Aegir

I fixed a rattle/popping sound that I think several others have described. It was coming from the upper door trim and was becoming pretty annoying. When I pressed against the trim I could hear it squeak and pop. The trim is easy to loosen. From the outside, just get your fingers under the window seal, pull down on the trim and push in. The trim will pop loose so you can get to it. I didn't completely remove it, just loosened it for access.



Next pic is of the unmodified trim. You can see where some dinky patches of useless white felt had been added. I guess Acura knew it was a potential noise generator. Why skimp on felt? No problem, easy to fix.



My weapon of choice is adhesive backed felt sheets. Got them at Walmart for $0.88 each. I cut a few strips about 3/8" wide. I left the paper backing on - it was easier to work with this way. I put it in next to the foam, ensuring that it followed the contour of the curve to cover the white felt pieces.



The trim just pops right back into place. Make sure the weatherstriping doesn't get pinched anywhere. I did both front doors. I haven't heard any noises from the back doors, so I didn't mess with them. Results were great, no more rattles or popping sounds from the area. I hope this works for others who may be getting this particular noise.

rets

I checked out my car, yes, it's easy to remove and insert the felts. Great info.

Thanks for your detailed info and pictures.

Lore

Aegir,

I've been having this problem and it's annoying as all hell, since it sounds like it's coming from the window which seems difficult to fix You removed the "hard/firm" trim right? That's what it appears like from your photos.

I've tried removing the softer, more flexible trim and putting felt on that area where it contacts the window but it actually made it worse.

What's the brand/name/sku of that stuff you bought from Walmart? I want to make sure I'm armed with the right stuff before I drive all the way to WM.

Aegir

Yes, the hard trim. I'm not sure what the name brand was on the felt. It came in plastic packaging and I threw it out a few weeks ago. I found it in the fabric/craft area. I'm sure it's pretty generic - available at most any craft or fabric store.

Dlev

Lore,

I know you've described the same problem I had and I was able to fix it this weekend. with the window down, standing outside the car, press on the area in the top right of the window where the window slides into. it's a rubber piece in the corner that you can press on. if it makes the noise that you get while driving then this is an easy fix.

I had initially tried putting felt and other things under that rubber piece butt it didn't work. You have to pull the entire trim out of the corner, it goes back in easy, and then you realize that that corner rubber piece is a flap and makes the sound when rubbing against the piece below it. I simply took some silicone based gasket grease and smeared it on the backside of that flap, and put the whole thing back. It's been two days now with about 10 degrees change in temp and it appears the problem is gone, I still get some noises hear and the there, but not the same noises as before, not nearly as loud, and not as often. Hope this helps you or anyone else with this problem.

Also if anyone is having creaking noises coming from the auto -shifter area. you can take some teflon tape and slide it all around that opening between the two shifter holder pieces, you need to push it in with something thin (I used a piece of transparency paper) completely stopped the creaking, and even when I touch that area while driving they don't move around like they used to.

Dlev

Norse396

This is THE most useful thread I've read in a long time, thanks for posting it! I'll try it when it stops raining out here.

neuronbob

Thank you very much, Aegir. This is an excellent thread.

dheel

I hear a noise that seems to be located somewhere in driver front door area. It's kinda sounds like a metal-like rattle vibration. Can hear it mostly on rough asphalt. I know my description isn't all that good, but does anyone have any idea what this may be.

Lore

Dlev,

I think you're talking about the flap thing on the upper right side of the window (the side closest to the seat belt), right? If so, I've tried a myriad of things including putting some foam tape there but that didn't help (made things worse). I tried what Aegir suggested but haven't driven enough to see if it made a difference yet.

What is considered the "backside" of the flap? Surely not the side that touches the window, right? I'm assuming you mean the side that touches the rest of the window trim/seal? And where do you find silicone based gasket grease?

MSF2

Dlev,
If you could....elaborate a little more about the creaking around the shift knob. What is teflon tape, and transparency paper? Where did you get them and did you have to cut the tape to make it fit in wherever it was you put it?
I have the same noise.

Dlev

Yes, you are correct, not the side that touches the window. I was only able to get behind the flap by pulling out the entire trim out of the corner. I found the greese at my lab, I would imagine that something similiar could be found at a hardware store. Just make sure it's silicone because it's the most inert and won't harm anything.

