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New member introduction and problems with my 2015 Z51 Coupe
Hello everyone!
I got the 2015 Z51 Coupe 2LT back in December ( ish ) in Black with Red Interior ( pic below )
... And I absolutely love it! Definitely one of the best / most fun car I've ever driven. Did a paint correction on the car, clear bra-ed half of it and basically just doing my best to keep it looking pretty!
Have about 5.5k miles on the car now, and most of the stuff is running great!
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Except for 2 major problems which REALLY get on my nerves..
1. The noisy roof panel ( of course )
Before people say there are threads on this forum about it though, I would like to describe my problem ( and the solutions I've attempted ), since the search seems to yield many different problems that seem similar, but I feel are different.
The kind of noise that I hear sounds like a rattling of metal parts within the latch, and is especially bad after the car has been sitting in the sun for a while ( I'm in Cali so that's an issue )
Most ( if not all ) of the noise comes mainly from the 2 latches on the front of the vehicle. I've tried tightening the bolts on the latches, lubing the contact areas, turning the hook at the back, these solutions either work temporarily or not at all. The only way that I can consistently remove the noise is by opening the latch just slightly ( 5 - 10 degrees ish ), which completely removes the noise, but since I'm unclear of what the long term effects might be, I decided to just bear with the noise for now. This is honestly one of the things about this car that's really keeping me from enjoying it fully.
If anything I do notice that after removing the top for a few times, the latches became significantly easier to turn, but when I tried tightening the bolts they won't budge at all!
2. Instrumental panel / trim panel creaking
I've found these panels to squeak whenever I press on them ( the one above the gauge / screen, and the "chrome" trims around them ). This doesn't normally bother me, but when I go over rougher parts of road and onto ramps such as going into a strip mall, they always make some noises, which also bothers me ( but not as much as the roof since it's not as consistent ). Nevertheless, it's still an issue that I did not expect to encounter on a $70,000 car.
I am pleased to finally make acquaintance with fellow Vette owners on the Corvette forum, and if you know of any potential solutions to the problems I have mentioned above please do not hesitate to comment on this thread!
17,000 miles and no noise from my top or latches. Of course, the top has never been off after my C6 top drove me crazy with squeaks and noises, especially when the temperature changed. I figured I would avoid problems by never removing the top. I would have been fine with a fixed- roof.
Last edited by SRQStingray; 04-22-2015 at 05:49 AM.
I have had my top off several times. The first time I removed it I silicone greased the rubber seals, as suggested above, and in the manual. Car is very solid over my washboard roads locally.
I have a creaking in the front right side of my top. Depending on the road conditions, it goes from almost not there to very annoying.
I have yet to take the top off, but I probably will very soon.
There are lots of suggestions on the top remedy. Hope you get it taken care of .
Try some silicone on the rubber parts of the roof panel.(the weatherstripping). That should eliminate that. Good luck with your new car!
Thanks for the advice! I've looked into that and I'm not sure ( a little skeptical ) that it works, mainly because the noise is coming from the latches. I know it sounds weird but it almost sounds like someone tap dancing on my latches. If i place my hand on the roof I can actually feel it moving ( when going over rough parts of the road. )
Sometimes I think people don't read past the thread title.
For the latches, I would definitely take it back to the dealer and ask them to have the tech take a test drive with you, so you can point out exactly what you're talking about. That should be covered under the warranty.
But to help narrow it down: if you take the roof off, and shake it, or rap on the fittings (with your hand or a rubber mallet), can you make it rattle? If no, what if you rap the fittings on the car itself? If either rattle by themselves, you've probably isolated the problem to that hardware and it probably needs to be replaced.
But if it only rattles when the roof is attached, then the problem is probably the fit between the roof and car sides of the fitting. See if you can loosen them and slide them sideways, forwards, or backwards any. Maybe you can take up the slack between the parts.
For the dash panel, again, the dealer should be willing to look at this, but if you want to do it yourself invest in a set of plastic trim removal tools, like these:
I don't know exactly how that panel mounts, but if you ask here you'll undoubtedly find someone who can tell you. Plastic squeaks are generally caused by two pieces rubbing against each other. Look for scuff / scratch marks that would indicate where the rubbing is taking place. You could try putting a piece of electrical or friction tape there to make it fit tighter, or put a little silicone grease on it so the sliding doesn't cause a squeak.
Try some silicone on the rubber parts of the roof panel.(the weatherstripping). That should eliminate that. Good luck with your new car!
That would be my suggestion, too. Dielectric (silicone) grease can be purchased at any auto parts store and is recommended in the manual as regular maintenance. My roof panel made light pops occasionally going over bumps when new but I haven't heard any in some time.
No other rattles except the passenger seat belt buckle hitting the seat frame when not in use, which I cured by applying a piece of a stick-on furniture floor protector to the frame where it made contact. I'm surprised not to have heard others complain about this since I would suspect the buckle would rest in the same place on other cars.
Also, on the subject of trim and molding removal, I bought this kit recently. Cut a 20%-off coupon from a HFT ad in most any auto magazine and pay only $6.40.
