2015 VW Passat 2.0 TDI, 150bhp, otherwise very normal and nice to drive, with expected diesel clatter.

But at 2,000 rpm, regardless of speed, there’s a reasonably loud noise, much like the sound strapping makes on a lorry on a motorway, but then reduces considerably after about 2.2k rpm.

No feeling of vibration, just the noise. No funky smells either.

No noise when reving the engine out of gear.

It’s a manual gearbox with zero,apparent, issues in slipping, changing gear or propulsion!

Anyone any ideas??

Sounds like flywheel issue unless there’s something small amiss which has the same symptoms.

Something loose maybe. Engine cover or something like that. We had a heat shield do that on the Prius and also sounded very similar when the exhaust was nearly rotted through. Noise sounded like it was coming from the engine bay.

Lower engine cover would be relatively simple to check.

One of the belts?

I would say its a symptom of a DMF on its way out

Heat sink/shield has come loose from around the exhaust. Had this twice in the past. Scary horrid noise, just as you’ve described, fixed quickly and cheaply.

Thanks everyone. Both heatshield and DMF were my first thoughts.
Guess it’s a ramp job first checking for loose fixings!

Check the DMF by rolling in gear at idle engine speeds then accelerating briskly (but I wouldn’t floor it). You should hear a hell of clatter if it’s gone. If nothing then it’s okay.

Check the oil level

If it had been a hybrid Golf then I’d have said that you had damaged the funsponge tensioner on your smug valve but as it’s a diesel Passat then it’s probably something you can fix yourself with YouTube and an old spoon

Undertray fitting or exhaust fixing is loose would be a possibility. It vibrates at a certain resonance and you can hear it before the noise of the engine or exhaust overpower it.

Sounds familiar. We have a Tiguan, and noticed at 2.5k revs, going uphill it was making a clattery noise, not very loud, but noticeable.

It’s a petrol manual, and at idle it did sound a bit like a diesel, but again, it wasn’t a very loud noise.

Anyhow, turns out it was the DMF of the way out (as mentioned above), and thankfully covered by VW as I don’t think its cheap.

Have you got one of these attached to your rear wheel?

My Passat of the same age does the same. I just put it down to sounding farty at, well, 2000 revs.

Oil level is perfect.

It’s not a clattery noise, quite different to the classic diesel noise.

Very much sounds SHM related to my ear!

That’s what makes me think it’s something loose that’s vibrating.

It could also be related to something like the turbo hose – it could be farting somehow causing resonance at a particular airflow. Mine makes a quiet booming sound when it upshifts under light throttle at constant speed. Keeps going until I change throttle.

If it was a heat shield it would do it in and out if gear.

As it only does it in gear I’ll take something In The power train.

Can you sustain the noise by driving in that zone continuously? If you sustain it then ease off does the noise stop immediately or just when the revs drop out of the zone?

The noise remains constant with revs.

As soon as I’m out of the range of approximately 1900 to 2200 rpm it “almost” disappears. It probably has gone after about 2200 rpm but my mind could just be retaining the noise, if that makes sense?!

Hmm, based upon feedback, due to the condition only occuring under load at specific RPM, the likely culprit is powertrain.

Doesn’t sound wooshy or sucking like a turbo or induction, respectively.

Mine doesn’t sound whoosy. Like a fog horn, but quiet. It’s not escaping air, it’s resonance.

Not saying yours is the same but don’t discount air related stuff just because it’s not whoosy.

If it’s the same revs regardless of road speed, it’s on the engine side. But if it doesn’t do it in neutral then it’s not a balance issue. An odd one.

Clutch thrust bearing , flywheel, or some plastic trim or heatsheild.

For anyone who’s interested the culprit of the noise were the pipes, in and out, of the heater matrix gently touching and vibrating.

My solution was careful bending them apart. Not the most elegant but job jobbed!

Blimey, that’s an odd one, and a good fix. How did you find it? If be wondering why it happened though.. what’s out of alignment? Bad engine mount?

Had similar on my Skoda Octavia, the plastic air intake was loose and just needed the screw tightening up a bit!

Molgrips, I’d read about a similar noise,online, with other Passat B9’s and after checking a few usual suspects went straight to the pipes.
It’s so much better. Still noisier than my wifes 2009 VW Touran 2.0tdi. These newer, non cheat, VW euro 6 engines are definitely noisier!
Engine mount is fine, just poor design validation. I work in automotive engineering for a top ten tier 1 and I’m never surprised by some of the shoddy stuff that gets signed off!

Ah right, so guessing that on some cars they’re just a tiny bit too close.

Still noisier than my wifes 2009 VW Touran 2.0tdi. These newer, non cheat, VW euro 6 engines are definitely noisier!

Wonder why? Is it more efficient? Maybe they are running more injection advance or compression given that they can offset the increase in NOx.

I’ve a 2015 Passat with a vibration between 1500 and 2000rpm when the engine was up to temp and under load and thanks to this thread I fixed it today. Heater pipes behind the dash going into the matrix were rubbing on a square edged piece of plastic they went under. Ended up wedging a piece of rubber in the gap.

Hi,

Would you have a picture of the fix you applied please?

I’ve got the same issue but battling to stop it.

Thanks :).