Sunroof rattling...

[killak007]

So I bought this 2004 A4 in early Nov and it's developed a pretty noticeable rattle. It's more noticeable when the shade to my moonroof is open, or when the moonroof is on tilt, or open. If the moonroof and shade are both shut, the rattle is less significant. The rattle is right behind the sunroof, somewhere where the shade and moonroof retract into.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Also, this car has a year left on the CPO warranty....is this something that could be considered a defect and thus be covered under the warranty?

Thanks in advance...

[Pete4 1.8t]

I think mine rattles too, but I don't even know how to begin taking it apart to fix it.

[b6quattro]

That's funny, mine started doing this today too! It pisses me off beyond belief but until I can take it to have it looked at I tilted the sunroof up and then shoved a sleeve of a t-shirt (that I ripped off) in between the little metal bar and the glass. I think I explained that pretty well . I will post of pictures in a little bit of the thing that is broken to see if we have the same rattling POS sunroof.

[AudiA4Turbo22]

mine is really bad it sounds like a piece of metal is bouncing:

here's what it is:

the little deflector that pops up when u tilt it up if u get out of the car and look at the back on the roof portion there is a plastic deflector if u move it up and down u'll see it rattle, use some felt on the portion that strikes the roof, it is towards the rear of the piece.

[b6quattro]

Thank you, that's a perfect way to describe it. Mine is connected on the passenger side but the drivers side has snapped off. Does anyone know how to fix that deflector? Such as taking the old one out and replacing it

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^sunroof has to be taken apart or at least the headliner must come off.

[b6quattro]

I was afraid of that... Eeek! wonder how much that run me...

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^just JB weld it lol not the best way but it works.

[b6quattro]

Oh shit good idea. I'm so paranoid about interior noises! Sounds crazy but my old truck fucked with me for 2 years with all of its noises, so when I got into this car it was so quite until today! ******

Thanks for the help and sorry to thread jack but hopefully it helped the op!

[AudiA4Turbo22]

^^anytime my car rattles like a Ford it sux but i can't track them all down.

[b6quattro]

That's why I wont have this car long enough to start doing shit like that. Who cares it's only a car right? Wrong. It drives me nuts

[BNZ TOY]

Just in case:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=254288

[b6quattro]

Just an update to the OP... I used JB weld last night to bond the driver's side of the deflector that broke off and it seems to be working great. I let it cure over night and this morning it tilted and retracted multiple times with no problem. I hope that helps

[dougyfresh]

mine is really bad it sounds like a piece of metal is bouncing:

here's what it is:

the little deflector that pops up when u tilt it up if u get out of the car and look at the back on the roof portion there is a plastic deflector if u move it up and down u'll see it rattle, use some felt on the portion that strikes the roof, it is towards the rear of the piece.

BINGO!

You most likely have one side out of engagement causing it to rattle. Snap it back into place and you're golden. My sunroof rattled for years and I finally figured out what Kirk posted above this summer. Snapped it back together and now no rattle. I got in there without removing anything. Had a mirror to see what I was doing ala dentist style.

[killak007]

BINGO!

You most likely have one side out of engagement causing it to rattle. Snap it back into place and you're golden. My sunroof rattled for years and I finally figured out what Kirk posted above this summer. Snapped it back together and now no rattle. I got in there without removing anything. Had a mirror to see what I was doing ala dentist style.

Man, you guys are good. So the best position to fiddle in is while the sunroof is tilted open? And if it's loose, just snap it back in with my fingers? Thanks...

[b6quattro]

/\ /\ True, unless yours is like mine... broken. But if you read a couple posts up I used JB Weld to bond the 2 pieces back together and it came out awesome... Although I am not confident to use it again haha, it's not rattling so idc

[b6quattro]

Oh and yes, best position is tilted all the way up. You can get your fingers in inside pretty well to work

[AudiA4Turbo22]

Man, you guys are good. So the best position to fiddle in is while the sunroof is tilted open? And if it's loose, just snap it back in with my fingers? Thanks...

or u can open it all the way back the deflector will still be there.

