New MK8 ST-Line 140 Throttle Buzzing Noise

[martinf64]

Well picked up my brand new Fiesta ST-LineX 140 a week ago and really enjoying the car, a much improved drive over the Alfa Mito it has replaced. The dealer had put in about half a tank of petrol but with this new Ford cap-less fuel filling system I thought I better fill it up before it got too empty. After 4 blissful days driving the car I filled it up with Tesco's finest unleaded however driving to work the following morning I noticed a buzzing noise coming from the front of the car on the passenger side, occurring ONLY when I apply an increase in throttle...when the throttle is released the buzzing disappears....This noise didn't occur before I filled the car up, i,e the first 4 days driving it. The noise also doesn't occur immediately you start the car, it seems to require the engine to be hot first.

The buzzing noise almost sounds like a valve or solenoid modulating on and off, it doesn't sound like a interior trim noise although I do have one of those too. Its not really very loud but loud enough to annoy whilst driving...I can't believe Ford would design a car which made this annoying noise as standard. The car drives perfectly normally and well.

Has anyone else seen or heard this problem? Is it a quirk of the ecoboost engine? Can any fellow 1.0l 140 ecoboost engine drivers check to see whether this occurs on your car. Remember it only does it when an increase in throttle is requested, any other time its not there.

I'm going to see how this week pans out but it looks like a trip to the dealer might be necessary later this week.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

[Eric Bloodaxe]

Funnily enough, heard something which may be similar myself this weekend. Normally can't hear much above the road noise round here ( and the Fiesta is pretty quiet anyway), but we were on a stretch of smooth quiet tarmac (which is very rare!!), and heard a very quiet buzz/whistle, nearest way I could describe it is "Tssssssssss...." , but it disappeared when off the throttle. Then we were back on the usual crap road surface with lots of tyre road so didn't hear it until we came back the same way, and there it was again.

My wife heard it too, so I'm officially not going nuts😀. Didn't sound like anything nasty tbh, but I'll be listening out for it in future!

 

[pedro1886]

Does anybody think the engine sounds very clickly at idle? More so when hot?

 

[Mavroz]

Yes, I said in another thread a good while back that the engine doesn't sound as deep and smooth as the mk7.5. The Mrs st line x seems very revvy and clicky to my mk7.5 st line.

[Dan140]

Was driving with the windows down on mine all weekend and can't say I noticed a "buzzing" noise. The whistling noise Eric described sounds like it just the turbo spooling up which is perfectly normal but I wouldn't think to describe that as a buzz. If you could get some video of it for us to compare it to that would be useful! I will keep an ear out when I take it for a drive next.

[pedro1886]

Is the turbo nose it makes synthesised?

the valve just looks like one that re-circulates the air back into the turbo inlet instead of venting it to the atmosphere

[Dan140]

1 hour ago, pedro1886 said:

Is the turbo nose it makes synthesised?

the valve just looks like one that re-circulates the air back into the turbo inlet instead of venting it to the atmosphere

It's a recirc valve but the noise definitely isn't synthesized as it's a heck of a lot louder with the window open! As I mentioned in another thread just now, the 140 ecoboosts run in excess of 20psi of boost so that's a lot of pressure to release when you lift off the throttle. Even with a recirc valve you can hear that air moving when the valve opens. As far as I am aware no OEM currently uses a true BOV as recirculating dump valves are quieter and better for the turbo/engine. Most fitted in the after-market are done for the noise rather than any real performance benefit vs. an uprated recirc valve.

[pedro1886]

17 minutes ago, Dan140 said:

It's a recirc valve but the noise definitely isn't synthesized as it's a heck of a lot louder with the window open! As I mentioned in another thread just now, the 140 ecoboosts run in excess of 20psi of boost so that's a lot of pressure to release when you lift off the throttle. Even with a recirc valve you can hear that air moving when the valve opens. As far as I am aware no OEM currently uses a true BOV as recirculating dump valves are quieter and better for the turbo/engine. Most fitted in the after-market are done for the noise rather than any real performance benefit vs. an uprated recirc valve.

interesting, cheers for that 

How ware you getting on with your 140 ecoboost?

would you says yours is a bit clicky/ loud valves when it's at idol? 

