How Noisy is Your XC60 T5 at Idle?

raeldor · Oct 3, 2019

I purchased an XC60 T5 but am very disappointed with the amount of engine noise in the cabin. The demo car did not seem to have that much noise, and the dealer has tried numerous things but not been able to help.

I was curious; what are people's noise readings at idle. After the car is warm I get between 47db-48db at idle if I read the meter from the drivers seat right in front of my face. What are others getting? According to this website...

https://www.auto-decibel-db.com/

Even the D4 at idle should be around 43db.

Thanks
Ray

Oceans60R · Oct 3, 2019

They are somewhat noisy. It is a Direct Inject engine and sounds very similar to a diesel. There are acoustic damping covers to help reduce the sound/noise but they are much louder than any previous non-direct injected engine. Considering a quite office is 40db and 50db is backround tv audio and 60db is moderate to quiet, I would say your noise level is a non issue.

comp1 · Oct 3, 2019

raeldor said:
I purchased an XC60 T5 but am very disappointed with the amount of engine noise in the cabin. The demo car did not seem to have that much noise, and the dealer has tried numerous things but not been able to help.

I was curious; what are people's noise readings at idle. After the car is warm I get between 47db-48db at idle if I read the meter from the drivers seat right in front of my face. What are others getting? According to this website...

https://www.auto-decibel-db.com/

Even the D4 at idle should be around 43db.

Thanks
Ray

They are noisy! My biggest gripe about this car is the engine is noisy at idle and upon acceleration. The window glass is also thin as you hear everything around you. Perhaps these are some reasons why people are not buying the XC60. September sales numbers are abysmal (-33.9%).

Lojo · Oct 6, 2019

Measured with some random App (that claims to be calibrated 😂)

T8 inscription ICE idling (T6 like) and A/C off, 46dB on average with some pikes at 51dB

T8 inscription PURE mode standing still and A/C off, 30dB avg and max 44.

Lalin · Oct 6, 2019

raeldor said:
I purchased an XC60 T5 but am very disappointed with the amount of engine noise in the cabin. The demo car did not seem to have that much noise, and the dealer has tried numerous things but not been able to help.

I was curious; what are people's noise readings at idle. After the car is warm I get between 47db-48db at idle if I read the meter from the drivers seat right in front of my face. What are others getting? According to this website...

https://www.auto-decibel-db.com/

Even the D4 at idle should be around 43db.

Thanks
Ray

Very noisy! I complained in other posts about its diesel like sound at idling.
It is certainly by biggest complaint about the car.
Not only noisy at idling but also a lot of engine noise while simply cruising.
If this is the way 2 liter turbo direct engines are, it is my first and last.

Putertech · Oct 6, 2019

Lalin said:
Very noisy! I complained in other posts about its diesel like sound at idling.
It is certainly by biggest complaint about the car.
Not only noisy at idling but also a lot of engine noise while simply cruising.
If this is the way 2 liter turbo direct engines are, it is my first and last.

Sorry to hear its your last, I usually spend time trying various cars before I buy, did you not notice prior to purchase?

FusionRedXC60 · Oct 7, 2019

I test drove a T5 and it seems just normal to me. If you feel it is really noisy, try the demo car at dealer. If it is very different, ask them to fix it.

Lalin · Oct 7, 2019

Putertech said:
Sorry to hear its your last, I usually spend time trying various cars before I buy, did you not notice prior to purchase?

I was debating whether to get the T5 or the T6 so I road tested both before leasing the Inscription T5 but truthfully I was focusing more in the difference between the engines. Also my senses were absorbing the beautiful interior and testing how the 20" wheels would feel so I did not pay attention to the coarseness of the engine at idling or simply accelerating it.
Live and learn.

Lalin · Oct 7, 2019

FusionRedXC60 said:
I test drove a T5 and it seems just normal to me. If you feel it is really noisy, try the demo car at dealer. If it is very different, ask them to fix it.

Somehow the dealers always manage to determine that everything is "normal"...

FusionRedXC60 · Oct 7, 2019

Lalin said:
Somehow the dealers always manage to determine that everything is "normal"...

