Passenger side dashboard RATTLE/Windscreen cracking noise SOMEONE HELP PLEASE!
03-19-2021, 02:55 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Passenger side dashboard RATTLE/Windscreen cracking noise SOMEONE HELP PLEASE!
TL;DR: I have a really annoying noise in the car and need help! There are links to videos about it at the end of the text.
Hello everyone,
I have a 2008 E350 4matic that I really love and spend a lot of time working on. In the past 2 years I've sorted everything out on the car, it now looks and drives amazing. The only problem is this cracking/popping/creaking noise coming from the passenger side dashboard area and it is absolutely destroying me mentally. Maybe some of you can relate, it is the sort of thing that you can NEVER unhear and you focus on it so much that you hear it even when driving fast and listening to music. I don't know exactly when it appeared and I don't know what could have caused it, but it's been around for at least half a year and I've run out of ideas completely and am DESPERATE for help.
When it occurs:
The occurance of it is pretty weird. Sometimes it can almost completely disappear for days, and then out of nowhere it comes back and it's louder than ever. There is also no exact road/part of road that causes it, it's more like a terrain type. 90% of times when the body flexes (going over a speedbump or parking on a hill, entering a steep driveway, etc.) it doesn't occur. But when driving on an only slightly rough/uneven surface, like driving over a street drain or something like that, it does. And when the road quality is crap, it sounds like the car wants to fall apart in that area. It is also really difficult to show to the dealer and to mechanics, because - naturally - when I take the car there and take them for a test drive, it is completely silent. I even left it at the shop for a week once, they said they disassembled the interior (just like I did before them) and found nothing, and they could barely hear it anyway when driving it.
Description:
I don't know exactly where it is coming from, it's like a phantom noise, the more I disassemble the car, the more spread out it is.
At this point I suspect it is coming from the windshield somehow. Reason is, I have pretty much ruled out the dashboard/interior plastics option, as the noise remains the same or even gets louder when I remove everything. Plus I found some videos on YouTube about this noise and it was always related to the windshield - although the cars were different brands. The only other thing I could think of is a broken spot weld somewhere, but I have no idea how I would be able to find that.
Some details:
There are only 2 things that come to my mind that could be related to the issue. One is a minor crash the car had in 2016 on the front passenger side. But it really was minor, the headlight got smashed in and the front wheel can not be aligned perfectly ever since (it is pushed in on the top by 3mm), but the car drove home and then to the mechanic on it's own legs without an issue. Sadly, I don't have pictures about it, all I remember is that it didn't damage anything apart from the headlight (and body panels obviously). The other thing is polishing the windshield, which I did around October last year. It was really difficult, because it has the heat and IR reflecting windshield and it is very very hard, so I had to use quite some pressure and max RPMon a DA polisher with a felt polsihing pad. The reason why I mention this is because the first videos and mentions related to this issue on my phone are after this date.
PLEASE, if you are an expert, or have any ideas how to resolve this, don't hesitate to write.
I will be posting this on other forums and categories as well.
Videos:
Hello everyone,
I have a 2008 E350 4matic that I really love and spend a lot of time working on. In the past 2 years I've sorted everything out on the car, it now looks and drives amazing. The only problem is this cracking/popping/creaking noise coming from the passenger side dashboard area and it is absolutely destroying me mentally. Maybe some of you can relate, it is the sort of thing that you can NEVER unhear and you focus on it so much that you hear it even when driving fast and listening to music. I don't know exactly when it appeared and I don't know what could have caused it, but it's been around for at least half a year and I've run out of ideas completely and am DESPERATE for help.
When it occurs:
The occurance of it is pretty weird. Sometimes it can almost completely disappear for days, and then out of nowhere it comes back and it's louder than ever. There is also no exact road/part of road that causes it, it's more like a terrain type. 90% of times when the body flexes (going over a speedbump or parking on a hill, entering a steep driveway, etc.) it doesn't occur. But when driving on an only slightly rough/uneven surface, like driving over a street drain or something like that, it does. And when the road quality is crap, it sounds like the car wants to fall apart in that area. It is also really difficult to show to the dealer and to mechanics, because - naturally - when I take the car there and take them for a test drive, it is completely silent. I even left it at the shop for a week once, they said they disassembled the interior (just like I did before them) and found nothing, and they could barely hear it anyway when driving it.
Description:
I don't know exactly where it is coming from, it's like a phantom noise, the more I disassemble the car, the more spread out it is.
At this point I suspect it is coming from the windshield somehow. Reason is, I have pretty much ruled out the dashboard/interior plastics option, as the noise remains the same or even gets louder when I remove everything. Plus I found some videos on YouTube about this noise and it was always related to the windshield - although the cars were different brands. The only other thing I could think of is a broken spot weld somewhere, but I have no idea how I would be able to find that.
Some details:
There are only 2 things that come to my mind that could be related to the issue. One is a minor crash the car had in 2016 on the front passenger side. But it really was minor, the headlight got smashed in and the front wheel can not be aligned perfectly ever since (it is pushed in on the top by 3mm), but the car drove home and then to the mechanic on it's own legs without an issue. Sadly, I don't have pictures about it, all I remember is that it didn't damage anything apart from the headlight (and body panels obviously). The other thing is polishing the windshield, which I did around October last year. It was really difficult, because it has the heat and IR reflecting windshield and it is very very hard, so I had to use quite some pressure and max RPMon a DA polisher with a felt polsihing pad. The reason why I mention this is because the first videos and mentions related to this issue on my phone are after this date.
PLEASE, if you are an expert, or have any ideas how to resolve this, don't hesitate to write.
I will be posting this on other forums and categories as well.
Videos:
04-21-2024, 04:44 PM
#2
Dear brother, are we alone on this world with the exactly same issue? I feel I am sliding slowly into a psyhical illnes because of this phantom noise, it acts exactly as you described. (Good job, btw, more than perfectly described) Mine is 2003 E200 kompressor estate wagon. Have you found the cause of this soul-eating phenomenon? I suspect that some ventilation flap is stuck and the motor persistently try to move it, but the gear is slipping and makes that tenacious noise. I hope this message finds you in good health and not in the madhouse 
