Concerns - Popping/Creaking Noise from Sunroof

[Marc Collins]

I just thoroughly checked my roof when it was open yesterday. Solid as a rock. There is zero possibility that a roof that moves and clatters is normal. I suspect they will all loosen over time. The more you drive with it open and the rougher the roads you drive on with it open will accelerate the inevitable. Unfortunately, you can go to dozens of car model enthusiast sites and approximately 100% of them will have people complaining about rattly sunroofs.

The point of this post is that there are at least two different issues at play here.

One, loose sunroof installations where the roof and brackets have play in them and that causes noises.

Two, some sort of rubbing of/on the bar at the front of the sunroof, that occurs when the roof is closed, but disappears when the roof is open, even a crack. Applying slight pressure to that bar to presumably separate it from the glass/metal/something of the moving part of the roof itself usually temporarily cures the problem. Just closing the inner cover can sometimes make a difference.

I have the latter problem, but not the former. Some people must have both.

KIA needs to fix both, because neither are normal, though we will never have silent sunroofs because those do not exist. I categorize this the same as the infamous hatch latch rattle. First, they denied the issue. Then, they realized their design for the hatch rubber support mounts was off by a tiny margin, allowing the metal latch pieces to clang together over bumps. They devised a simple, incredibly cheap solution that was only half effective in most cases. Luckily in that case we could just go to Home Depot and buy $1 washers and re-do the fix ourselves. We're still in the denial phase just starting to see signs of acknowledgement and working on a fix. Sadly, the need for the manufacturer to go through the phases on every single problem in the car are as predictable as the sun rising every day

 

[Revvdmedia]

There is undoubtedly delays on Kia officially acknowledging the problem because if the true solution was to replace all sunroofs, to the sum of 5K or more, if let's pretend 10% have problems, that's a huge bill for Kia to pay.

I know Kia knows there is an issue because of that TSB issued in Australia to add silicone to the (mounting bolts?) Of the sunroof to fix noises. This TSB acknowledges that noises exist and they have been deemed non compliant from a quality standpoint.

 

[Doel]

mine is starting to get worse. Before I couldn't hear anything at all with the shade closed, now I'm hearing it from time to time. Can't drive at all with the shade open, but with the glass open it's fine. I need to bring it in soon anyway, the steering wheel creaking is driving me insane.

 

[Marc Collins]

There is undoubtedly delays on Kia officially acknowledging the problem because if the true solution was to replace all sunroofs, to the sum of 5K or more, if let's pretend 10% have problems, that's a huge bill for Kia to pay.

I know Kia knows there is an issue because of that TSB issued in Australia to add silicone to the (mounting bolts?) Of the sunroof to fix noises. This TSB acknowledges that noises exist and they have been deemed non compliant from a quality standpoint.

Yes, like the equally ridiculous replace the entire audio head unit to solve the infamous fader problem. When you can't figure-out how to work with individual components (the entire sunroof is likely supplied by a third party, as is the audio unit), or, prefer to just pass on problems to suppliers (the fader issue MUST have been software or firmware-related, but why bother fixing your own mess when you just force the supplier to change their unit to adapt to the poor design of your car).

The problem is while they think about negotiating a forced mass replacement of sunroofs at the expense of their supplier, they are failing to work on much simpler solutions to two aspects of the problem (loose glass fitting and the horizontal bar at the front of the roof rubbing or touching some other metal part). The mass replacement will be so costly as to involve extended discussions with lots of lawyers even before any serious discussion occurs. But if you are lazy, you explore that first before taking responsibility for your own QC issues. The fact that some of these issues will get worse over time and that a complete replacement may temporarily "solve" the problem adds confusion to the mix.

 

[Revvdmedia]

This is why I wish each manufacture had NVH specialist that could be mobilized as needed to actually find root causes of these problems. While those employees have a cost, there could be long term cost savings by finding simpler solutions to these issues. The dealerships rarely have a specialized person like that in their employ specifically skilled in finding noises and tasked with root causes analysis. While I may not bet my own money on it, I feel confident with the headliner completely removed and someone operating the vehicle, with some time I bet I could find the actual source or piece causing some of our issues. The problem is I'm not willing to do that myself on a brand new car with warranty. It's just that extra bit of effort and ambition that leads to results.

