Any of you have a headliner/sunroof noise issue?

[3.3t_Siberian_Ice]

I need to stop reading these 'Issues' posts while at work because all I can do is stand here and look at my car out the window staring at me and I just wonder, "shit... does mine have this issue as well?" for 12 hours.

Park your car where u can't see it when you look out the window! Then it won't be on your mind. Not every car has this issue so chances if u haven't noticed it yet, it's prob not there.

 

[Absintheuphoria]

Park your car where u can't see it when you look out the window!

Wut.

 

[Beefer]

 

[sethsquire]

Sounds like there might be a few different types of sounds going on in this thread. Mine is the sound of plastic creaking/cracking, and its right next to the overhead console. It seems to diminish or disappear when the weather cools down a bit, which is strange. I've had rattles caused by cold, but never by heat. I can also make it go away by pressing firmly on the headliner in the right spot when going over bumps.

Have an appointment to bring it in on Tuesday. The lady who made my appointment (who was super nice) asked me if it was okay to give me a sonata or SUV as a loaner if they didn't have a genesis available. I said I would prefer a genesis but that it was fine. Always down to test drive another car, though I still don't like having to bring in the car a week and a half into ownership.

 

[OMG70]

Sounds like there might be a few different types of sounds going on in this thread. Mine is the sound of plastic creaking/cracking, and its right next to the overhead console. It seems to diminish or disappear when the weather cools down a bit, which is strange. I've had rattles caused by cold, but never by heat. I can also make it go away by pressing firmly on the headliner in the right spot when going over bumps.

Have an appointment to bring it in on Tuesday. The lady who made my appointment (who was super nice) asked me if it was okay to give me a sonata or SUV as a loaner if they didn't have a genesis available. I said I would prefer a genesis but that it was fine. Always down to test drive another car, though I still don't like having to bring in the car a week and a half into ownership.

My issues mirror this, but I haven't been able to pinpoint it exactly because I also thing there's a few coming from the sunroof. Sounds almost as if the tolerances aren't tight enough for the plastic or a wire behind the plastic is making contact from vibrations, right?

 

[sethsquire]

My issues mirror this, but I haven't been able to pinpoint it exactly because I also thing there's a few coming from the sunroof. Sounds almost as if the tolerances aren't tight enough for the plastic or a wire behind the plastic is making contact from vibrations, right?

Could definitely sound like a plastic wire tapping against something. Odd that it only happens when it's hot, though.

 

[pulsar]

Could definitely sound like a plastic wire tapping against something. Odd that it only happens when it's hot, though.

Heat makes most plastics more flexible so could be more prone to rubbing of chafing. Until someone removes the upper console or drops the headliner and gets a picture posted of what all is behind there, we are just guessing. I had a number of interior parts off my G37S and was impressed how Infiniti wire loomed or protected most items so they would not rub or squeak against other parts. I’m hoping Genesis is the same. Ever look at what GM does on interior bundles on Chevys, they are a joke for padding and protection of bundled type parts.

 

[sethsquire]

Heat makes most plastics more flexible so could be more prone to rubbing of chafing. Until someone removes the upper console or drops the headliner and gets a picture posted of what all is behind there, we are just guessing. I had a number of interior parts off my G37S and was impressed how Infiniti wire loomed or protected most items so they would not rub or squeak against other parts. I’m hoping Genesis is the same. Ever look at what GM does on interior bundles on Chevys, they are a joke for padding and protection of bundled type parts.

I just traded a G37x to get the Genesis. I dropped a corner of the headliner once to get at a rattle, ended up stuffing a t-shirt up there. If the next buyer ever cares to look, I guess they get a free ratty undershirt. It worked, though.

My understanding of the G37 based on reading the forums over there was that there were a number of problem areas for rattles, even in later years.

 

[OMG70]

Heat makes most plastics more flexible so could be more prone to rubbing of chafing. Until someone removes the upper console or drops the headliner and gets a picture posted of what all is behind there, we are just guessing. I had a number of interior parts off my G37S and was impressed how Infiniti wire loomed or protected most items so they would not rub or squeak against other parts. I’m hoping Genesis is the same. Ever look at what GM does on interior bundles on Chevys, they are a joke for padding and protection of bundled type parts.

I would hate to find out that its just a damn wire. a little forethought with a zip tie could fix the issue at that point.

 

[sethsquire]

Okay... cautious optimism that I have either fixed or drastically mitigated the problem... Sorry, I did not think to take pictures, but I might play around with it some more and I will take some.

Yesterday, driving along with a friend to fix an issue on my fiancee's 2007 Saturn Ion (a story unto itself), the rattle appeared and I started complaining about it. I told my friend I could tell exactly where it was coming from (the headliner just to the right of the overhead console). He swore that, sitting in the passenger seat, the rattle was actually coming from HIS right. I told him he was dumb and wrong, but lo and behold, he put some pressure on the A-pillar as we were going over some bumps and the noise quieted down.

So it turned out I was wrong about where the rattle was coming from. Apparently, it was emanating from the area where the interior A-pillar trim meets the headliner. We resolved that once we dealt with the Saturn, we would turn our attention to this issue.

Armed with only a sheet of felt (a rattlehunter's best friend), a pair of scissors, and some moxie, we peeled down the weatherstripping on the top of the passenger side front door, which enabled us to see a bit of what was going on around the edge of the headliner. You can see the side airbag above the headliner, and it appears there are some small foam blocks (about 1x1 inches and maybe a quarter of an inch thick) between the headliner and the airbag. Removing the weatherstripping also allows you to ever-so-slightly separate the A-pillar trim from the headliner where they meet, although you could probably just pull off the trim as well.

