Jawnathin

When closing the door of your car, does the upper part of the interior door panel shake a little?

Just replaced one panel in mine and it does shake. I typically use the other side of the car as reference, but its also doing it on the side I haven't touched. I have noticed it before, and it doesn't seem to shake anymore than it did before, but I'm not sure if the panels were ever removed and installed incorrectly. Given what the previous owner had said, I don't think it has been touched, but I'm not 100% sure.

The upper door clips are a pain and I'm not sure if they're in or they all just do this.


Just want to make sure I do it right while I'm in there. Thanks.

Jawnathin

Just looked at the car again. The whole panel kinda vibrates a little, not just the top part. Both sides, including the untouched side.

Even trying to brace the top of the door panel doesn't seem to help much. My guess is that they all do this, but wanted feedback from others.

Thanks.

Cyber Greg

Mine doesn't. You could probably take it off and add some dynamat. I bet that would take car of it. You'll get it figured out.

Jawnathin

Thanks for checking. Its pretty subtle but I've always noticed it.

I'm wondering if the upper clips aren't on correctly. Those are a pain to get in and I'm not even sure if they're in.

Jawnathin

Here is a similar complaint, but unsure what the resolution was.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...or-panels.html

Patsgarage

Funny you should mention that, on my 13 GS I just noticed the same thing the other day. The car is new so I know the panels have never been off, I will have to look into it further when it gets warmer out.

gp56

Are you sure the metal clips on the upper part of the door panel are sliding over the door frame? If not, then the panel will shake the way you describe.

Jawnathin

Interesting. Thanks for your feedback.

I'm not sure that they are which is why I wanted to hear from others. It is quite subtle so it doesn't look obviously wrong but it doesn't look quite right either. Not sure if I put it in wrong or it is normal for these cars (which as we know, doesnt have the best build quality at times).

I normally use the other side of the car as a reference but it is doing it too. I haven't touched that side.

Are you saying yours doesn't shake a little upon closing?

gp56

They should not shake. It is very easy to put the door panel back on and not get the clips to go over the door frame. A way you can tell if the door panel is not on correctly is to gently pull on the upper door panel near the window and and see if it pulls away from the door, if it moves the clips are not grabbing the metal.

If that is the case you can get them to catch without removing the door panel. Push in with your thumbs on the lower part of the upper door panel while pulling up and then pushing the section that would meet the glass so that it goes over the metal on the door. You may have to do this in 3 sections, hardest one to catch is the area closest to the mirror.

Jawnathin

Thanks, I appreciate your feedback.

I'm not home at the moment so I can't verify, but I think I pulled back on the door panel and it seemed pretty sturdy and didn't move. There really wasn't any movement until I try closing the door. I'll try again when I get home. I know when I 'push' on it, or try to 'squeeze' it, it compressed a little though. But that could make sense give how the clip works.

I've also tried to get it on video, but like I mentioned, its pretty subtle and was hard to capture.

I also have a set of shoelaces in-between the clips right now (per the trick documented on the forums). I try to pull up on them but doesn't seem to change anything. So maybe they're in or I'm not doing it right.

If I find that they pull back when I pull on them, I'll give the technique you described to get them clipped a shot.

Also, FWIW, when I got in my DD to drive to work, I noticed they shook a little too. It is most obvious when you have something to look at (door handle, button, etc) and you can see it vibrate a little upon closing. My DD isn't a S-Class or Lexus LS or anything, but it was pretty well build for a 25k~ Japanese car.

Thanks again for your help.

In the meantime, if anyone else has feedback on whether or not their car does it, I'd appreciate it.

Jawnathin

Took a video of my panel... hard to tell, but might give you an idea of whether or not I'm seeing something abnormal or not. Anyway, I pull on the upper part of the panel and might be a little bit of play, but it isn't much.

