A-pillar rattle/buzz... Finally fixed!

[ReadTheBook]

I have been unwilling to remove the A-pillar trim to chase a rattle. I'd heard it was a pain in the ass, and it was a bit, but I caved. As nice and helpful as they usually are, my dealer is explicit that they have to be able to verify the rattle before they're going to go chasing it. For me, this rattle/buzz was intermittent and very frustrating.

Here's a video of the rattle/buzz, I shot this in my Golf before I got my GTI, yes, both cars have experienced the same issue, as does my wife's MK7 Golf though not as badly. https://youtu.be/XfQUCNECbUU

Here's a gallery of how I fixed it. Pardon the sloppy markup, I did everything on my phone.
https://m.imgur.com/gallery/kmxko

Hope this can be a help to someone out there. This buzz drove me nuts.

 

[TheWombat]

Wow, that's pretty impressive. Nice illustration of the disassembly and the fix.

 

[George Ab]

Well done! Really good visual explanation. I wish I could do as "sloppy" a mark up as that; seriously, outstanding.

Getting experience, removing things and the confidence it provides not to mention actually fixing a problem is quite rewarding.

 

[KevinC]

Very interesting. My A-pillar cover on the driver's side was warped and ill-fitting from the get-go. A year later I finally had the dealer replace it under warranty this week. I had a nasty rattle in it shortly after leaving the dealership. I figured crap, gonna have to take it back and have them open it up and secure whatever was loose. But now it's been dead silent since, as if something was loose but settled into a spot where it no longer moves. So for now, I'll leave well enough alone.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Very interesting. My A-pillar cover on the driver's side was warped and ill-fitting from the get-go. A year later I finally had the dealer replace it under warranty this week. I had a nasty rattle in it shortly after leaving the dealership. I figured crap, gonna have to take it back and have them open it up and secure whatever was loose. But now it's been dead silent since, as if something was loose but settled into a spot where it no longer moves. So for now, I'll leave well enough alone.

Strange. There isn't really much of anything inside there that could be rattling. The main wiring harness is very well secured. The cable for the tweeter is not long enough to have enough slack to buzz against anything. This noise specifically comes from plastic on metal at a certain road noise frequencies, best I can tell.

Hope it doesn't come back for you.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Happy to report this is still quiet after a few days of having the fix in place.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Definitely still 100% silent after ~6 weeks.

 

[ReadTheBook]

Almost 4 months, no return.

 

[Trancebolt]

pesky sound, i have it in my car but wont do this myself... just going to show the dealer... =D wwarranntyyy

 

[ReadTheBook]

pesky sound, i have it in my car but wont do this myself... just going to show the dealer... =D wwarranntyyy

Yeah I had my car into the dealer twice for this and they could not replicate and could not hear it when I was trying to point it out to them while I was driving.

Simply took it upon myself to do it later After I figured out exactly where it was coming from which took quite a while on its own. It was easier than fighting with them.

 

[Trancebolt]

Damn i expected that from them too... thought showing them the pics would hel

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[Genegenie]

Well done to the OP, the men in white coats can stand down afterall. Such things would drive me crackers too. Among the very many rattles on my last Golf, 1.4SE Mk7, was the A-pillars on the exterior where they blend into the bonnet / hood, also rattled. May be worth checking out, or leave well alone if no issues....

 

[Slapshot1]

I have a rattle in my right side A pillar. When I take it in for my first free oil change I’m going to have the dealer look at it. Not super bad just kinda annoying.

 

[zero10]

I just wanted to say THANKS! I have had a rattle coming from near the speaker of the passenger side a-pillar and had given up looking for disassembly pictures of the a-pillar when I stumbled on this thread and it's excellent pictorial guide!

The local dealership has straight up said they hate chasing rattles and don't want to do it, but agree they will if I "really want them to".... not the attitude I want from the techs who would be pulling interior pieces out so I figured I would just chase the noise myself. Should be an easy fix with this guide!

Now if only somebody had a guide for fixing the rattling noise when I set the vent selector knob to floor/defrost and have the fan between 2 and 4

 

[Trancebolt]

HAha im a bit apprehensive about RE-attaching the clips and pillar. =D There is no step by step for that and im half retarded when it comes working on cars. Great with computers, not with cars...

Mine is real bad. right hand side pillar, super rattley over any kind of bump or road markers.