Front doors rattle when playing music. Honda Corp. won't insulate under warranty. WTF?

[Alim_N]

So I've been dealing with an issue I've had since I bought my car in Oct 2018.

Both my front doors rattle when I play music. Even at 12-14/40 volume. I have taken it to three dealerships. The first two couldn't identify a rattle, even after I offered to replicate it. So I said fuck them, I'm not taking it to either of them again, which is unfortunate since one is 5 min from my house.

So I took it to the dealer I purchased it from, which is 2.5 hours away from me. It was the only new black one left in Ontario so I had to go there. I saved a few songs I know cause the rattle onto a USB and left it plugged into the centre console for the techs. I get a call back while they're working on my car telling me they have identified the rattle and are checking with corporate if they can add insulation since the type r's don't have any door insulation like other civics.

They phone back again saying that Corporate said the car is as it should be out of factory and therefor they will not insulate the doors. They said if I want the rattle stopped, I have to take it to a car audio shop and pay out of pocket to insulate it. I told them that was rediculous becuase the speakers are stock and shouldn't cause a rattle out of the factory, so how can they say it's working as it should.

I've escalated the situation with Honda Corporate over the phone and will hear back from them in 10 business days.

Anyone else have an issue with front door rattles with music on? Thanks.

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[NHCivicGuy]

As much as it does suck, a lot of manufacturers, including Honda, do not cover again rattles. I know the Honda extended warranty clearly states that it will not cover any types of rattles or those noises. I know some dealers may fix some under warranty, but in your case it doesn't sound like they wanted to get involved with any of that. Do keep us posted on what Honda Corporate says about the issue.

 

[gtman]

At heart, the Civic is still an econobox, not a high end heavily soundproofed luxury car. Manufacturers aren't obligated to add soundproofing to prevent rattles from too much bass. It would be nice if they did; it's just not going to happen.

 

[SCOPESYS]

So I've been dealing with an issue I've had since I bought my car in Oct 2018.

Both my front doors rattle when I play music. Even at 12-14/40 volume. I have taken it to three dealerships. The first two couldn't identify a rattle, even after I offered to replicate it. So I said fuck them, I'm not taking it to either of them again, which is unfortunate since one is 5 min from my house.

So I took it to the dealer I purchased it from, which is 2.5 hours away from me. It was the only new black one left in Ontario so I had to go there. I saved a few songs I know cause the rattle onto a USB and left it plugged into the centre console for the techs. I get a call back while they're working on my car telling me they have identified the rattle and are checking with corporate if they can add insulation since the type r's don't have any door insulation like other civics.

They phone back again saying that Corporate said the car is as it should be out of factory and therefor they will not insulate the doors. They said if I want the rattle stopped, I have to take it to a car audio shop and pay out of pocket to insulate it. I told them that was rediculous becuase the speakers are stock and shouldn't cause a rattle out of the factory, so how can they say it's working as it should.

I've escalated the situation with Honda Corporate over the phone and will hear back from them in 10 business days.

Anyone else have an issue with front door rattles with music on? Thanks.

Deleted: Inappropriate post .. with apologies to the OP (Alim_N)

 

[heavyD]

Dude ... Let me answer you in language that you might understand :-


WTH -- With that F@#KING attitude, no wonder the F@#King dealer would do F@#K about your F@#king car !!

What the F#$K do you F@#King expect. The F#$King rattles are not a F#$King Warranty F#$king item.

So F#$King fix the F@#King rattles your F#$KING self, like every other F@#King owners does.

I'm not exactly sure if this furthers the conversation in a positive manner or adds any value. On one hand I understand that nobody likes rattles and plenty of people take their cars to dealers to get rattles repaired. On the other hand if insulation from a standard Civic that is not used on the Type R is required I can also see why Honda isn't keen to fix.

 

[SCOPESYS]

At heart, the Civic is still an econobox, not a high end heavily soundproofed luxury car. Manufacturers aren't obligated to add soundproofing to prevent rattles from too much bass. It would be nice if they did; it's just not going to happen.

Exactly..
You might think you spent a lot of money in purchasing an "R", but it is still an econobox, and you get what you pay for.

