Driver's window rattles...

[pcspinheiro]

Hello again,

I have asked about this before and it seems like the opinion was unanimous that it shouldn't happen. Basically, when not open or closed all the way, my driver's side window has a lot of play and rattles on poorer roads. It's quite annoying as it right by my ear. Took it to the dealer yesterday and the chief mechanic took it to a test drive and acknowledged it was noisy and felt loose. When he called one of the mechanics to look at it he immediately dismissed the problem, said it was normal and that all do it. I insisted that it wasn't, that my old opel astra didn't do it, neither did the 2 rentals I had in the last few months and neither was a range topping car (kia rio and renault megane). Reluctantly he said he would check it an I got a call later saying the car was ready to be picked up. There was nobody there to explain what was done or repaired and only got the "it's ready" again... Could not test right there and then as car was outside and it was pouring cats and dogs, but sure enough, it was exactly the same! Plus, they left a small dent on the plastic piece holding the window buttons.  Even when closing the door, if half open, the window rattles like in a very old crappy car. To me this is not normal but the mechanics there don't care. I'll make a video of this and post it here later. The window has a huge lateral play! My next move is to go to the nice guy that sold me the car at the dealer and ask to let me try the windows on one of the new cars. If it's significantly better I'll have to complain and have the mechanic come and compare both. What annoys me the most is that I showed him how the passenger side window was fine while the drivers side can be lifted by hand 1 or 2 cm! 

I don't care if they don't feel like doing it, I just want it done. 

[penguin17]

I call "Bull5hit".  I've had two mk3 Superbs and I can happily report none of my windows are loose and/or rattle.  I would be very interested to hear how any person related to the car industry could somehow explain this behaviour as 'normal'. 

 

They've observed the problem.  Ask them to demonstrate to you that it also happens on every other Superb they have in stock.    I would contact the head of the service dept or dealer principle and explain the situation and the fact you are (justly) not satisfied. 

 

If you can't be bothered or the dealership in general is just poor then you could escalate to Skoda themselves or just find a better dealer. 

[pcspinheiro]

Thanks for the reply! I have an errand to run on that side of town later today, so it's going to be settled; I'll just ask the guy who sold me the car to let me test another one in the showroom. If the window is solid I'll just go right to the repair shop (which is in the back of the showroom) to complain about their previous service and demand to get the issue fixed. Car's under warranty for almost another 4 years!

[Whenwillilearn]

Both my front windows rattle in the manner you state.  The windows have always rattled since purchase. 

The dealer has looked into it and nothing appears to have been done. 

I have since had a loan skoda, a newer superb than mine. The front windows on that car also rattled in the same manner. 

From this I deduce that some windows rattle and some don't. This is another example of **** poor assembly in a near 3rd world country. 

I have given up on the niggles such as the window rattle. For all the cars little niggles they are simply not worth my time and more so technicians removing trim panels which can usually cause further problems. 

[Caspian]

I agree with @ penguin17. My May 2016 Superb has never had a rattle in any window when the window is closed or even partially closed.

[pcspinheiro]

Thanks for your comments! I do agree and believe there should be no rattle in a car like this but I also think that while trying to fix this they may ruin other things. I already spotted a small dent in the plastic by the window buttons (surely from removing it for disassembling the door card). This being a new car I didn't even bother to look at the problem, as it's under warranty (unlike with my 18 year old Opel Astra, where I fix pretty much everything on it). However, today after giving it a rinse, I looked at the issue and believe I may have a 2€ solution for it. I'll test tomorrow if I have what I need (or else I'll just go out and buy it) and post the results with pics. If it works it may help others with this issue. 

Cheers!

[CheshireBumpkin]

Mine does exactly the same - rattles when partly open....

[pcspinheiro]

Ok, sorry for not having any pics, but it seems that my 2€ solution did work. After looking at the problem I concluded that the rattle is due to the fact that, on the inner side, the window is only supported by a lip of either soft plastic or stiff rubber, that has a large gap underneath. When you close the door with the window half open the only lateral support it has is this lip, so it collapses under the force of closing the door, causing the window to move laterally and the said rattle. My solution to this was to use a black P profile rubber that's normally meant to seal drafts in windows and doors and glue a strip all the way down (an into the door as possible) UNDER this plastic lip from the window frame. This provides cushioning from behind while being completely invisible (and it's black anyway). Tomorrow I'll see if it still rattles on poorly surfaced roads, but I'm guessing it will be OK, as the door had a much nicer, firmer thud when closing it. I only did this in the vertical part o f the window frame but I guess you could do it to the rest of this plastic lip. I'm cancelling with the dealer since, as far as I'm concerned, it's sorted.  I'm still annoyed for having to resort to this in such a car, but well...  

 

Hope this helps others with a similar annoyance. 

Cheers!

[Whenwillilearn]

DIY cars. 

I had to fix my own sunroof rattles on a nearly new car. 2 dealers both failed to fix but once I had it fixed one dealer asked my how it was done! 

Annoying as you say above to have to resort to DIY tasks on somethings relatively new....or are we just to fussy? 

[ALSW123]

Just to add mine used to have quite a rattle on the drivers side, but it had a recall on the window guides IIRC. The funny thing was they did the recall then checked out my report of the rattle which low and behold they called me saying where was the rattle because they couldn't find it :-) never had an issue since. 

[pcspinheiro]

15 hours ago, Whenwillilearn said:

DIY cars. 

I had to fix my own sunroof rattles on a nearly new car. 2 dealers both failed to fix but once I had it fixed one dealer asked my how it was done! 

Annoying as you say above to have to resort to DIY tasks on somethings relatively new....or are we just to fussy? 

I don't think we are too fussy. I myself just expect things to work as they should. If a rental kia rio, a rental megane or my own 17 year old astra don't rattle why would I accept that my almost brand spanking new superb rattles? I went the DIY route because, as someone said, they probably ruin something else solving this. Annoyingly enough, today I notice that the driver's window won't go down automatically (confort function). The rear buttons have a distinct sencond click when you press harder but the front ones not so much and the drivers side failled, so I'm booking with them again...

[MartiniB]

2 hours ago, pcspinheiro said:

I notice that the driver's window won't go down automatically (comfort function).

have had that four times within 34 months :(

dealer described that as another useful Škoda's phenomenon,

suggested solution were - recalibrate positions, by manually move up and then down

[phph]

Mine needs a firmly push or pull to work every time. So, many times, i fail to use this comfort function with the 1st try. That was never an issue with any other car (with that function) i have driven until now.

[pcspinheiro]

In my case it might be a physical problem and since it's under warranty they should fix it or replace... I won't settle for having this not working properly, and I still have about 4 years of warranty left, so plenty of time to annoy them about it ;-)

Edited 11 February, 2019 by pcspinheiro

[Whenwillilearn]

On 08/02/2019 at 13:56, ALSW123 said:

Just to add mine used to have quite a rattle on the drivers side, but it had a recall on the window guides IIRC. The funny thing was they did the recall then checked out my report of the rattle which low and behold they called me saying where was the rattle because they couldn't find it :-) never had an issue since. 

Can you embellish on the recall please? 

 

I for one have had my window rattles investigated by a gentleman called a 'mastertech' at a dealer and I have not heard of any recall. Nor did the dealer and mastertech. 

 

If there is a global recall for rattling windows why are some dealers oblivious?