Documenting my rattles and squeaks, and how I fixed them

[psychedoot]

I'm starting a new thread about rattles, but here I want to condense some of the info that helped me to fix my annoying rattles and squeaks. In this thread I will post some of the annoying rattles I have found on my personal vehicle, share some of the research that helped, and give my personal solutions to them.

At the moment I have only tackled a couple of rattles, but I have some more to track down. I'll update this thread when I get around to fixing them.

Some info:
Year, Model, & Trim: 2024 DE4 Integra A Spec w/ Tech 6MT
Mileage: ~13,500mi
Time Owned: 1 yr, 3 mo

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[psychedoot]

My first rattle occured in early 2024. It sounded like the door card, but couldn't quite pin it down. Credit to @Wheats027 for diagnosing this issue and posting the fix.

https://www.integraforums.com/forum/threads/passenger-speaker-area-noise-vibration.50505/

Essentially, the metal mesh speaker grill on the passenger door card isn't a snug fit. On certain road surfaces, and when playing bass-heavy music, this can cause the rattle. The fix is simple:
1. Remove the door card
2. Unclip the speaker grill assy.
3. Place some thin foam tape or felt tape in strategic locations between the speaker grill and the plastic housing to prevent the metal from contacting the plastic
4. Reassemble and reinstall

Also, here's another thread which described how one person fixed their rattle, which was caused by loose double-sided adhesive.

https://www.integratalk.com/threads...id=5218&nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#post-5218

 

[psychedoot]

My second rattle has always been around, but I haven't been able to track it down. I know it was coming from the passenger-side b-pillar, but I couldn't pin down the noise. A few trips to the dealer with no fixes and I gave up.... Until today.

The rattle sounds like a spring resonating in harmony with the engine. It's only noticeable when revving the engine over 4k RPM. This specific rattle wasn't triggered by speed or road surface.

I did some more research into this and apparently this is a common issue on both 11th Gen Civics and 5th Gen Integras. Someone posted a YouTube video which captures the rattle on camera perfectly, and provides the location.



My rattle comes from the passenger seat belt retractor. When percussed it resonates, likely because of the spring inside of it. I found that by simply placing a finger on the plastic housing, the sound was mitigated.

I didn't really agree with the solution the video-maker provided -- I'm not keen on loosening seat belt bolts or messing with an SRS mounting point. Also, at the time of writing this, I don't have sound dampening material like butyl rubber on hand, otherwise I would have tried that. Instead I have some foam tape. My solution was to wedge a big wad of sticky foam tape in-between the pillar and the retractor.

Here's the fix:

1. Remove the bottom piece of trim on the passenger side b-pillar. You won't need to remove the top piece.
2. Take a piece of thick foam and wedge it between the plastic housing and the metal of the pillar. Ensure it won't migrate. You may also try butyl rubber here.
3. Reassemble.

And the results.

Here's some of the relevant forum posts:

• https://www.civic11forum.com/threads/driver-side-seatbelt-area-rattle.4968/
• https://www.civic11forum.com/thread...e-have-this-problem-and-have-a-solution.5747/
• https://www.civic11forum.com/thread...-pillar-seat-belt-rattle-under-warranty.6578/

 

[CatBus]

Love this thread. Do you have rattle in the window when the window is down slightly?

 

[psychedoot]

Love this thread. Do you have rattle in the window when the window is down slightly?

Yeah I've noticed that, but I've only heard it a couple of times. I think when I brought it into the dealership they tried replacing the window run channel, so maybe that fixed it?

 

[psychedoot]

Alright, I'm tracking down another rattle. I think my passenger side rattle is more complex than I originally thought.

Again, the rattle or buzz is faint but audible and only happens around 4-6k RPM and primarily when on power.

I took apart a bunch of trim last night trying to locate a source but I didn't really find much.

I think the door and pillar trim contribute to a small bit of rattle, but it's difficult to make a qualitative measurement of rattles.

