Volkswagen: VW 6-disc stereo 98, rear shock absorbers, fm mode

Question
I have a 98 Jetta with a 6-disc cd changer.  For about 2 months I have noticed that the cd's have been skipping more than usual as well as I can sometimes hear a "ticking" or "knocking" sound come from the speakers. Ti also tends to distort some of the vocals in the music. Yet, when I turn the volume down, the noise disapears. I have checked the wires in the back seat as well as the wires near the changer and they all look fine.

I have also blasted the system, which is in the trunk, with air to clean it out and vacuumed the trunk to get rid of any dirt or particles harmful to the system.  At first, the system seemed great, there was no skipping and no noises.  Yet, today it is back to the noises again.    

Any next steps?  Do VW's of this type tend to have this problem?  

Answer
Hi Jill,

Just a couple of questions, so I can help you out:

1) Do speakers ever make the tick/knock sound when on casette mode?

2) "" on AM mode?

3) "" on FM mode?

Did you change where you drive to within the last 2 months, i.e. a more bumpy road?

4) Push the back of your car up and down (kind of like 'bouncing' it and get some good momentum.   Let go, the car should go up 1X and settle a bit lower.   If it keeps bouncing more than once, even slightly,  you need new rear shock-absorbers.   Bad shocks will cause your CD's to skip, as it can't handle hitting bumps if they are in need of replacement.

Let me know the results of the 4 steps,  don't worry - we'll figure it out.

Ron