[rodiwa]

I have a VW Taigun of almost 2 years in Pune. It’s a Topline 1.0 TSI AT. The car is almost 40k kms old. I’ve been facing shock absorber issues for a while now, almost since car was brand new. It makes a rigid thud noise even on the smallest of road bumps. Any small “cut” in the road, or between bridge joints, or simply driving over an uneven patch on the road. The thud is loudest on those rubber speed bumps screwed into the ground. I’ve also noticed driving on cement makes a loud rumble, but it is very quiet and smooth over tar roads. I’ve shown it to a couple of workshops, but I wanted to see if you guys have any suggestions.

I’ve been driving for over 10 years now. And my wife has just started to drive with this car. Me and my wife have similar driving styles. Our driving is limited to city mostly. We occasionally do Mumbai Pune trips on the expressway. We drive within 100kmph on highways and 60-80 city.

I reached out to VW workshop, but I was told tyres and shock absorbers are not in warranty in this vehicle. This was my first issue. I assumed apart from batteries, all other parts would be covered in their standard warranty. I confirmed this w another VW service center in another city. I’ve driven another Taigun w similar specs and kms on it. It was not that loud, in fact the thumps were pretty soft. I’ve also driven my friends Altroz and Creta, and the shocks on those seem like pillows compared to my car. It was way too comfortable.

So I headed to a few service centers (general service ones). Most of the mechanics I’ve shown this to say this much thud is normal, but based on my driving experience, I refused to believe so.

1st Workshop - General service shop only. Owner seems knowledgeable, but needed convincing about the thuds. Mostly told me this is normal, but was happy to replace the dampers if I wanted.
- the mechanics showed me that the damper was “very hard”; it was not compressing easily. And then it was not decompressing properly. It was almost stuck, but would come back very slowly.
- This was the case with all 4 dampers. I got them replaced with company part only. I verified with the VW stickers and part numbers.
- After this replacement, the car definitely felt “softer” on the roads. There were still some minor thuds, but it was def a 60-70% improvement.
- This softness lasted for a month mostly. The thud became as it was before. I was surprised since the dampers were new.

This made me want to get a second opinion, and check other parts apart from damper this time.

2nd Workshop - I found a shock absorber specialist. Mostly a bunch of young 22 yr olds; hard to say if they had years of experience in dealing with shockers.
- I asked them to check all shock absorber assembly from scratch. Including mount, bushing, spring coil, dampers, etc.
- While opening the assembly, the mechanic pointed out that there was a “play” in steering rack and axle. This made me wonder can this “play” be the reason for damper wearing out so soon? I’m also not sure what a play means, but he moved the steering rack from other side of the car, and said this should be tight and firm. It should not be moving (it was moving a little IMO, not really loose).
- This also made me wonder if they were trying to make their business, since their workshop specialized in steering racks and axles.
- They mentioned the dampers were looking like they were already wearing out. Were not compressing easily. Not sure why the dampers wore out so soon.
- He also mentioned that mounting may need to be replaced.

So these are my questions in general -
1. What can be the cause of this thud?
2. Are there any well known shock absorber workshops in Pune, Mumbai (Vashi) area? I’m trying to find a team which is older and has years of experience. Most of the ones I’ve seen are carrot topped hairstyled 22 year olds who drive around triplies on their Dios/ scooty. This was not very confidence inspiring.
3. Is it a good idea to replace dampers with high premium dampers (non-company ones)? Will they make a difference? I’m trying to replace current ones with “softest” dampers possible. I don’t care about other ride quality factors as long as it is soft. We don’t drive too fast anyways. I asked around and found out about Magneti Marelli.
4. Can a play in steering rack and axle wear out dampers easily? Can it contribute to thud to suspension?
5. Is it true that suspensions are not in warranty anymore?
6. When we bought the new car, I did feel we were driving a little too rough on the bumps or potholes initially. Could this have damaged the assembly itself and now dampers are getting damaged?

[vishy76]

Sorry to say this, but I find the approach by most FNGs atleast you have dealt with to be absolutely pathetic. I will list down my observations point wise to you:

Firstly, a damper HAS to be hard to compress. A good damper resists compression very well. That's the very reason why it comes mated to the spring. Secondly, even when the damper is compressed, the restoring force which acts on it or the upward motion has to be restricted. Think about this. If the damper compresses and expands quickly just like the spring it comes mated to, what is the purpose of having it?

IMO, as long as there are no leaks, the damper resists compression well and it rises back up completely after compression, there's nothing wrong with it. Additionally, atleast with my limited experience, 10/10 dampers that I have seen go bad have either shown signs of fluid leakage or have been very easy to compress and have shown little to no rebound.

