Sunroof Rattle Fix

Kamauxx

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This is the happiest I've been with my car in a long time!

I found the issue with my sunroof. The rail that the glass rides on has a protrusion coming down. I think it's a foot for the sunroof to rest on. It's circled in the below pic.

159711810.webp

Now, the sunroof housing has a cutout where that foot meets when the glass is closed. It can be seen circled in the below pic.

616410393.webp

When the roof is closed those two peices are bumping against each other causing this noise.


In the next video I'm pushing down on the glass to replicate the clattering sound.


In this video I just shot the noise is gone. I'm pushing down hard enough to squeeze water out of the rag I was using to clean up the grease job I'd just done to the sunroof.


Something has to be placed between the two circled areas so they don't clickity clack against each other.

It may not be the same for everyone, but that's my fix. Unfortunately there's so much grease applied to my rail I couldn't get the felt to stay put permanently. This weekend I'll clean it up and find something more appropriate to apply. Now I don't have to deal with Kia ripping the car apart!

To reiterate, this probably won't fix everyone's sunroof Rattle as I believe there is more than one cause. But hopefully it'll help those who have the same problem as me.
 
Last edited:
This is the happiest I've been with my car in a long time!

I found the issue with my sunroof. The rail that the glass rides on has a protrusion coming down. I think it's a foot for the sunroof to rest on. It's circled in the below pic.

View attachment 32293

Now, the sunroof housing has a cutout where that foot meets when the glass is closed. It can be seen circled in the below pic.

View attachment 32294

When the roof is closed those two peices are bumping against each other causing this noise.


In the next video I'm pushing down on the glass to replicate the clattering sound.


In this video I just shot the noise is gone. I'm pushing down hard enough to squeeze water out of the rag I was using to clean up the grease job I'd just done to the sunroof.



So while it may not be the same for everyone, that's my fix. Unfortunately there's so much grease applied to my rail I couldn't get the felt to stay put permanently. This weekend I'll clean it up and find something more appropriate to apply. Now I don't have to deal with Kia ripping the car apart!

To reiterate, this probably won't fix everyone's sunroof Rattle as I believe there is more than one cause. But hopefully it'll help those who have the same problem as me.
Great work K ...................fingers crossed for longevity !!
 
so what was the fix?
 
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Wow.. so I’ve read a lot about the noisy sunroof, but this is first video I have seen of it.

I LOVE my Stinger, but if my sunroof sounded like that, it would have already returned it to the dealer. That is AWFUL... and I feel for anyone that is dealing with this issue.
 
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so what was the fix?
Yes it was a little hard to decipher "the fix"....
I think he applied some felt pad to the spot, I'd probably use some thin foam rubber but same same.
Nice job. I am sure this will help those in need.
 
so what was the fix?

The fix is to put something's ng between the "foot" under the glass and the "notch" circled in the second picture to eliminate contact between the two. Edited my original post, not sure how I missed that.

Right now I have a piece of cloth tape folded and stuck in there. It isn't a permanent fix but it'll do until I find something better this weekend.
 
Yes it was a little hard to decipher "the fix"....
I think he applied some felt pad to the spot, I'd probably use some thin foam rubber but same same.
Nice job. I am sure this will help those in need.

I was thinking of using some waterproof silicon caulking. I think a rubber pad might be too thick and cause the glass to have a gap when closed.

I'm open to ideas.
 
You'll need something with a strong adhesive. I tried 2 types of foam and also some cloth tape (hockey tape) and none of them were sticking well even after making sure the area was clean.
 
______________________________
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Velcro...the fuzzy part.

That's pretty similar to what I have stuffed in there now. I figure anything to separate the two parts while remaining thin enough to not interfer with the fit of the glass to roof should work.
 
You'll need something with a strong adhesive. I tried 2 types of foam and also some cloth tape (hockey tape) and none of them were sticking well even after making sure the area was clean.

Hmm, so super glue you say...

I never open my roof so I won't have to worry about the longevity of the adhesive. People who open, close, and tilt their roof often will need to find something strong enough to withstand the constant pressure, sliding, wind, etc.
 
Great work!
I will try this fix soon. Mine has been rattling for a while and sounds similar to yours.
Thanks for sharing
 
Great work!

I am guessing this is on both sides (driver & passenger) of the sunroof?
 
Hmm, so super glue you say...

I never open my roof so I won't have to worry about the longevity of the adhesive. People who open, close, and tilt their roof often will need to find something strong enough to withstand the constant pressure, sliding, wind, etc.

