warranty so the worst case scenario is that they have to replace the engine under warranty. My dad had to have that done on a Rover in 1995 and it wasn't a problem. The garage booked it in for two days for the swap but it only took one day.
Whatever they find on the strip down, ask for copies of the photos that they'd be sending to SEAT, that way if it's fixable you know what had to be done, and if there is an issue further down the line you've got some evidence to work with.
 
#5 ·
Obviously that's pretty unusual, but it does happen on any car. Until you find out what the problem is, it's a bit difficult to suggest what else you might expect. At the moment the only negotiation you have is the loan car. If there is going to be a significant delay, I would want an equivalent car. OK finding an Ateca could be difficult, but I wouldn't be happy about an old Ibiza for example. What have they given you?
 
#7 ·
I agree with Fred and Neil. Sounds as though you are actually in very capable hands and being looked after. Yes, it is a bummer that you have to go through this at all but life's not perfect. My other half has a 2017 Mini One. After just one week all the unwanted lights came up on the dashboard. She was somewhat gutted, however, Mini picked it up the following morning, left her a courtesy car, fixed what turned out to be a faulty emissions sensor, and returned it to her the following morning. I realise your issue is somewhat more complex but we couldn't really ask for more. It's been perfect since then.
 
#8 ·
sjtafl1 said:
The dealership, who have so far been 1st class, called me to say could they keep the car for the rest of the day, as there was a strange noise coming from the engine.
Later that day they called me back to say they can't find the fault and that I would have to book the car back in for 4 days.
I agreed with this as they have given me a loan car.


However, as far as I understand, the engine is going to have to be stripped and the fault investigated.
As yet I am waiting for news and I have informed Seat head office( who also so far have been 1st class).


I have to say I am really unhappy with this situation , although it is obviously under warranty my trust is gone.
I'm not unreasonable but what should I expect Seat to do in your opinion ?
'
My opinion?

1: The garage have so far been excellent.
2: You're going to be given a loan car whilst they carry out the investigation ( ie minimise inconvenience to you).

It's good that SEAT head office have been excellent but I'm scratching my head wondering a) why you called SEAT head office and b) what you're unhappy about?

So what are your expectations (remembering that you've said you're not unreasonable) - that any mechanical product let alone one that is as complicated as a car doesn't go wrong? And if it does, how would you like them to resolve the problem - should the mechanic use a crystal ball to diagnose the fault? I think you are being unreasonable and I think you should give the garage a chance to put any fault right.

Let's assume your trust is gone and no matter what happens you decide to sell the Ateca. I'm giving you a £2 million pound budget to choose whatever car you want. Which car will you replace it with? (Now that's what's called a leading question :lol: ).
 
#9 ·
Golfmk56 said:
Let's assume your trust is gone and no matter what happens you decide to sell the Ateca. I'm giving you a £2 million pound budget to choose whatever car you want. Which car will you replace it with? (Now that's what's called a leading question :lol: ).
......... that you can guarantee would never have a problem during the early months. If you say Nissan Qashqai then I will have to refer you to my sister for guidance :)

Joking apart, I hope it's sorted quickly.
 
#11 ·
Hi Golfmk56

Thanks for the reply.
We were going away the day after they discovered the fault and I wasnt happy driving hundreds of miles in the car, as no one knew what was wrong.
So I called Head Office to ask if they could arrange a loan car for me, as the dealership couldn't.
My expectations were that the engine wouldn't have to be stripped after 8,000 miles.
 
#13 ·
I agree with the others on this one - if all of SEAT are being very good and helpful with you than i'm afraid it's a case of bad luck that your engine has developed a fault BUT as mentioned by others at least they have identified it and seem keen to make sure it's fixed. The frustrating part will be if they can't find anything and tell you to go on your way - then i would lose trust in the car. If they, say replace parts/ the whole engine - I'd then have piece of mind hat they had done what the warranty is designed for. If cars (whatever the age) didn't develop faults then warranty's wouldn't exist right?

