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Is yours creaking?

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#3 ·
I have the same thing as in the first post: a creak / squeak coming from the corner of the dash on the passenger side when driving at low speed over bumps that put the vehicle frame under a torsional load, such as when entering my driveway from the street and in doing so "climbing" up the curb at an angled approach. It also seems to come and go depending on the ambient temperature (I live in Calgary, Alberta, where the daily temperature has a tendency to fluctuate significantly).

I came across this thread by doing a search, it has been dormant for a while, just wondering if the originator ever managed to locate the cause. It's really annoying, as my D is otherwise tight and rattle / squeak / creak free. Any info others can share would be much appreciated so that I can direct the dealership in how they troubleshoot and fix it.
 
#5 ·
OMG! Fineline, went to take my dad for a ride in the new D he shuts the door and the damn vent falls out! He just looks at me...and laughs. I have taken it back 3 times to have it put back in. Still comes out.
 
Discussion starter · #7 · (Edited)
CalgaryDurangoRT said:
I have the same thing as in the first post: a creak / squeak coming from the corner of the dash on the passenger side when driving at low speed over bumps that put the vehicle frame under a torsional load, such as when entering my driveway from the street and in doing so "climbing" up the curb at an angled approach. It also seems to come and go depending on the ambient temperature (I live in Calgary, Alberta, where the daily temperature has a tendency to fluctuate significantly).

I came across this thread by doing a search, it has been dormant for a while, just wondering if the originator ever managed to locate the cause. It's really annoying, as my D is otherwise tight and rattle / squeak / creak free. Any info others can share would be much appreciated so that I can direct the dealership in how they troubleshoot and fix it.
Click to expand...
Forgot to update. It's exactly my issue where I leave my house I drive over pretty high curb at an angle. I've taken it to dealership twice. First time they couldn't reproduce it. Second time I came in with the video showing when the creak occurs and took them on a test drive where I barely was able to reproduce it. It seems temperature dependent, as well as how uneven the surface is. So they had it for 3 days, determined the noise was because of the improper seal in the windshield which they took out and put it back. When I drove out of the dealers lot I didn't have an noise, but the next day as I was leaving home it was back. It was back in August and I had the noise since then, but I was getting used to it. It's now cooler and with radio and HVAC you can't really hear anything. I am pretty sure it will be back next summer. So if you happen to take to a dealer and they would find a root cause please update.

Here is a video of it

 
#8 ·
I have a similar noise, slightly higher pitch, but mine is nowhere near as loud as in the video. To me, it sounds like a bushing in the front suspension. I figured it is possibly from my accident, but more probably due to lowering the vehicle. It is barely noticeable from outside, and from inside the radio will mask the sound even at lower volumes.
 
#9 ·
that video sounds to me like a suspension creak not so much inside, i would check to see if there is a stiffener that runs from the subframe to the body of the car. We get this type of creak on Mercedes GL vehicles becuase of that brace not being tight enough. I do believe i read somewhere this is a shared chassis of that vehicle.
 
#10 ·
Since you can reproduce it( at least you think you will when it gets warmer) I would have someone in the passenger seat to put pressure in different areas of the dash, door, windshield, pillar, etc to see if it can be isolated. It does seem thought that it might be coming from the suspension due to how you can recreate it.

Marty
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Well, it's not 100% reproducible that's the problem, so I doubt it's a suspension. It seems to happen more often during hot days or after driving it for a while. Right now when it's cool and I exit my driveway it doesn't do it, but when I come back sometimes it does it. I've tried pressing on different things in the dashboard and so far no luck.
 
#12 ·
First of all thanks for all the views and replies. Klasango, seems like you and I have exactly the same issue. I had my wife push on the passenger vent while entering the driveway and it still made the creaking noise, so if it is that I think it's coming from further inside the dash - at least that's what it sounds like.

The suggestion of a frame stiffener member being a bit loose sounds plausible to me, but there's nothing obviously visible from within the engine bay...I've got my first oil change coming up, I'll take a video of my noise and see what the dealer comes up with. I won't accept a window seal fix based on the experience of others so far...
 
