I have a rattle in the driver door that is intermittent, but really drives me crazy. I have had in in to the dealer three times and they cannot find it. It sound almost like the window rattle (metal on glass sound), and it goes away as soon as put gentle pressure on the door panel just below the window.

Any suggestions? has anyone else had this problem?

 

I have the same rattle in my car, and the dealer can't fix it. They thought it was a bolt at the base of the window but it wasn't that.

I've since just given up. Until i get the time to take the door panel apart myself i've just been living with it

 

Thanks for the reply... must be a fairly common issue. I hate rattles, and I will hunt this one down. I will let you know if I come up with a fix.

 

goredcar, I've got asimiliar rattle that the dealership thought they could fix by lubing the seals. I seemed to work for awhile, but now it's back. I'm not sure if it's the same rattle tho'.

My newest door rattle is sounds almost like static on the radio. If I open the window or put pressure on the window when it's closed, it goes away. I'm going to put matchbooks in the crack to see if I can quiet it up and then leave the matchbooks there so the techs know wtf is up...

 

I can' believe that in a car of this calibre that there would be problems like this that the dealer can't fix. I had quite a discussion with the service manager and he told me that thre are a number of adjustment on the pressure the window motor exerts on the window for final closing seal. If the pressure is too much it will "tension" the whole frame distorting it sligltly and potentially allowing it to come into contact with door handle linkage. So, it seems to me that the know what the damn problem is... so what is the F'ing problem in fixing it the first time?

I have also found that as soon as you bring the window down just a simdge, the rattle dissapears... so this is consistent with the windo pressure theory.

 

Just confirming that when I bring the window down a little the rattle disappears too. I'll have to mention it the the service rep then next time I bring it in...

 

Just noticed that you're in canada... You might have a rattle like mine, but I don't have a low windsheild wiper fluid indicator like you cunucks do

 

The driver and passenger door rattles are from the seals but it's not how you think. From the doors being open and shut over and over, the top of the door starts to bend outward (remember, it's only aluminum).

Here's the fix.

Be very careful doing this!!!!!!

Roll your windows all the way down. Open the drivers door will sitting in the driver seat. Turn your whole body left 90 degrees (still sitting in the drivers seat but with both feet on the ground). Pull the door closed until it rest on your knees (still with your feet on the ground). Grab the top of the door by the very top and gentle pull that part of the door towards you. Don't try to do too much at once. Do a little and test it to see if you still have the sqeaks. You don't want to bend it too far and cause creases in your door panels.

 

I've only got 25K miles on my car, and I've had the rattle since about 15K miles. I'm going to give this a try anyways tho', and will report back in the middle of next week...

 

damn dude...nice tip...
classic "door adjustment" technique. fyi this is how we got rid of squeaks and rattles at the ford truck plant in jersey....it also involved a large mallet too

 

You're kidding... you don't have a low washer fluid indicator? I don't get that at all. Do they figure that we only use washer fluid in the great white north?

 

[QUOTE=Red-CL]The driver and passenger door rattles are from the seals but it's not how you think. From the doors being open and shut over and over, the top of the door starts to bend outward (remember, it's only aluminum).

Here's the fix.

Thanks Red CL... I will give it a try... but I can't figure out how this will help. What is rattling? the door frame? and how come outward pressure makes the rattle dissapear?

Thansk for the tip though... I will try anything

 

Nope, not kidding at all... I saw a pic of a Canadian members dash, and saw the light. We don't have 'em in the USA, and I used to like having that on my old ford....

 

Well, I tried Red-CL's suggestion and it seems to work (at least on my drive to work). It was a little cool this morning, so I'll see if it's "still good" when I go out for lunch.

I "pulled" the door twice this weekend. The first time, just a little. Went for a ride, and the creak was still there. 2nd time I applied a bit more steady pressure (nice and even no jerking), and it looks like it helps. Let's see how long it lasts...

 

It does indeed work. I have noticed a difference. No rattle/creak except for when I hit teh big bumps. Hafta give it a little more next time I think of it.

 

Congrats.

Glad it worked out for you. I do mine at least once a year.

 

Hi Red CL... I have tried your technique a number of times and I think that my rattle must be a different one because it does not help... in fact, I just got back yesterday form highway trip (3 hours) and I coud hear that damn buzzing even when I went over the cracks in the pavement. If anything, I thnk that it might be worse.

I also keep my tires inflated to the max. I am running ES 100's and was told by the dealer that performance tires should always be inflated to the maximim to get the best performance. So... tight tires also translates into more road vibration transmitted to the car.

 

I had a rattles everywhere when my 2001 CL-S was new including the driver door and in the back seat area. I pulled the driver door panel and wrapped foam padding around everything including the wiring and locking mechanism. I replaced all the door panel clips with new ones. No more door rattles. Also, I had a rattle with third brake light and stuffed foam under it. Finally, I pulled all the the rear side panels and foamed everything that was loose and replaced all the clips. It still may be rattling, but I can't hear it.

 

Allenn... thanks... I suspect that I am going to have to do the same. Any tricks to getting the door panel off? I assume you bought new door clips before you started.

I am sure loose shit behind the door is the problem because as soon as I put light pressure on the door panel the rattles dissapear.

BTW - do (did) you also have rattles from your arm rest? I have this only when my arm is on it... so I just don't put my elbow on it. Kind of a pain in the ass as I really like using the arm rest. It doesn't seem ot matter whether it is slid forward or not.

 

I used a SnapOn tool that is made to pull trim panels. You can probably use a big flat screwdriver. I had all of the replacement clips and foam before I embarked on this project. Keep in mind that the car was new when I did the padding thing. You need to be very careful, because the plastic gets brittle with age. I pulled the console and rear seat when I did the rear side panels and third brake light. I think your arm rest problem will go away once you pad and replace the panel clips. Silence is golden. Good luck!