My previous Golf had 2 faults; it kept going into limp mode sporadically but would always come out of it by the time i got to the garage and also the 3 flash overtake indicator randomly used to activate when driving along - which was quite dangerous especially at roundabouts. Now i bought the car from a toyota garage and not VW - the Toyota garage were great - despite every time i went in they couldn't see the fualts and when they sent it across to VW (4 occasions over a 2 month period) it would come back registering no faults. BUT the service at Toyota (like it sounds you are getting from SEAT) was fantastic and they demanded that VW replace 2 control modules for the indicators (at a cost of £370+ VAT each) as replacing the stalk (£140) didn't fix the issue - they also told the head technician to drive my car until the limp mode fault came on - which it did. They then also argued with my warranty company to pay to replace the faulty EGR valve (£1500) despite the warranty being out by month. Now in the time that VW kept giving me it back with "no faults" found i lost faith in the Golf, if SEAT did that to you then fair enough but at the minute they seem willing to make sure it is fixed asap for you. I'd sit tight with the courtesy car and see what fix is done to the engine before trying to take it further.
 
#16 ·
Things can go wrong, but it's how the problem is dealt with, i find important. Sounds like they've been very proactive and customer focused :D
 
#18 ·
Interesting - if it was SEAT technicians that noticed the so-called-fault then why are they declaring nothing found - have you managed to obtain a copy of the report stating they thought there was an issue and essentially WHY they thought there was an issue. I'd want a copy of that and the report stating no issue just in-case something develops.

I know it'll be easier said than done but now you need to forget about it and carry on enjoying the car - as you stated in your original post it was the garage that noticed it and you had not noticed anything wrong so at least in reality (if no-one had mentioned it to you) you would be none the wiser the engine is fine.
 
#19 ·
Hello Howie669,

Very true if they hadn't pointed out the noise to me then I'd have been none the wiser.
They did do the first service and an ECU update whatever that is.
I didn't ask for a copy of the report to be honest. I will ask.

Many thanks for your comments
 
#20 ·
I've only owned a diesel once if my 37 years of driving and it was a Ford Orion 1.6 DGL. 65 MPG on a run from a car built in 1985 was pretty impressive but what a racket. Even my 10 year old nephew at the time questioned why my car sounded like a tractor :roll: . I know modern diesels are more refined these days but I still think it would take a trained technicians ear to tell the difference between the background clatter and a noisy fault. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. The issue is now fully registered with SEAT so if anything is going to go wrong, or get worse, you'll know about it at the next service when the car is still well within warranty.
 
#21 ·
At least they are trying to rectify your noisy engine . My 7 month old Ateca has a very noisy rattle which is a metal pipe leading to the turbo. I've been told it's a normal start up noise , believe me, there is nothing normal about it at all!! I am in discussions with a case manager from
SEAT as I won't accept this, however, to date they have never contacted me when they say they will so I have to ring them a couple of days later , to be told the dealership won't return their calls, I finding this very hard to believe and feeling fobbed off!!! Not impressed with SEAT at the moment and fallen out of love with my car. This is my first SEAT and will probably be my last . I certainly won't be recommending them!
 
#25 ·
Well , an update on my compliant is basically I've been ignored!! I have heard nothing from no one!! I am now just gonna bide my time wait till I'm out of negative equity and get rid!! This is the first and last Seat I will buy and I certainly wouldn't recommend their cars or their services to anyone.
 
#26 ·
Della said:
Well , an update on my compliant is basically I've been ignored!! I have heard nothing from no one!! I am now just gonna bide my time wait till I'm out of negative equity and get rid!! This is the first and last Seat I will buy and I certainly wouldn't recommend their cars or their services to anyone.
You might want to include all VW group vehicles then as that is a VW engine under the hood. It could just be a naff dealer souring your experience - if you've gotten nowhere then consult with the motor ombudsman for advice. If you've been told it's deadlock and asked for written confirmation you should have had that in a fairly short space of time.

https://www.themotorombudsman.org/
 
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