[raeldor]

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

 

[raeldor]

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.

 

[raeldor]

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?

 

[raeldor]

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]

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

 

[raeldor]

Hmm, sounds like a slightly different issue, but it MAY help. You can definitely swap the old part back in easily. Are you talking about the 'growling' sound the engine makes under acceleration? Interestingly the new B5 does not have that 'growling' sound, but I can confirm that this upper torque mount does not fix that problem.

 

[raeldor]

I wouldn't say I specifically noticed any reduction in road noise, but I was mainly measuring the overall noise in the cabin with a db meter (hardware one, not phone app). I am pretty sure most of, if not all, the noise reduction was from the engine vibration. As for drivetrain lash, I don't even know what that is, sorry.

 

[raeldor]

Thanks for your impressions so far. Lash refers to the sensation of drivetrain movement which is mostly felt in jerkiness in your throttle control, especially when you get on and off the throttle abruptly. Significant drivetrain lash, sometimes accompanied by premature motor mount failure, is often a biproduct of very soft motor mounts when a manufacturer tries to hide a thrashy motor behind a lot of rubber isolation points in order to make a car seem more refined.

I haven't noticed any excessive jerkiness, even when being a little aggressive on the throttle. Though maybe I'll put my old mount somewhere safe just in case.