Then contact Volvo customer support and see what they say.

raeldor · Oct 25, 2019

My issue is similar... At it's noisiest, a sound meter over the dash registers 52db which is WAY too noisy. My local dealers did a lot trying to fix the problem, bless them, but to no avail. However, I have isolated the sound to when seems to be vibration being carried by the upper torque rod (engine mount). When I loosen the nut on the rod the noise goes away. When I tighten it again it comes back. There's actually an 'oscillation damper' on that arm too, so this is obviously a known issue. When I remove that the noise gets worse, and when I put it back it gets better, but even in the 'better' state it's still too noisy. I tried contact Volvo Customer support by email numerous times but received no reply.

rumyn · Oct 25, 2019

raeldor said:
My issue is similar... At it's noisiest, a sound meter over the dash registers 52db which is WAY too noisy. My local dealers did a lot trying to fix the problem, bless them, but to no avail. However, I have isolated the sound to when seems to be vibration being carried by the upper torque rod (engine mount). When I loosen the nut on the rod the noise goes away. When I tighten it again it comes back. There's actually an 'oscillation damper' on that arm too, so this is obviously a known issue. When I remove that the noise gets worse, and when I put it back it gets better, but even in the 'better' state it's still too noisy. I tried contact Volvo Customer support by email numerous times but received no reply.

Interesting.
My torque rod was recently replaced in order to try and fix the vibration (the rod was worn out). Car was not noisy at idle before that.
Now, with the new torque rod it's noisy as hell, and the vibration is a lot worse too.

Bulletinsi · Oct 25, 2019

They are a bit noisy. It is a Direct Inject engine and sounds the same as diesel. Acoustic damping covers prevent the sound/noise to an extent but they are much louder than any previous non-direct injected engine.

lurch70 · Oct 27, 2019

Weird, I find our new 2019 T5 serenely quiet compared our 2016 T5 XC90 ... same engine but clearly better cabin sound insulation than the 90 had.

Xc60nj · Oct 27, 2019

I have a brand new 2020. My wife thought it is a diesel car. Lol.

raeldor · Oct 29, 2019

rumyn said:
Interesting.
My torque rod was recently replaced in order to try and fix the vibration (the rod was worn out). Car was not noisy at idle before that.
Now, with the new torque rod it's noisy as hell, and the vibration is a lot worse too.

That's interesting. It's 100% true that with the torque rod disconnected the noise in the cabin goes away completely. I wonder if this is something where the torque rod needs 'wearing in' to provide better sound insulation?

jpe R · Oct 29, 2019

Ours defenitely sounds like a diesel. We traded our Q7 TDI diesel on the XC60, and the Q7 was quieter!!

raeldor · Oct 30, 2019

So, I found a solution. Firstly, let me say this will only work in the case where the noise is coming into the cabin via the upper torque arm. You can check this by loosening the nut shown here (you will need to remove the oscillation damper above it).

If the rattling sound in the cabin at idle goes away when doing this, then this solution may work for you too. Basically you need to order a second oscillation damper (about $100). It's held on by an M6 bolt. I purchased a longer (65mm) M6 bolt, a nut, and two large 22mm M6 washers. I then affixed the damper to the torque arm directly using the two of the two slits on the torque arm. The slits are quite big, so I used the two washers either side, so it's... damper -> washer -> torque arm -> washer -> nut. Then I tightened it on. It looks like this when done...

This second damper on the arm itself (rather than the mount the arm sits in) seemed to lessen the vibration enough that the rattling sound in the cabin at idle has gone away.

If anyone else gives this a try, or is even able to isolate their sound to the torque arm by loosening the nut, I'd be very interested to hear.

raeldor · Nov 16, 2020

rumyn said:
Interesting.
My torque rod was recently replaced in order to try and fix the vibration (the rod was worn out). Car was not noisy at idle before that.
Now, with the new torque rod it's noisy as hell, and the vibration is a lot worse too.

Just FYI, the 2020 has a newly designed torque rod which I think substantially reduces the engine vibration in to the cabin. If you're game for splashing out $100 to try it out, it's easy to replace. The new part number is 31682684. I put a picture on the thread here...
https://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?631021-Some-2018-vs-2020-observations

robogar · Nov 16, 2020

This is interesting. My T5 seems quiet at idle, but makes a slight buzzing/vibration noise under light acceleration, seems to be coming from drivers side engine bay.

I'm wondering if it's worth pursuing this to see if it helps. Is this a job that can be reversed easily? i.e. if the new part somehow makes things worse I can still swap the old part in?

How Noisy is Your XC60 T5 at Idle?

raeldor

Oceans60R

comp1

Lojo

Lalin

Putertech

FusionRedXC60

Lalin

Lalin

FusionRedXC60

raeldor

rumyn

Bulletinsi

lurch70

Xc60nj

raeldor

jpe R

raeldor

raeldor

robogar

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