Interior creaks and rattles

[Vikings71]

Ok, so I decided to give something else a try. I ordered some self adhesive velvet sheets and 1mm thick felt. If this all works out and anyone wants to do the same, I can link to exactly what I bought off Amazon for this.

After taking the door apart again I did notice that the foam washers I made really did get squashed down, so I created some new ones from the 1mm thick felt that I got, I have a feeling these will hold up much better and not crush like the foam. At the same time I decided to replace the paper ones as well with the felt. Getting those out was easy, but putting the felt back in was more of a challenge since they are much thicker. With a little patience and creativity those are all replaced.
View attachment 12975

Now here is where the velvet comes in. I am cutting strips to line all of the surfaces that come into contact with the door card and could potentially rub along the vinyl.
View attachment 12976

This is pretty much where I am trying to avoid any contact on the door card
View attachment 12977

Lastly, since I had it apart again, I decided to put some of the velvet along the tabs that lock the top piece onto the door itself. There are 9 of these areas that I did. I had only started when I took the photo.
View attachment 12978

Once this is all back together and I have some time with it I'll update this to let everyone know if it has really solved anything. Now it could take a little time to report back any success/failure since I am still having issues after the engine replacement and it's going back to the dealer Monday morning for that again.

This sounds like as good of a plan as anything. If it works, I would take the Amazon links. Good luck with engine problems!

 

[Lightning Struck]

I think I'm going to give this a shot. I thought my rattle was from the roof rack, but the g/f listened for it, and she thought it was coming from around the front seatbelt area. Sound travels pretty easy, so I figured why not give this a shot. I'm going to 3D print up some TPU(soft rubber) spacers. 24 of them only take 40min to print, so why not.

 

[Vikings71]

I think I'm going to give this a shot. I thought my rattle was from the roof rack, but the g/f listened for it, and she thought it was coming from around the front seatbelt area. Sound travels pretty easy, so I figured why not give this a shot. I'm going to 3D print up some TPU(soft rubber) spacers. 24 of them only take 40min to print, so why not.

Funny you mention it, I did have a rattle in my seatbelt area in my 2015 Explorer, but not in my 2021. I ended up taking it apart and shoving some foam in there. I took one of my back doors apart again this weekend and added more foam in any spot plastic touched plastic, especially where the sunshade attaches to the door panel. I even put some Sil-Glyde Lubricating Compound on some spots that I couldn’t fit foam in to hopefully reduce any friction. I will try to post pictures later when I do the other door, if this made a difference at all.

 

[mezalu]

Ok, so I decided to give something else a try. I ordered some self adhesive velvet sheets and 1mm thick felt. If this all works out and anyone wants to do the same, I can link to exactly what I bought off Amazon for this.

After taking the door apart again I did notice that the foam washers I made really did get squashed down, so I created some new ones from the 1mm thick felt that I got, I have a feeling these will hold up much better and not crush like the foam. At the same time I decided to replace the paper ones as well with the felt. Getting those out was easy, but putting the felt back in was more of a challenge since they are much thicker. With a little patience and creativity those are all replaced.
View attachment 12975

Now here is where the velvet comes in. I am cutting strips to line all of the surfaces that come into contact with the door card and could potentially rub along the vinyl.
View attachment 12976

This is pretty much where I am trying to avoid any contact on the door card
View attachment 12977

Lastly, since I had it apart again, I decided to put some of the velvet along the tabs that lock the top piece onto the door itself. There are 9 of these areas that I did. I had only started when I took the photo.
View attachment 12978

Once this is all back together and I have some time with it I'll update this to let everyone know if it has really solved anything. Now it could take a little time to report back any success/failure since I am still having issues after the engine replacement and it's going back to the dealer Monday morning for that again.

I know it’s only been ~1.5 weeks but do you have an update on this?? The heat in Texas is making my rear doors creak like crazy.

 

[boosted_st]

I know it’s only been ~1.5 weeks but do you have an update on this?? The heat in Texas is making my rear doors creak like crazy.

The dealer had my vehicle for a few days this past week and there were some more creaks from the drivers side door after I'm sure it was sitting out in the sun. But it's still better right now. So, I decided to tackle the pass side and went a step further and did the following as well.

This track I removed and put some of the velvet on the area that touches the metal of the door (as best I could). When I pressed on this I could hear a very similar noise as well as when removing it (it just lifts out).



I only did that door like 2 days ago now, so that one needs a little time again to settle back in for me to see if maybe that is another part of the equation which I need to repeat on the drivers side.

 

[mezalu]

The dealer had my vehicle for a few days this past week and there were some more creaks from the drivers side door after I'm sure it was sitting out in the sun. But it's still better right now. So, I decided to tackle the pass side and went a step further and did the following as well.

This track I removed and put some of the velvet on that area that touches the metal of the door (as best I could). When I pressed on this I could hear a very similar noise as well when removing it (it just lifts out).
View attachment 13130
View attachment 13131

I only did that door like 2 days ago now, so that one needs a little time again to settle back in for me to see if maybe that is another part of the equation which I need to repeat on the drivers side.

Thanks for the update and very well write up. I just ordered some velvet and felt and plan to do what you have done so far. Please keep sharing your experiences!

 

[boosted_st]

For anyone that wants to give this a go (and maybe improve on) here is the felt, velvet sheets, and punch set that I have been using.

Felt Sheets (it was one of the cheaper packs haha)

Self Adhesive Velvet sheets

Punch Set

 

[hbalek]

I know it’s only been ~1.5 weeks but do you have an update on this?? The heat in Texas is making my rear doors creak like crazy.

