Dome Light Removal

[Status]

I have a 5-door 3 with sunroof and something in my roof is rattling at any speed. If I apply just a small amount of pressure to the "dome light" this rattle goes away. I've tried to remove the light to see if there are some wires I can tape up, but the fixture is in damn tight. I didn't find anything to unscrew, so opted to be safe and drop the question here.

Anyone know how to remove the dome light in a 3 5-door with sunroof?

 

[dulog]

I have the exact same problem. It pisses me off. I don't hear it on all roads though, only ones with a grainy or rough surface.

I'm able to pull the dome light behind the sunroof down out of the headliner by pulling firmly on one side until it comes down, and then the opposite side comes down as well. Once it's down it just dangles by the wiring which there seems to be about 5 inches of play or so. Maybe my dome light isn't quite as tight as yours. Try doing it in cooler weather if possible?

One thing is for sure the rattle isn't coming from anything in the dome light assembly itself. With my wife driving, I had it pulled down one time and was holding it real tight. I could still hear the rattle up somewhere in the roof and it wasn't coming from the light. Like you describe though, applying presure to the dome light (when it's in it's place of course) while driving makes the rattle go away.

I've only pulled it down twice, once while my wife was driving and once by myself with the car parked. I wasn't able to see/feel anything obvious in there causing the problem, but I think I would have better luck if I would have been in the backseat instead of the passenger seat the time I tried while the car was being driven. I may give it another shot sometime, but I think the headliner will need to be dropped to figure out the problem and I'm not sure I'm capable of handling that task by myself. I've already had it to the dealer a few times for this and they struck out (but I'm really wondering if they actually spent any time on it). It's a hassle to do, but I think I'm going to take it back again for them to look at it.

If I'm able to get a fix I'll let you know how. Good luck!

 

[Status]

Thanks for the information Dulog. Doesn't sound like it's wiring in your case and probably not mine. It will probably end up being something that I'll just have to live with. I'll try pulling it out tonight.

 

[dulog]

Do you think you'll give a dealer a shot at fixing it?

I was at this place called "Car Toys" that speciallizes in car electronics, accessories and what not. I got to talking to them about dynomat and asked how difficult it was to drop the headliner and explained my problem. They said they've fixed things like that before and usually there's a bolt or something that's loose and causes something else to rattle. They seemed pretty confident they could fix it, but suggested I go back to the dealer and say "you need to fix this for me or I'll have Car Toy's fix it and I'll send you the bill". They said a car that new shouldn't have rattles and dealers should service it. So I 've been thinking about going back, not sure that's the approach I'm going to take.

 

[AzMz3]

I had the rattle come from the map lights and moonroof switch area. I just pulled it off and slide a small peice of cardboard between the moonroof motor and the headliner and no more rattle. I just need to get rid of the rear deck rattle next, but it is not that bad.