erdoc48

I'll preface by stating I've read all threads on Azine for identifying and repairing rattles and I've done the following:
-exterior door trim repair
-investigated glovebox (still rattles if the glovebox is open or closed)
-under the seat repair (where metal contacts metal)
-dismantled the B pillar (no identifiable source, and no change with changing seatbelt slider)
-unbolted the seat (I'd love to drive w/o the pass seat in to see if the source of the rattle is the seat- the best I've been able to do was unbolt it and drive with it unbloted but still wired. I have concerns that if I disconnect the seat and drive the car, I'll trigger an SRS light which will need to be reset at Acura). When unbolted, the rattle seemed to resolve, but I don't think I tested it long enough to be sure. I checked under the seat and all seems well/tight.
-I've removed the inner door panels on the pass side front and rear doors to identify rattle, without success.

I've been investigating this for months (it's been present for ~ nearly 2 years now).

It's definitely on the pass side, sounds like it's coming from the area of the B pillar, is not temperature related, and seems to be most prominent at speed (typically 40-60 mph) and is not bump related (no definite rattle when going over bumps).

I really love the car and it's been extremely reliable, but this single rattle is really annoying. It sounds like a minor tapping, but it's not regular (sometimes present and sometimes not, which adds to the diagnostic dilemma). The only thing I haven't done with the door panels off is take off the white plastic liner, so I'm wondering if I'm missing anything in the body of the door. I also don't think the rattle is from anything external, such as the mirror.

Does anyone know if I remove the seat and trigger an SRS light, does it need to be reset at Acura?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

erdoc48

In the above, I want to clarify that my existing rattle is not related to the glovebox.

buzzkill911

I just purchased my '06 TL a few months ago and spent an incredible amount of time diagnosing and fixing a lot of rattles too. I haven't had a passenger side rattle like yours but do have an intermittent rattle similar to the symptoms of yours in my sunroof area that can sound like it's on the passenger side of the vehicle. My point is that it may not be the seat, some of these noises can come from just about anywhere.

Have you ever had someone else drive the vehicle and you sit on the passenger side or in the back seat?

Will Y.

Is the passenger sun visor clipped into the holder clip? If it's against the holder but not clipped in, it can vibrate and rattle.

I've heard of a couple of cases of rattling due to the internals of the shoulder belt inertia reel. IDK how that is addressed, though, other than pulling the belt all the way out and letting it reel back.

buzzkill911

This is a good point too and here is a link to pics of the remedy:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...eatbelt+rattle

erdoc48

Thanks for the tips. I have checked the visor as well and have sat in both the front and rear seat with a mechanic's stethoscope in an attempt to find the rattle, all with little success. In some cases, taking apart an assembly's seems to temporarily get rid of the rattle, but then it comes back. It kills me because it's the only one, but a persistent, annoying one. I've put all kinds of insulation on the inside of my door panel as well, thinking it was the panel making the noise, but the results were only temporary. I won't take it to the dealership because I'll be charged for something I doubt they'll find.

buzzkill911

I feel your pain. I must have fixed a half dozen rattles in this thing before I finally got it to an acceptable level but it's only a matter of time before the next one happens. I love the TL but I find it hard to believe my Ford Mustang is quieter from a rattle perspective. Good luck and post your solution once you figure it out.

hrod26

OP, are your tires balanced? I bought my '05 with wheels that are out of round/can't be properly balanced. I notice a rattle near my A-pillar at certain speeds/temperatures due to this issue. Note colder temperatures reduce the dampening affects of the tires so unbalance issues will show up more frequently.

erdoc48

Definitely not tire related- whether I have my 3 season tires (Conti DWS) or snows which are on now, I still have the rattle (less noticeable now with the snow tire noise, but still present). I think one of the problems with having a quieter car is that noises that might not be heard in a noisier car are more notable as a distinct sound in a quieter one.

Thanks for the responses.

Will Y.

Remove the sunglasses holder from the passenger door compartment and pull the compartment open to the half-way point--see if that affects the rattle.

G/L.

erdoc48

I should have included this in the original post- I did this as well without a change.

erdoc48

I just wanted to update this thread as I've done a little more investigation regarding my rattle. Most recently, I've tried to bring the car to a 'zero station' condition, that is, progressively removing components and leaving them out (instead of doing them piecemeal and then reassembling without finding a source). What I've removed was:
-the inner door panel
-opened the vapor barrier and tightened the door opener mechanism (made a rattle of its own). I used silicone grease on the mechanism and used a plastic wire tie to quiet a rod that was rattling- affixed it to the inside of the door)
-removed ALL of the plastics of the door sills and the B pillar, completely exposing the seat belt reel and I assume other SRS components in the same area (are encased in foam and are solidly mounted).