[Dan140]

1 hour ago, pedro1886 said:

interesting, cheers for that 

How ware you getting on with your 140 ecoboost?

would you says yours is a bit clicky/ loud valves when it's at idol? 

Loving it, cheers!

Can't say I've really noticed but I came from a Yaris T-sport which has a notoriously clicky/rough 1.5 naturally aspirated engine so it might be a matter of perspective. I'll run it at idle soon and have a closer listen. Most engines sound a little rough when started up cold but should be reasonably smooth once up to temp. It's worth pointing out the 1.0 ecoboost is a pretty amazing engine and is relatively complicated compared to your average 4 cylinder motor, so that could account for some unusual/interesting noises.

[pedro1886]

2 hours ago, Dan140 said:

Loving it, cheers!

Can't say I've really noticed but I came from a Yaris T-sport which has a notoriously clicky/rough 1.5 naturally aspirated engine so it might be a matter of perspective. I'll run it at idle soon and have a closer listen. Most engines sound a little rough when started up cold but should be reasonably smooth once up to temp. It's worth pointing out the 1.0 ecoboost is a pretty amazing engine and is relatively complicated compared to your average 4 cylinder motor, so that could account for some unusual/interesting noises.

Mine sounds a bit loud when it’s warm. 

[James Drebin]

140PS ST-Line (not X) here. Sorry to report that I haven't had any prominent unusual engine sounds, even when hot.

My experience is the same as @Dan140's. Seems to be generally quiet both on and off throttle, save for the usual engine sounds you might expect.

Definitely try recording the sound and then show the dealer.

Hope you get it fixed!

[Jeipii]

I got a Fiesta mk7.5 1.0 125bhp and when I apply throttle I can hear a faint buzzing sound if the road noise is low and I'm not playing any music 🙂 I don't usually notice the sound so can't really say if it's always there or not. Anyway I think that it's normal since it doesn't sound alarming to me. My uneducated guess is that it's somehow related to the fuel pump(s).

[martinf64]

Booked it in to be looked at next week. As previously mentioned this noise only seemed to start after I filled the tank up, the four days prior to this I don't believe I heard it. Maybe will try and record it. To me it sounds like a solenoid or relay clicking rapidly when throttle is applied under engine load....I believe it is too loud to be normal as I can't believe anyone would drive a car with such an annoying buzz in the cockpit. So will see what happens next week.

[sioneon]

The ecoboost is a very ticky engine but I've never heard it in the cabin of my mk7.5, only with the bonnet open

[martinf64]

Definitely hear my buzzing problem in the cabin...it sounds like a hard disk head on steroids. I've now got a recording of it but can't see how you can add the mp4 file on this forum, only supports certain file types. At least I have got something to play the service department when I take it in next week.

[Gigabit]

Upload it to something like Google Drive and share the link.

[James Drebin]

1 hour ago, Gigabit said:

Upload it to something like Google Drive and share the link.

Or YouTube?

[martinf64]

Well managed to get a couple of recordings of my buzzing/clicking cabin noise....hopefully the links will work. You need to turn the volume up to hear it over the road noise...lowering the bass frequencies also help. The buzzing when throttling up is coming from the front passenger side while the random clicking is a combination of passenger/touchscreen/steering wheel area of dash.

This clip is the short version - 3 mins

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IGqgFl5Yv1KfAn1_A5Nt0UusxAIHXa6b/view?usp=sharing

This clip is longer version - 15mins approx.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dLpfSHljR0DkAUnz1JjpDCD0aX_L1yaC/view?usp=sharing

Buzzing on throttle only occurs after the car has got up to operating temperature. Clicking from the dash occurs anytime.

