[PacMan]

Hi all! Pretty much after I drove my 2018 Atlas SEL off the lot, I noticed a vibrating buzz from the upper left of the driver side door panel (see pic for area of the noise). It has gotten worse over time (now with 12K on the car). Every time you hit the smallest bump in the road it buzzes (the best way I can describe it). It is really bad when you are on road/highways where the road has that little bump every X number of yards and you constantly hear it in your left ear -- it really makes a great ride unenjoyable. It also does it if you turn up the stereo with lots of bass. I know it is the door/panel as when I put my arm on the armrest and push down hard, it will stop but only when doing so.

Had it to the dealer twice for other issues and told them to look for this noise. They said they hear nothing. So, what are my options? Is there a way for me to take off the interior door panel easily and see what is going on? Perhaps I can fix it with some tape or glue -- ha!

I have to say, overall, the Atlas has way more pops/creaks/rattles/buzzes, etc caused by interior plastics than any $40K+ car should have. There are many in this car, but the one I mention above bothers me most as it is right in your ear! I have a 2010 Mazda3 hatch and it has way less interior plastics noise than the new Atlas. I was thinking about replacing with a GTI at some point, but if all VWs are like this, I think I will pass.

Thanks in advance all. This is a great site!

 

[Dave]

Mine is doing the same exact thing. Actually it's both front doors. Happens mostly when the car is warm and the road is not super smooth. The paper towel trick in the door seal as a test seemed to work for me on the driver door. It goes into the shop for this tomorrow. I'll update when I know more. This by the way is my second Atlas. VW bought my 2018 back and gave me all my money back which I turned into a 2019 SEL. So far, I have had the noise in the doors and they replaced the sway bar ends at 4000 miles because of suspension noise. The car has about 6500 miles now. I did find that the tires were set to 42 pounds cold which is too high. Car runs much better and quieter at 38 pounds.

 

[FLKitesurfer]

Interesting! Took mine to the dealer today for the door noise repair. Will take a few days to repair and the noise better be gone when I pick it up.

 

[Dave]

So far so good. The drive home from the shop was mixed roads including one that just had the asphalt grinded off and the noise is gone. They adjusted the door panels which took care of the doors buzzing and replaced the right middle row seat lever which was vibrating. Noises are a funny thing so I'll see how it goes over the next few days.

 

[FLKitesurfer]

The buzzing noise coming from the driver side door pillar. The 2018 Tiguan has similar issues. I got mine back yesterday after 4 days and the problem is still there. It is temperature dependent and the mechanics at VW either don't know what they doing, don't know how to address the problem or unaware the pillar buzzing issue with the Atlas. The door has been adjusted and parts tightened inside the door panel on the driver side and that seems okay for now (will see in a week how it holds up), but now I can hear the passenger side door emitting same vibration noise doing when music turned on. I didn't hear that before as I was focused on the driver side door vibration noises. The buzzing noise however is different, and complaints for Tiguan can be reviewed at the URL below. Same issue for the Atlas, maybe the 2018 models only, not sure.

https://www.lemberglaw.com/2018-volkswagen-vw-tiguan-problems-complaints-lemon/

 

[jamieb]

We noticed this noise also on our 2019. Stopped when we turned the cooled seats off. Assumed it was the fan inside the seats creating the buzz.

 

[PacMan]

Dave and FLKitesurfer,

1) Can you tell me exactly where you are sticking the paper towel in the door? I don't see anywhere I can slide a piece of paper towel between the door (metal) and the door panel (plastic) per the picture I attached here. Can you perhaps circle the area in the picture?

2) Also, I am glad you got the dealer to finally do something. Mine says - 3 times already - that they don't hear anything and to bring it back if I want to at a later date. I think they just want to not do any work (I wouldn't recommend the service dept to my VW dealer to anyone). Anyhow, what did they exactly do? Just take the panel off and put it back on? Not sure that will really fix anything and, honestly, I fear that might make it worse.

Thanks much!