Concerns - Popping/Creaking Noise from Sunroof

[Marc Collins]

When you say the noise stops when the roof is open, do you mean the glass only tilted up, or the glass slid back a little bit? Mine is noisier with the glass tilted up but silent with it slid back.

The ticking caused by the roof resting on the rail is eliminated as soon as you move the roof even 1 mm out of it's resting place. As mentioned, all I have to do is wedge something temporary in there that separates the two pieces.

Sunroofs rattling while they are open is an extremely common problem (can't remember a car I owned that did not do this to some extent...out of about 10) and likely unrelated to the creaking while closed. But, if you have literally the same creaking with it open or closed, then maybe there is a larger issue with how the entire rail system is mounted in the metal roof of the car? That seemed to be the case for @westcoastGT, so I am sure he will comment.

The Aussie fix will/can only address the creaking while the roof is closed.

 

[Marc Collins]

My door "Ticking" was eliminated with the new sunroof frame , it was a game changer for rigidity and audio sound !!

I hate to be one of those forum people, but by how much would the old sunroof rails have to be misshapen (or too small) to cause a degradation in overall body rigidity to the extent that it would affect flex in the doors or door frames? I would suspect enough that you would have water pouring in from the gap. It is extremely improbable that replacing a sunroof mount with the same unit could have any impact whatsoever, let alone a noticeable one, to body rigidity of the car. It's much more likely that the major gasket/seal problem is at the front of the roof, but as things get worse the seal all around the roof starts to creak and you were hearing that and mistaking it for side door creaking.

It would also mean that the Aussie fix may only address the earliest signs of the problem or only one-quarter of the issue. Depends--how much new material is being injected and whether it affects all four perimeter edges of the roof. I suspect the vast majority of the weight of the roof is resting on the front edge and the sides and rear may only creak if the front is totally wrecked. Your car may have had no or a defective seal from the factory. That would also explain how your audio was improved because, again, there should be zero impact on noise intrusion unless the original had a gap multiples larger than it should have. Other than getting a car where they missed putting in the normal seal, or it was an early defective production that shrunk and hardened prematurely, nothing rational explains your experience.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I hate to be one of those forum people, but by how much would the old sunroof rails have to be misshapen (or too small) to cause a degradation in overall body rigidity to the extent that it would affect flex in the doors or door frames? I would suspect enough that you would have water pouring in from the gap. It is extremely improbable that replacing a sunroof mount with the same unit could have any impact whatsoever, let alone a noticeable one, to body rigidity of the car. It's much more likely that the major gasket/seal problem is at the front of the roof, but as things get worse the seal all around the roof starts to creak and you were hearing that and mistaking it for side door creaking.

It would also mean that the Aussie fix may only address the earliest signs of the problem or only one-quarter of the issue. Depends--how much new material is being injected and whether it affects all four perimeter edges of the roof. I suspect the vast majority of the weight of the roof is resting on the front edge and the sides and rear may only creak if the front is totally wrecked. Your car may have had no or a defective seal from the factory. That would also explain how your audio was improved because, again, there should be zero impact on noise intrusion unless the original had a gap multiples larger than it should have. Other than getting a car where they missed putting in the normal seal, or it was an early defective production that shrunk and hardened prematurely, nothing rational explains your experience.

It is possible that part of the sunroof frame repair included "new seals" or some form of silicone injection like the Aussie fix, but this is an unknown. If it was, this could be part of the reason for the replacement working as the fix, but maybe I'm just being optimistic for my own case.

 

[westcoastGT]

I hate to be one of those forum people, but by how much would the old sunroof rails have to be misshapen (or too small) to cause a degradation in overall body rigidity to the extent that it would affect flex in the doors or door frames? I would suspect enough that you would have water pouring in from the gap. It is extremely improbable that replacing a sunroof mount with the same unit could have any impact whatsoever, let alone a noticeable one, to body rigidity of the car. It's much more likely that the major gasket/seal problem is at the front of the roof, but as things get worse the seal all around the roof starts to creak and you were hearing that and mistaking it for side door creaking.

It would also mean that the Aussie fix may only address the earliest signs of the problem or only one-quarter of the issue. Depends--how much new material is being injected and whether it affects all four perimeter edges of the roof. I suspect the vast majority of the weight of the roof is resting on the front edge and the sides and rear may only creak if the front is totally wrecked. Your car may have had no or a defective seal from the factory. That would also explain how your audio was improved because, again, there should be zero impact on noise intrusion unless the original had a gap multiples larger than it should have. Other than getting a car where they missed putting in the normal seal, or it was an early defective production that shrunk and hardened prematurely, nothing rational explains your experience.

No offence taken ,you clearly have more patience than me , I can assure you I did as much personal diagnostics as I could ( and I would say I'm a very handy and capable person with above average mechanical and engineering skills) but I got to a point of almost selling the car due to the roof creaking , doors ticking and a general sense of the car being "loose" .........as with your experience ,when my roof was openned even slightly , the creaking would stop . I have experience "squeeky" seals on a BMW 550 and that sound was completely different from the problems encountered with the Stinger . I put Shin Etsu grease on every possible rubber seal in the roof and it had absolutely no impact , the dealer sprayed lube on all parts as well , with the net affect being I got overspray on my windows and seats ., but again no reduction in creaking ...............I was able to replicate the sound easily and with the Service mgr in the car to experience it and he made the call to get the frame replaced , I believe he knew the fix from previous experience with the same problem on the newer Sorentos...................... My doors never creaked , they ticked , and I would say metal creaks and rubber sqeeks . Take your issues to Kia Canada , my car is a case study for the roof issue . My complete sunroof frame was replaced not just the rails ..........I mentioned this to Rev , the Service mgr that oversaw my repair is now working at the Kia Dealer in Niagara Falls . Matt Butcher , he may be more helpful that Kia Canada , good luck............and yes now you are ..that guy

 

[westcoastGT]

When you say the noise stops when the roof is open, do you mean the glass only tilted up, or the glass slid back a little bit? Mine is noisier with the glass tilted up but silent with it slid back.