These types of employees may exist within Kia, but I've heard a few stories with our sunroofs and engineers deeming the noises "within specification." I can't agree with that considering the high level of NVH control in modern vehicles. Price point should not be a factor, but if a Chevy Spark can be quiet in the interior, why can't a 50,000 dollar Kia? Is low quality considered compliant and acceptable from a quality standpoint from Kia's perspective?

 

[Nexitus]

Went back to the dealership today after a few months back on the road after an initial visit where they re-lubed the rubber pieces between the doors and the car.

Tech. said its quite common for vehicles that he's seen that this happened because of the rigidity of how the cars are built and how the rubber hardens over time. Same story as before, but I mean, I'll take his word for it second round and see how far we get before doing anything more drastic at this point. The car is only 12,000 km which is a bit sad.

It is happening for both driver and passenger side front doors at least and the sunroof as well...

Bought a thing of Sonax Rubber Protectant as backup and see if that helps at all.

Almost feel like calling KIA Canada on this issue as I have another issue with ISG never working (almost)

 

[eflyguy]

Almost feel like calling KIA Canada on this issue as I have another issue with ISG (Idle Stop and Go) never working (almost)

ISG needs a set of conditions to be met before it will engage, battery voltage and load on the system being key. Many threads here discussing it.

 

[StingaGT]

My dealer fixed sunroof rattle back in July.
It was good for a month and the noise came back.
At the time, the fix was by making adjustments in the frame.
I'm going to have to get it fixed again, it actually got worse than what it was before.

 

[Marc Collins]

Great... After having no creaking from my sunroof, just the occasional rattle from the front section if the headliner was not closed, I got in the car the other day and could not believe the creaking/popping sounds from what sounded like all around the perimeter of the roof. I realize now why other people were being driven batty by this problem. It was not hot and nothing else changed in the car--it just decided to start creaking. Unbelievable

 

[Revvdmedia]

Great... After having no creaking from my sunroof, just the occasional rattle from the front section if the headliner was not closed, I got in the car the other day and could not believe the creaking/popping sounds from what sounded like all around the perimeter of the roof. I realize now why other people were being driven batty by this problem. It was not hot and nothing else changed in the car--it just decided to start creaking. Unbelievable

Bring it in, strength in numbers! Oddly enough, today (although it was raining a little), my roof was rather quiet, only very minute teeny tiny ticks. Just weird how some days it is absolutely horrendous and others pretty much bearable. Maybe because it was cloudy and no direct sunlight was on the roof, that seems to be when it's at its worst. Chances are with it being the end of September, it's going to not be as loud as it was and the dealers here for some reason want to ride with you to hear it on every visit even though I have it documented as a problem from prior visits, so chances are I'm going to get the old "cannot replicate" until it warms up consistently next spring...as much as I want to help myself and the team, I KNOW I'll be wasting my time trying to get it fixed before then...unless it starts getting noisy in winter too (I HOPE NOT).

 

[MerlintheMad]

Great... After having no creaking from my sunroof, just the occasional rattle from the front section if the headliner was not closed, I got in the car the other day and could not believe the creaking/popping sounds from what sounded like all around the perimeter of the roof. I realize now why other people were being driven batty by this problem. It was not hot and nothing else changed in the car--it just decided to start creaking. Unbelievable

Total miles? Or possibly only "how long"? I'm not expecting to remain forever immune to noises. Machines dry up and slowly wear out. Tolerances slip. Seals dry out. Dirt slowly forces its way "in", etc. and etc. and etc.

If/when a door or the sunroof starts to be noisy, I'll concentrate first on making sure everything is clean (debris free), tight and lubricated. Since I have not had a single noise anywhere thus far (18 months and c. 27.5K miles), I know that a manifesting noise will be the result of age/wear and not something that Kia got wrong during assembly. Those with noises right off the dealer's lot have a different issue entirely: those vehicles had less than stellar assembly and need to be fixed. Noises coming on much later are caused by a need for maintenance, not fixing a flaw.

 

[westcoastGT]

Great... After having no creaking from my sunroof, just the occasional rattle from the front section if the headliner was not closed, I got in the car the other day and could not believe the creaking/popping sounds from what sounded like all around the perimeter of the roof. I realize now why other people were being driven batty by this problem. It was not hot and nothing else changed in the car--it just decided to start creaking. Unbelievable

.........hmmm I would suggest cleaning the rubber gaskets and all other moving parts or parts that come in contact with moving parts then carefully apply Shinetsu grease to the rubber gaskets ( and all other door/hatch gaskets as well ) I hope your car hasn't developed the "DSS" .........dreaded sunroof syndrome !!!