Do you mind elaborating a little more on your instructions? I've tried and I can't seem to get any sort of change. I push in on both sides and try to lift the panel up (using the handle) but it just squeezes the panel and the door, no clips or snaps.

calemasters

Yes, mine oscillates when the door is closed. So I purchased all new retainers and reinstalled the door trim panel. It still shakes a little when the door is closed but at least I know all retainers are good and properly seated.

Jawnathin

Thanks for your feedback. It might be hard to tell but how did it compare to my video? Noticably worse? The same? Thanks.

Wish I had another car to reference.

c54u

I have a 2007 and both the door panels have never been removed and when I close the doors, the panels shake/vibrate when they close. They have done it since day I bought the car almost 5 years ago. They shake a lot more than your video shows and never have caused a problem for me. I have no noises coming from the door panels either when I am driving.

Jawnathin

Thanks for your feedback. I appreciate it.

Would love to continue to hear from others to see if they have noticed the same thing. Given how regularly someone opens and closes their door, I'm surprised there hasn't been more responses to this.

C6RaceCar

This is normal.

WAwatchnut

I think the movement you have is normal. Boh of my doors behaved the same way when I bought the car. I had a little more wobble on the drivers side, but I didn't think much of it.

I pulled the door panels to install new component speakers, and discovered that when Chevy assembled my doors, they incorrectly put door panels on and broke some of the clips that hold the two panel pices together. (also broke the speaker mounts, so the 3.5" speaker was free to move around).

So while the movement of the panel on yours is probably normal, there is the possibility that there could be something wrong, even if the previous owner didn't change anything. Probably unlikely though.

Jawnathin

Great, thanks to both of you for the feedback. Looks like this might be normal. While this isn't ideal, it is OK by me. I was more concerned that I hadn't installed them correctly.

Of course, I welcome further feedback, but thanks again.

calemasters

Due to the video resolution, frames/second, camera motion (no tripod), I really do not see any door panel vibration in your video. Therefore, I can not compare. In real life, I can see the door panel vibration on my car when I close the door. I am sure my door trim panel is installed properly because I did it myself. I had to fix it after a dealer screwed it up. They broke 3 retainers and did not replace them. I had to drive 90 miles round trip to the nearest dealer that had them in stock. They cost about $2.50 each. I was not happy. I do not like technicians that do not care. I had taken the car in for left door alignment. I had to redo the alignment because instead of doing the job correctly by adjusting the hinges, all they did was adjust the stricker. So I asked for it to be redone correctly and that is when they screwed up the door trim panel. Plus when I got home, I had to adjust the hinges myself.

OK, I feel better now.

Jawnathin

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Glad to see its all fixed now.

I agree, it is hard to see in the video, likely due to all the factors you mentioned. It wasn't clear to me through the LCD screen that the vibrations were appearing.

I think we've verified that properly installed panels, including those from the factory do have some shake. The question that remains is how does a properly installed unit compare to mine. Given the feedback and the fact it is similar to before I started playing with it (so it should have been stock) it appears to be normal, but I won't be able to tell until I see another car for myself.

One quick question that came to mind. When I was installing the drivers side door (before the video) I squeezed down on the upper part of the interior panel and the exterior door to try to force the clip into the door. It did take a little bit of force and there was a quick pop. I assumed that pop was the clip going into it's proper position, but now have 2nd thoughts as to whether I broke something. Only one of the clips 'popped' (the outer most, far left on the drivers side), the rest would just flex. No pop (I'm assuming they are in)

I believe the area the clip mounts into is metal, so I don't think that broke. And the clip itself is metal, so it should be ok. I'm not sure what the clip holds into in the interior panel, does anyone know? Is it to some plastic piece or another piece of metal running length wise down? Maybe I'll check my spare panels when i get home.

However, this was done prior to the video and I didn't hear anything rattle around when I closed or open the door, so if something is broken, it certainly isn't loose. I also was unable to pull the panel back (as seen in the video) and nor does it seem to shake anymore in that location or compared to the other side.

So all in all, given the evidence (no rattling part, still structurally supportive) I assume all is well, but if anyone else had to 'pop' the upper clips back in, did you also hear a similar sound?