Hey guys,

I love my new car but I'm very disappointed in the rattles I'm getting. There are two separate places where I'm getting this problem. One is on the top left corner of the passenger airbag. It rattles and vibrates when I am sitting at a stoplight and when I drive on a slightly bumpy road. Also someplace in the passenger side back seat, around the plastic armrest (below the window). That one is more like a clicking than a rattle. It does it on a slightly uneven pavement, witch we have a lot of in MN.

This is very disappointing for a 33k car. Has anyone else had this problem, and had the dealer fix it? I won't get to worked up about receiving a bad car until they give it one shot at fixing it.

Any advice or experience is appreciated...

 

take it back... I recall snapping the airbag cover in place. It looked like it was raised a bit and I put pressure on it and it popped back on.

 

get used to it....the CL-S is a god-damned RATTLE MONSTER...my 10 month old CL-S has been in the dealer 3 times for different rattles, and i also spent a few days during the summer fixes some rattles on my own.....most others (the GREAT majority) have similar rattling issues.....all i can say is GET USED TO IT!!!!


watch for the most common rattles:

-rear parcel shelf
-3rd break light
-passanger side under dash, in front of door
-seats (rattle or sqeak)
-sunroof (this one happens on 100% of the cars, acura has a TSB on how to fix it
-center of dash, deep within (this one is slightly less-common than the others but it has been documented.

and there are others i cant name off the top of my head right now

the good news is most can be permenantly fixed by the dealer or yourself, the bad news is....its very time consuming and its a pain in the ass and YES, a 33k car shouldnt have this shit....but oh well.

 

My TL-S had a rattle somewhere near the right front vent. I brought back to the dealer and he fixed it.

 

OK, so do they need to test drive it and then have for a full day?

 

The 2nd one is most likey because your seat belt isn't BEHIND the rear seat lever (which you use to get in the back). If its in front it rattles against the car. I had this bothering me also till I found that. lol!

 

0 rattles here.


02 Models and above have alot more sound deading material in them to help with the rattles. But I had 2 fixed when it was new, and its been fine since.

12k of miles, 1 year later. None

 

mine is a 2002 and even with the sound deadening material....she still rattles...oh, and by the way, add springs and swaybars and it only gets WORSE!!!!

 

I have springs And some of the worse streets in the US are here.

 

I noticed this too. Easy fix!

 

no offence dude, but either you are deaf and cant hear the rattles or you are so used to them that you are able to just tune them out....im sorry but i dont believe for one second that any CL-S that has more than 1,000 miles on it doesnt have ANY rattles what-so-ever...id be willing to bet top dollar that if i was to drive around in your car, i could identify at least 2-3 rattles that you apparently dont hear....maybe you just arent picky enough...but i dont beleive in a CL-S with no rattles that hasnt been to a dealer MULTIPLE times or had the interior ripped apart a few times to fix the damn rattles. i have riden in or driven about 6-7 differnet CL-S and EVERY SINLGE one has some rattles..some are worse than others but every single CL-S ive ever ridden in or driven has had some rattles, i dont think there are more than 5 people here that would "claim" to not have any rattles...

 

See my thread about the air bag cover coming loose. Oh, and my car rattles alot too, especially the sunroof.

 

Well, I am on eof the most picky guys you will ever meet. My car is never dirty, and the body shop had my car back at least 3 times fixing tiny stuff I found. Rattles, I made my list, got them fixed. I have no rattles. I listen to the radio, but also have it off alot listening for more noises. But then maybe my HKS exhaust is causing me not to hear them. I also have subs, but like I said, when stereo is off, no rattles. My Maximas had many rattles some I could not fix. Trust me, the car has no rattles. Because other have rattles why you think I should? Some cars are put together a bit better.

 

Mine only rattles in temperatues 50 (ish) and below. And really it's the dash doing it. Im taking it back in for the winshield that leaks water and the dash next service. (it not the original windshield)

 

haha that's exactly what I said at 12k miles. Give it some time. I've got 18k now on my 02' and every other day I'm getting a new rattle. I drove with the front passenger seat folded up today because the rattling was driving me nuts. I've got one deep in the centrer of the dash that also pisses me off but whatcha gonna do..the car has very tight suspension and low profile tires so it's gonna get more rattles than your average family sedan. BMW must have rattle engineers because those things are amazingly rattle free. I had a 96' z3 and i can't remember a single rattle/squeak on that car.