I'd just bring it back to the dealer and let them fix it. I have about 8000 miles on my '14 and the roof has been on and off many times and it does not rattle at all.
No problems with my dash (2015 Z51), but my roof was starting to creak. I had read on this forum somewhere that if you use the rear latch to pull the top in place it would cause the creaking. I now place the top and push back to seat it, latch the fronts and then the rear one. I have no more issues.
I know there will be skeptics, but try this if you are using the rear first to latch. This could help. It worked for me without adjusting everything.
I'll just tell you what happened with my C6. I had my painted top replaced because of a crack in the fiberglass. The new top rattled horribly over bumps. Took the service manager for a ride to let him hear what was going on. Turned out that the side windows had to be adjusted slightly lower and the rattling stopped.
17,000 miles and no noise from my top or latches. Of course, the top has never been off after my C6 top drove me crazy with squeaks and noises, especially when the temperature changed. I figured I would avoid problems by never removing the top. I would have been fine with a fixed- roof.
No problems with my dash (2015 Z51), but my roof was starting to creak. I had read on this forum somewhere that if you use the rear latch to pull the top in place it would cause the creaking. I now place the top and push back to seat it, latch the fronts and then the rear one. I have no more issues.
I know there will be skeptics, but try this if you are using the rear first to latch. This could help. It worked for me without adjusting everything.
thanks for the advice! unfortunately that's how I've attached the roof of the car since day one but I don't think it helped
That would be my suggestion, too. Dielectric (silicone) grease can be purchased at any auto parts store and is recommended in the manual as regular maintenance. My roof panel made light pops occasionally going over bumps when new but I haven't heard any in some time.
No other rattles except the passenger seat belt buckle hitting the seat frame when not in use, which I cured by applying a piece of a stick-on furniture floor protector to the frame where it made contact. I'm surprised not to have heard others complain about this since I would suspect the buckle would rest in the same place on other cars.
Also, on the subject of trim and molding removal, I bought this kit recently. Cut a 20%-off coupon from a HFT ad in most any auto magazine and pay only $6.40.
I've tried some sort of dieletric grease I got from auto zone but I don't think it helped :/
Sometimes I think people don't read past the thread title.
For the latches, I would definitely take it back to the dealer and ask them to have the tech take a test drive with you, so you can point out exactly what you're talking about. That should be covered under the warranty.
But to help narrow it down: if you take the roof off, and shake it, or rap on the fittings (with your hand or a rubber mallet), can you make it rattle? If no, what if you rap the fittings on the car itself? If either rattle by themselves, you've probably isolated the problem to that hardware and it probably needs to be replaced.
But if it only rattles when the roof is attached, then the problem is probably the fit between the roof and car sides of the fitting. See if you can loosen them and slide them sideways, forwards, or backwards any. Maybe you can take up the slack between the parts.
That's great advice! I'm waiting until I need the car serviced ( very soon ) then I plan on taking it to the dealer. Unfortunately after doing some research, the closest dealer that people have given good reviews for is roughly an hour away ( I didn't buy my car in CA ) and I kind of need the car to commute so that could be another problem... Need to get in touch with them when I get some free time...
I have a roof problem too that I tried everything on the forum to fix. The dealer had it for a few days trying everything as well and finally found a broken bolt under the trim above the windshield. They then replaced all the hardware. It's much better but still pops a little when it sets in the sun for awhile. I might take it back again during my next service and see if they can dial in the adjustments some more.
Also I'm sure all dealerships are different but they gave me a rental while doing the service. I'm in Los Angeles and bought my car out of state too. If you're close to LA, you can check out Rydell in Northridge.
I have a roof problem too that I tried everything on the forum to fix. The dealer had it for a few days trying everything as well and finally found a broken bolt under the trim above the windshield. They then replaced all the hardware. It's much better but still pops a little when it sets in the sun for awhile. I might take it back again during my next service and see if they can dial in the adjustments some more.
Also I'm sure all dealerships are different but they gave me a rental while doing the service. I'm in Los Angeles and bought my car out of state too. If you're close to LA, you can check out Rydell in Northridge.
Hey, yeah I did some research online and read many recommendations about Rydell. I'm actually in LA myself so that's why I was slightly concerned about how I can get around during the time.
Since you're from LA too I'll assume you understand what I mean when I say rattling roofs and LA roads don't mix...
17,000 miles and no noise from my top or latches. Of course, the top has never been off after my C6 top drove me crazy with squeaks and noises, especially when the temperature changed. I figured I would avoid problems by never removing the top. I would have been fine with a fixed- roof.
That’s the case with me. The idea of a removable top is appealing in theory but for us, not in practice. Lots of wind and with wife’s poor hearing that isn’t helpful.
Even more significantly is what you say, I really don’t want to induce any squeaks or rattles, the car has none and I don’t want to be responsible for creating them. Such noises really irritate me. Don
04-22-2015, 04:08 AM
New member introduction and problems with my 2015 Z51 Coupe
