Squeaks, rattles and vibrations - SOLVED!

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

DaveO9

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2022
Posts
253
Reaction score
493
Location
Vancouver, WA
Thought I'd share in the hopes that this post may help preserve other owners' sanity.

I've had my 2013 Tahoe LT (Leather, bucket front seats/console, etc) for a little less than 2 years now. Off and on during that time I've been annoyed by a lot of rattles and just a generally noisy, creaky interior. Much worse than my '09 LS Tahoe (cloth, bench seats) that I had immediately before the '13 from what I remember. I long expected that at least some of the rattles were from the door panels, but it seemed like they were coming from everywhere inside. Well last week I started taking off door panels and, lo and behold, found a bunch of broken retainer clips, particularly on the back doors. I ordered a bag of new clips from Amazon (don't do the parts store, you'll pay $5 for 3 clips, I paid like $8 for 20) and I'm thinking that was 90 or 95% of my problem. Very few rattles now. Very pleased.

In the process of the door panel removal, I found that the original Bose speaker in the front passenger door had ripped foam around the cone. That was the source of an annoying buzz from certain music and voice output. Repaired the speaker with a repair kit (yep, Amazon) for about $8. Sounds good as new.

there's just a little bit of rattling from the center console now, and the radio fascia plate buzzes a bit. I think I can at least fix the fascia.

Finally, a little unrelated, but it was still an annoying noise that I solved recently.... I had a squeak from the left rear wheel with a light touch to the brake pedal. One squeak per wheel rotation. It had been that way since I replaced the back pads a few months prior. I always thought it would go away after the brakes bedded in, but it never did. Took the pads out, cleaned them and the rotor and caliper with brake cleaner, re-greased pad backs and put everything together. no more squeak, but not sure what the problem was. No noticeaable grooves on the rotor.
 

mikez71

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2023
Posts
1,655
Reaction score
1,949
Great info!

One area I also noticed squeaks from, is the rear seat base latches.
I wiped them clean them once and they started squeaking. Greased them up again and they got quiet.

I once bought a couple sets of interior panel clips from ebay, one of them was harder plastic and would break upon removal.
Look for the "POM" marking for your replacement clips... (factory material)
 

kbuskill

***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Posts
5,440
Reaction score
8,671
Location
NE. FL.
Just as an FYI, the latches, that you push down to lock your doors manually, have a tendency to rattle/vibrate/buzz under certain conditions. A little piece of the soft side of velcro, or some stick on felt, stuck on the back side of them will alleviate this.
 
OP
OP
DaveO9

DaveO9

Full Access Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2022
Posts
253
Reaction score
493
Location
Vancouver, WA
Maybe I shouldn't have put "SOLVED" in the title yet! The hunt still continues, although I've made a lot of progress and might just live with what I've got.

A big one I recently solved was the buzzing in the aftermarket radio fascia plate. I used foam caulking backer rod. It's just a about a 5/8" diameter foam rod that I put behind the fascia. Solved that one.

another one is the third row seats. I usually keep them in the vertical stowed position, and I think that was the source of a number of rattles. Simple solution, at least for now, store them in the shop! My kids are getting older and I just don't need them very often.

Great info!

One area I also noticed squeaks from, is the rear seat base latches.
I wiped them clean them once and they started squeaking. Greased them up again and they got quiet.

I once bought a couple sets of interior panel clips from ebay, one of them was harder plastic and would break upon removal.
Look for the "POM" marking for your replacement clips... (factory material)

Thanks for the input on the seat latches. Are you referring to 2nd row or 3rd row?

Just as an FYI, the latches, that you push down to lock your doors manually, have a tendency to rattle/vibrate/buzz under certain conditions. A little piece of the soft side of velcro, or some stick on felt, stuck on the back side of them will alleviate this.

Thanks for the reminder. I knew those were a source of rattles, but forgot to address them until later. That is actually where I was going to start, but I noticed that the door panel itself was rattling, so got absorbed in that repair..... Now I have the soft velcro side attached, and I think it has helped. Another issue in that same area - there's a little trim plate behind the grab handle on the door that hides some screws. On mine, those have definitely caused some rattles, especially on the back doors.
 

mikez71

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2023
Posts
1,655
Reaction score
1,949
Are you referring to 2nd row or 3rd row?
2nd row, but I have my third row removed. It probably helps there as well.
The grease eliminates the squeaking you hear as the seats jiggle around unloaded.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
135,187
Posts
1,916,398
Members
100,441
Latest member
Danayala
Top