[brynreynolds]

I have the same issue unfortunately... The plastic arm that connects the underside of the glass to the wind deflector is broken in two. My question is; how is this arm attached to the underside of the wind deflector? If it just snaps into place with clips I could easily remove it to either replace it, or more easily J-B Weld a repair without the weight of the deflector being a problem. I can see that the top end of the arm is held in place by a screw to the underside of the sunroof glass' frame, but access to the screw head is obscured by the bellows on either side of the glass; making easy entire replacement of the broken arm a problem. Any further advice re: replacing the broken arm or detaching the bottom of it for easier repair would be greatly appreciated.

Edit: Further inspection in the light of day shows that the broken 'arm' is an integral part of the wind deflector and is riveted to it. The drivers' side of the wind deflector is also wobbling free, but has a tooth perpendicular to it's direction of travel, presumably that should be inside a 'rail' to direct and control it's movement, or inside some form of 'caddy' that slides backward and forward on the rail for the same purpose?

I would still appreciate anybodies input based on their experience of resolving this problem.

[scottycali4nia]

I had the same problem without anything broken, the thing would just rattle like crazy. If you hit the wind deflector at the back it would make this nasty rattle sound. so i attacked the problem after reading this forum and working up the courage to take my car apart. It took me about 30 min and a torx bit.

1. Remove the rubber accordion looking things on the left and right side if the sunroof. (start with the upper back side and pull away. its connected to a Christmas tree type clip.)
2. Remove the 3 torx screws on the left and right side and remove the glass. (6 in total. 3 on each side)
3. pop the wind deflector off. (i used a screwdriver and popped the shaft out of the holder on each side)
OPTION: Throw the stupid thing away if you want. and there will be no rattle.... OR

I added some soft velcro to each of the runners at the back of the deflector. (looks like a teardrop with a half inch pin coming out the outer side)

Velcro strip was about 1/2 inch by 2 inches

I put a cable tie around the Velcro to make sure it didn't fall off for a long long time (because i hate that sound....)

then i put everything back together and went for a drive..

IT WAS GONE!!!! I couldn't believe it was that easy!

but there's another one in the glove box thats very very quiet that i didnt hear until the sunroof one went away.... i guess that's project two!

[LawDawg]

Mine just started rattling last week and it's driving me insane. I've isolated the noise to the passenger side rear corner. The part in the pic rattles back and forth, despite the presence of the felt pads. The driver's side is really tight. Is the the problem you all are describing? I tried to snap a pick of what I'm talking about. Does anyone have pics of the fix, DIY-style?

[LawDawg]

^^ Edit to the above: I can't see any arms or connectors that are broken or popped out. The arm going to the glass is fine, it seems like the wind deflector is popped out of something back in the roof, and it pivoting on the arm and shaking toward the back of the pic above.

[CoreyRS]

man, i have been looking for a thread like this for months....thanks guys

[LawDawg]

Ok, after reading this thread as well as the other, titled "Sunroof Fun," I was confident enough to try this on my own. It went flawlessly, and I remembered to grab my camera before I put it all back together. Hopefully this will help you all in your quest!

Pop up the sunroot into tilt, and then slide back the cover. First you need to take off the accordian-like covers. If you look in through the outside, you can see they are snug against a post on the frame of the sunroof mechanisim. Either start there, or inside by pinching and pulling. It comes out easy. Then remove the sunroof glass by taking out the 6 "Torx 20" screws. Once that's out, you'll have a great view of what's going on.


On the sunroof rails, there are these silver trays that hold the clip mechanisim that holds down the posts of the rear windscreen.

Tray on rails:

Clip that should be in the tray:

Post on back of windscreen:


Luckily, my clip only had popped off the tray. A previous poster (I think in the "Sunroof Fun" thread) actually had his rolling around in the headliner and had to fish it out. My clip was still attached to the post, but not to the tray. I then popped it off the post, and had it seperate. There are 3 holes in the tray, and three little nubs on the clip. It's pretty easy to see how they go together:



I put a little Gorilla Glue (just a smidge, as it expands...feel free to use epoxy, JB Weld, whatever) on there to motiviate it to stay put. I didn't opt for a more powerful glue, as nothing had broken, so didn't want to seal the deal. Put the clip back on the tray,

and then work the tray so it is directly under the windscreen post.


Press down and the post will 'click' very solidly back into the clip/tray assembly. If the clip itself is broken you may have to improvise.

Reassembly is super easy. Put the glass back on, and put all the screws back in loosely.