Coming to all the other diagnosis like the steering rack end, the rack itself and axle, let me tell you, these suspension components are extremely sensitive to play. Even if there is a little play or tolerance that develops in the rack, you will clearly feel it in the steering and it will make deafening clunks while going over bumps and potholes. The axle will create clicking noises when you accelerate while taking u-turns and also cause the car to shudder or vibrate when loaded in higher gears while accelerating.

First order of business is to start with the most obvious culprits. What tyres are you running and how old are they? If the images are anything to go by, I estimate you are still running the Goodyears that came stock with the car. IMO 40-50k km is enough life from these cheap Indian tyres that are offered as OE on most cars. They often have tread left, but that is hardly an indication of how healthy a tyre is. The rubber also goes hard with age and kilometres. Swap them out for any other established brand if you haven't already. If you have, ignore this suggestion.

Secondly, what tyre pressures are you maintaining? The combination of 17s on low profile tyres makes the ride extremely sensitive to tyre pressures. If your tyres are new (as mentioned in the last para), try and drop pressures by 2-4 PSI max and see if it helps. Do this only in the city. On the highway, please maintain the manufacturer recommended pressures.

Please try and understand that troubleshooting a suspension that doesn't perform the way you want or is stiffer than you believe it should be is extremely difficult as compared to a suspension that just makes clunks and knocks and gives it away. I have witnessed people fire parts cannons worth 6-digit figures at their cars and still have the issue recur. As I said, don't do anything in haste. Start with the most obvious signs and work from there.

[rodiwa]

Thank you for the insights, vishy76.

I am not too happy with the FNGs I have gone to myself. But the VW service centers in my area don't have a good reputation. They are either weeks into waiting period or have known to deliver cars back without doing anything. But I am considering going back to them since they'll have better tools and tech. I'll probably make a contact first.

I'll do some research on replacing tyres. I usually change them around 40k. Tyre pressures I maintain as per company recommendation - 33 to 35psi. Although, I've tried and don't see any major improvement after dropping pressure.

Since all parts play an important role - steering rack, axle, etc - I'll probably show it to a few garages (non-FNGs) to see how they should fix it. I still feel the dampers I have are not of good quality. They are compress slowly (as expected), but I've noticed that my. last dampers did not show complete rebound.

Some more observations I forgot to add earlier was - The car vibrations and thuds are almost back to normal when I have some weight in the car, say luggage or if car is full. It's like the car is too light otherwise and that's whats making the thud noises.

How do I find a good service person who deals specifically with shock absorbers in Pune, Mumbai area? By a good service person, I mean garage where they have the right tools, like we have wheel balancing, alignment tools at Bridgestone, MRF tyre garages. I've tried Google Map searches, I only see FNGs listed. What is recommended process to find one?

Looks like this is going to take a while. The search for the right garage/ workshop continues...

[theabstractmind]

Having owned a VW previously and based on multiple feedback, the thuds, especially over joints and rubber bumps are an inherent trait of the VW/ Skodas. Keep the tryre pressure about 2 psi less than what VW recommends, and change the tyres. 40k is a good running for any tyre.

Also, so far as the ride quality has not been altered, it is unlikely that it is a suspension issue. From what I read there are no oil leaks as such from the shocks. At best, change rhe mounting bushes. The FNGs are taking you for a ride IMHO.

[ike]

For a car still in warranty, it'd have been more prudent to let the ASS diagnose the issue. If the fix isn't carried out under warranty you could have explored FNGs. Now that(I presume, correct me if I'm wrong) an FNG has replaced the dampers it provides VW an easy way out of any goodwill that you could have demanded. Get the car checked by VW and get a proper diagnosis. You can always get a second opinion at an FNG after this.

Any work carried out by non authorized personnel (especially when the warranty is active) gives any OEM a get out of jail card.

[Bazooka1989]

I purchased Slavia in March 2024 and occasionally I have also experienced this extremely loud thud noise on not so big potholes/breaker/bridge gaps. It made me stop and check if everything was alright!!

In my case this noise comes from front left side of the car.

I will be watching this thread carefully to see any potential solution/ replacement which will fix this issue.

[gandharjc]

Might I suggest driving another Taigun after ensuring the tyre pressure is at 33PSI? I understand you have already done this, but wouldn't harm to try it with another one. I TD'd the Nxon & Kushaq last week, and could immediately feel the 'thud' you're mentioning. I simply assumed it was the sportier setup on the Kushaq that lead to sharp thuds being felt; & I think it may be the case with you as well. The German twins are propbably simply set up stiffer.