Mine was just as noisy when tilted up , as with your case it only stopped when it was slid back a few inches .

 

[StingaGT]

When you say the noise stops when the roof is open, do you mean the glass only tilted up, or the glass slid back a little bit? Mine is noisier with the glass tilted up but silent with it slid back.

Same here.
I was always thinking rear side of seals for sunroof was the issue as I was not able to reach that section to apply silicone grease.
but, I noticed the other day that it still makes creaking noise when it's tilted and the noise is completely gone when sunroof is completely open.
I'm very convinced that these noises are from the rubber seals, but the frame rigidity must have some impact as being discussed here.
I really hope Kia comes up with a solution that works..This is really disappointing.

 

[Daniel Egan]

@TigerGT64 keeping an eye on this one. I put mine in for three bloody weeks and they had a 3rd party body shop take the sunroof apart, reseal stuff and claim it's fixed. It's still noisy so would love to go back to them with the TSB number and have them actually fix it.

Car got three nice scratches out of their endeavour too, one running half the width of the cars roof.

 

[westcoastGT]

@TigerGT64 keeping an eye on this one. I put mine in for three bloody weeks and they had a 3rd party body shop take the sunroof apart, reseal stuff and claim it's fixed. It's still noisy so would love to go back to them with the TSB number and have them actually fix it.

Car got three nice scratches out of their endeavour too, one running half the width of the cars roof.

A good excuse to get your roof wrapped at their expense , mines being done in 2 weeks because they chipped a corner !

 

[Revvdmedia]

Car got three nice scratches out of their endeavour too, one running half the width of the cars roof.

I'm seriously considering wrapping the interior in that protective wrap guys wrap their sports car exteriors with over the winter and when they're doing engine swaps...but on the interior lol. I don't want the dealer destroying my interior.

 

[westcoastGT]

I'm seriously considering wrapping the interior in that protective wrap guys wrap their sports car exteriors with over the winter and when they're doing engine swaps...but on the interior lol. I don't want the dealer destroying my interior.

I would definitely wrap your metal trim at a minimum, they scratched the piece on my drivers door which they are replacing when I get the roof wrapped .

 

[Daniel Egan]

I would definitely wrap your metal trim at a minimum, they scratched the piece on my drivers door which they are replacing when I get the roof wrapped .

They tried to claim that the three cratches were already there (multi light scratches the sized of your fist on my bonnet from someone putting their tools on it no doubt) until they saw the one that ran half the width of the roof, clearly from someone trying to reinstall the glass that couldn't be justified by any logical means.

 

[ShannonC]

I would be getting right up the dealer. Although the dealer didn't cause the damage it's still responsible to return your car in the same condition you left it with them.

 

[Marc Collins]

I would be getting right up the dealer. Although the dealer didn't cause the damage it's still responsible to return your car in the same condition you left it with them.

How did they not cause the damage? Which message/situation are you replying to?

 

[ShannonC]

How did they not cause the damage? Which message/situation are you replying to?

See post #347 that clearly states "3rd party body shop".

 

[mitchyboy]

Yeah I can also confirm that Kia have acknowledged it is a known problem and issued a TSB. Had my car in on Monday to assess various noises and rattles. It's now booked in for 2 days next week to have the roof liner removed and sunroof issue fixed.

Update - the dealer did the TSB fix today. They called me this afternoon and advised that it has solved most of the noise problems, however it hasn't completely resolved it. They have spoken to Kia head office and have approval to do a complete removal and replacement. They will need the car for at least 1 week, and repairs will be done at a crash repairer. Booked in for the repair in 2 weeks.

 

[Daniel Egan]

Update - the dealer did the TSB fix today. They called me this afternoon and advised that it has solved most of the noise problems, however it hasn't completely resolved it. They have spoken to Kia head office and have approval to do a complete removal and replacement. They will need the car for at least 1 week, and repairs will be done at a crash repairer. Booked in for the repair in 2 weeks.

Did you get the TSB number and what dealer do you service through? I'll need to drop my car in again for a follow-up repair and will help immensely to have these details on hand.

 

[edgarciadesign]

Update - the dealer did the TSB fix today.

For all that is holy please tell us the TSB number! Hope it is solved for you!

 

[mitchyboy]

For all that is holy please tell us the TSB number! Hope it is solved for you!

I don't have the TSB number sorry. And no it didnt fix the problem, so I wouldnt get too excited about the TSB.

 

[ShannonC]

I don't have the TSB number sorry. And no it didnt fix the problem, so I wouldnt get too excited about the TSB.

Is TSB number on the service docket?

 

[mitchyboy]

Is TSB number on the service docket?

Haven't got it because they haven't completed the work yet.