Mazda 3 Sunroof/Sunshield Rattle

[terpkristin]

Has anybody found a way to eliminate the rattle that comes from the sunshield? It seems to be lessened when it's closed, but I prefer to drive with it open, and the rattle is loud enough and annoying enough that it's audible over whatever music I'm playing.

It's really frustrating to me, I've found that if I apply pressure to the middle-ish area of the sunshield, it doesn't rattle, but that's not conducive to good driving, either...I think it's mostly because it seems to be made of rather flimsy material. My mom has an Acura TSX that doesn't rattle, and her's is a lot thicker/sturdier.

I've had a lot of problems with my car already, I wish I could trade it in, but I wouldn't get nearly the value it's worth so I'm trying to make it "better," but there are so many things that were just so poorly designed on this car, it astounds me. This rattle, though, I think could be fixed easily, just wondering if anybody had already come up with a good solution.

/tk

 

[major error]

no rattles here. Just the sounds of air whooshing past...

 

[terpkristin]

I'm not talking about when the sunroof is open (though it makes the same noise when it's open, but it's less noticeable), this rattle seems to come from the sunshield whether the sunshield is open or closed, though it's more noisy when the sunshade is pushed back.

It's almost like driving/the road causes the sunshade to resonate so it flexes up and down. That's what it sounds like anyway. Anybody else have this? Anybody have a way to fix it?

/tk

 

[major error]

I'm not talking about when the sunroof is open

Neither was I.

Since it seems to be well-integrated into the roof, I doubt there's a whole lot you can do to fix it besides getting the dealer involved.

 

[tsunami]

sounds like a loose bolt or something just take it to the dealership and have them fix it you do have a warranty for a reason.... use it while you still can.

 

[terpkristin]

Neither was I.

Since it seems to be well-integrated into the roof, I doubt there's a whole lot you can do to fix it besides getting the dealer involved.

Oh, sorry, I just took the "air wooshing past" to mean it was open. The car is at the dealer now (for other issues) and they say they can't hear anything in my roof rattling (which I think I've isolated to the sunshade, if I apply pressure to the sunshade it goes away). Oh well. Maybe I'll figure something out.


/tk

 

[major error]

There's only a couple things I can think of that would cause a rattle like this.

-whatever catch or bracket is used to open the shade when you "slide" the moonroof isn't fully secured.
-the shade guide track isn't fully secured

...This assumes that it actually is the shade causing the problem.
What happens when you operate the moonroof?

 

[terpkristin]

There's only a couple things I can think of that would cause a rattle like this.

-whatever catch or bracket is used to open the shade when you "slide" the moonroof isn't fully secured.
-the shade guide track isn't fully secured

...This assumes that it actually is the shade causing the problem.
What happens when you operate the moonroof?

When I use the moonroof? Seems to operate normally. I mean, it tilts up and down no problem, opens fully and closes no problem if I open it up (non-tilt mode I mean).

I was surprised the dealer said they couldn't hear a rattle...my mom was driving in the car with me and noticed it, and she's partially deaf, so I figured if she could hear it, it must be real (and not me just wanting my car "perfect.") I'm going tomorrow morning to pick up the car from the dealership, so I'll double-check everything else and see if there's anything obvious I can see. As I said, comparing it to other sunshades I've seen on other cars, the only thing I've really noticed so far is that it's thin, so I just assumed it was rattling at some resonant frequency or something.

/tk

 

[major error]

I should've said, "what happens to the noise when..."

You need to do a bit more detective work to pinpoint the problem. Just saying that the sound decreases when you push on the shade isn't enough. The fact that it gets louder when you open it could suggest a problem with the moonroof, that's why I asked about it.

 

[terpkristin]

I should've said, "what happens to the noise when..."

You need to do a bit more detective work to pinpoint the problem. Just saying that the sound decreases when you push on the shade isn't enough. The fact that it gets louder when you open it could suggest a problem with the moonroof, that's why I asked about it.

I'll give it a listen when I pick it up tomorrow, and report back.
Thanks for your help, I'm sorry I'm totally inept when it comes to cars.

/tk

 

[Olestra]

If you really are convinced that there's a problem but they "can't find it" then insist that you go for a test drive with a service tech. Drive the car around and then point out the rattle.
They won't be able to refuse it if it's obvious.