Concerns - Popping/Creaking Noise from Sunroof

[Marc Collins]

Google translate.

Hello everyone. Today I will tell you how to fix the hated creak of the hatch on the passenger side that occurs when it is closed. The method I found is still experimental and not a fact that will help you too, but it helped me - now I am happy as an elephant!

1. Open the hatch completely

2. It is necessary to remove the plastic trim on the passenger side, marked on the photo

Full size



It is held by three latches and can be easily removed even with your hands, without a screwdriver. Do not break

Full size



3. Close the hatch halfway.

4. Loosen the front hatch bolt with a Torx T25 bat.

Full size



5. Close the hatch, then open the hatch to the end.
You will see how the loose fastener shifts during the opening process, as the bolt is not tightened.

6. Tighten the Torx T25 bolt back when the hatch is in the fully open position.

7. Close the hatch and check for creaking on bumps.

It helped me Apparently, the joint is due to a slight skew of the hatch when it was mounted at the factory. If this does not help, just loosen the front mounting bolt or even unscrew it completely, but a play may appear. Hope that helps you too. Unsubscribe about the results!

Will try this and report back after the first time my car is parked out in the sun for a while (which is not very often). It's always after that expansion/contraction process that the creaking is the worst.

Others please also do the same! It will be truly awesome if this works for all or even most.

 

[Bobr]

How about you take a picture yourself of the screw you loosened/tightened That solved it. some of us don’t like clicking random links in Russian.

So if I would not mention "Russian" in text there you would open it? If you don't like Russians that's your problem, sorry How to help people after all that...

 

[ShannonC]

So if I would not mention "Russian" in text there you would open it? If you don't like Russians that's your problem, sorry How to help people after all that...

I don't think he meant the comment with any offence. I opened it and there was an English translation option so no problems.

 

[nhcowboy28]

So if I would not mention "Russian" in text there you would open it? If you don't like Russians that's your problem, sorry How to help people after all that...

I don’t click sketchy links. Period. I work in IT. I know better.

 

[Job314]

I tried this fix this weekend. I have a clattering and a creaking passenger side sunroof, that only makes noise when the sunroof is closed. The shade deadens the noise when closed, but it's still there. The fix earlier described with adding foam/double-sided tape to the 'foot' helps, but does not resolve the issue.

Before starting I removed the double-sided tape on the 'foot' fix to return it to normal. Removing the passenger trim was indeed pretty easy and I had the right size bit to fit that Torx bolt. First, I tried the loosening and re-tightening procedure described for that forwards passenger bolt. This didn't seem to help. Next I removed the bolt completely. Also poor results. I then noticed there is some play up and down in how the sunroof is positioned when that forward bolt is loosened, so I pushed up on the sunroof while tightening the torx bolt to seat the sunroof higher. This helped somewhat, but didn't resolve the issue so I repeated the same procedure on the driver side. This really helped reduce the noise to an acceptable level, even with the sunshade open.

That said, I don't know if there are consequences of having the sunroof seated higher. The sunroof is still flush as viewed from the top of the car, so I'm hoping not, but I guess I'll find out when I wash my car next.

 

[evoMR]

I tried this fix this weekend. I have a clattering and a creaking passenger side sunroof, that only makes noise when the sunroof is closed. The shade deadens the noise when closed, but it's still there. The fix earlier described with adding foam/double-sided tape to the 'foot' helps, but does not resolve the issue.

Before starting I removed the double-sided tape on the 'foot' fix to return it to normal. Removing the passenger trim was indeed pretty easy and I had the right size bit to fit that Torx bolt. First, I tried the loosening and re-tightening procedure described for that forwards passenger bolt. This didn't seem to help. Next I removed the bolt completely. Also poor results. I then noticed there is some play up and down in how the sunroof is positioned when that forward bolt is loosened, so I pushed up on the sunroof while tightening the torx bolt to seat the sunroof higher. This helped somewhat, but didn't resolve the issue so I repeated the same procedure on the driver side. This really helped reduce the noise to an acceptable level, even with the sunshade open.

