Doors Rattle

creak

I have a 2002 GLS Jetta. I love driving the car but the front doors creak and rattle. I have had it in the shop 3 times. They can not find the problem. They have replacedd the door molding, cleaned took the doors apart, cleaned it--it still creaks. Any suggestions?

speedshift

I've got the same problem with my Lincoln LS. I figure it's just the body flexing. If that's it there's not much you can do.

fish8

I have a '02 Jetta and my doors do the exact same thing. 2 different dealers have looked at the car and they both say it normal. I have also driven a Jetta Loaner from the dealer and that car did the same thing. It sounds like just a manufacturing defect. Especially when it gets cold out my doors rattle or creak like crazy. I have tried to use seal moisturizer and it did not help. I am just hoping with age, the noises will go away.

speedshift

Well, with age cars get looser and flex more. I don't see that as a long-term solution. A Passat might be.

krautkarvr6

Take it back and have them check the striker positions on both doors to make sure when you are shutting the doors they are properly secured with the strikers in the right positions. The striker is the metal loop on the car frame that the door latch actually "locks" onto. I am only speculating but these could possibly cause your noises if there is play in the latch. Also have them look at the hinges. There are only FOUR places that the door actually "attaches" to the vehicle. Well five really if you count the wiring harness tubing but I don't since it is rubber and not used to suspend the door to the car. Have them check the hinges to make sure they are solidly secured to the car. Have them lube the metal slide that attaches in the middle of the door between the hinges to make sure this isn't the problem (this piece is there so the door will stay open plus it's really a door stop so the door won't open too far). The only rattle issue with doors I can think of are the window tabs at the top of the door that keep it from rattling when the window is down. These rattles are prominent in older vehicles.
Also, your door creaking and rattling description is vague at best. Are these creaks and rattles occuring at idle or while driving? Does it happen when you open and close the door? Are the windows up or down? Have you had the doors apart prior to these issues......ie aftermarket speakers installed? Does it happen in the heat, the cold or all the time? My door's were fine until after the last summer when all the lube dripped out of the hinges and the doors started creaking when I opened and closed them. I had the dealer lube everything and they are once again fine. I once had a Camaro that only creaked only when I went over large speed bumps. The dealer told me the striker in my driver door was worn and adjusted it. No more speed bump creaking. Let us know about yours.

fish8

My doors creak when I am driving over semi rough road. They are quiet when not driving. I have given up on this battle since the noise really doesn't bother me.

creak

In response to Kraufkarvr6--thank you for the advise. As far as when the creaks and rattle appear. It seems to rattle the most the first 2 miles of driving. Then it gets better and doesn't rattle too much except on rough roads. I live in the country, so I travel rough roads frequently. They have taken the doors apart, they then told me the problem was because I had used armourall and that the friction between that and the plastic in the doors where causing it to rattle. Then they ordered new door stripping, which did seem to help. It stopped the continual rattling, but not the rattling when I first get in the car. The windows are closed. In experimenting, if I drive down the road holding the doors open--they don't rattle, but that is not an option! The rattles appear to be coming from the front, top part of the door as it curves around the roof of the car. Other than the repair shop, nothing has been down to any other part of the car. It only has 5,000 miles on it. Any suggestions are helpful!

fish8

I have the same problem with my car. You would think VW would have some sort of TSB on this that would inform the dealers that the problem is not something caused by the Cust (Armorall). But, I guess VW chooses not to do anything about this annoyance.

krautkarvr6

That mess would drive me crazy. One thing I pride my Jetta on (and I should for what it cost me) is the fact that it is dead silent at speed while driving. And I have had compliments on how nice and quiet it is inside while driving. If I had your rattle problems I would devote my time to finding the issue. Let's face it, it HAS to be something that isn't adjusted properly. I'm sure my doors are assembled with the same exact parts yours are. So do this....as you are driving, start pressing on things once you hear the rattle. You may have to have someone drive the car for you while you do it from the passenger seat or at least get on a road that is free of traffic. Press on the window and see if that stops it. Press on the speaker grill for the tweeter. Stick your fingers as tight as you can into the space between the window and the top of the door. Press on the main speaker grill. Press on the armrest and door handle.
I say I have no rattles at speed but I DID have a rattle from bass speaker vibration in my right door armrest. I have a Monsoon system and during some songs with deep base I was getting a buzz like rattle from the right side of the car. While driving during the song at high volume I leaned over and stuck my index finger right on differnent parts of the door with moderate pressure. Finally I found the culprit. It was the passenger armrest. I got home and tightened it and played the same song again. No more buzzing rattle at high volume. Just some thoughts.

fish8

Believe me, I have pressed on every panel in my car to subdue that noises (rattles) I occasionally experience. When I hear a rattle, the first thing I do is turn off the radio and start the routine........get as close to the noise as possible.......put pressure on panels/dash where rattle eminates from and listen further.....

The good thing(id=f there is a good thing) is that my rattles disappear for periods at a time.

swschrad

clean it with alcohol. somebody posted a few months back about door issues with explorers, and that fixed their issue. worth a try, you've done everything else except fill the doors with concrete.

fish8

I would be afraid that treating the rubber seals with alcohol would eventually dry them out...NO?

I do clean them everytime I wash my car and have even used Zymol Weather Strip Conditioner. It did not help.

swschrad

said that apparently in the explorer that was driving him nuts, there is a certain amount of friction the weatherstripping needed against the door to keep it from rattling.

which sounds a little curious, but if it works....

rubber should not dry out, it's not a water-bearing material. it could de-plasticize and get brittle... it could be attacked by ozone or other pollutants and crumble... or it could be UV sensitive and sun rot... but that won't happen in a day or two. plenty of time to clean it good with rubbing alcohol and clean rags, then take a road trip or two to see what happens. you can re-treat afterwards if it didn't do anything for you.

dspksp4

After being to the dealer three times and still not fixed.(they even took the doors apart and replaced all the innerds) I went to auto zone and bought quality rubber self sticking weatherstripping. Bought the 7/8x9/16 size made by United . Web site www.unitedtape.com. Placed a strip on top edge of door where there is no weatherstripping. Had to do it to all four doors. Problem solved. Doors are quiet like it should be. Had a 2000 jetta that did not have this problem.

swschrad

on a mid-60s plymouth to quiet it down a bit. if I didn't have a near-religious aversion to doing it with a nearly-new truck, I'd damp down the door on my 00 explorer the same way... but I'm going to lean on the door a little first

galogvi

dspksp4 -

Got my '02 1.8T last February and had the "foils" installed by the dealer the day I purchased the car. That solution lasted less than a week. I later installed X-treme Rubber Weatherseal from The Home Depot (3/8"x1/8"). I put it around the top of each door and have had quiet doors since. Although, after many rainy days, I sometimes have to spray a little silicone on the car body's rubber seal, but otherwise, no more problems.

cards28

I have a 2003 Jetta 1.8T and that was one of the things that I noticed after getting it home. The striping at the top door edge was an after thought. I've less than 200 miles (yes, 200 miles)on it because I want to sell my 1992 Camry first. The weather around Chicago hadn't been the best to drive a new car in anyway. Don't have enough miles yet to see what defects are around the corner. There seems to be a lot of dissatisfied owners out there with irritating problems. I can't wait to see what pops up.

cards28

I glad to see that the Door Rattles is now silent. Hay, Hay :-)