TexAg91

I hate rattles, they drive me nuts. I know there are many on this site that feel the same way. With temperature dropping here in Virginia, my GLE developed a "plasticy" creaking noise in the roof that is most pronounced when the temperature is in the lower 50s. It also creaks some when the vehicle body is in torsion, like when turning into an inclined drive way.

The interior trim pieces in my GLE are rock solid, nothing loose. So are the interior trim pieces around the pano-roof...it was perplexing. Eventually, I found the cause to be a roof drip rail cover, under the roof rails. It is just loose enough to flex and make the plastic creaking noise I'm hearing. When I press on it, I can recreate the noise. The clips that hold it in place may need replacing or some double sided tape...a simple fix under warranty. I'm taking my car in Tuesday to get it fixed.

If someone else is experiencing a creaking noise in the roof, this may be your cause.


GLE Roof Drip Rail Cover

chassis

Is this a panorama roof? Creaking panorama roofs are a tradition with Mercedes, a "feature". Also with other brands. The large piece of glass in the center of a torsionally loaded flexible structure is flawed engineering, but carmakers continue with the idea.

TexAg91

Yes, I have the pano roof, but in my case it is not the cause of the creak/squeak.

That said, the creaking/squeaking noise does sound like it is coming from the pano roof in the area rear passenger, driver's side; but turns out the cause is the roof drip rail covers on the roof under the roof rails.

If someone else is experiencing this, press on the roof drip rail covers where you think the noise is emulating from, and see if it recreates the noise...this may be your culprit too.

mikapen

Yes, it was a "feature" of our ML, Macan and Cayenne. One reason my new order is without Pano - plus why would you want to add a hundred pounds to raise your center of gravity?

Also - the 1st Gen VW Tiguan was the first Pano-roof-equipped SUV that passed the NHTSA rollover standard, in 2010. (We had one of those too, but no creaks.) I am hoping all the current Panos on offer meet some standard.

A comment, though, the new chassis of the V167 is much stouter, and flex is reduced vs the W164. Sunroof creak is much harder to induce, even in some extreme off-road ventures.

This wasn't the problem here.

Another symptom: We had a clacking noise up front when closed. It turned out to be some Wind Deflector mounts, whose vibration isolators had moved. Easy fix for the shop.

monwen

I have the pano roof as well. I get a slight vibration at times when going over a bump but it would be hard to recreate unless someone from the shop went with me to that same spot.

penyekz

I get this creaking sound from the roof lining of my GLE especially when the car is "twisted".. eg coming down a slope with one wheel at a time hitting the horizontal surface.

I do NOT have the sun roof or pano roof. The sound just comes from the roof liner. No idea on a fix for this though.

This sound also comes from my older A class so I thought this was a feature in MB

TexAg91

I don’t believe it is the roof liner, it’s the body color plastic strips on the roof, under the roof rails. (See the photo above). Press on those strips and I bet you recreate the noise. The creaking noise on mine was coming from the plastic roof drip rail, above the right rear passenger—that was the culprit.

pcsgrp

I had that noise in my ML whenever it was either very cold or hot outside. Usually when I was backing out of the driveway and turning going over the low curb. It drove me nuts and I just chalked it up to one of those things. I was debating if I should not get a pana roof again but did with my gle and I don't have the noise any more. It seems like the gle is a lot stiffer than the ml and when you look under the hood, there are some additional cross bracing, which looks like they wanted to stiffen the front a little. Of course the engine is so small that they might have had to put it there to make up for the structural stiffness of having a 6 in there, who knows! I find that the gle has substantially less wind and road noise than the ml which negates the need for speed compensation on the radio, something the ml didn't have. The one thing I am having a hard time getting used to is the location of the window control. It seems to be about 4 inches farther back on the arm rest so I have to hunt for them. I am sure I will get used to that soon.

senahid

I have 2018 gle 43 amg coupe. When speeding over 60 mph there is wind noise coming from panaromic sunroof. I know for a fact its coming from there because i put tape on top of the car where sunroof closes and drove the car and noise was gone. Does anybody else have similar issue and how could I fix it permanently? Any ideas are appreciated.

TexAg91

So it sounds like the noise is coming from the part of the roof that opens? The rubber gasket around the panel that opens is not sealing. Assuming it is intact, and not torn and need of replacement, most of the glass panels (sliding/tilting part) are held into place with 3 bolts or screws on each slide. The fasteners are usually hidden behind a plastic trim piece that is removable to access them. These fasteners usually go thru a slot in the glass panel frame that allows it to be position up/down so that the end result is flush with the roof. So perhaps those fasteners need to be loosened so the glass panel can be pushed up so the rubber seal around it makes firm contact with the roof edges. That would be my guess.

Never had to do this on my GLE, but all sunroofs are installed in a similar manner.

W205C43PFL

I came across this earlier, not sure if it is at all related: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ml#post8737873

GregW / Oregon

Another blanket disparagement from Chassis. I've never had a hint of noise from mine in 4 years.

senahid

Yes, noise is coming from the part of the roof that opens.The rubber gasket around the panel seems intact. Just to make sure you mean to "loosen" fasteners and not tighten them. I will try doing that this weekend and see if it works. Thanks for your advice.

senahid

Yes it is panorama roof. Car drives very smooth but when you reach 70 MPH this noise ruins it. Dealership is saying this is "normal" but its far from it.

W205C43PFL

Please let us know if it worked.

W205C43PFL

Ya definitely not normal for sure.

TexAg91

Loosen the fastens that hold the glass sliding panel frame in place (moon roof section) just enough to allow you to move the moon roof section up/down (the holes in the frame that the screws go thru should be slotted so it can be adjust up or down slightly). Reposition the sliding moonroof glass frame to ensure the rubber gasket around it makes contact with the surrounding roof. Then tight the screws back up.

Found a video below that shows you how it’s done.
You shouldn’t need to do the memory function if all you do is adjust the screws.

Of course, you can also ask the dealer to do this if you don’t feel comfy doing it your self.

W205C43PFL

The guy in the second snapshot of the video thumbnail is intimidating