Dlev

So it's not the shift knob, but the two plastic trim pieces that make up the shifter housing. you have the outer metallic colored square piece that sits on the carbon fiber, and then the inner square with the gates for the shifter. THese two pieces were producing a constant creaking sound for me when I was driving, some days worse than others, and I could feel them flex and creak if I lightly put my fingers on them while I was driving. It is that very thin seem where the two pieces meet that I shoved the teflon tape in all the way around.

Teflon tape is a white tape like material, not sticky, but slippery, used mainly to wrap around threads on screws to make them screw in easier. You can get it at auto store of hardware store. I just cut a piece of copy machine transparency to push the tape down into the opening so it wasn't visible.

Dlev

Dlev

let me know if you have trouble identifying the back of the flap. The best thing to do is once you've pulled the trim out, reach into that corner where the window would go and you should be able to pull back that corner piece with your finger, and it pulls out as a triangular flap, it's the back side of this that you want to coat. you might be able to get away with putting foam or felt in there instead of greese, but that was just what I used.

Aquineas

So what's the verdict after a week or so... does this fix actually work?

Lore

I put felt tape all around the hard trim areas (like the photos above) and actually pulled the paper backing to ensure the felt didn't move. That said, it still creaks and rattles slightly, so now I'm thinking it's the headliner area by the "oh shit!" bar. Thoughts?

Motoracer

Has anyone taken this complaint to their dealer yet? I'm planning to do this when my first oil change comes up. For $32K I don't think I should have to stuff aftermarket felt strips into the window trim.

I wonder if we'd get any useful response from Acura if everyone on the list who has the problem co-signed a group letter to them asking for a definitive fix?

Osteoman

http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80513

Good post here. Lore hope this link helps your "oh-shit" bar squeaks. The fix I did as described in this link has worked very well. I have no squeaks from the headliner anymore at all.

TimC

I tried it myself and it works great. Now to the passenger side door. Used felt with adhesive backing, and cut 4 inch strips by 1/2 inch. I will let the dealer check out the truncnk knock

Lore

Mine started popping again this week so last night I put some more felt in. Originally I only put it on the side with the white felt but didn't put any on the "bottom" of that trim. This time I started putting some on the bottom as well...

Did you guys get the cushy foamy tape or felt tape? The cushy foamy tape is the stuff that was already in the trim when you removed it the first time.

Aegir

I used felt tape.

dwcolt

I found that 3M foam weatherstripping from Home Depot was a perfect fix. It comes precut in a roll of about 30 feet worth of material cut to approximately 1/4 inch width with a very slight stickiness to it. It unrolls and fits just perfectly in the channel and the entire fix took about 2 minutes total for both doors- absolutely no noise afterwards and the weatherstripping was about $4.

thanks for a very useful thread!

Neogeek

hey did all that have this problem have tint on their car? I am running into the same problem and the dealer is saying that it is because i have a tinted car.

thanks

Lore

Nope, no tint. The clicking and rattling in this area sucks, even with the fix!

dcarlinf1

Yep, only partially solved my rattles. Tint has nothing to do with it unless your door panel was removed and re-installed poorly in order to install the tint.

rets

I'm going to do this today...





Edit: Done. 5 mins for two front doors.

Goldglv

This thread has nothing to do with the rattling from the driver's door where if you crack the window a bit the rattling goes away, does it? I'm having a lot of noise coming from what seems to be the door panel itself, not the upper door trim. Thanks guys.

rets

Ok, I copied two photos here to explain what rattles I successfully got rid of by applying Aegir's DIY method. (Thanks Acura.com and nguyent281's pics)



The circle location continued to rattle.





The circle place had serious rattle in past weeks, and the only way to stop the rattle was to press one of those two triangle locations.



Now, they're all gone...

MSF2

Rets-nice post. I have a few questions: in your photo how did you fix the noise coming from the lower door panel (bottom triangle)? I've tried this fix but I'm not sure I'm using the right stuff. Please describe the felt you used and where you found it. I've been using some rigid felt used to keep futniture from scratching floors. It doesn't work well.
Thanks!

Novice

Yes, rets. What type of felt tape did you use? Thickness? Please?

s54

Rets, did this work for you? I want to make sure we have the same issue: mine is an infernal popping noise (like bubble wrap) that seems to come from the headliner about 8:00 from the left side of the driver's side grab handle.

