teebee

One thing I have noticed is that every car has rattles. The more you pay attention to them the "louder" they become in your mind even though others riding in your car might not even notice them. My other car is an '03 Lincoln Navigator. It's smooth riding and very quite, but if I turned off the stereo on a bumpy road or in certain conditions I would hear a rattle here and there. At first I thought they were minor, but if I started to focus on them they really started driving me nuts! It got to the point where I actually put Dynomat (soundproofing) on all the doors. Guess what, it fixed some rattles yet there are still others. But to someone else the car is extremely quite and rattle free. My point is that it only bugged me because I started to focus on every little noise. My mother-in-law drives a new Mercedes - guess what it has rattles too but only if you actually pay attention to them.

Now for the RX-8, it rides fairly smooth but it has a much stiffer suspension than those luxury vehicles listed above, so you have to expect at least a bit more "rattling" than vehicles with a softer suspension. I have a couple of small rattles here and there on my 8... one behind my dash, one near the passenger door. If I turn off my stereo I notice them, and if I start to focus on them I want to dig into the car and try to fix them. But keep in mind often you fix one rattle only to let you notice the next. So my opinion now is that if the rattle is "acceptible" then I wouldn't mess too much with it. Like someone else posted once the techs start to take off the door panels or get into your dash, they are loosening all the connections which is only going to create more instances/chances something could rattle. Also, IF you are going to try and fix a rattle or get into your doors or dash for any other reason (i.e. speaker install) try and do it only once - the more times you open things up and put them back the looser you are making all the clips and connections.

Having posted all that, there is a TSB out for the rattle behind the steering wheel. It's related to the air bag assembly I think. http://www.finishlineperformance.com...04-04-1381.pdf

bxb40

I did take out the door panels and the under-panel (see pic on the other page) to instal Dynamat on the metal door. I replaced the speakers on this ocassion. I think the rattles are due to improper torque screws (so I tighten every single one, esp. the window rails), to the yellow foam blocks (so I put silicone gasket glue all around them - no more moving, but might slip and squeak rubbing against the black door cover they are supposed to hold in place - nothing done there other then just getting the panel back on very tight), to the panels themselves (if not seated propely against the door and can move when you pull on the door handle, like someone here mentioned). Yes, there are a lot of wires down there but those are insulated fairly well and hold in place with little brakets, so I left them alone.
After all this work, I have rattle-free doors, I don't hear the wheels throwing sand and stones onto the doors (when stereo is off), and I can crank the stereo all the way without causing rattles. But I still have the "horn cover rattle" that I'll tackle some day soon (careful with deactivating the airbag in there).
Honestly, for a sports car with stiff suspension and low profile tires (mine at 36PSI all around, as I don't have the stock ones any more), it is VERY rattle-free now. Next winter, I'll get maybe some new ones, who knows.... Until then, I'm good to go

PS If you are curious, it took me 6 hours to take everything apart, measure and cut the Dynamat, change four speakers and wire them right - and it was the first time in my life doing this, so.... pick a sunny day and just do it, it won't kill you - and if any fastener breaks, get new ones from the auto store, the door has to get back on tight.

Parz

my passenger door had a rattle in it, every time I hit a bump I could hear a vibrating noise, I found out it was the passenger's outside door handle. Also, if I turned the volume up to about 18 the passenger's door handle would vibrate b/c it was loose. Took to dealership and they replaced door handle and it was fine all day, but then for some reason at night it started up again...will wait till tomorrow and see if this continues. It's not as loud when I hit bumps and getting the new door handle at least stopped it from vibrating when my music is at 18 or higher.

I've noticed in other posts that if they touch the door the sound goes away, it has to be that the bose speakers are too powerful to be in that metal door, Mazda should have built some kind of padding around speaker to absorb some of the vibration

okarliova

Hi all,

First of all, I wanted to say hi as a new member to the forum (although I have been following the discussions for a few months)..

I got my car 3 months ago, and it has been at the dealer off and on for the last month. Guess what, the same old "cannot duplicate the concern"..

I hear a clunk noise from the driver side. It is happening mostly in the city at lower speeds on rough roads, more obvious when turing into driveways to the left when the weight shifts. It appears to come from the door latch, as the noise disappears when I drive with the door open (yes, I even tried that!) The dealer took the door apart, and even changed the regulator (based on my suggestion from this forum). The noise is still there, and it is driving me crazy!

Any hints? I am visiting the delaer again next week, and I want to go with a few pointers... Is there any adjustments that can be done to the door?

Thanks!

Loaded8

My dealer said they wouldn't even look at it since the car was over 12 months old. It pisses me off when it rattles, I want to rip the damn door off!!! I have found the noise comes and goes. Sometimes it's gone for days or longer. Recently I found the same thing Mike mentioned, if you crack the window and put it back up the sound seems to go away. I'm hoping this will continue to work. I hate to say it but my last car (Integra) didn't have any noises until it was about 5 years old and even then they were NOTHING compared with this car. Not saying I love my car any less but if I get pissed off and dent the door or something I'm not going to be a very happy camper!!!!

dasoviet

Its been a while to post on this thread. I believe my findings may interest some of you (if you understand my bloody english). I hear the same rattle as all of you and after reading this thread i decided to go on and remove the door panel.
I have to admit that i am not a serious DIYer and the removal/insallation was not a big deal (hopefully).

Anyway, what i wanted to mention here is that behind the door panel (the cloth part) is a polyestere part (about 15cm x 15cm x 5-10cm deep) it is holded by two screws. I played around with the polyestere and i found out that it was a bit loosen. I put some waste paper in between to tight that thing.
Placed back the panel in less than 2 minutes fired up the BOSE and crystal clear sound!!!
You may notice a bit rattle now but i am convinced that is coming out of that particular polyestere thing which you may found one as well behind the inner panel of the door (that is holding the woofer).

