I am getting a really strange tapping type sound near the front driver's side windshield or towards top of windshield (can't pinpoint the exact location) when I hit random bumps/uneven pavement on my 2010 Max with dual panel roof. It sort of sounds like something is tapping against the windshield.

The problem is intermittent...I sometimes won't hear it for an entire day's drive and on other days it's almost constant. It seems to happen more often when it's warmer outside. I've had my car for less than 2 months and this problem is driving me crazy.

The first time I brought it in to the dealer I was able to reproduce the sound during a test drive with a technician. The dealer re torqued the sunroof fastener/bolts, but problem was still there when I pulled out after picking it up.

The second time I took it in, we could not reproduce the noise....of course! The dealer said there's not much they can do if they don't hear it. Of course, I'm still hearing it...it was pretty loud and continuous today.

Has anyone else experienced this? Please help.

 

New one on me. Since there is almost no way the windshield itself could produce a tapping noise, we can eliminate it. The double-panel roof would be the most likely suspect, as there isn't much else in that area.

Next time this tapping begins, open the sunscreen for the double panel roof all the way while driving. If the noise stops, the problem may be in the catch/latch/stop at the left front corner of the sunscreen.

If opening the roof sunscreen has no effect, open the double panel roof all the way while driving. If the noise stops, the roof is the culprit.

If the noise still persists, steer with one hand (eyes still on the road) while reaching up into the recess where the left front corner of the double panel roof would be if it were closed, and try putting your fingers firmly against every part you can reach, and see if pressing against anything stops the tapping. If it does, you have found the problem.

If that doen't stop the tapping, close the roof and sunscreen and try pressing hard against every part of the inside of the cabin in the area where the tapping seems to be coming from. If that stops the tapping, show the service advisor exactly where you pushed to stop the noise.

If all else fails, this will be one of those miserable situations where you just have to keep trying to duplicate the tapping while the advisor is riding shotgun. Best of luck. Keep us advised.

 

Have you read through this?

http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...ual+panel+roof

 

Light - Thanks for the detailed info. I will certainly go through those steps.

Flip - Yes I have seen that post and the dealer did re torque the sunroof bolts...that didn't help.

I'll keep everyone posted.

 

I know this will sound stupid and since it's my first post on this site, I will look stupid. However, I experienced a very similar issue in my '10. I searched everywhere for this sound and found mine to be a pair of sunglasses in the over-head storage. Damitman, did I ever feel like an idiot?!?!?! Anyway, good luck on your search and thanks for a great forum! I'm a member of several and this one is by far 1 of the best!

 

You are very welcome.

One other thing I would do is try to find a stretch of road (probably rough road) on which this sound usually tends to show up. That way, you can create the sound fairly easily when trying to research it. Best thing would be if that stretch of road was near your dealer, so you could create the sound for the service tech more easily. Good luck.

 

It's funny, I've had my 2010 Max for 3 weeks and get that sound on the passenger-side windshield down by the dashboard. It's driving me nuts. It is very intermittent. Haven't had a chance to go to the dealership yet. I have the standard sunroof not the dual panel. Any thoughts?

 

This is a tough one because it cannot be researched alone. One person must drive, while the other person presses hard against every inch of the dash and front part of the door in the area of the sound. Be sure nothing is loose in the very deep glove box, and press against all inside surfaces of that compartment. If you and a helper cannot pin the noise down to one spot, at least the service tech will be sitting right at the noise, so may have an idea, based on the 'tone' of the sound.

As I mentioned to IceMaxSE, find a stretch of road (preferably near the dealer) where the sound is clearly noticable, so research will go quicker.

I don't see the windshield as being the source, because it is glued down very tightly. Just make sure the plastic flange that lies loosely over the outside bottom edge of the glass is not rattling against the surface of the glass.

Among the countless possibilities:
Something loose in the glove box.
Something loose behind the dash vibrating against one of the walls of the glovebox.
Part of the wire harness dehind dash vibrating against something (this is tough to nail down).
Contact between the dash material and the inner surface of the side of the car or the inside surface of the door causing clicking or creaking noise as the two surfaces shift very slightly in relation to each other.
Something loose inside the side of the car body just ahead of the right door (the sunroof drain tubes run through this area on their way to the bottom of the chassi).
Something loose inside the front part of the right front door (there are lots of things inside these doors).
Two sections of an HVAC air distribution pipe not attached correctly.
A section of the HVAC distribution pipe vibrating against another surface.
A slight misfit between the glove box door and the console, allowing two surfaces to touch when car movement causes vibration.