I think your idea of silicone might work. A very thin layer, just enough to absorb the metal to metal contact, should be just enough to suppress the noise. Looking at the sunroof mechanism, if you see the tracks, how the glass slides along the horizontal portion of the track (front to back), near the front it looks like the legs of the moving part in the track go downward at the very front. I think because of this design, (and you can see it when the glass is open), the suspect "feet" are not touching the rails until the glass gets to the frontmost vertical position where it goes down, so the feet only touch that area in the tilting motion (rotational motion) and downward pressure, there shouldn't be any sliding action going on in that area where the feet touch.

See the rudimentary paint drawing below lol.

Sunroof.webp
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
Great work!

I am guessing this is on both sides (driver & passenger) of the sunroof?

I didn't look at the other side since I was so certain of the general area of the noises. I would assume it's the same on both sides, though.

There's also a metal clip, kind of like a leaf spring attached to the bug/wind guard. When the roof is opened the spring pops the guard up. When closed the guard's spring is compressed back down. I originally thought the noise was the spring banging on the metal under it. I think that spring might be contributing to some ppl's noises.
 
______________________________
I think your idea of silicone might work. A very thin layer, just enough to absorb the metal to metal contact, should be just enough to suppress the noise. Looking at the sunroof mechanism, if you see the tracks, how the glass slides along the horizontal portion of the track (front to back), near the front it looks like the legs of the moving part in the track go downward at the very front. I think because of this design, (and you can see it when the glass is open), the suspect "feet" are not touching the rails until the glass gets to the frontmost vertical position where it goes down, so the feet only touch that area in the tilting motion (rotational motion) and downward pressure, there shouldn't be any sliding action going on in that area where the feet touch.

See the rudimentary paint drawing below lol.

View attachment 32322

That's exactly how it works. I think the problem is that overtime the downward pressure has lessened creating enough of a gap between the two pieces for them to clang against each other.

Last summer I moved to a house with a steep curb going up into the driveway. Whenever I pulled in or out the sunroof made noises letting me know it was flexing. Prior to that I never had any sunroof noises. I think that flexing is the cause for my roof issues.

Now I wonder if the flexing has caused some kind of warping/bending of the sunroof's frame. That would explain the dealership's technician inability to fix it with grease or tightening bolts. If the entire thing is warped the only real fix would be a complete replacement. :poop:

If the nosie is caused by frame warping which is caused by flexing that would explain why some people's roof is rock solid while others aren't. Everyone won't deal with the same amount of body flexing so some will have issues and some will be fine.
 
That's exactly how it works. I think the problem is that overtime the downward pressure has lessened creating enough of a gap between the two pieces for them to clang against each other.

Last summer I moved to a house with a steep curb going up into the driveway. Whenever I pulled in or out the sunroof made noises letting me know it was flexing. Prior to that I never had any sunroof noises. I think that flexing is the cause for my roof issues.

Now I wonder if the flexing has caused some kind of warping/bending of the sunroof's frame. That would explain the dealership's technician inability to fix it with grease or tightening bolts. If the entire thing is warped the only real fix would be a complete replacement. :poop:

If the nosie is caused by frame warping which is caused by flexing that would explain why some people's roof is rock solid while others aren't. Everyone won't deal with the same amount of body flexing so some will have issues and some will be fine.
I'd hate to think if torsional twisting (going up driveways) is causing sunroofs to bend. Although not impossible, I would hope unlikely. Different car, different sunroof, but my wife goes up the same driveway I do, for 3 more years than I've owned the Stinger, and her sunroof (full panoramic, 2013 Santa Fe) makes zero noises whatsoever. She also doesn't go up and down the driveway nearly as smoothly as I do, lol.
 
This could be the problem with mine, it only does this when closed and cold.. doesn't do it when out in the sun all day, I guess because of expansion of the parts from the heat.. I'll have to give this a try.. Thanks.
 
I'd hate to think if torsional twisting (going up driveways) is causing sunroofs to bend. Although not impossible, I would hope unlikely. Different car, different sunroof, but my wife goes up the same driveway I do, for 3 more years than I've owned the Stinger, and her sunroof (full panoramic, 2013 Santa Fe) makes zero noises whatsoever. She also doesn't go up and down the driveway nearly as smoothly as I do, lol.

It's just a guess for me since my problem didn't start until I moved to that place.

I had a Optima with the panoramic roof (probably the exact same unit that's installed on the Santa Fe) and it never made a peep. It's weird that an all glass roof could be more solid than our half glass Stingers.
 
From interior to exterior to high performance - everything you need for your Stinger awaits you...
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