#13 ·
Update: I think I discovered (by accident) the cause of the creak. I think it's coming from the passenger side front quarter panel (the portion of the body skin that wraps around the front wheel and stops at passenger door). When I push this part of the bodywork at either the very bottom or along the fender crease line near the windshield, I can replicate the same creaking sound. The other side of the car doesn't do this. This fits the symptoms as this part of the body is subjected to twisting forces when the car is driven up over a driveway lip as in the video posted earlier in this thread. It would also explain the temperature sensitivity of the creak.

Klasango, if you can test this on your car, that would help form a definitive theory that this is the cause.

So now the real question is how to fix this? Is it a factory body panel fitment issue?
 
#14 ·
CalgaryDurangoRT said:
Update: I think I discovered (by accident) the cause of the creak. I think it's coming from the passenger side front quarter panel (the portion of the body skin that wraps around the front wheel and stops at passenger door). When I push this part of the bodywork at either the very bottom or along the fender crease line near the windshield, I can replicate the same creaking sound. The other side of the car doesn't do this. This fits the symptoms as this part of the body is subjected to twisting forces when the car is driven up over a driveway lip as in the video posted earlier in this thread. It would also explain the temperature sensitivity of the creak.

Klasango, if you can test this on your car, that would help form a definitive theory that this is the cause.

So now the real question is how to fix this? Is it a factory body panel fitment issue?
Click to expand...
Creaking the way you've described sounds like a definite warranty issue. Now that you know how to reproduce the noise, you have something to show them at the service department on a claim. I'd double check to make sure it's completely reproducable, take it back up and show them exactly how you found the noise. That should give you a starting point.

Good luck.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
CalgaryDurangoRT said:
Update: I think I discovered (by accident) the cause of the creak. I think it's coming from the passenger side front quarter panel (the portion of the body skin that wraps around the front wheel and stops at passenger door). When I push this part of the bodywork at either the very bottom or along the fender crease line near the windshield, I can replicate the same creaking sound. The other side of the car doesn't do this. This fits the symptoms as this part of the body is subjected to twisting forces when the car is driven up over a driveway lip as in the video posted earlier in this thread. It would also explain the temperature sensitivity of the creak.

Klasango, if you can test this on your car, that would help form a definitive theory that this is the cause.

So now the real question is how to fix this? Is it a factory body panel fitment issue?
Click to expand...
Thanks! I will try this out and update
 
#16 ·
Yep, yesterday driving on a rough road at about 60 MPH while on a trip in Florida and there it is! Sounds like it's coming from inside the dash to me but I'm old and hard hearing!

What to do?

Frank
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
I tried pressing all around quarter panel and even the liner above the wheel and couldn't get creaking, but the car wasn't driven for a day and it was cold. Perhaps, it needs to be actually creaking to be able to reproduce it manually.
 
#18 ·
Klasango, indeed mine was creaking the same day I was able to push on the quarter panel and make the same sound. I will definitely be taking it back to the dealer with this diagnosis; they have already admitted they could hear the sound (I was able to reproduce it driving slowly over speed bumps with a tech in the vehicle) but they wanted to wait until it became more pronounced to be attempt to isolate the cause.

I'll update again once I've been back to the dealer with the new quarter panel diagnosis.
 
#19 ·
I had the same issue. There is a piece of foam between the chassis and front fender that appears to prevent some of the front fender movement that causes the creaking noise. You can see it if you open the door and look where the door hinges are. I moved the foam so the fender couldn't move and squeak. The problem seems to be gone. I thought this was solved before, so time will tell. Good luck!
 
#20 ·
Big Black, I saw that piece of foam, but to me it seems to be designed to sit up against the opening between the door hinges and chassis. I looked at the driver's side (non-creaking) and it's the same. I have an apt at the dealer on Tuesday, I will ask specifically what the foam is intended to do. Good to hear that moving it seems to have stopped yours from creaking. I didn't move mine because I was concerned about not being able to move it back if it didn't work...:)
 
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