That said, I don't know if there are consequences of having the sunroof seated higher. The sunroof is still flush as viewed from the top of the car, so I'm hoping not, but I guess I'll find out when I wash my car next.

Also went through the steps above and while it didn't eliminate it altogether, it's much quieter now. I wonder if seating the first and second bolt would help improve it further

 

[Marc Collins]

Also went through the steps above and while it didn't eliminate it altogether, it's much quieter now. I wonder if seating the first and second bolt would help improve it further

Yes, I can now confirm that the "Torx fix" eliminated about 90% of the noises in my sunroof. It is so quiet now I can hear the door pillar creaking/squeaking noises again

I will do a second pass to see if I can get rid of the last 10% since it is such a relatively easy fix to perform. Even if it stays as-is, it is now tolerable and perhaps what an average person might expect from a cheap-ish car. Before, it was ridiculously annoying and embarrassing.

 

[siegs7]

Hey Stinger owners. Some potentially good news. I just spoke with Kia Client Services (1-855-454-2847) regarding my popping and cracking sunroof concern. Although they told me they don't currently have any 'recall' for this issue, she did tell me that if enough people call in with the same issue, they'll strongly consider issuing a recall and fix our sunroofs.

Hopefully we can get enough Stinger owner's to call in: 1-855-454-2847.

 

[Marc Collins]

Hey Stinger owners. Some potentially good news. I just spoke with Kia Client Services (1-855-454-2847) regarding my popping and cracking sunroof concern. Although they told me they don't currently have any 'recall' for this issue, she did tell me that if enough people call in with the same issue, they'll strongly consider issuing a recall and fix our sunroofs.

Hopefully we can get enough Stinger owner's to call in: 1-855-454-2847.

There are already fixes described on here. The dealers/KIA are just to dumb to implement them. They could have been trying these things and tracking in a systematic manner what works and what doesn't. You'll be waiting a long time for a corporate replacement program.

 

[siegs7]

There are already fixes described on here. The dealers/KIA are just to dumb to implement them. They could have been trying these things and tracking in a systematic manner what works and what doesn't. You'll be waiting a long time for a corporate replacement program.

Yes. I'm sure it will take a long time for Kia to issue any recall.

I am not very technical. Does anyone have a video they'd like to share with how they performed the repair, or minimized the noise? I have read through the posts, but I cannot figure out what exactly to do to minimize the creaking of my sunroof. Today I was out driving and it seems like the noise is getting worse. It was only on the passenger side, but today I could now hear it coming from the driver side, too. Grrr!

 

[Marc Collins]

Yes. I'm sure it will take a long time for Kia to issue any recall.

I am not very technical. Does anyone have a video they'd like to share with how they performed the repair, or minimized the noise? I have read through the posts, but I cannot figure out what exactly to do to minimize the creaking of my sunroof. Today I was out driving and it seems like the noise is getting worse. It was only on the passenger side, but today I could now hear it coming from the driver side, too. Grrr!

Read this thread. The Torx fix is only a page or two back.

 

[siegs7]

Read this thread. The Torx fix is only a page or two back.

Thanks Marc - I found the Torx fix and printed it out. I didn't have a Torx tool, and thought I would go down to Kia and ask if they'd apply the fix. They agreed to do it!

I'm happy to report that the Torx fix completely eliminated all noise from the sunroof! I'm tempted to say it's 100% fixed!

 

[siegs7]

So, after a couple of days with no sound from the sunroof after to Torx fix, all of the popping/cracking noises have returned. Ugh.

 

[Marc Collins]

So, after a couple of days with no sound from the sunroof after to Torx fix, all of the popping/cracking noises have returned. Ugh.

Same here, but much less severe than before. I was deliberately waiting a bit before I asked you what exact technique did you use to cure it completely

We do need to understand whether re-tightening the bolts is best done in a completely neutral position, with some downward pressure on the roof or with some upward pressure. There is a vertical adjustment range, but I am not sure what is likely to work best.