Does the fix described in this thread address that type of popping?

I have litterally had the dealer try four separate times to fix this popping noise and I am supposed to go back Tuesday to work on it with them. Thanks,

S

Novice

I finally took care of this problem once and for all. I bought some weatherstrip from a local Home Depot (about half inch wide with adhesive backing). Make sure you don't buy a roll with really thick foam. I removed the most of the plastic molding around the door frame. I covered every inch of the frame with the foam tape and also put little pieces of foam tape on the metal frame where little orange clips secure rubbor seals. If the plastic frame doesn't snap into the right place, try to push it up from all angles.

Good luck.

rets

MSF2, Novice, s54,

Sorry, I missed this thread and didn't see your questions.





Novice, I used the similar felt as you have got, but your felt could be thicker and better. Mine was the leftover from my friend's moleskin.





MSF2, as for "bottom triangle" issue, as I said I have to press there to stop my upper frame rattle. But if you have rattle from that "bottom triangle" area, prolly it's caused by here

Do you have tint or ever remove your door panel? Make sure they assemble it back well and tight. I have to press that pink circle area to make the rattle stop. Annoying.





s54, your description is not what I was fixing over here, this fix would help those popping sound from the upper frame, and maybe it could help the whole window frame.

Actually, my dealer fixed that (the issue you mentioned) for me, but they never told me how and why. If getting any info from my dealer, I'll reply to you again.

Goldglv

rets,
So you still have a rattle where you circled in pink?

rets

Right, I thought my dealer and tint guy fixed that 2 months ago. Now, after getting rid of my window/door frame issue, I hear "new" rattle again. Usually, when I tighten up some places, other places will start to rattle. (For example, the dealer fixed my glovebox, then my central speaker starts to rattle.)


So far, I'm not sure if rattle is really coming out of that pick circle, but it will disappear once I press there. I have to figure it out...

s54

I am going to vent a bit but would appreciate any ideas/thoughts you have:

Bought my 04 TL in late Feb and have had it in now 7-8 times to fix various issues: I'm on my third set of new tires due to vibration/flat-spotting issues, which were only fixed when they put Michelins on. I have also had numerous rattles/pops, most of which have been fixed, except for one.

Using the fix in this thread I tried to eliminate the popping noise from the driver's/passenger side headliner, but could not fix it. Today I went to the dealer, which has worked on this same issue five times, and they told me they have done everything they could, including taking apart the b-pillar, removing the headliner and calling Acura TechLine. Now they want to bring in the regional rep to see if he can fix it.

This does not likely qualify technically as a lemon, but I cannot afford to spend any more time at the dealer (takes 60 minutes round-trip). I have a very bad taste in my mouth about this whole situation.

Other than selling it (I'd take a bath and I like it) do you have advice??? I am at my wit's end and this is the final straw. Have you heard of Acura working out a deal in extreme situations?

S

Goldglv

I haven't really heard of Acura working out any kind of 'deals' but who knows, especially since your car has been in there so often. What issues have you had that they fixed?

s54

I have had two sets of replacement Bridgestones and now Michelins (3 separate visits), two separate visits to rectify the 60-70MPH vibration, they replaced all four rims, fixed the sun visor rattles, replaced the seat memory controller, and attempted to fix the headliner popping noise five separate times (still unresolved).

S

TBone2004

Rets,

Did this fix take care of it? I guess I have a similar rattle - it sounds closer to the front of the driver side window (closer to the front of the car - right by that triangle pice of trim for the window) - if I lower the window slightly - very slightly so not to get muffled out by wind - it goes away. Just started happening at 18,000 miles.

TB

rets

TB,

For the upper frame rattle of my case, this fix is helpful. Actually I tried two different type of felts, the felt in my first try was too "thin", so I replaced them with thicker ones.

(Some ppl reported this fix doesn't work for them. )


As for the rattle on the spot closer to the front, I'm not pretty sure if this fix could help. I have to find the longer piece of felts and run it again. I have the different rattle coming out of the inside of that triangle piece, in my case, I guess it's fricative between door and instrument panel or vent.

nednj36

any fix to your lf window/door rattle? I have the same rattle and it drives me nuts. it goes away when I crack the window open slightly

thanks