Sorry but i have no photos

p.s: sorry for my terrible english!

wisconsinben

Like everyone else, I have several of these rattles. I pointed the stereo faceplate rattle out to my dealer and they claimed that rattles are not covered by the warranty. Is this true? They quoted a minimum of 1 hour to pinpoint this rattle...of course, I said no.

Just curious if these rattles should be covered under warranty or not.

Note: I agree with the posters who have said that this car will rattle. It has a very tight suspension, and it's not a $200,000 Ferrari. I think that even with the rattles I got more than my money's worth with this car. :D

Go48

Rattles should be covered by the warranty, so take the car to another, more customer-oriented dealership. And don't do any business with this dealer in the future.

poker

Go48-

I'm extremely unhappy with the dealership's service dept. I got mine from. I didn't know that you could go to a different dealership- do you have to bring any paperwork or anything along? This is the first car I've ever bought from a dealer and I'm so unhappy with the service team there.

Go48

You don't need to bring anything with you or justify changing dealers. You are unhappy with the current dealer and it would not even be necessary to mention your problems with the other dealer to the new dealer. If you still don't get satisfaction, call the toll-free number for Mazda North American Operations customer service you will find in your owners manual. Explain the problem to them and your dissatisfaction with the dealer(s).

Zuhalter Vati

The rattle I hear on the driverside door is mostly when the window is fully down, the "trim" on the outside seems to do it. Little black strip just at the window lip.

Also, if the dealership messes something up, do you have to go to them to get it fixed or can you go to another one.

poker

Zuhalter Vati :

Read the post right above yours.


Go48: Thanks for the info dude. I'll have to drive an hour and a half to the next dealer but I'm sure it'll be worth it.

Dark8

I thought I was doing the dealership a favor waiting for the 15K service to have the rattles addressed. Turns out I did them a huge favor. Rattles and the like are considered adjustments and only covered the first 12k miles. They did fix the airbag washer rattle for free since there is a TSB out on it.

pauleta

I've had the same door rattles. The driver door one I would give it a stiff elbow and it would go away for a bit. I kept doing that and now it's never come back. the passenger side no such luck. I took it in, they were unable to reproduce, but went in to the door tied up some cables anyways. Told me if it doesnt work to bring it back. It did for a bit then was on and off if I gave it a hit. But now it's pretty constant with bumps and virtually all music. Took it in again, they could not reproduce, but there it is buzzing away. I feel like giving that door a beating or at least going into it and fixing it my self, cause it seriously could not get any worse. Any instructions around how to take the door apart and fix this?

mikeb

mine is passenger side also
and its on off on off

Easy_E1

iTrader: (2)

I seem to be having that rattle in the drivers side doors on my '05.
took it to the dealer and all they did was put some white grease on it. Lasted about 15 min.

RotaryNoob

I had the rattle in my driver side door. Brought it in and the window regulator needed tightening. Its been almost 2 weeks and it hasn't come back. They didn't even need to drive the car to fix it. It went in and came out with the same mileage.

TCReedy1

My pissing door rattles too - turn up the stereo and it rattles nicely with the bass beat as well. I had to stop listening to rap and more to classical piano!! Worse in the cold. Talked to dealer - same old Bull__it, could not replicate the issue. I`m planning to take off my door liner and do the job myself. Easy enough, just need to make time and meditate for an hour first to keep my calm and patience that i`m having to fix some sh_t that Mazda can`t. Sounds like the rattle is coming from quite far back in the door, somewhere just next to my left ear!!

My sympathies to anyone else being driven insane by the same problem. When I get to it, i`ll post a thread on what to do.

Tom

pauleta

I feel for you TC. I think it's derived from some ancient torture technique. I'm willing to go into the door myself as well, but need some directions on how to go about it.

REL_RX8

This is a nightmare for me... I can't remove a f---ing door by myself, it would take ages and I'd prolly f--- something up. The worst part being that I have the car for 2 more years! >: (

I hope an easier solution comes along the way. :-/

I get so tense when driving when I hear the rattle. It makes me drive wreckless because I want to get to my destination so quickly!

BRealistic

May I suggest decaf?


And I also have some pops, creaks and rattles in the interior- mainly when cold and warming up and driving over uneven pavement (They did finally fix the seat though). But (shrug) none ar every loud, and they seem to go away when the interior warms up. I also get annoyed by these things, but it is best to step back and remember it is a very minor issue that any vehicle can have regardless of brand or model. The car starts and drives perfect? Then calm down.

Detrich

in my experience, door window rattling is often due to low quality rubber used to line the doors, or due to over-exposure to the sun, which dries out the rubber. the end result is the windows don't grip tight enough... lubing/ moisterizing the rubber lining around ur door window will help them grip the window tighter and hence reduce rattling. the dealer s/b able to recommend some lubricant safe for rubber. i use plastic lubricant and it's worked fine on my beamer periodically and it works great. it's a bit messy, so takes some time to apply thoroughly for the rubber to absorb the moisture...

Ducky

I got fed up with my rattles and went to the dealer, he said since it was under warranty its covered... it was loose nuts holding onto I think the motor of the window... If you pull your doorpanel off, make sure all the nuts are tightened, mines now fixed...

mikeb

Id rather have the dealer pull the door apart
I would probably break something with my luck

Coleb228

ok so im about to just go doorless b/c these damned rattles are driving me crazy. As im reading this basically everyone that has taken their door lining off and just tightened the hell out of everything seems to have fixed the problem... so thats my last plan before i got jeep wrangler style. my questions is HOW DO I TAKE MY DOOR LINING OFF???? Thank you all for the help!!!