1.4 ACT - rattle/vibration as engine switches to 2 cylinder

[Seat2016]

I have a 2016 Leon FR, which I have owned since new & have covered just over 32,000 miles

Really like the car & had no problems, until I reached around 27,000 miles, when an intermittent rattle/clicking/vibration type noise appeared. I took the car into the dealer & went out on the road with a technician, but he said he could not hear anything. As I drive the car daily, I know the car better than anyone & definitely knew that there was a noise which was not present for around the first 27,000 miles, but regardless, the technician could not hear what I could hear. In an attempt to ensure that I had some comeback if a fault were to develop further down the line, I asked for for my report of unexplained noise to logged, but the dealer refused, saying that they could only log definite/confirmed faults. I went home feeling a bit frustrated & wondering if I was maybe making a mountain out of a molehill.

Anyway, around 5,000 miles later, the noise is still present & although annoying, I have pretty much just put up with it & have tried to learn to live with it. However, today, I have noticed something which I’m surprised I had not noticed earlier. The noise kicks in just as the ‘ECO’ sign appears on the driver display (I.E, just as the engine switches to 2 cylinder mode). The noise lasts for probably around 5 seconds after ‘ECO’ is displayed. On the motorway, at speed, I do not hear the noise when 2 cyclinder mode activates, but maybe road noise at higher speeds is drowning out the sound? I definitely hear it just at the moment ‘ECO’ is diplayed, when I am driving at lower speeds/non-motorway.

So, am I alone with this problem? Has anyone else with this engine experienced something similar? Is there a known problem or fix?

 

[BoomerBoom]

There are a few threads on ACT issues here if you search and YouTube videos of it happening.

My 2018 1.4 FR has made noises in ACT mode since new, rattling when gently accelerating and lurching when it disengages in lower gears.

I think the noises are mainly due to the extra engine vibration in ACT mode, but the inconsistencies reported point to build quality being a huge factor. Some have awful noise, others have nothing.

Unless you can find what is rattling you won't be able to fix it. At one point I thought mine had gone, until I realised it doesn't happen at all in 4th gear for some reason.

 

[nick.buchan2]

Loose circlip on the wastegate actuator IIRC. There’s a thread on here with photos etc. Annoying but not a problem apparently.


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[nick.buchan2]

FR 1.4 150 Ecotsi - engine rattling during ACT mode
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...rattling-during-ACT-mode.444764/&share_type=t


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[Seat2016]

Thanks for the replies - really appreciated. So it appears that I am not alone with this issue & I am possibly lucky to have got as far as 27k miles before the noise started. I will again mention the sound to the dealer at my next service (which will before the 3yr warranty expires) & will emphasise/demonstrate that it happens when switching to 2 cylinder mode, but I am not overly confident that this is something the dealer will be able to fix to be honest & will be viewed by the dealer/Seat as something that should be accepted?

 

[IbizaNI]

Thanks for the replies - really appreciated. So it appears that I am not alone with this issue & I am possibly lucky to have got as far as 27k miles before the noise started. I will again mention the sound to the dealer at my next service (which will before the 3yr warranty expires) & will emphasise/demonstrate that it happens when switching to 2 cylinder mode, but I am not overly confident that this is something the dealer will be able to fix to be honest & will be viewed by the dealer/Seat as something that should be accepted?

I'd say nothing to worry about, mine's on 18k miles, bought it with 14k miles and it's always made that sound, can hear it more easily when at low speed in 2 cylinder mode with all windows down and some sort of hedge or walls on both sides for the sound to resonate off, goes away again on mine when it goes back into 4 cylinder mode.

 

[exmgman]

I have a 2018 1.8 FR, does this have the ACT feature? I've never noticed any ECO indication.
I will return 45-46mpg on the motorway with the cruise control set at 70mph.

 

[Seat2016]

My understanding is that ACT was only on the 1.4 TSI 150 & now the 1.5 engine. I don’t think it is a feature on the 1.8 engine, so you would not see the ‘ECO’ notification on the driver display of a car with the 1.8 engine

 

[R4CK5]

Yep, not on the 1.8s.

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[Ashman2019]

Sorry to hijack an old thread and I am in the wrong car but I am having simular issues hoping to get some answers. I have a Audi 1.4TFSI 150 COD. I am experencing the same issues where as when in COD mode (2 cyclinders) i get a trrrrrrr or a frrrrrr noise or as someone mentioned, sound like a cinema projector. Been to Audi 3 times and they dont know what it is becuase there is no technical bulleting regarding it and they say the engine is too new and need to compare the car with a like to like. Im thinking they share the same engine with SEAT.

 

[BoomerBoom]

On the rear of the turbo there is an waste gate link rod, connected to the actuator. If it feels loose and rattley to the touch (don't touch it when the engine is hot) then this is likely the source of your noise.

There are other threads on the same subject.

 

[Ashman2019]

Yes at the rear there is a wastegate and yes it is loose and makes a metal noise when tapping it, someone mentioned they put a padlock on it and that worked, i dont have a padlock so hung a pair on molgrips on it and it made no difference.

Here is a clip on my wastegate rod

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cl90j9ym5jusk6h/Audi Rattle.MOV?dl=0

 

[BoomerBoom]

Sorry but I've got nothing else to suggest as a fix. When in 2 cyl mode the engine vibrates a lot more than in 4 cyl mode, so anything loose will rattle.

As said previously, I think it comes down to individual build quality on whether your car makes a noise or not during ACT.

 

[Ashman2019]

Thankyou for repying. Audi say it could be a 'characisteric' of the engine.Im like great, I spent 22k on a car that sounds like a 2 CV.

They are still looking into the noise however but they are stumped at what it could be.

I am probably gonna end up getting the car swapped if they cannot fix it.

 

[exmgman]

Thankyou for repying. Audi say it could be a 'characisteric' of the engine.Im like great, I spent 22k on a car that sounds like a 2 CV.

They are still looking into the noise however but they are stumped at what it could be.

I am probably gonna end up getting the car swapped if they cannot fix it.

 

[exmgman]

It would be interesting to know how much difference the 2 cylinder mode makes to mpg compared to 4 cylinder which presumably would be on a light throttle opening.
My 1.8 FR will regularly return 44-46 mpg on a motorway run with the cruise control set at 70mph.
What sort of mpg figures are the 2 cylinder mode cars getting.

 

[BoomerBoom]

Almost 10mpg more, mine gets over 51 at motorway speed - although I set the cruise a bit higher; set at 70 you are probably doing 66 mph.

I can only hear when ACT is working at lower speeds, if I had a way I'd disable it below 60mph as it's noisy and makes the car lumpy with it constantly switching on and off.

 

[Norbert]

Turbo rod rattle really bad design and make metallic rattle.
You can try with hand when engine cold.

 

[Norbert]

My mercedes was same no fix for this...
2 cylinder mode vibrate the engine.

 

[Ashman2019]

Stuck my Go Pro under the hood last night. Managed to Capture this.