I'm rather disappointed with Ford, less than 400 miles on the clock and had the car less than two weeks and problems already. I've moved to Ford from an Alfa Mito and have driven Fiat's and Alfa's for last 20 years, two of which from new and never had these sort of problems....you expect it on Italian cars not Ford's. Thought Ford was better than this....plus dealer can't look at it till next Thursday so stuck with this for another week. 😡

Do hope the rest of you guys who have eagerly awaited delivery of their Mk8's don't have these problems. ✌️

 

[superwasak83]

Yep get the same strange noise from mine but only started last week with about 700 miles on the clock!

[martinf64]

16 hours ago, superwasak83 said:

Yep get the same strange noise from mine but only started last week with about 700 miles on the clock!

Does yours occur only once the engine reaches normal temperature and when you apply throttle under load? I'm also getting a lot of clicking noises from the general dash area...some of which can be heard throughout the long recording. It may be a coincidence but mine only started after filling the tank with Tesco's unleaded just over a week ago. It may also be a coincidence that this buzzing seems to be coming from the passenger side front dash/glove box area which is where the engine and cabin fuse boxes are located.

I assume that nobody else is hearing this on their ST-Line Fiesta.

Anyway we will see what they say after the dealer looks at it on Thursday. Will keep you updated.

[superwasak83]

3 hours ago, martinf64 said:

Does yours occur only once the engine reaches normal temperature and when you apply throttle under load? I'm also getting a lot of clicking noises from the general dash area...some of which can be heard throughout the long recording. It may be a coincidence but mine only started after filling the tank with Tesco's unleaded just over a week ago. It may also be a coincidence that this buzzing seems to be coming from the passenger side front dash/glove box area which is where the engine and cabin fuse boxes

Yeah coming from the glove box area and only when I've got my foot on the accelerator and only once the engine's warm - I'm assuming it's nothing to worry about at the moment but we'llsee how it goes.

[martinf64]

Car booked in today and managed to demonstrate my buzzing issues to the technician on a test drive, so now we see how good the local Ford dealership service department is in sorting these problems out !

Got three buzzing/clicking noise issues now....

1. When car up to temperature and throttle applied under load, sounds like electrical buzzing/clicking from glovebox area. Cabin fuse box and body ECU located in this area apparently.

2. Dash centre console (climate control & rad/nav screen) area, worst on rough tarmac roads. Sometimes sounds electrical, sometimes more mechanical from internal trim.

3. When steering wheel rotated to the right, buzz/clicking from steering wheel cowling area. Doesn't do it when steering wheel rotated left???

Think I'm going to rename the car Buzz Lightyear...to infinity and beyond....🙂

[Peteven]

I had the same buzzing/rattle when turning the steering wheel, it was a windscreen washer jet pipe that had come away from a clip. Hope this helps.

[martinf64]

5 hours ago, Peteven said:

I had the same buzzing/rattle when turning the steering wheel, it was a windscreen washer jet pipe that had come away from a clip. Hope this helps.

Cheers will maybe check that out although I would have thought washer jet piping not near steering mechanism...but you never know.

Frustratingly dealer had car for two days and didn't really achieve anything...so not sure what did over those two days...in fact the technician I took on the test drive denied ever hearing the centre console noise on the test drive even though it was clearly audible and I pointed it out a dozen times...incompetent, waste of space, liar comes to mind...I wasn't a happy at all yesterday. So car now booked in for 3 days second week in July as that's the earliest time they will have a courtesy car for me to day.

After picking it up and driving back home the centre console buzzing still occurring intermittently however the electro-mechanical buzzing when the throttle pressed with a warm engine seems to have disappeared so maybe they have changed something. I shall be keeping an eager ear open during my daily commute to see if it comes back.

So its motoring with buzzing dash for the next few weeks...assuming my sanity holds out.

[martinf64]

Still got the buzzing when the throttle is pressed after the engine has warmed up but it is quieter...sometimes the noise can't be heard.

Oh well will make a note about it ready for going back to the dealer.