 

[MDStinger87]

I'm happy to say that I've successfully eliminated the exact popping sound I was experiencing. At least for now, fingers crossed. And no, not by putting a ton more of lubricant or 3m everywhere you can or messing with the sunroof assembly.

The solution was just to apply a lot MORE force that I originally think you should to the headliner panel around the sunroof with your fist and palm. And if you don't hear clicks (I didn't) you can still hear that velcro sound when you press it really hard. So did I, until it was solid and boom - the sound is gone.

As it originally appeared after riding on some pretty hard roads I think velcro just naturally sticks out of place and you need to stick it again in the future with some regularity if you're experiencing a lot of bad roads as I do. I really hope that is the solution, nothing else really rattles and is well lubed and I hope it won't anytime soon. At least if this thing happens again I'll know what to try first, so I am recommending to you. Remember, push hard!

I finally decided that I'm tired of hearing the noises in my car and began pushing up on the headliner around the sunroof. Felt something snap into place on both the driver and passenger sides. Although it didn't solve all the clicking and popping noises, it definitely made a difference. Still hear something every once in a while coming from somewhere on the passenger side of the car and also keep hearing something right above my head / towards the driver's door, but at least getting rid of those two spots is a start.

 

[Spaceme17]

I finally decided that I'm tired of hearing the noises in my car and began pushing up on the headliner around the sunroof. Felt something snap into place on both the driver and passenger sides. Although it didn't solve all the clicking and popping noises, it definitely made a difference. Still hear something every once in a while coming from somewhere on the passenger side of the car and also keep hearing something right above my head / towards the driver's door, but at least getting rid of those two spots is a start.

I think a lot of people's noises are coming from the Velcro not being fully seated. My car had intermittent noise also from the sunroof. I pressed up on all the edges and I couldn't feel anything seat....at first. I wasn't pressing in the right place or hard enough.

With the sunroof fully open and standing on the road/driveway outside the car with the window open on the passengerside/drivers side and my head above the car roof, I could then see exactly where the Velcro on the headliner meets the roof. I then reached my arms in through the windows and pressed exactly where the Velcro is and I pressed much harder. Only then did I feel the Velcro fully seat in two of (I think) four places.

Since then, I have no noise or creaking.

 

[Marc Collins]

I think a lot of people's noises are coming from the Velcro not being fully seated. My car had intermittent noise also from the sunroof. I pressed up on all the edges and I couldn't feel anything seat....at first. I wasn't pressing in the right place or hard enough.

With the sunroof fully open and standing on the road/driveway outside the car with the window open on the passengerside/drivers side and my head above the car roof, I could then see exactly where the Velcro on the headliner meets the roof. I then reached my arms in through the windows and pressed exactly where the Velcro is and I pressed much harder. Only then did I feel the Velcro fully seat in two of (I think) four places.

Since then, I have no noise or creaking.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I could not feel anything snap into place, either, but may have given up too quickly. However, the Torx bolt fix is definitely a much bigger impact on my car....still just have to figure-out the optimal positioning before tightening them or else only part of the creaking is resolved.

 

[FitR6]

Bad news for me. After two years and roughly 30k miles my sunroof is now rattling.

Already raised the matter with the dealer and they said they will see if they can adjust it during the next service. Have a feeling it wont resolve the problem.

I am taking mine in for the 4th time today for them to have another shot at not fixing the problem. To be honest it gets worse every time I get it back from them.

 

[FitR6]

Mine seems to do it when cold, if it sits in the hot sun all day, then it doesn't crack or pop. I will mention it next time I take it in to get it on the books if they ever find a fix for it. I rarely hear it though because the HK sound system rocks and I usually have it up quite a bit

I tried turning up the music too, but I can still hear the creaks over the music.

 

[FitR6]

I just picked up my car from the Kia dealer and Kia Australia after they had it for 8 weeks to try and rectify the sunroof rattle. An hour into the drive, the rattle came back.
I think the best way forward would be to start an open Facebook group and upload all videos/recordings?

8 weeks!!! That's ridiculous!