[Newtown]

In my ownership of now 6 VW cars including the current ones, I have exerienced this in all of them - Polos, Ventos, Taigun. Very stiff setup. The Skodas have a slightly softer setup which I feel is better on our roads. And it does not kill the handling too much.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Bazooka1989

I purchased Slavia in March 2024 and occasionally I have also experienced this extremely loud thud noise on not so big potholes/breaker/bridge gaps. It made me stop and check if everything was alright!!

In my case this noise comes from front left side of the car.

I will be watching this thread carefully to see any potential solution/ replacement which will fix this issue.

Had this issue on my Slavia as well and have observed it on most German cars I have driven. When you drive over a depression on the road, or any other scenario where the suspension is compressed and has to expand suddenly and send the wheel downward into this depression, the car makes a really loud thud as if something broke. However, this softened into a very smooth tap after I crossed 10k kms. After that, it has never occurred to me so far at 23k kms. But I believe these thud noises arise out of stiffer suspension setups that these cars have.

[Rahul_]

Originally Posted by rodiwa

Any small “cut” in the road, or between bridge joints, or simply driving over an uneven patch on the road. The thud is loudest on those rubber speed bumps screwed into the ground. I’ve also noticed driving on cement makes a loud rumble, but it is very quiet and smooth over tar roads. I’ve shown it to a couple of workshops, but I wanted to see if you guys have any suggestions.

Gone through a similar ordeal myself - which was partly covered here : https://www.team-bhp.com/news/suspension-issues-my-3-year-old-vento-tsi-vws-apathetic-response

This is most probably your tyres. I had one year old Michelin Primacy 4 tyres gone hard which caused me and wife (during her pregnancy) a lot of pain.
It was so bad that each grain in the road was being felt inside the cabin.

I changed struts 3 times overall in a year but the hard tyres were killing them along with extremely bad roads in my area of residence back then. One of the expert FNGs helped me zero down to tyres. Lost lot of money in terms of 3 strut and associated part changes and new set of tyres which Michelin shied away from responsibility and settled the warranty for meagre 10k overall for 4 tyres run 5-7k over one year.

I still hear that loud thud from the rear section when I go over plastic speed breakers but its no where bone jarring nightmare that it was back when the tyres were hard.

I learned that
1. Tyres are integral and very important part of your vehicles suspension.
2. Debugging issues with big brand names like Michelin adds to complexity as everyone expects them to be good quality and focus shifts elsewhere.
3. Also, as much as a researched - there is no standard manner of identifying or quantifying tyres hardness that plays such a big role in cases like these.

Lastly if it helps,
I took recommendation of extremely helpful members here and visited a good FNG - got the car new set of UC6 (upsized to increase sidewall, but won't recommend much) and Sachs suspension setup.
The ride is much better - not very cushiony though if that is what you want but handles well. Only grouse is the rear is a bit bouncy off-late.

[Guna]

What about the tyres? You mentioned that you have covered 40k. Are the old tyres still on? Tyres can become hard over years and usage.

[Torque123]

I see that the OP has not provided details of diagnosis performed by VW ASC. What was their diagnosis? I only see a comment on shock absorber not covered under warranty. Did their investigation lead to replacing the shock absorber?

[Rahul_]

Originally Posted by Torque123

I see that the OP has not provided details of diagnosis performed by VW ASC. What was their diagnosis? I only see a comment on shock absorber not covered under warranty. Did their investigation lead to replacing the shock absorber?

I would not be very hopeful there.
1. Suspension has very limited warranty (least in the entire car if I right)- surely not for 40k driven vehicles
2. blame goes to bad road and driving style, very easy to dump blame.
3. there is no standard process to identify shocker issues. they just look for leakages and that's about it. test drive is the only way they look at things and then its the test drivers opinion which is rarely in customer favour. Max that they do and suggest is re-torquing all components to company mandated values.

It is the easiest and first thing they deny warranty on.

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by Rahul_

I would not be very hopeful. It is the easiest and first thing they deny warranty on.

Honouring or not honouring the warranty is the next step. Did the OP ensure that the VW ASC throughly tried to troubleshoot the issue? If they did then what were their findings? I am asking this because multiple FNG’s have been consulted here post the visit to VW ASC.

[akash_v12]

rodiwa, would you mind sharing the service centre you've dealt with? When the shockers on our Vento went bust, our dealer did say that they are indeed not included in the warranty. It is true, so I'd recommend going ahead with the replacement.
AFAIK there's only one dealer in Pune right now, given Vidyut closed shop pretty recently. I cannot figure out which service centre this is, but if you want I could get you in contact with someone at their Hadapsar or the main service centre. Navi Mumbai dealers are not confidence-inspiring and I've had to deal with them thrice for a similar ordeal, albeit on a 110k KM run car. They have lost my trust and only after pressure from the higher-ups did they offer the rightful service.
Additionally, please share the diagnosis the dealer has given you.