Door Frame Ticking / Squeaking Elimination

[MerlintheMad]

Kinda like the 15 other Chernobyl reactors then. Perfectly safe, mother Russia even said so.

Oh wait . . .

Are you seriously saying because it hasn’t happened to you it doesn’t exist? Does that go for heart attacks, strokes, cancer anything else that can go wrong ?

Sorry, not trying to start something here, I’m genuinely curious

You know that saying "let sleeping dogs lie"?

How many Stinger Forum members have complained about ALL noises? It's not as easy to quantify as the "paint quality/chips" thread and poll which has been up for over a year now. The responses on that thread alone outnumber ALL noises posts. How do I know that? I deduce by the amount of traffic these "noises" threads get. The paint quality/chips poll has attracted less than 5% of the forum's membership. Is it because less than 5% have paint quality issues? Or is it because most Stinger drivers don't notice their paint quality? Are most owners just not interested in what doesn't concern them? All of the above? Probably most humans don't give a crap if it isn't their problem too.

The point is this: if hardly anybody has bothered to vote "yay or nay" in a poll, that's a pretty good indicator that there isn't a problem for them. The afflicted few make all the noise. In this case, literally they make noise about noises. Their problems are shared.

I come here (and to the paint discussion) not because I share the same problems but because I care about them.

So, of course not: I don't believe the problems don't exist. I assert that I have very likely read more of these posts more times than any other given forum member. There is no way that I could believe you're all up in the night hearing things and seeing things that aren't there.

Incidence is my pet agenda: how common are these flaws in our cars? And the evidence is that something like 95% of Stingers do not have extraneous noises bothering their drivers. Same with any other flaw or manufacturing fubar.

 

[Revvdmedia]

Incidence is my pet agenda: how common are these flaws in our cars? And the evidence is that something like 95% of Stingers do not have extraneous noises bothering their drivers. Same with any other flaw or manufacturing fubar.

Why I do always buy from the "bad" 5%? Who wants to trade me? lol

 

[MerlintheMad]

Why I do always buy from the "bad" 5%? Who wants to trade me? lol

Isn't it a matter of degree? No car is perfect, even my "perfect" Stinger isn't. It's just perfectly satisfying to me, which isn't the same thing at all.

 

[AV8R]

Nothing like a good tick or squeak once and awhile lol. I had a minute one last week under the foot well. Had a feel around and found it was a wire tapping against another wire only on a rough road. All good now. Guess I’m lucky .

 

[Revvdmedia]

Isn't it a matter of degree? No car is perfect, even my "perfect" Stinger isn't. It's just perfectly satisfying to me, which isn't the same thing at all.

Doesn't obsession for perfection drive improvement?

 

[AV8R]

Perfection = more money lol

 

[MerlintheMad]

Doesn't obsession for perfection drive improvement?

True. But I'm not the one trying to make the money. I'm the "choir". Or am I? My response to the Stinger hardly gives the designers much to go on vis-à-vis improvements. "I am perfectly happy", does not drive improvement! Heh.

 

[Revvdmedia]

True. But I'm not the one trying to make the money. I'm the "choir". Or am I? My response to the Stinger hardly gives the designers much to go on vis-à-vis improvements. "I am perfectly happy", does not drive improvement! Heh.

I am actually actively trying to scale back my expectations on cars based on a few years of experience with new ones and my ridiculous standards. There are a couple things that still bug me about mine and I will get around to having the dealer fix, but otherwise I'm sure I could have a worse vehicle.

 

[Ozstung]

No no no no let’s not do that I would just have a little fun my apologies

You are wise then, hell hath no fury like the Forums Tolstoy with an avalanche of words.

 

[Last Lemming Alive]

Obviously the car has some issues - TSB’s don’t get issued otherwise. The trunk hatch for instance. And all cars have flaws, ours just reveals itself more readily - like a Chinese water torture right next to your ear - tick - tick - tick.

 

[Bigbikes]

Having worked in a panel shop for 28yrs you soon see how cars are put together..Brand new Alfa's rusting on way over on boat
gear stick connected buy cables that stretched..We did mainly Benz's, Volvo's..BMW's,,,even they had issues...most things can be fixed easily, I'd be more worried about mechanicals not trim bits..

 

[leecm]

Thus far it appears that the fix that I applied to my drivers door has resolved my ticking issue. Some other people may benefit from this, so I'll post pictures. I noticed that the rubber seal that you can touch from inside the car while the door is closed doesn't get compressed snugly by the door. When I would poke it with my finger I was able to replicate what sounded like the squeak/ticking noise that I was constantly hearing when I would drive.

I compared the equivalent rubber seal in my fiance's '09 Infiniti FX35 and not only was the rubber compressed much more snugly by the door (which keeps it from wiggling and creaking), the plastic trim piece that the rubber seal rests against in the Infiniti had a texture that seems less conducive to causing rubber to squeak. All of these findings made me feel pretty confident that my issue could be solved by installing felt trim on the plastic part that rubs against the rubber seal.

Rain hasn't been an issue. The outside seal that contacts the actual painted door frame protects against rain. Even the rain that may fall on the felt trim when the door is open doesn't seem to cause any issues. The only thing I can think of that may be negatively impacted by the felt trim pieces would be an increase in outside noise in the cabin since technically I'm breaking one of the noise barriers. With that said, I don't notice a difference.

BTW, I kind of did this late at night so the curve can be improved. I will make it prettier sometime soon. Aside from the curved part near the top of the B pillar, it looks like it could be factory trim.

