jillk34786

Does anyone else have issues with noise being submitted from the hardtop mechanism?
I have a 2005 SL500 and at highway speeds I always notice some noise from the pass side rear area with the top up. Obviously, I can't tell or hear any noise with the top down.

Just curious if anybody has heard the same kind of noise and what the issue was?

Thanks in advance for any input

dan1495

My 2003 SL500 recently developed a noise coming from the same vicinity. It is at the dealer as we speak where they are supposedly fixing it. I will let you know the results if it ever comes back - it has been there since last Wednesday.

SL2003driver

mine creaks at low speeds when I go in or out of my drive and on some bumps. figure the dealer can lube it, or i will turn the stereo up .

lkirchner

They will probably lube it and that will work for a few months and it will return. Trust me I know from experience.

lovemysl

I have a 2003 designo SL 500. I too have a creaking within the hard top, but mainly when pulling in and out of the drive way. I figure it is from body roll. I have no noise at highway speeds.

BlackonBlack

Same here. Sometimes the creak gets so bad it drives me up the wall. Has anyone found a solution to this? There must be a simple fix. I beleive the creaks come from the glass rubbing against the rubber. So sometimes, I lower the glass for a split second, just enough for the glass to stop rubbing against the rubber seal and that sometimes help. I've been meaning to put some lube on the edge of the glass to see if that works. Funny thing is that it only happens on my side of the car.
Any suggestions anyone?

dan1495

Got our SL500 back today from the dealer - finally. They lubed all of the seals, re-torqued all of the attaching bolts, adjusted the trunk lid etc. I have to say about 95% of the noise is gone. We'll see how long it lasts.

WordSmith

On my 2005 SL500, I don't get a mechanical/metal noise, but rather a wind noise from the passenger side window at about 70 mph. The dealer can't fix it. I was told by another SL500 owner that it's because the top, not the window, isn't seating itself right.

Any thoughts?

jillk34786

Thanks for all the input. I will have the dealer lube the hardtop mechanism and hopefully this noise issue will finally go away

SL2003driver

Just got mine back, its better.

SL2003driver

Mine doesn't have any noise with the top down. Silconed all the rubber and most of the noise went away, but still have the creak going in and out of the driveway at low speed. I now just turn up the stereo

WordSmith

Yeah, the loud stearo helps at 70 mph and seems to be the only fix.

ToonArmy

I have the same issue. It tends to be worst when I have recently put the top up, and seems to improve if I lower the window and then raise it. Which leads me to think that it the roof doesn't "seat" as well when lowering onto the glass (compared to raising the glass into the roof).

No fix from the dealer earlier, and it is now out of warranty, so I lower/raise the window and raise the stereo volume a notch :-)

glennbaz

Try lowering the top. put a couple of drops of oil on the each locking mech above the windshield. There is a roller and small arm pivot. Then raise the roof half way (it will not stay there long before it lowers itself for safety reasons) While in this halfway position put a couple of drops of oil on each pivot point of the mulitple sissor arms that you can see. You might have to open and close the top a few time to give you enough time to do it. I'm sure many if not all of your squeeks will be gone.
Glenn

lkirchner

If you start the car, keep it running and open the top to any partially open position the top will not lower any further. Doing this will permit you to lubricate the hinges until the cows come home.

BrabusTrojanSL

I have had this issue for a year now. Everytime I take it to the dealer they just put a bunch of lube on it, but after a few days of dropping the top and closing it, its comes back. Someone please tell me how to fix this! I will pay $$$$

SL2003driver

Does yours or others creak at the rear C pillar when you turn into a driveway and over the curb at low speed?

BrabusTrojanSL

Yes, EXACTLY!

SL2003driver

Mine had a cracked C pillar in 2003 that was fixed and then adjusted again in 2005. I don't see how you can have a cracked C pillar unless they are talking about the convertable roof and one of the metal extenders???

Chris 45971

Watch for the seat. For the longest time I thought I had a rattle in the roof and it was coming from the back of the driver seat. I rubbed around the back of the seat, something popped and that was that.

Good luck in fixing the creaking when pulling out of the driveway. That is body flex. I don't like it either, but backing strait out instead of turning the wheel before the rear of the car is out of the driveway will solve the problem(no part of the car is being left off of the ground).

BrabusTrojanSL

Got my baby back, and apparently they had to re-align the roof assembly. They didn't know what it was from, but they said that I could have been tapped in a parking lot, and that could set the alignment off for the roof when it closes.
Another weird thing was that I noticed my car vibrated more than usual last week, and I brought it up to the dealer.
They told me that the engine housing, or the pillars that hold that engine in place were both cracked and broken, so they replaced that for me as well.
I guess I drive it too hard

BlackonBlack

That's the engine mounts that were broken. Your engine sits on 2 of these alu/rubber mounts that will give way after sometime. One way of stretching its life is to always slow down over humps. Like really slow. There's nothing worse for these mounts than for the engine to sink its complete weight on it when the front wheels clear the speed hump at speed. These mounts have about the same lifespan as the front end arms, both the lower and upper arms that hold your wheel in place. These will wear out at the joints which are made of rubber cracking over time leading to expensive tire wear and mis-alignment. You should have them check these too.
Hope this helps, just doing my last good deed for the day.

SL2003driver

Are you saying that the creaking noise is the engine mounts? I understand that the mounts can still look good before you take them off even though they have failed.

BlackonBlack

When the mounts have failed, you won't hear a creaking noise. You'll feel it more than you'll hear. In Park, you'll feel the vibration on the shifter and somtimes on the steering wheel as well if the wear is bad. When you're driving off, you'll definitely feel more of the engine rumble than you hear it. THat's how you know they've served their purpose. ONLY when you've taken them off can you see the cracks in the rubber. Put it next to a brand new mount, and you'll see that the middle portion of the mount sinks in by as much as 10-15mm. By the time that happens, the vibration is no longer absorbed by the rubber and that's why you'll feel it in the car.

BrabusTrojanSL

I had it fixed, it was just the engine mounts. But I still have the low creaking from the rear strut behind the passenger seat. I think I am going to buy a new SL just for this reason.