Noisy Soft Close Door

[DesG]

Hi

I picked up my 17 reg' T6 California Camper from the VW workshop today having asked them to look at several issues including the soft close sliding door. The door has been developing an intermittent rasping/creaking noise when I initially open it (i.e. as it de-latches) which has now become permanent. The door otherwise operates just fine opening and closing. The noise is so loud that it attracts attention and makes me extremely unpopular on campsites, especially at night. I've discovered that I can largely avoid the noise if I de-latch the door by pressing the lock in with my thumb whilst pressing the door firmly closed with the rest of my hand (or leaning my body against it).

Sadly, VW are wanting a minimum of £600+vat to fix the issue since they claim that they'll need to fully remove the door to gain access to the soft close mechanism. I'm not convinced and suspect the issue is more to do with adjustment or lubrication given that the door otherwise operates perfectly.

I've been trying to isolate the source of the noise myself and it seems to be coming from or near the striker plate of the soft close mechanism - see 1:30 of

Has anyone else experienced this problem or does anyone have an idea what might be causing it? My initial thoughts are that the striker plate mechanism may need adjusting -I've tried greasing it without much luck. In order to adjust it, I'll need to loosen off the screws holding it in place but I'm not sure what tool I need for the screw heads. They look a little like torqs, but seem to have more grooves - some sort of star. Anyone know the name for this type of screw head? Loosening off the striker plate might also let me inject some grease into the actuator mechanism behind the rotating cam on the striker plate which might also be the source of the noise.


Many thanks for any suggestions
Des

 

[mlh677]

Des,

I use the following Spline bits, about £10 online:-

Amtech I8450 11 Piece Spline bit and Socket Set​

1. 
2. 
3. 

As for the soft close motor, I haven't had the problem you describe, though definitely a few things I would look for - assuming that your sliding door is hanging correctly / aligned on its rollers?

You can see in first image the location of motor on my (nearside) door, whereas second image just shows alignment of the latch - probably an obvious point, but worth checking. Third image doesn't add much - just a picture of latch in the 'open' position.

 

[Gavinda]

Can't offer any advice other than the tool you'll need for the screws are known as spline bits, you'll be able to pick a set up from any car parts place or ebay/amazon. There's quite a few used on VW's and other vehicles once you start looking.

 

[Wills]

On the subject of noisy latching. Is the motor supposed to be noisy?

 

[mlh677]

On the subject of noisy latching. Is the motor supposed to be noisy?

I believe that it is noisier on T6 - see video linked by the OP above.

For T6.1, the motor should be quieter - see around the 2.20 mark on below video:-

 

[DesG]

Des,

I use the following Spline bits, about £10 online:-

Amtech I8450 11 Piece Spline bit and Socket Set​

1. View attachment 169258
2. View attachment 169259
3. View attachment 169260

As for the soft close motor, I haven't had the problem you describe, though definitely a few things I would look for - assuming that your sliding door is hanging correctly / aligned on its rollers?

You can see in first image the location of motor on my (nearside) door, whereas second image just shows alignment of the latch - probably an obvious point, but worth checking. Third image doesn't add much - just a picture of latch in the 'open' position.

View attachment 169255

View attachment 169256View attachment 169257

Thanks a million for the reply - very much appreciated.

I'm slowly beginning to understand how the soft-close mechanism works - previously I hadn't realised that the latch had a rotating cam that pulls the door closed. I applied some penetrating oil around the collar of the cam and the rasping noise has almost disappeared, so it looks like I've at least got the right area. Also ordered a spline tool set so will soon be able to play around with latch itself.

Thanks again, will update soon.

 

[Samro]

Thanks a million for the reply - very much appreciated.

I'm slowly beginning to understand how the soft-close mechanism works - previously I hadn't realised that the latch had a rotating cam that pulls the door closed. I applied some penetrating oil around the collar of the cam and the rasping noise has almost disappeared, so it looks like I've at least got the right area. Also ordered a spline tool set so will soon be able to play around with latch itself.

Thanks again, will update soon.

How did you get on with this, once you had a play with the latch itself?

 

[DesG]

How did you get on with this, once you had a play with the latch itself?

I loosened off the latch and squirted a good dose of lithium grease into the mechanism behind. Since I didn't have direct access to the area behind the latch, I was careful not to remove the two screws completely in case anything dropped down behind - someone mentioned that the screws also held the motor in place. I also took the opportunity to p;lay around with the lateral position of the latch to minimise the force needed to close the door. It's been several months now and the door continues to open and close very sweetly! Can't believe VW wanted to charge me around £1k just to investigate this issue.

 

[Samro]

I loosened off the latch and squirted a good dose of lithium grease into the mechanism behind. Since I didn't have direct access to the area behind the latch, I was careful not to remove the two screws completely in case anything dropped down behind - someone mentioned that the screws also held the motor in place. I also took the opportunity to p;lay around with the lateral position of the latch to minimise the force needed to close the door. It's been several months now and the door continues to open and close very sweetly! Can't believe VW wanted to charge me around £1k just to investigate this issue.

Good work. I'll give this a go. Thanks.

 

[Deleted member 2198]

I loosened off the latch and squirted a good dose of lithium grease into the mechanism behind. Since I didn't have direct access to the area behind the latch, I was careful not to remove the two screws completely in case anything dropped down behind - someone mentioned that the screws also held the motor in place. I also took the opportunity to p;lay around with the lateral position of the latch to minimise the force needed to close the door. It's been several months now and the door continues to open and close very sweetly! Can't believe VW wanted to charge me around £1k just to investigate this issue.

Just had the same issue with my van. Found this thread so loosened the two spline screws and liberally sprayed WD40 around the latch cam, all good now. Thanks for posting.

 

[bobbybasic]

Worked for me too. Creaking noise has gone.