 

[westcoastGT]

Thus far it appears that the fix that I applied to my drivers door has resolved my ticking issue. Some other people may benefit from this, so I'll post pictures. I noticed that the rubber seal that you can touch from inside the car while the door is closed doesn't get compressed snugly by the door. When I would poke it with my finger I was able to replicate what sounded like the squeak/ticking noise that I was constantly hearing when I would drive.

I compared the equivalent rubber seal in my fiance's '09 Infiniti FX35 and not only was the rubber compressed much more snugly by the door (which keeps it from wiggling and creaking), the plastic trim piece that the rubber seal rests against in the Infiniti had a texture that seems less conducive to causing rubber to squeak. All of these findings made me feel pretty confident that my issue could be solved by installing felt trim on the plastic part that rubs against the rubber seal.

Rain hasn't been an issue. The outside seal that contacts the actual painted door frame protects against rain. Even the rain that may fall on the felt trim when the door is open doesn't seem to cause any issues. The only thing I can think of that may be negatively impacted by the felt trim pieces would be an increase in outside noise in the cabin since technically I'm breaking one of the noise barriers. With that said, I don't notice a difference.

BTW, I kind of did this late at night so the curve can be improved. I will make it prettier sometime soon. Aside from the curved part near the top of the B pillar, it looks like it could be factory trim.

Great job , lets hope this is a fix !! great effort !

 

[Revvdmedia]

Thus far it appears that the fix that I applied to my drivers door has resolved my ticking issue. Some other people may benefit from this, so I'll post pictures. I noticed that the rubber seal that you can touch from inside the car while the door is closed doesn't get compressed snugly by the door. When I would poke it with my finger I was able to replicate what sounded like the squeak/ticking noise that I was constantly hearing when I would drive.

How has this fix been holding up? I had this thought a long time ago as I always though the way the rubber feels and the way that plastic trim feels would create noise when the door moves over bumps and the rubber squeaks (ticks) on it. I always thought adhesive-backed suede would be the best looking option on the plastic trim since it would almost match the headliner for those of us with the suede headliner, looking factory if well shaped to the plastic.

 

[leecm]

How has this fix been holding up? I had this thought a long time ago as I always though the way the rubber feels and the way that plastic trim feels would create noise when the door moves over bumps and the rubber squeaks (ticks) on it. I always thought adhesive-backed suede would be the best looking option on the plastic trim since it would almost match the headliner for those of us with the suede headliner, looking factory if well shaped to the plastic.

It's holding up great. Adhesion and durability hasn't been an issue and I park outside in the direct sunlight while I'm at work. It has gotten a little wet with rain but it didn't cause any issues. It has solved all of the ticking/squeaking that I experience with my driver side door. I haven't applied it to the rest of the doors but I plan on doing so this weekend. Below is a link to the product I used. It honestly doesn't look bad at all (looks like it could be factory if you install it well) and it'll match your suede headliner pretty well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013H8QDQG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Adamdan]

My car has had noisy seals since new pretty much and I found a good fix. The product is call gummi pflege
It’s available on amazon. It goes on really easy and fast does not make a mess. I put it on 3 weeks ago and doors are still silent. I saw this stuff on a bmw site and guys say it’s the best stuff. I’m sure this small bottle will last for years.

 

[leecm]

My car has had noisy seals since new pretty much and I found a good fix. The product is call gummi pflege
It’s available on amazon. It goes on really easy and fast does not make a mess. I put it on 3 weeks ago and doors are still silent. I saw this stuff on a bmw site and guys say it’s the best stuff. I’m sure this small bottle will last for years.

That looks awesome. Might buy.

 

[Rennokas]

If you hear a small ticking by your ear as you drive, it can be due to a combination of one or all of the three sources:

1. The slight motion of the door frame's plastic trim hitting against the door's metal frame beneath it. This is because the trim is not tightly assembled on the door's frame and its plastic moving on metal makes the ticking.

2. Part of the sound is also from the motion against the rubber door seal - plastic moving on rubber.

3. The slight motion of the entire door over irregular roads thanks to the door latch not being as tight as it should. You can tell if your door is "loose" by lightly placing your fingers in between the plastic trim and rubber at the top portion of the frame. You will feel the door moving up/down if you have this issue.

This DIY is to address points 1 + 2, the plastic trim and rubber, to eliminate the majority of the ticking. The latch tightening should be addressed by the dealer, although at the time of this writing, I have not yet pursued this.

Here is the trim in question, shown for the passenger door. (All steps equally apply for the driver's door)

View attachment 2881

Fully roll down the window. Carefully insert a prying tool with light to moderate force to snap away the trim from the frame.
View attachment 2882

Pry along the entire trim, and lift up the bottom section to free it .
View attachment 2883

Apply felt tape along the inside, in particular over protrusions (contact points)
View attachment 2884
View attachment 2885

View attachment 2886

Apply felt tape along the metal door frame lip beneath the rubber
View attachment 2887
View attachment 2888

Snap the trim back on. It will feel tight.

Apply a silicone spray along the rubber seals found on the door frame and the car's frame (not shown).
View attachment 2890

DONE!

I have the same problem, what width was the tape you used? or what would be the best width to use?

 

[Ozstung]

I have the same problem, what width was the tape you used? or what would be the best width to use?

Welcome Lithuania? Are there many other Stingers over there? I know we had one Estonian on here.

 

[Rennokas]

Welcome Lithuania? Are there many other Stingers over there? I know we had one Estonian on here.

I am actually Estonian and in Estonia, using lithuanian proxy. The site does not seem to let me configure the country manually