 

[Marc Collins]

.........hmmm I would suggest cleaning the rubber gaskets and all other moving parts or parts that come in contact with moving parts then carefully apply Shinetsu grease to the rubber gaskets ( and all other door/hatch gaskets as well ) I hope your car hasn't developed the "DSS" .........dreaded sunroof syndrome !!!

I did apply Shin Etsu about a month ago!! Bought it specifically due to all the issues with this car.

My roof is tight and does not rattle when open the way some others do (even if I bang on it). There is/was a bit of noise from the metal bar area at the front of the sunroof--figured that could be dealt with at some point when people figured-out what needed to be tightened, or how to keep it tight. But this is a completely different issue that I had not appreciated when reading about it until I heard it myself. It's like the plastic (?) support struts on the underside of the sunroof are suddenly grating against whatever they rest on when the roof is closed. It's a symphony of creaks from all around the roof. I know you had the entire rails replaced...I can now understand why if there was no other solution found. If it is the rails, then I am afraid new ones will just start doing it again after they loosen or wear or age.

I am at a loss to know what suddenly happened, other than BEFORE I greased the rubber, there was not this problem...

 

[westcoastGT]

I did apply Shin Etsu about a month ago!! Bought it specifically due to all the issues with this car.

My roof is tight and does not rattle when open the way some others do (even if I bang on it). There is/was a bit of noise from the metal bar area at the front of the sunroof--figured that could be dealt with at some point when people figured-out what needed to be tightened, or how to keep it tight. But this is a completely different issue that I had not appreciated when reading about it until I heard it myself. It's like the plastic (?) support struts on the underside of the sunroof are suddenly grating against whatever they rest on when the roof is closed. It's a symphony of creaks from all around the roof. I know you had the entire rails replaced...I can now understand why if there was no other solution found. If it is the rails, then I am afraid new ones will just start doing it again after they loosen or wear or age.

I am at a loss to know what suddenly happened, other than BEFORE I greased the rubber, there was not this problem...

keep us posted , temperature was a major contributor to my issue , warmer = worse , colder = relatively quiet ...............so far, more than a year after surgery,my car is dead quiet .

 

[Marc Collins]

keep us posted , temperature was a major contributor to my issue , warmer = worse , colder = relatively quiet ...............so far, more than a year after surgery,my car is dead quiet .

I am sure that's the case. It's too hot in the summer to have the headliner open, so it was only now that I opened it and received the new symphony. I am sure if I had driven with it open and roof closed in the more extreme heat, it would have been the same or worse. I will monitor as it gets cooler, though.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I am sure that's the case. It's too hot in the summer to have the headliner open, so it was only now that I opened it and received the new symphony. I am sure if I had driven with it open and roof closed in the more extreme heat, it would have been the same or worse. I will monitor as it gets cooler, though.

My sunshade does muffle a lot of the noises, most of the pops and a lot of the teeny tiny ticking noises. If you had yours closed, it's possible there was an issue that you never did hear.

 

[Socalstinga]

most, if not all of this is likely due to design and it being Panoramic. most sunroofs are basically the sheet metal of the roof that surrounds the retractable glass portion of the sunroof. But in this car it is glass that borders the retractable portion, then the sheet metal of the roof. Not sure if I'm explaining adequately, but I noticed this when I was cleaning my other car last week.

 

[Dom]

They're both set up similarly so I would say yes, same location.

I'm really hoping it doesnt come to that. I already lathered on that Shin Etsu like a greasy car salesman.

I also tried that fabric tape like some suggested. It was great as long as you didnt open the sunroof. The second you do, it tears right off. Mine went flying on a state trooper behind me. Thought for sure I would get pulled over but he didnt. Fail.

First world problems.

There is no such lip on the Stinger sunroof.

 

[Bobr]

keep us posted , temperature was a major contributor to my issue , warmer = worse , colder = relatively quiet ...............so far, more than a year after surgery,my car is dead quiet .

Can you tell us one more time about that "surgery"? Maybe you have any docs/TSBs?

 

[Revvdmedia]

Can you tell us one more time about that "surgery"? Maybe you have any docs/TSBs?

He had everything except the glass changed out. There is no official TSB, at least nothing any of us can get out of the dealer. Rumor from Texas is that there is one in the works with no specific ETA.