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2003-2009 Nissan 350Z

what's this squeeking/creeking noise my car's making?

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Old Apr 11, 2004 | 08:00 PM
  #1  
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Unhappy what's this squeeking/creeking noise my car's making?

its driving me crazy, it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side of the strut in the trunk (i think it's from inside of the strut, but the car is so small it could be coming from anywhere in the passenger side rear)... it's a squeeking/creeking noise, best way i can describe it is as a squeeking rattle... somethings definately moving around, or rubbing making the squeeking noise, i hear it w/ every bump or imperfection in the road, anything that makes the car shake, even a little!!! i can't figure out what it is, it's driving me crazy it doesn't stop, the sound doesn't go away, it's always there, as long as the car's moving... could it be something in the suspension? i hate going to the dealer and waiting hours for some stupid stuff like this...

p.s. i'm positive it's not the spare/jack/tools rubbing on anything, or bouncing
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Old Apr 11, 2004 | 08:19 PM
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honestly, this might sound really dumb,

but i had a similar kind of sound, i finally figured out that when you lift up the trunk mat and lift up the cardboard mat covering the spare there is styrofoam <--spelling sorry. that might be the reason why its squeeking. i put some cloth kind of cloth shaped like a big sock over all the pieces, got rid of the squeeking


let me know if it solves the problem

sang
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Old Apr 11, 2004 | 09:34 PM
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I've recently noticed a rattled coming from the direction of my front driver-side wheel that seems to fit in with your description. I'm planning on bringing it in soon to be looked at. Hopefully I can get it in under the rattle TSB.
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Old Apr 11, 2004 | 10:14 PM
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rattles here too. let us know what you find, bringing mine in too.
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Old Apr 12, 2004 | 12:25 AM
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Yeah, I get squeaky rattles too from my passenger side. It's exacerbated by this really tall speed bump in my complex. The squeak/chirp seems to be most noticeable when I shift gears at low speeds (at higher speeds it's drowned out by ambient road noise). I might have it checked out tomorrow.
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Old Apr 12, 2004 | 01:00 AM
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I found one of my interior rattle / squeaks... Next time you hear it, put your hand over the rear view mirror. The Homelink Buttons on the right side of mine slightly viberate. If I squeeze the mirror the sound stops....

now I need to find a permanent fix for this...
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Old Apr 12, 2004 | 06:44 AM
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Another very common cause of sqeaking from the hatch area is the third brake light. If you pull off the molding you will see that there is a plastic on plastic interface between molding and third brake light. I placed a piece of foam tape on the area and the squeak has not recurred. Once I knocked out a couple of other squeaks in the dash my car has been rattle free now for over 5000mi.

BTW, I would have swore the sqeak was coming from the rear strut prior to making this discovery. It is hard to isolate the sources sometimes.

Good luck.

Greg
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Old Apr 12, 2004 | 09:50 AM
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It's called the "dealer cannot replicate" sound. Grr. I have one that only seems to do it every time I pull into my garage. Of course, my dealer tried to blame it on my Nismo suspension the one time they were able to hear it (despite the fact that I had it looked at before I changed anything on the car).

I have just about given up; the dealer is not willing to spend any time, and I have trouble replicating it for them, but it is definately there. *sigh* Guess I need to learn to live with it.
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Old Apr 12, 2004 | 11:44 AM
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Heh, "dealer cannot replicate" sounds come in so many varieties!
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Old Apr 12, 2004 | 11:49 AM
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I have the same exact thing. Usually upon acceleration but also over speed bumps. It is most probably the strut. I had it checked out at a tire shop and even went for a ride. We checked the bushings and all other stuff, and it only seemed to be coming from the strut. I know a dealer who was willing to look at it and even fix it b/c they said its under warranty. If your in SoCal let me know and ill tell you which one it is...if not good luck hopefully well figure it out soon
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Old Apr 12, 2004 | 01:17 PM
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i'm pretty sure it's coming from the Big strut in the trunk (big thing across the middle of the trunk w/ a Z on it ) on the passenger side of it... the sound is not only when i hit bumps, but almost whenever the car is moving up and down, even if i'm bouncing so lightly that i don't notice, the squeek let's me know... when i pop the hatch open and puch down in the trank i can hear i coming from inside the strut (not as loud when i push down myself, this is why i beleive it might not be coming from inside the strut and maybe from the suspension )

this is a squeek, not a rattle...i only said squeeking rattle so no one thinks it's something that's spinning, something is spinning... definately not the styrofoam, jack, tools, spare, etc...
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Old Apr 13, 2004 | 08:44 AM
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it's really annoying
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Old Jun 7, 2004 | 04:01 AM
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Originally posted by durobred
it's really annoying
I found the sound... the rear window... on the bottom passenger side... try hitting at the edge of the window and the plastic piece... right at the corner... then you will hear cherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherpcherp cherp cherp!!!

hope that helps...
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Old Jul 7, 2004 | 11:12 AM
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Originally posted by durobred
i'm pretty sure it's coming from the Big strut in the trunk (big thing across the middle of the trunk w/ a Z on it ) on the passenger side of it... the sound is not only when i hit bumps, but almost whenever the car is moving up and down, even if i'm bouncing so lightly that i don't notice, the squeek let's me know... when i pop the hatch open and puch down in the trank i can hear i coming from inside the strut (not as loud when i push down myself, this is why i beleive it might not be coming from inside the strut and maybe from the suspension )

this is a squeek, not a rattle...i only said squeeking rattle so no one thinks it's something that's spinning, something is spinning... definately not the styrofoam, jack, tools, spare, etc...
I know this reply is kinda late but, have you fixed the problem yet. I seem to be having the exact same problem as you are. I'm actually taking it in to get looked at. Let me know if you fixed it and I'll let you know what they find. Wish me luck.
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 06:52 AM
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anything yet? I had this and took it in and they tightened the rear right strut mount assembly but that didn't fix it.
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 08:21 AM
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i never found out what it was... i haven't heard it for a while though, i hope the cold weather doesn't bring it back

p.s. DAMN, what kind of wax do you use?
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 08:29 AM
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i never found out what it was... i haven't heard it for a while though, i hope the cold weather doesn't bring it back

p.s. DAMN, what kind of wax do you use?
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 08:42 AM
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I had a creaking/squeeking noise coming from the rear of the car when I went over uneven ground (pulling into the driveway, etc). I took it in to the dealership, and although it took them 2 days they got it fixed. The first time I had it in they said they tightened all the rear suspension bolts and spent the whole day working on it, but to no avail. The second time they had it done in about 4-5 hours with a different technician work on it, and he just loosend and retorqued the bolts in the rear suspension. They said it was most likely a pinched bushing or something, but never gave me any indication that they knew exactly what the problem was.

I am just glad it is fixed, even though I did have to clean greasy finger and footprints out of the hatch.
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 08:53 AM
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My entire roofline creaks worse than ever now that I had some work done. I'll be going in this weekend hoping that mossy can fix it for once. Not holding my breath, tho.
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Old Aug 23, 2004 | 08:55 AM
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Originally posted by durobred
i never found out what it was... i haven't heard it for a while though, i hope the cold weather doesn't bring it back

p.s. DAMN, what kind of wax do you use?
I'm now convinced that it's the plastic cover on the strut brace. I didn't want to take all the finisher pieces off but I guess I'm going to have to now.


As far as wax: I use Menzerna polishs. Then apply one coat of Blackfire polymer wax then a coat of P21S carnuba wax. Then I do a once over with Blackfire detail spray.


Here's an up close pic.
Attached Thumbnails what's this squeeking/creeking noise my car's making?-sideview-small-.jpg  
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