 

03 Cl-S Auto... drive it pretty hard... no rattles so far... 3200 miles

 

I got 'em. Had them in my '01 TLP, and have them in my '03 CLS6. The rear passenger one is REALLY annoying!!! Anyone know the fix???

Thanks,

-devnull

 

There are really no fixes for rattles..... they are itermittent, and hard to reproduce and point out the location.... They also increse/decrease with temperature.

I've been fighting rattles for a long time, sun roof and rear deck was fixed under warranty.... this helped a little, but still rear dash or something in the trunk rattles a little...

Now my glow box rattles when I drive over bumps ( even small bumps ).... something clicks ... very anoying, and makes me mad.... I might try to complain to the dealer, but doubt they will do anything.... and I dont blame them, they won't probably know where it is....

The fact is, our cars have cheap build ( manufacture is trying to save $$$ by puting cheap materials or materials that are not precise in their specifications, or lacking some insulator materials ).

But don't get upset, we are not alone.... I felt relieved when my friend told me that his 2001 Maxima SE rattles in the glove box as well ( different sound, but drives him nuts ). American cars? They are the worst... so lets not even go there...

Also, you our cars have tight suspension, so they are expected to rattle more than a soft suspension car....

BMW is probably the best, their build is bullet proof (almost).... So you will find little less rattles in BMW... But from what I heard, they are cutting costs also, and starting to use cheaper matterials in lowe end models (300 series). so don't be suprised if those things rattle as well...


I'd say get over your rattles, you are not the only one... if you can complain to the dealer, if they fix it - good, don't fix it - live with it!! it's not a big deal really...... you driving 30K car, what do you exepct? You got to go into 50K range to notice a difference....

 

im not with ya on the diss against american cars as rattle monsters....i NEVER EVER had a rattling problem with my 1991 buick lesabre, my 1996 camaro, or my 1997 4x4 chevy blazer. my CL-S is by far worse than any of my previous cars, hell, even my old 1973 mustang didnt rattle this much

 

You comparing Buick lesable or 4x4 blazer to CLS??? They are soft suspension, its like big sofa..... ofcourse you won't hear any rattles...

I don't see to many american cars with tight suspensions(ofcourse there are some), if you want tight you go with german or japanse.

 

Heck my 95 Z-28 vibrated and rattled like hell--of course putting in a 383 and huge exhaust didn't help! But alot of rattles have to do with temperature and humidity. Especially seals like around the sunroof. I know mine rattles when it is cold, and diminshes on a warm sunny day.

 

The sun/moonroof rattle has a TSB and is a known problem that the service dudes will fix.

Let the service manager know when you take your car in for service. They'll fix it. No biggie.

 

What about glove box / passenger air bag location rattles?

People said to put foam tape inside the fuse box, but I have no idea how to do it...

 

BTW, 2003 CL-S with 7500 miles.

Had the moonroof rattle develop when temp went below 40 and someone was in the passenger seat. Dealer fixed it under warranty; no questions asked. The teflon tape works well and the thing is silent.

Other rattle was the passenger seatbelt if it was hanging on the seat lever. Just moved it off; no rattles now.

Oh, and I'm extremely picky when it comes to rattles. I've had none of the other rattles that y'all mention in these forums.

 

Guys,

My '02 TL-S ... rattles like a Ford/Pontiac .. you name it ..

THe only cars that don't rattle in MY book from my experience.. my '94 Lex ES300, my '91 Camrys'....

Toyota knows what's up, no one else seems.

 

I have the SAME rattle/clicking under the passenger airbag... it's the most annoying thing because now everytime I drive that car, i LISTEN for it and I'm paranoid about it... so I'm forced to go deaf by cranking my subpar bose audio system.

True, the Type S's are a lotta car for the money... but hell, I have a feeling that if I know what the hell to do to remove my dashboard and put it back together the right way, I'd be able to eliminate most of 'em on my own w/ some styrofoam wrap and some other foam/felt products. My car would be as silent as a well-built Lexus...

 

I've got one deep in the center dash also, i only hear it when i turn sharp left or right, how about you ?

 

i have a 2k3 with 4k miles on it and dont notice any rattles or noises at all, but then again my last car was a jeep with 35in tires mud tires on it and a soft top that was loud i wouldnt be surprised if i didnt some rattles that might be apparent to others, i have noticed my drivers door sqeakes sometimes when its cold out and i open and shut it