I don't have pics, but I removed all of the trim around the glovebox and unplugged the ANC module. Rattle was still there, but a bit more audible, I believe. I suspect that the heater assembly in the center of the dash, or the console itself is a primary cause of the rattle. It has multiple moving parts with somewhat loose tolerances. Not sure whether I will continue to chase this one down. Perhaps if I find the strength to remove the center console.

 

[StingertimeNC]

Center Console is not bad to remove. If you can do the door card, you can do the center console.

 

[MacKharoni]

My buzzing noise came from my sun glasses holder. All I did was push it around in more and ino more rattles and buzzing for over 7k miles later

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Alright, I'm tracking down another rattle. I think my passenger side rattle is more complex than I originally thought.

Again, the rattle or buzz is faint but audible and only happens around 4-6k RPM and primarily when on power.

I took apart a bunch of trim last night trying to locate a source but I didn't really find much.

I think the door and pillar trim contribute to a small bit of rattle, but it's difficult to make a qualitative measurement of rattles.

I don't have pics, but I removed all of the trim around the glovebox and unplugged the ANC module. Rattle was still there, but a bit more audible, I believe. I suspect that the heater assembly in the center of the dash, or the console itself is a primary cause of the rattle. It has multiple moving parts with somewhat loose tolerances. Not sure whether I will continue to chase this one down. Perhaps if I find the strength to remove the center console.

Have you looked at the harness clip at the front of the door?

I had the same issue on my driver side at those rpm ranges. At wot it sounded like a squeal. I took the whole door apart to sound insulate and added foam and butyl everywhere, but I covered that harness in felt tape since I found it made all sorts of obscene noises when touched or moved around.

The dash rattles I have all are coming from the screen area. That's just such a poorly designed part of the car. I've seen a few fixes of adding butyl under there by just prying the top layer off and not getting into the dash itself. I haven't tried that yet, but I suspect it will work. This car is just a ton of resonance noise.

 

[s219]

I really feel like Honda has gone backwards when it comes to interior build methods and rattles. They used to take great care with wire harnesses and clips.

 

[Justpassedu]

My second rattle has always been around, but I haven't been able to track it down. I know it was coming from the passenger-side b-pillar, but I couldn't pin down the noise. A few trips to the dealer with no fixes and I gave up.... Until today.

The rattle sounds like a spring resonating in harmony with the engine. It's only noticeable when revving the engine over 4k RPM. This specific rattle wasn't triggered by speed or road surface.

I did some more research into this and apparently this is a common issue on both 11th Gen Civics and 5th Gen Integras. Someone posted a YouTube video which captures the rattle on camera perfectly, and provides the location.



My rattle comes from the passenger seat belt retractor. When percussed it resonates, likely because of the spring inside of it. I found that by simply placing a finger on the plastic housing, the sound was mitigated.

I didn't really agree with the solution the video-maker provided -- I'm not keen on loosening seat belt bolts or messing with an SRS mounting point. Also, at the time of writing this, I don't have sound dampening material like butyl rubber on hand, otherwise I would have tried that. Instead I have some foam tape. My solution was to wedge a big wad of sticky foam tape in-between the pillar and the retractor.

Here's the fix:

1. Remove the bottom piece of trim on the passenger side b-pillar. You won't need to remove the top piece.
2. Take a piece of thick foam and wedge it between the plastic housing and the metal of the pillar. Ensure it won't migrate. You may also try butyl rubber here.
3. Reassemble.

And the results.

Here's some of the relevant forum posts:

• https://www.civic11forum.com/threads/driver-side-seatbelt-area-rattle.4968/
• https://www.civic11forum.com/thread...e-have-this-problem-and-have-a-solution.5747/
• https://www.civic11forum.com/thread...-pillar-seat-belt-rattle-under-warranty.6578/

Ty for this , I almost want to say I am having the same rattle that is driving me nuts so this is a start . If you don’t mind me asking how do you remove the trim to get to this part ?

 

[psychedoot]

Have you looked at the harness clip at the front of the door?