Good news for me is this is the third summer with the ST and the door and dash creaking is almost completely gone on its own.

 

[StoneColdBlue22]

For anyone that wants to give this a go (and maybe improve on) here is the felt, velvet sheets, and punch set that I have been using.

Felt Sheets (it was one of the cheaper packs haha)

Self Adhesive Velvet sheets

Punch Set

Following the thread as im having the same problem with my rear doors. What punch size did you use?

 

[boosted_st]

Following the thread as im having the same problem with my rear doors. What punch size did you use?

I used the 1/2" with a 5/32" center for the most recent ones I made

 

[leomio]

I currently have a 2020 Acura RDX and it's also a rattlebox. One of the biggest offenders of interior rattles is actually the panoramic sunroof. Creaks, clicks, pops, rattles, ticks ... I wish it was optional and it's the reason I'll never own a car with a panoramic sunroof again if possible. Do you guys who are having issues have the optional pano sunroof? I too though it was coming from other places until I was finally able to pinpoint it.

 

[boosted_st]

I currently have a 2020 Acura RDX and it's also a rattlebox. One of the biggest offenders of interior rattles is actually the panoramic sunroof. Creaks, clicks, pops, rattles, ticks ... I wish it was optional and it's the reason I'll never own a car with a panoramic sunroof again if possible. Do you guys who are having issues have the optional pano sunroof? I too though it was coming from other places until I was finally able to pinpoint it.

Yup, I have the pano roof. So far I haven't noticed much noise coming from that area though.

 

[Vikings71]

Yup, I have the pano roof. So far I haven't noticed much noise coming from that area though.

Agreed, I have the pano roof and haven't noticed any noise there. The noise I hear seems to come from the rear doors, right where the sunshade is. I was just in Asheville for the ST SUV Experience and our vehicle for the day made the same noises, it was a 2020 ST. It also made the same chair noises as well.

 

[boosted_st]

Agreed, I have the pano roof and haven't noticed any noise there. The noise I hear seems to come from the rear doors, right where the sunshade is. I was just in Asheville for the ST SUV Experience and our vehicle for the day made the same noises, it was a 2020 ST. It also made the same chair noises as well.

I noticed the same, especially with the seats on the cars in Park City when I went. I'm wondering if the seats that no longer have the massaging parts will have the same noises. I really feel like that's the source of it, but I'm not willing to tear the seat apart haha.

 

[leomio]

Dang. I'm considering an Explorer ST perhaps later this year, but the current rattles of my RDX have driven my crazy to the point where I would rather not be spending near $60k for another rattlebox. I'm definitely finding one without a pano sunroof (and massaging seats apparently). Would you folks say the overall build quality of the ST is good, average, poor? The main reason I'm looking at the car would be the engine and practicality, but interior rattles on an almost brand new car may be a dealbreaker (which is what I basically dealt with with my RDX).

 

[Cruising68]

Dang. I'm considering an Explorer ST perhaps later this year, but the current rattles of my RDX have driven my crazy to the point where I would rather not be spending near $60k for another rattlebox. I'm definitely finding one without a pano sunroof (and massaging seats apparently). Would you folks say the overall build quality of the ST is good, average, poor? The main reason I'm looking at the car would be the engine and practicality, but interior rattles on an almost brand new car may be a dealbreaker (which is what I basically dealt with with my RDX).

I think it's hit or miss on the quality. Mine has been outstanding so far but I also did a sound deadening exercise for stereo. Fingers crossed.

 

[Vikings71]

Dang. I'm considering an Explorer ST perhaps later this year, but the current rattles of my RDX have driven my crazy to the point where I would rather not be spending near $60k for another rattlebox. I'm definitely finding one without a pano sunroof (and massaging seats apparently). Would you folks say the overall build quality of the ST is good, average, poor? The main reason I'm looking at the car would be the engine and practicality, but interior rattles on an almost brand new car may be a dealbreaker (which is what I basically dealt with with my RDX).

I would say overall the build quality seems to be good, the only issues I have had are the rear door noises and the drivers seat noise. The technology and performance are great, for sure though Ford does need to work on interior quality. I purchased this model for the engine/power, which is pretty much unmatched in this class and I am happy with that.

 

[Vikings71]

The dealer had my vehicle for a few days this past week and there were some more creaks from the drivers side door after I'm sure it was sitting out in the sun. But it's still better right now. So, I decided to tackle the pass side and went a step further and did the following as well.

This track I removed and put some of the velvet on the area that touches the metal of the door (as best I could). When I pressed on this I could hear a very similar noise as well as when removing it (it just lifts out).
View attachment 13130
View attachment 13131

I only did that door like 2 days ago now, so that one needs a little time again to settle back in for me to see if maybe that is another part of the equation which I need to repeat on the drivers side.

How is it going since you have put these fixes in? I ordered all of the stuff off of Amazon, so I might take a shot at it this weekend if it is going well for you. My creaks and pops are pretty much as loud as ever back there lately!

 

[boosted_st]

How is it going since you have put these fixes in? I ordered all of the stuff off of Amazon, so I might take a shot at it this weekend if it is going well for you. My creaks and pops are pretty much as loud as ever back there lately!

There are still some noises that are present and maybe someday I'll figure out, but overall I'd say it's 85% better still. Who knows, maybe some of those noises will go away when it's not 110+ outside lol.

 

[Vikings71]

There are still some noises that are present and maybe someday I'll figure out, but overall I'd say it's 85% better still. Who knows, maybe some of those noises will go away when it's not 110+ outside lol.

Sounds good, thanks for the update!