We stuffed felt generously around the foam block closest to the front of the car. We stuffed felt into the gap where the headliner was touching the A-pillar trim. We even stuffed a little felt into the actual weatherstripping channel which holds the door frame. We would place felt, put the weatherstripping back up, drive the car around the block as a test, adjust or add more felt, and repeat.

What began as a cacophony of rattles eventually settled down into either no rattles, or one rattle so slight we can't even be sure we heard it as a result of having obsessively listened for rattles over the past 2 hours. My only reason for cautious optimism at this point is that it was getting slightly cooler while all this was going on, so I don't know if any rattle reduction was due to the dropping temperature in addition to our efforts.

The source of that particular rattle was definitely either (a) the headliner tapping against the A-pillar trim; (b) the foam blocks rubbing against the airbag or something to that effect; or (c) some sound emanating from the rubber in the weatherstripping, perhaps rubbing against the body panel and have expanded due to the heat. FWIW, my buddy was convinced it was the A-pillar and headliner tapping.

For now, I just have some unsightly black felt visible stuffed between those two panels (will get a picture of that one when I get the chance), which I will either trim down and/or replace with some gray felt so it's not visible. I won't be able to really test out the effect for the next couple of days, since its cooler and cloudy and this problem only appears when it's hot and sunny, but I will update when I know better. For now, it seems that we definitely either eliminated or substantially mitigated the problem.

Hope this is helpful for someone with a similar problem.

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[Beefer]

^ good investigative work !

 

[sethsquire]

^ good investigative work !

Thanks, Beef. I really hate rattles, and I was not looking forward to having to take my brand new car into the Hyundai dealer. Now - fingers crossed - I don't have to, and I can love my car with no reservations!

 

[sethsquire]

Thanks, Beef. I really hate rattles, and I was not looking forward to having to take my brand new car into the Hyundai dealer. Now - fingers crossed - I don't have to, and I can love my car with no reservations!

Okay, well apparently it wasn't going to be that easy... it heated up today and the sound was back, albeit in diminished capacity. However, we've learned some lessons.

Upon sitting in the passenger seat and poking around, my friend was absolutely correct that the sound is coming from around the passenger door. The weatherstripping itself is NOT the problem, as I could provoke the sound even with the weatherstripping down by pressing on the edge of the headliner by the A-pillar.

The sound is definitely emanating from the area where the A-pillar trim meets the headliner. I do not believe the sound is the two panels hitting against each other.

The airbag runs through both the A-pillar trim and the edge of the headliner. I know the A-pillar trim typically attaches with clips, but I was reluctant at the moment to risk breaking it by trying to pry it off. I can see that the interior of the A-pillar trim is made of hard plastic, and theorize that perhaps the airbag is tapping against it. The sound also is distinctly coming from the area with the small foam blocks.

Next steps: MOAR FELT. I put some more felt around the foam blocks, and if that doesn't solve the problem, I'm going to start poking it between the airbag and the headliner, A-pillar trim.

It is frustrating, but I have some hope that now I know where it is coming from.

 

[Beefer]

^ try some expanding foam.

 

[sethsquire]

^ try some expanding foam.

You think that's kosher in the airbag area?

 

[Beefer]

You think that's kosher in the airbag area?

Not any worse than packing a ton of felt. I wouldn’t over do it though. It wouldn’t restrict airbag deployment.

The expansion aspect is what will probably solve the issue.

 

[Toddasaurus]

Ooohhhh.....but that would be really messy. You're talking like from a can, right? I don't know about that. It would stick really hard as well, it acts kind of like Gorilla Glue. Personally I'd continue with the felt.

 

[Beefer]

Ooohhhh.....but that would be really messy. You're talking like from a can, right? I don't know about that. It would stick really hard as well, it acts kind of like Gorilla Glue. Personally I'd continue with the felt.

No not like glue at all. It’s insulation...almost styrofoam-like texture. So it expands the area but remains soft and brittle.

With all that said...I wouldn’t do a thing...I would force my dealer to resolve it. Not worth compromising the air bag system.

 

[sethsquire]

No not like glue at all. It’s insulation...almost styrofoam-like texture. So it expands the area but remains soft and brittle.

With all that said...I wouldn’t do a thing...I would force my dealer to resolve it. Not worth compromising the air bag system.

I'll take it to the dealer as a last resort, but I'd much prefer to try and identify and fix the problem myself. I feel like they're going to at least be attempting the same things as me, namely poking and prodding and stuffing things in places. Maybe they'd take steps to drop the headliner and get into it a little more, but I hate the idea of a bunch of greasy-handed techs manhandling my suede headliner.

Your comments gave me an interesting idea, though: foam. I took some ridged packing foam from my office and will try stuffing it some places.

 

[3.3t_Siberian_Ice]

I'll take it to the dealer as a last resort, but I'd much prefer to try and identify and fix the problem myself. I feel like they're going to at least be attempting the same things as me, namely poking and prodding and stuffing things in places. Maybe they'd take steps to drop the headliner and get into it a little more, but I hate the idea of a bunch of greasy-handed techs manhandling my suede headliner.

Your comments gave me an interesting idea, though: foam. I took some ridged packing foam from my office and will try stuffing it some places.

You should avoid trying to Fix a new car by yourself.. If u can't resolve the issue your then going to have to resort to the dealer and they will not fix your problem if they notice that you've tampered with it. You need to speak to the service manager or call their head office. I had the same issue and it's been fixed by the dealer. Don't cause yourself more headaches by fixing it yourself. Your going to cause alot of consequences you will not be happy with..