I had the same issue on my driver side at those rpm ranges. At wot it sounded like a squeal. I took the whole door apart to sound insulate and added foam and butyl everywhere, but I covered that harness in felt tape since I found it made all sorts of obscene noises when touched or moved around.

IIRC, I jiggled all of the harness clips and I didn't see any play or hear any noises. Might be worth looking into though.

I'm really interested in adding butyl rubber. Feel like that will cut down a lot of the resonance in the door itself. Been reading this thread.

The dash rattles I have all are coming from the screen area. That's just such a poorly designed part of the car. I've seen a few fixes of adding butyl under there by just prying the top layer off and not getting into the dash itself. I haven't tried that yet, but I suspect it will work.

I think there's a TSB out for that one too. Not sure how effective it is. Lots of Honda folks also complaining about that one. Hopefully that's an easy one to fix.

 

[psychedoot]

I really feel like Honda has gone backwards when it comes to interior build methods and rattles. They used to take great care with wire harnesses and clips.

I really like the interior of these cars. All the nice soft touch items make it feel like a comfortable space. But you're right, the rattles are crazy. Idk if it's the added complexity of the interior compared to an earlier vehicle, but it's a bit maddening at times. And they will just disappear and reappear.

 

[psychedoot]

Ty for this , I almost want to say I am having the same rattle that is driving me nuts so this is a start . If you don’t mind me asking how do you remove the trim to get to this part ?

Yeah let me get you a good resource.

https://www.integraforums.com/forum/threads/interior-trim-removal-guide.51737/

Basically you only need to remove the lower b-pillar trim. It's held in with two clips attaching to the upper trim, and two more clips attaching to the lower sill trim.

1. Open the front door and pop the lower door trim up. You don't have to fully remove it, just enough to release the clips nearest the b-pillar.
2. Open the back door and do the same thing.
3. The trim has two clips near the top which affix to the upper trim. Simply grab one side and pry straight out, bending the trim slightly. This will free the one side and you'll notice that the entire piece hugs the door seal.
4. Do the same on the other side
5. There's one last clip fixed to the body of the vehicle. It's yellow and near the bottom of the pillar. You'll have to figure out how to best remove it. I think just pull it straight out of you can.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

IIRC, I jiggled all of the harness clips and I didn't see any play or hear any noises. Might be worth looking into though.

I'm really interested in adding butyl rubber. Feel like that will cut down a lot of the resonance in the door itself. Been reading this thread.



I think there's a TSB out for that one too. Not sure how effective it is. Lots of Honda folks also complaining about that one. Hopefully that's an easy one to fix.

I had the dealer do the tsb. They fought me on it because it's a Honda civic tsb from years ago and "this tsb came out before the Integra was even built". My response was "then it's acura's fault for not implementing the fix at the time of build... Are you saying they don't put tsb improvements into the production pipeline?" They jumped into doing the tsb at that point and it improved things, but it didn't solve them forever/entirely; it still appears on chip sealed roads or after using the screen. I can make it better again by pressing on the screen from above. The issue comes down to design. They put the screen up too high and the only thing providing resistance to your finger poking at it is the flimsy piece of plastic pushing from behind and the two plastic feet it's sitting on. The tsb "fix" includes felt tape to provide pressure on the lower feet clips, but they just get loose over time again anyway.

The real solution would be an entirely different screen with back support and a better foot mounting mechanism, but that's an expensive redesign. Some felt tape, dealer time, and bandaiding the issue for a couple months to a couple years is the cheaper approach.

The clip that made all the noise for me was the one at the front top of the door. It's white and snapped into the door frame. For me, both the snap in part and the top of the wires was making contact. The wires had a silencing sleeve/tape on, but it stopped 3" short of the clip itself. I wrapped it to the clip, wrapped the clip, and then added a bit of felt tape under the plastic snap. That solved the buzzing/squealing I was getting under wot in the 3.5-5.5k rpm range.

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