Those are just a few of the things that have resulted in noises in cars I have owned over the last sixty-one years. Of course there are many other possibilities. I have even had dry leaves get into the HVAC ducts of my cars, rattling like crazy. Those with noise in the console area should remember that styrofoam cups creak when in contact with any solid surface, and ice floating in those cups will also result in an annoying rattle. I experienced the same noise SNEEKYFAST mentioned here yesterday, when a pair of metal-framed sunglasses in the overhead bin annoyed me for days before I realized the cause of the noise.

Let us know how this goes.

 

hey i have a 2010 maxima with dual panel roof .I get a weird knocking sound. It sounds like i got a rock in my dash board, plus i got this slight tapping sound from the driver side headliner just above the driver seat and it is driving me crazy. anybody else got those prob?

 

I have the same sound, but i have noticed that if I'm sitting in the passenger side it sounds like it's coming from the drivers side. So i had an 05 altima before and they had a rattle issue in the dome light are tsb, so i started prodding around and found that if i press on the fabric where the switch for the moon roof is that noise is gone. Most like it's just the wiring in the overhead dome light area rattling a bit. I haven't really gone in there but will do so when i have the time.l

 

jeepinred87 - I'm getting the same tapping sound in the same area you mention...in the headliner right above the driver's side. It happens when I hit random bumps...some days more than others. No matter how hard I press on the headliner, sound is still there. This is driving me crazy too. If anyone else has had this problem and figured it out, please let us know. Thanks!

 

The fact that you hear the noise on bumps or uneven surfaces makes me think it may be suspension. Suspension noises can travel all though the car and really throw you off a bit. There is a tsb about poping noise from the front. To see if you have this problem do the following. Jack up the front of the car so that the wheels are in the air and pull in and out on the front springs. If they move at all then that is more than likely your problem. The TSB calls for installing a rubber insulator on the top coil of the spring. That should clear it up.

I have the same problem on the 09 I just bought, just havent had time to fix it. Just so you all know, I am a Nissan Master Tech, and more than willing to help with all your issues. Just shoot me a email for any questions. Let me know if this fixed your issue.....

 

Jeepinred87 - Any luck identifying the source of the tapping sound? Still trying to figure out mine.

 

Ditto. I have to put my sunglasses in the storage compartment only one way to keep them from rattling. I even tried lining the compartment with sticky felt and it did not help. The noise was driving me crazy until I found out it was the glasses.

 

I had one nasty rattle that turned out to be the metal mount on the radar detector I had in the glove. Another was, as above, the sunglasses tray. I fixed that by putting the glasses in a leather sleeve.

I've noticed another intermittent rattle from inside the dash when I turn the AC on. The best way to test the car is to find a steep hill and sit in park facing down with the engine on. That induces very heavy low-frequency vibration. Slowly holding on the hill with the car in reverse is another way for slightly higher-pitched vibrations. I've also run bass test tones through the speakers, but that wasn't as effective.

Have any of y'all experienced windshield creaks? When I hit even a moderate bump, it's 50/50 whether I'll heard a loud creak in addition to the expected muffled thump. They drive me crazy, it sounds like the windshield mounts were torqued too tight or something. My old Chevrolet sedan didn't do that.

 

no i havent had time to find the cause of the noise yet, but over the past few days the car developed a rattle on bumps that sounds like its coming from front passenger door and my front passenger seat also shakes and squeaks when no one is in it.

 

The windshield on the 7th gen Maxima is actually glued down with a special (really stinky obnoxious) glue. It just lies there, with nothing holding it down. There is a metal flap running from one side of the windshield to the other which lies loosely on top of the bottom few inches of the glass, but shouldn't cause creaks. Rattle maybe, but no creak.

The creak might be coming from the metalwork framing the windshield opening, or the dash assembly rubbing against the car shell, as it is very slightly contorted by the bump.

If we go over a speed bump straight on, with both wheels hitting the bump simultaneously, resultant noises are most likely coming from a strut, or associated parts. If we hit a speed bump at an angle, or hit any bump where one side of the car is affected more than the other, any noise could just as easily be frame/body/interior parts rubbing against each other as a result of the twisting effect of the bump.

 

You should see the gaps between the dash and pillars of the car and the dash/winshield that was creating rattles. There were also gaps in the driver and passenger door panels. Luckily, I have experience with this BS in my TL and was able to use furniture cushions to get rid of 95% of the noises in the cabin!

Some of them at the dash, I had to paint black so that they blend in with the black dash! So unless your staring and looking for them, you don't really see them when the doors are open!!