Seat Noise!

Lunar · Apr 12, 2015

Hi All,

3 weeks in to owning our new beach we have developed a noise; after 3 separate trips to the garage it has finally been narrowed down to the two seater bench seat. Hasten to add it was figured by me not the garage!

Has anyone else had any issues with noise from their rear seats. There is some play in the seats, which is what I would expect from something that sits on rails and in some respects I would expect some noise but the level of noise is terrible. I cant live with it, the slightest bump sets it off.

Any feed back would be appreciated, even if you have no issues it would be good to hear from you. My garage suggests all Cali's suffer from the same issue?

Thanks in advance.

owen_h · Apr 13, 2015

I had the seat base replaced under warranty on mine. Originally sounded like a bag of spanners being dropped when going over potholes or any road surface that wasn't billiard table smooth.
Even the replacement isn't completely quiet over rough surfaces. There have been rattles from the internal mechanism but I have sorted the majority myself.
The 2 seater Beach seat is almost identical to the SE seat. (Beach has plug-in headrests whereas the SE's fold down) so feedback from SEs would also be valid. If all Cali's suffered I would expect far more questions on here.

Bramco · Apr 13, 2015

No problems with ours. Have you tried it in different positions? Apologies if I'm suggesting the obvious.

To maximise the space behind the passenger seat to get our coolbox in next to the power outlet I have moved the multiflex board as far back as it will go and likewise the seat. And in any of the positions I've had the seat in we've never heard a peep. The rattle in the dash is another question.......

Actually its not bad a quick thump on the dash normally clears it.

Lunar · Apr 13, 2015

Bramco/Owen, thanks for the response, it would be good to hear from others that have and haven't got any issues. I feel like I m loosing the battle with my dealer.

Bramco - no apology needed, sometimes its the obvious things we don't try! But I have tried it in every conceivable position and its still terrible.

Owen - Thanks for taking the time to post, did you have this done recently. My garage has requested a tech report on similar issues from VW. It will be interesting to see what the report contains. I wouldn't expect it to be completely silent but your description re the bag of spanners is spot on.

Bramco · Apr 13, 2015

Lunar, one more thought. Have you taken the seat out completely? You never know it may be something underneath, e.g. an exhaust not on its hangers properly.

Again apologies if you've already tried this.

WelshGas · Apr 13, 2015

I have a SE. No noise from seat. Do you have rubber bumper stops on the leading edge of the multiflex board? Have you tried moving seat forward slightly so that it is not touching the board?

hubert72 · Apr 13, 2015

I dont have a noise problem but did notice the pull handle for sliding the seats always needs a little help to go back into position and lock into place, I suspect that if i didn't give it a hand back into its slot then the seat would be slightly loose. Might leave it loose and see if it rattles.

Lunar · Apr 13, 2015

Thanks Bramco - after suggesting to the garage to take the seat out on the first visit they finally took it out on the third visit. Hasten to add the noise stopped. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Welsh Gas - yup have the little bump stops, i have tried it hard against them and not touching. Makes no difference!

Hubert72 - my thoughts are on the seat mechanism, i've made sure the handle engages, pops back in no bother at all.

owen_h · Apr 13, 2015

It would be about 2 years ago that I had the seat (base) changed. If the noise stops when the seat is removed that sounds pretty conclusive proof to me. If someone is sitting in the back and therefore putting pressure on the seat is it still noisy? Might help to narrow down the problem to moving on the rails or from the internal mechanism . There are a lot of parts hidden in the sides controlling the slide and tilting . My money would be on an issue there.
Long time ago I posted a photo of the mechanism. Assuming it's not gone after the website update I will see if I can find it again.
Hope you get it sorted
Owen

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Lunar · Apr 16, 2015

Hi Owen - did you manage to come across your mechanism photo's I would be interested to see them. Siting on the seat seems to makes a little difference, by the markings left on the rail it would appear that the whole seat is moving. In discussion with the garage as to a way forward. Inspection of the locking mechanism to ensure it is engaging properly and if that fails hopefully a replacement seat/seat base.

owen_h · Apr 16, 2015

Hi Lunar,
I found the original thread that the pics were on: http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/rattling-back-seat.5521/ but unfortunately the post was made on the old version of the forum linking to pictures that were on an album that has now gone.
I will still have copies on my pc at home but need to search through the photo library. Hopefully will be able to do it this eve but am off to Belgium/Holland early tomorrow for a weekend of cycling.