Rattling sound in side door and sunroof - 2.5S Coupe

[KoroshiyaX]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum. I purchased a 2008 Altima Coupe 2.5S back in June 08.

For the past few months, I've had this on and off rattling sound coming from the driver side door, and in the sunroof area. It almost sounds like there are lose parts rattling inside.

The sound on (or inside) the side door only happens when I increase the stereo volume and the bass notes start hitting and keep in mind I do not crank it up that high. The rattling coming from the sunroof area occurs when the car has been driven around for a while and the road is bumpy.

The problem with both of these issues is that they are on and off, and cannot be replicated 10 out of 10 times.

Although it is obviously a workmanship issue, I am afraid that if I bring it to the shop, they will claim nothing is wrong.

Has anyone else encountered rattling sounds similar to mine?

I want to collect all the facts before I bring it to Nissan Services.

Thanks!

Albert

[ESP]

Welcome to the forums!

Almost everyone has had the problems you're talking about, myself included.The door rattling is usually caused by the passenger seat belt buckle actually......the sunroof, however, I don't think anyone has gotten the Nissan techs to do anything about it. IIRC, it's just a clip that's loose up there. Just turn your tunes up a bit...that seems to be everyone elses solution!

[mrodrig2]

Everyone says to just turn the music up but in my experience these noises are audible regardless of volume and are annoying regardless.

My tips are:1) If you go to the dealership to get these problems diagnosed, make sure that you drive the tech or at least tag along when they take your car out to replicate the issue.2) Don't tell them that it happens above the speed limit or else they will say they tried and couldn't replicate the problem because they can't go that fast.3) Go bother them every chance you have. They may finally give in.

[KoroshiyaX]

Thanks for the advice guys, I will keep an eye on the belt buckle and see if that is the cause.

As for the sunroof clip, you might be right. The sound comes from where the front part of the roof is, where the glasses holder is (but above it, between the inside and outside). I'll ask the shop about it since the roof one is easier to replicate and I'm due for an oil change.

Thx.

Al

[jessandjamie]

I had a rattle in the sunglass holder area as well. Sounded like sunglasses where rattling around in there but they werent. My fix for it was to pull the sunglass holder out and there are two metal tabs that hold up the rear of it. Put some rubber or even fun foam between the tabs and where they rest on the headliner. I do have the sunroof. To take out the sunglass holder open the door and pull on the front, near windshield. As far as door rattles I spent about a week removing the door and stuffing rubber in places to stop all my rattles so i cant help there.

Good luck

[jdeb101]

Ive been going nuts over the same two noises forever now! I cant pinpoint the sources either. I do notice the noise from the stereo more when listening to person with a deep voice (bassy) on talk radio. I always thought it sounded like it came from passenger side rear speaker but could be wrong.

Also a weird thing about the sunroof noise..try applying pressure on the sunroof (or have someone else do it) and drive around the block. I did this and the noise seemed to stop. Still havent tinkered with it to determine the exact cause, but maybe thatll help.

[Rmuth25]

I have a rattle in my door, sounds like a ticking that increases in volume the louder the music is or if i go over some big bumps. What I found is that if I push in on the door panel on the top right corner it goes away. For some reason there must be something loose inside there because the driver door panel is loose in the same way, but doesn't make the noise.

I took it to the dealer before I figured out exactly where the rattle was, so of course the tech I drove with didn't hear it since he was leaning on the door panel!

Another possiblity is that it may be your seatbelt rattling, which is a simple fix. Get ahold of some of those seatbelt buttons and place it on the seatbelt so the buckle does not slide down between the door and the seat.

[Rmuth25]

Here are some pictures of where I put the seatbelt button thing

[KoroshiyaX]

After a few days of testing... I was able to determine the noise coming from the door side was not caused by the Seat Belt buckle. It is definitely coming from inside the door panel, similar to one of the previous posters. What a pain in the ***

For the sunroof noise, applying a little pressure to the black plastic divider actually stops the rattling (The one between the actual metal roof and the inside. I'll see if sticking a piece of rubber in between will stop it.

For the door panel, I can't think of any other way besides opening it up...

[jdeb101]

So I think I have determined what is causing the rattling sound from my speakers. The Bose logos on the back rear speakers seem to be the cause. They look a little loose and if I apply pressure on them the ratttling stops. Ugh... Anyone got ideas on how to fix this? I dont really want to pull them off, but cant stand the rattle sometimes.

[mrodrig2]

If it's actually the logo and not the speaker grill itself you just need to secure it better. Try putting a little bit of super glue around the edges or take off the logos and put them back on with double sided tape.

[migs7585]

my passenger side seatbelt actually came off and when i had nissan put it back it hasnt rattled however the sunroof still does.....i always have the music up but i think im gona install rubber everywhere like jessandjames lol...good idea