GR86 Rattle - Driver's A-Pillar

Conscript

Conscript

Totally Hooked
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Right, this is ****ing me off now and I need to get to the bottom of it.

I have a persistent noise that sounds almost like a creaking/cracking noise rather than a faint rattle, and it it's coming from somewhere around the base of the driver's side A-pillar. It occurs more frequently when going over rough road, but it only occurs when the car is cold. Disappears after the car has been driven for 5 minutes or so and doesn't return. However, it's pretty loud and obnoxious and makes me grit my teeth each time I hear it.

So far, I have removed all the following bits of trim...
- The speaker grille.
- The small vent which directs air to the side window.
- The circular vent.
- The entire A-pillar trim
- The side panel of the dash (only visible when the door is open)

...and quite diligently applied pieces of felt anti-rattle tape to every surface that looked like it made contact with another section of trim.
I thought I'd cracked it, but the other morning when it was quite chilly, as I pulled out of my road and went over a road imperfection, I heard it again.

It's driving me mad. I know this is quite a common problem, but so far I don't think anyone has definitively tracked down the exact spot that's causing the noise.
If you have, please could you let me know? For some reason this one just grinds me each time I hear it, even though it goes away eventually.
 
When my car was in getting the second year service, I mentioned this A pillar rattle in my car. The GR tech had a fix about applying some foam inside the base of the A-pillars. I know nothing more than that, but it was certainly fixed and the rattle is no more!

It was terrible when the car was cold and driving over rough country single track roads.
 
Both A pillars now creak/rattle, I can usually stop it by just pressing my finger into the trim where the vent meets the pillar, its at it worst when it's cold, not so much a problem in the summer.

On GR86.org there was an owner who had it investigated and repaired under warranty. I can't find the link but it did have photos.

My passenger seat rattles if it's at a certain angle, the drivers door rattles badly from the door opener area and I have something that sounds like a CD rattling around right in the centre of the dash. Both windows also make that awful cracking noise when first opened.

It's my biggest gripe with this car, interior build quality is horrendous, it's really bad for rattles, worse than my GT86.
 
Doesn't sound good, that.

I wonder if the build quality is variable. I don't have these auditory niggles but I am aware my use and therefore mileage is lower than many.
 
911sse said:
When my car was in getting the second year service, I mentioned this A pillar rattle in my car. The GR tech had a fix about applying some foam inside the base of the A-pillars. I know nothing more than that, but it was certainly fixed and the rattle is no more!

It was terrible when the car was cold and driving over rough country single track roads.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's the thing....I can stomach the odd rattle or creak on a Japanese car, but this noise seems particularly loud. Perhaps I just need to have another go at the A-pillar trim and load it up with as much felt as I can then.
 
911sse said:
When my car was in getting the second year service, I mentioned this A pillar rattle in my car. The GR tech had a fix about applying some foam inside the base of the A-pillars. I know nothing more than that, but it was certainly fixed and the rattle is no more!

It was terrible when the car was cold and driving over rough country single track roads.
Click to expand...
I had exactly the same thing just after I first collected the car in December 2022. I eventually found the same thing about sticking my finger in the trim between the vent and the A-pillar, which identified the source after quite a while of thinking the vent was the cause, and the proposed solution was exactly as above. This was fixed at the garage over two years ago, and as yet, the issue hasn’t recurred.
 
Right. Looks like it's time to have that A- pillar off again and go absolutely mad with the anti rattle tape.
 
Having spent hours dismantling the interior to the point where I could do it in my sleep tracking down an interior rattle, I can sympathise.
Have you had any luck pressing bits of the interior to see if it stops/changes the noise?

Out of curiosity, when the car is cold if you press down on the dash between the small side window vent and the speaker grille does it make a clicking/creaking noise?

Check the A-pillar retainer straps and put felt around the holes for those, and then you can always put felt/adhesive foam anywhere that the plastic on the a-pillar trim is likely to touch the metal a frame. The speaker inside the grill isn't a particularly tight fit, so felt around that might help too.
 
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Both of my A-pillar trims creak when cold - a light push is usually enough to shut it up.
I've not taken them off yet to investigate further but I'll probably be tempted when the weather turns cold again.
Aside from that though, I have no complaints about the fit and finish, maybe I've just been lucky but I'm fairly impressed with how well screwed together it seems.
 
Cubone said:
Having spent hours dismantling the interior to the point where I could do it in my sleep tracking down an interior rattle, I can sympathise.
Have you had any luck pressing bits of the interior to see if it stops/changes the noise?

Out of curiosity, when the car is cold if you press down on the dash between the small side window vent and the speaker grille does it make a clicking/creaking noise?

Check the A-pillar retainer straps and put felt around the holes for those, and then you can always put felt/adhesive foam anywhere that the plastic on the a-pillar trim is likely to touch the metal a frame. The speaker inside the grill isn't a particularly tight fit, so felt around that might help too.
Click to expand...
I've pressed on all of the bits I mentioned in my first post, and I think pressing on the speaker grille and the A-pillar had the most effect at stopping it. But don't think I've been able to recreate it just by pressing between the vent and speaker like you said.

I've already put felt around the holds for those retaining straps (right bugger to get them unhooked as well), but I think I'm just going to have to go back and go mad putting more stuff on.

Speakers - I have the Focal set, and the tweeter sits tighter than the OEM one, if I recall. But I might see if I can get some tape in there as well.
 
midlife_sportscar said:
Both of my A-pillar trims creak when cold - a light push is usually enough to shut it up.
I've not taken them off yet to investigate further but I'll probably be tempted when the weather turns cold again.
Aside from that though, I have no complaints about the fit and finish, maybe I've just been lucky but I'm fairly impressed with how well screwed together it seems.
Click to expand...
Generally I'm happy with the finish, but I have low expectations for car interiors. As long as they are comfortable, solid and ergonomic, I'm generally quite happy and can usually stomach the odd creak. But this one just really grates on me for some reason. I guess because it's so loud, even if it is only for a short period.
 
Conscript said:
I've pressed on all of the bits I mentioned in my first post, and I think pressing on the speaker grille and the A-pillar had the most effect at stopping it. But don't think I've been able to recreate it just by pressing between the vent and speaker like you said.

I've already put felt around the holds for those retaining straps (right bugger to get them unhooked as well), but I think I'm just going to have to go back and go mad putting more stuff on.

Speakers - I have the Focal set, and the tweeter sits tighter than the OEM one, if I recall. But I might see if I can get some tape in there as well.
Click to expand...
One thing you can try is pulling the air vent out a bit without unscrewing it at the bottom to see if that stops it. The top can come out a little bit and it'll put pressure on the ducting for the air vent. If that seems to help then the cause is something with the interior duct mounting point rattling.

I had the same issue where I'd put felt tape on everything in that area and it was still happening unless I pushed/pulled on the vent.

The solution I used in the end was a bit of EVA foam wedged between the top of the duct and the top of the dashboard inside the dash, pretty much directly below the bit between the top air vent and the speaker grille. I can post a photo to clarify what I've done if I've not made sense.
 
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