Driver's door rattle

[TuxedoCartman]

Grrrrr... hate dealerships. SO much.

So took my FR-S in for her first service. Needed an oil change, had some condensation in the taillight, and from day 2 of ownership I've had a rattle in the driver's side door that's just gotten worse and worse. It only shows up when the music's on, but I don't exactly blast my tunes, nor do I listen to a lot of deep bass tracks (80's country, anime songs, and Otsuka Ai... I mean, c'mon!) Sounds like the whole door is about to fall apart, though I've found pinching the two pieces of plastic on the outside bit of the door's "cup-holder", it goes away. Clearly a clip or something that's come loose. Should be a simple enough rattle to isolate and fix, no?

Apparently not if you're Findley Toyota.

Service tech is trying to spin me some bull about how it's the top of the speaker hitting the bottom of the switch mount. Said they checked it out on another FR-S, and totally heard it on that one too. Said it seems to be normal, that the only way to fix it is "if Toyota redesigns the whole switch assembly", and I should, quote, "Just turn the bass down in the car."



If this were a nationwide problem with cars, and I got that response from Toyota corporate office... this would be the last Toyota I ever owned, period, exclamation mark. I'd go out of my way to steer people clear of the Toyota/ Scion/ Lexus brands, and probably Subaru too for good measure. Luckily (I guess) I seriously doubt this is a widespread problem on the FR-S/ BRZ, as for all the complaints I've heard on this forum, "Door wants to fall off" hasn't popped up at all yet. The crickets in my car are quieter than this.

But I'm a believer in being thorough, so I have to ask: has anyone else had a rattle in their driver's door like the one I've described? If so, how did you go about fixing it? Was it one particular culprit I should look for? (And before anyone says it: yes, of course, I'll be going to a different dealer from now on. Not that I'm holding my breath that any of the others around here will be any better, but slim chance is better than none).

[JSK]

I don't have it in my driver's door but I have it on the passenger's side and it is pretty bad. Even listening to non-bass heavy music at half volume you can hear it. I am still waiting for my oil change and then I will bring it to their attention.

That is something that should be fixed. Especially because it is not consistent on both sides of the car. If it was a design issue it would probably affect both doors. Given that it is just the driver's side (or passenger's in my case) it should be covered by warranty.

[Shagaliscious]

Originally Posted by JSK

I don't have it in my driver's door but I have it on the passenger's side and it is pretty bad. Even listening to non-bass heavy music at half volume you can hear it. I am still waiting for my oil change and then I will bring it to their attention.

That is something that should be fixed. Especially because it is not consistent on both sides of the car. If it was a design issue it would probably affect both doors. Given that it is just the driver's side (or passenger's in my case) it should be covered by warranty.

Bingo.

Ask those idiots that if it is the design of the door, why isn't the other door doing it?

I haven't noticed any rattle in my door, and I listen to music 99% of the time I am driving.

[SMOKETREES]

yes i have driver door rattle also..... I believe that if they dont fix the rattle that i will be asking for a new driver door due to warranty or taking it to my audio store and having them look at it and see if they can do anything with it themselves. Possibly redesigning where the back tweeter is and the sub speaker thats held in the door and doing a flip flop. Also thinking this way cause thats how the tC was set up and i loved how my tC sounded

[SMOKETREES]

it may even be the actual speaker they have installed??? but i have been trying to see where the rattle comes from to try to eliminate the noise myself by adding some electrical tape between the plastic wherever it rattles

[Sigh-on-Rice]

My doors don't rattle with the music on. So, I think it's not a design flaw.

[TuxedoCartman]

Yeah, I didn't figure it was a design flaw. Call me prejudiced, but given my experiences with dealership service centers in the past, when faced with a choice: believe it's an design flaw on the part of one of the world's largest car manufacturers, or believe that the wrench monkeys are being extra lazy and incompetent... well, I gotta go with option B.

Taking it to a audio shop is a good idea. I figure I'll try out the other big Toyota place here first (warranty work means it's free, after all); but if I get the same blank, vacant stares, and expressions of "Duhhhh...." from them, I'll check out a stereo installer.

Thanks guys.

[SMOKETREES]

I know that there is a plastic housing that blocks the speaker from anything.... It might also be that rattling. Thought about how to take it out and just wrap the sides around with electrical tape so no erosion happens and to reduce vibration that might be cause of rattling. Ill be taking my car to Unique Audio tomorrow to see what they have to say and ill pass on the word to you Catman..... But yes will def try to get door under warranty and also have them look at the actual subwoofer thats in the driver/passenger door.

[terrypm]

Yelp, I have it in mine also. Currently I have a piece of paper stuck between where the 2 plastic panels meet.

[Xanatos]

This is why TRD made a door stablizer kit:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8395

but of course at that price its hella unreasonable imo.

[TuxedoCartman]

Originally Posted by Xanatos

This is why TRD made a door stablizer kit:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8395

but of course at that price its hella unreasonable imo.

Funny you should mention that: I actually have the TRD door stabilizer installed. LOL...

Sadly, the rattle started before I put the door stabilizers, and they had zero effect on it. On the other hand, they did improve stability at the outermost limits of the car in hard cornering. (Frankly, though, I'd give up 5 hp to get this damn rattle to stop. It's gotten bad enough I'm driving with my left leg propped against the door to try and stop it. )

[Sigh-on-Rice]

Maybe you need something like this done?

3. Door speaker sounded blown/distorted/rattling - It took 5 techs to figure out how to remove the door panel, foam inserts were placed around loose items in door that were hitting against the speaker surface.

LINK

[SMOKETREES]

I will mention that to the dealership when i take mine in for service

[czar07]

this and a myriad of other issues are the exact reason why people didn't want it to be "built by Subaru".