Then close the sunroof. It will be too low. Go outside your car and reach in with one hand and lift the back until it's just *barely* under the roofline. Tighten the back. Do the same then to the front. Then do it all over again on the other side.

The accordian covers are pretty easy. The bottom just slides into the track, and the top into the two pop holes, and the back on that little post.

Done.

[pape]

Great DIY Thanks

[Kevboarder]

my sunroof has been driving me insane, cant wait to try this! now does anyone know how to stop the ashray from ratteling on the center console? Tried paper, gum, ect just cant get the thing to shutup

[Tylerm99]

Just followed your DIY. The little black pieces were all the way at the rear of the car and I had to go fishing with a coat hanger! Still was under 30 minutes because of your excellent photos and descriptions. Thanks for helping me get rid of that super annoying rattle!!! :)

[LawDawg]

Very glad you found it helpful. Popped out and had to re-do mine. Luckily it's straightforward and easy.

[Fade2Black]

So glad I just found this!!
I was ready to kill someone, form this little rattle.

[Fade2Black]

Did this today and the write is spot on, thanks.

Only thing I needed to do was fish out the piece that was in the back of the headliner.

[OneBadAudi]

This thread is winning..Another way to isolate the rattle and turn your stereo up (with a sub of course) and you will find it..This will be my project for 2moro.. Yes yes

[LawDawg]

Glad you guys found this helpful!

[rollaphillie]

Glad you guys found this helpful!

Thanks for the write up, helped a lot.

Does anyone know the proper way to grease the sunroof rails, like where on the rails to apply it, how much etc...

[AlphaMale]

Lawdawg, awesome write up. Just did this and got rid of my rattle. Had the same issue as everyone else pretty much. I'm guessing I pushed the sliding overhead cover too far and knocked the windscreen posts off the tracks at some point in time. On the plus side, annoying rattle is gone...on the minus side, now that I have it all put together the damn sunroof wont retract to the open position. Oops. Anyone else run into this/ have ideas?

[LawDawg]

Lawdawg, awesome write up. Just did this and got rid of my rattle. Had the same issue as everyone else pretty much. I'm guessing I pushed the sliding overhead cover too far and knocked the windscreen posts off the tracks at some point in time. On the plus side, annoying rattle is gone...on the minus side, now that I have it all put together the damn sunroof wont retract to the open position. Oops. Anyone else run into this/ have ideas?

You might have to check and make sure everything is on the track properly. When I had to re-do mine, it was because I slammed the shade open too hard, and re-awoke the problem. I'm gentle with it now...no problems.

[LawDawg]

2nd follow up: I just re-did this AGAIN! This time I used JBWeld and got it on there good. Seems like once this happens, it's likely to happen again. You have to be very gentle sliding the sunshade.

While popping the clip off the rear windscreen post, it flew into the back fo the roof, so I had to fish with a coathanger like everyone else. Rite of passage I guess.

[LawDawg]

Fuck. This. Shit.

This is what happened while putting this fucking car back together for the 3rd time on this issue (that's a fucking metal part, for the uninitiated):



In the last year, I've dealt with: (i) Sunroof rear wind deflector, (ii) hinge on glovebox, (iii) hinge on center armrest lid, (iv) Driver's window regulator (2x), (v) Passenger's window regulator, (vi) ashtray hinge, (vii) left taillight bucket grommets (they hold it in place), oh, and how could I forget, (viii) the front right pinion bearing in the front differential which is connected to the MANUAL transmission (you know, things that should last a solid 250k - in the normal course of events, the ENTIRE CAR should wear out before a German manual transmission/differential).

I'm fucking done with these shitty cars.

[Fade2Black]

Mine is back also, but only when popped up. I'm dealing with it.

[Fade2Black]

I was looking for these things to replace. Is there part numbers?


Sent from the iPhone

[jonsaudi]

Thanks to this post, I just fixed my rattling issue. Both clips came loose and was stuck in the back of the headliner, but was able to fish both clips out. I glued the clips back on the tray w/ Loctite (really strong glue btw) just to ensure that it won't come off again. While at it, I lubed the railings and cleaned off some residue. Now, it's working like it should. No more rattling noise for me. Thanks again for the DIY..and I think this should be posted on the DIY thread...