As above, it's not the sunglass holder, the visor or anything obvious. Anything else I'm missing? What I was thinking of doing (and I'd have to remove the door panel yet again) is to apply some 'Great Stuff' foam to the inside of the door where the door bolster and door inner skin meet, just in the rare event that there's a break in the weld there that I can't see.

2 other things I noted recently:
-My A-Spec side skirt on the pass side had a little play at it's midpoint, where the plastic attachment point which is held in place by a plastic push pin/rivet was loose against the underside of the car. What I did was use a piece of Camper Tape , made a hole in it, and used ut as a buffer under the car though which the plastic rivet passes. It's now very snug and doesn't rattle, but of course the pre-exisiting rattle continues.

When I had removed all of the interior plastics on the pass side (both front and rear) as well as the B pillar plastics, I see an area of overlap of metal overlying metal, and understand that's a weld point (area of exposed metal just above the seatbelt adjuster mechanism (which I also removed). I read on one of the threads that some have essentially bent the 2 pieces of metal away from each other to avoid a tap/ rattle. I'm not sure I want to do this, and was thinking instead of placing a small piece of metal (maybe like a flat washer) in this space in case that's the source (it actually sounds like it's coming from the posterior door).

I've done (as far as I can tell) everything in the rattle fix arsenal. I was thinking about getting the doors treated with Dynamat, but I'd hate to spend the cash, and have it not fix the problem.

Also, my window feels nice and tight in the window lift frame (not sure what you call it), and even with the window cracked open, the rattle is still there (unchanged).

As I had mentioned, it is speed related (there at generally 40 mph or more) and is an irregular rattle/ tapping sound. It is NOT bump related.

I know there may not be too many responses to this, but I'm out of ideas and just want to know if I missed anything. I've also removed my glovebox and the surrounding plastics, so that you know how completely I've dismantled everything.

Sorry it's long winded, and thanks for any help you can give.

erdoc48

I got so tired of the rattle and did everthing that I stated in this thread- I gave up and took the car to Acura (Elite Acura). The technician told me this AM there was a missing screw in the pass side front wheelwell, and he noticed the rattle after a test drive. He replaced it and hadn't noted the rattle again. I picked up the car this morning, took it home, and it's rattle free (seems very plausible as it had a speed related rattle, and at speed, there was likely some movement of the wheel well plastics from air movement). There was only the diagnositc charge for this ($60) so it was a win all around. I needed the front pass window regulator replaced and the window channels are part of the repair as well. I was happy to pay for it as it's the only repair (other than covered warranty repairs and maintenance) that I've had to pay for.

The moral of the story is that the rattle that sounds like it's coming from an obvious source may be from a completely remote / different source. I can't believe I've dealt with this for so long. A big to Elite Acura for finding this!!!

The car was in the shop for a few days, so I was given a TL non Tech (2013) as a loaner. I was never really a fan of the 4G TL by looks, but I have to admit, it has grown on me. I love the features (even in the non Tech car, such as the Bluetooth audio), and it rides really well. Power is excellent as well (I'm sure there's a lot of people here that will state they need the 3.7 AWD version) but it's more than enough for me. If I was to get a new one, the non Tech 3.5 would be more than enough car for the way I drive. I was really pleased with it as a loaner.

That said, I really love my 3G again. I'm so glad to have it back, and I hope it remains rattle free for the long term. Next, I plan on installing a Bluetooth module to my USA Spec adapter so I can use Pandora via BT (I can plug it in now, but I love not having to do so). Plus, it's paid off, so nothing beats a payment free ride.

Cheers!

erdoc48

I'm not trying to bump this thread, but a minor development occurred that I'd like to share. I had 1/2 day of what I thought was rattle free driving, but the B pillar rattle returned. Instead of heading back to the dealership, I did some reading on Azine, and saw that some with the A Spec side skirts complained that the skirts seemed loose.

What I did yesterday was to completely remove my pass side skirt (very easy) and on inspection, the small rubber flat squares that act as a buffer between the white holding clips and the lower car body are garbage (too thin), so it didn't surprise me at all the potential for rattling here. I used 1/8" thick vinyl Camper Tape, cut into squares through which I placed the white clips (made a hole in the squares of tape), then put these back on the A Spec skirt. This way there is a vinyl pad buffer between the skirt and car body. After reinstallation, I drove at multiple speeds yesterday, and the car is silent.

The reason for writing is to let everyone know that the B pillar rattle that lots of us have may be from a very occult source (the side skirt), and may not even be from inside the car. I know as I've done lots of disassembly on my TL, and found this nearly 2 years after my rattle started.