Drop $80k+ on a car, and then the Dealer/manufacturer for that car might be more inclined to do something to address the matter.

Out of Interest.
What music (Exactly) were you playing that caused the Rattle. ?

While the "R" is still an Econobox, if you can afford an "R", you can afford an extra few $100 to get the door insulated to what ever EXTRA level if sound deadening you desire.

If you can't afford it, you really cannot afford to Buy & Run an "R" !!

WASTING your time (and everyone Else's) griping to Honda Corporate.

You would do far better to just get it sorted yourself, and save yourself a whole lot of unnecessary frustration and wasted time.

Or, just turn the Radio down, and have the added bonus of delaying permanent hearing loss..

 

[JayDiem]

Dude ... Let me answer you in language that you might understand :-


WTH -- With that F@#KING attitude, no wonder the F@#King dealer would do F@#K about your F@#king car !!

What the F#$K do you F@#King expect. The F#$King rattles are not a F#$King Warranty F#$king item.

So F#$King fix the F@#King rattles your F#$KING self, like every other F@#King owners does.

What a garbage post, over dramatize things much? I don't blame the guy, they weren't even inclined enough to attempt to look into the possibility of something simple going on. My Type R doesn't rattle and it doesn't have special magical insulation so how is that going to for sure fix dude's issue? Honda wasn't inclined to fix their rsx/civic si transmission issue for years either, if we want to indict Honda's general attitude towards dealing with definite and admitted problems.

I have seen a youtube vid of at least one dealer who was inclined to help fix someones rattling pillar. Honda doesn't generally feel inclined to fix a lot of issues and the attitude trickles down to the dealers IMO. I would probably just try and solve the issue myself, but I do not agree with the "Turn the volume down" or "You didn't pay 80 thousand so fuck you, you deserve to drive a rattling shit box" mentality. These are the little things that influence people's future purchase decisions and it can go a long way doing something in good faith for your customer. Or maybe they'll say something profound like, "just turn the radio down". What a joker.

 

[SCOPESYS]

What a garbage post, over dramatize things much? I don't blame the guy, they weren't even inclined enough to attempt to look into the possibility of something simple going on.

You miss the point of the "ATTITUDE" in my post.

If you go to your Dealer with a WTF attitude, and demand they fix something under warranty that typically Honda will not re-reimburse them for,( as it is NOT a warranty item), then what do you expect "Most" Dealers to do ??

Yes, so might take the time to try to help you, but really, they are not even set up to be able to ADD extra sound insulation. 1st obstacle for the Dealer's Tech is "Whats the Part number" and what is the "Honda Repair Procedure" - neither of which exist

If the "Standard" car finish (as far as sound Insulation) does not meet your expectations, then its probably not just the Doors that has issues, there are many other items in the car that can hit resonance at certain frequencies, and create rattles.
To remove all these, would probably require some significant sound Insulation, and that is certainly not something that your typical Honda Tech is Trained to do.

The Civics are Econoboxes, designed to meet the expectations of the AVERAGE car owner who is in the Market for a car that fits a given budget.

If you want more, the neat thing about the Civics is that there is plenty of potential to Customize, add and improve, to whatever level you feel like (and can afford).

That is what a lot of this forum is all about -- sharing and discussing GenX mods.

Just because you bought a Civic (even an R), does not mean that you "OWN" Honda or the Dealership, and can demand anything you want, however "unwarranted" (Forgive the Pun).

That's NOT how the world works, and it takes some growing up, and maturity to realize that, and that you cannot always get what you "WANT" in this world, (Unless you are prepared to spend the Money to BUY it) .

---------
A Finally more "POSITIVE" thought: -- It's not that difficult to add the sound Insulation yourself.- many have, with excellent descriptions , both on this forum, other forums, and in Youtube Videos.
Consider this, especially if you want to turn your amp up high and play music that is a "Challenge" for the stock speakers.
OP. Consider upgrading your door speakers, and while doing that, that is the ideal time to add the sound insulation. The extra cost of adding that material at that time is minimal.

 

[racer]

That went sideways quickly...

As for the OP.. Sorry to hear about the rattles. But I have to confess this will be an out of pocket fix for you if you want it done right.

 

[Driveitlikeuboughtit]

Sorry, no rattles here except a dash rattle when the car is cold that goes away when it's warm.

This might seem stupid, but you don't have anything in your door storage areas right? When I hear a rattle around the doors, it's usually something banging around in the door pocket.

Otherwise, your best bet might be to hunt down the rattles yourself with some foam tape.

 

[JayDiem]

You miss the point of the "ATTITUDE" in my post.

I didn't miss a single thing from your post. You weren't there, you don't know how the interactions went down and you just went off on the guy and decided to berate and make him look like a total asshole because he said to himself "fuck them, they wont even look at it, Ill take it somewhere else". I cant imagine the guy walked in yelling and screaming profanities saying fix my problem, like you seem to assert. Its dealer to dealer whether they will help sometimes with grey area problems like this so whats wrong with trying another dealer?

Again, Honda has shafted plenty of people who tried to solve their legitimate problems with honey and hid and skated out from responsibility for years until many of the original owners no longer even owned the problem cars. You get further with kindness than being shitty to people, obviously, but I can't say I blame people for being suspect of and short with Honda with how they have handled past issues.

 

[Alim_N]

As much as it does suck, a lot of manufacturers, including Honda, do not cover again rattles. I know the Honda extended warranty clearly states that it will not cover any types of rattles or those noises. I know some dealers may fix some under warranty, but in your case it doesn't sound like they wanted to get involved with any of that. Do keep us posted on what Honda Corporate says about the issue.

What I don't get is, if the type r is missing the insulation that a normal civic has, why wouldn't they just install that same insulation into my doors? They wouldn't give me an answer.

 

[Alim_N]

At heart, the Civic is still an econobox, not a high end heavily soundproofed luxury car. Manufacturers aren't obligated to add soundproofing to prevent rattles from too much bass. It would be nice if they did; it's just not going to happen.

But not even just installing the same insulation that comes in a normal civic? I'm just not understanding why.

 

[Alim_N]

Dude ... Let me answer you in language that you might understand :-


WTH -- With that F@#KING attitude, no wonder the F@#King dealer would do F@#K about your F@#king car !!

What the F#$K do you F@#King expect. The F#$King rattles are not a F#$King Warranty F#$king item.

So F#$King fix the F@#King rattles your F#$KING self, like every other F@#King owners does.

Thanks for the great advice bud.

 

[Alim_N]

Exactly..
You might think you spent a lot of money in purchasing an "R", but it is still an econobox, and you get what you pay for.

Drop $80k+ on a car, and then the Dealer/manufacturer for that car might be more inclined to do something to address the matter.

Out of Interest.
What music (Exactly) were you playing that caused the Rattle. ?

While the "R" is still an Econobox, if you can afford an "R", you can afford an extra few $100 to get the door insulated to what ever EXTRA level if sound deadening you desire.

If you can't afford it, you really cannot afford to Buy & Run an "R" !!

WASTING your time (and everyone Else's) griping to Honda Corporate.

You would do far better to just get it sorted yourself, and save yourself a whole lot of unnecessary frustration and wasted time.

Or, just turn the Radio down, and have the added bonus of delaying permanent hearing loss..

It's not really about being able to afford it. I'm a doctor, so that's not an issue. It may sound silly, but this car has been my dream car since they announced it in 2015. I just love that it's a daily driver with some awesome upgrades. And a 4 door hatchback. I'm planning to keep it for 15 years.

The issue for me is that I can hear the rattle at even 12/40 vol and it's louder than the song. I am playing bass music but the stock system isn't very bassy at all, yet there's still a rattle. I installed a $5000 clarion set up in my Celica with dynomat and all that so I know that the stock R system is pretty flat when it comes to low frequency.

Some example songs to test if your doors rattle: Mr. Carmack - this is america (instrumental), Troyboi - OG, Luxage - Todays the day.

I really just wanted them to put the insulation that normally comes in the civics, since I'm not too concerned about stripping weight (which was their reasoning to me). They already had both doors taken apart and everything.

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