Annoying Roof Rattles

Hi folks. I have a new 03 coupe that has a very annoying roof rattle that sounds like it's located at the junction of the B-pillar and the roof (or slightly above), about 6-8" back of the driver's side. It diminishes somewhat when the sunroof is raised; stays the same when the sunroof is fully opened. I took it to Circle Porsche in Long Beach (nearest to my house). After spending the day with it, they said they'd need to keep it another day to figure out what to do. Any thoughts/suggestions would be most appreciated.

A similar problem: <a href="http://forums.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/rennforums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001680" target="_blank">http://forums.rennlist.com/cgi-bin/rennforums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=001680</a>

Thanks, 18000. Boy, I'd sure hope that between the 99 and 03 MY they'd have figured out the foam issue and dealt with that going forward. I'll let you know what the dealer says. Anyone had experience with Circle Porsche, good or bad? Thanks, again.

There's a sprung plastic flap at the back of the roof opening. This can rattle when the sunroof is closed or fully open, but stops when it is tilted. I stopped this rattle with 2 small foam pads stuck to the lip of the flap, but you have to make sure they're thin enough and positioned so as not to foul the roof movement. Another possible source is the plastic drain tube running behind the headliner lh edge cover. Hope this helps. DRC

Well, here's an update. Day two at the dealer. The problem appears to be that the right rear window on the driver's side is loose or wasn't mounted properly, so that's contributing to the noise I'm hearing around the B-pillar. What I thought was sunroof noise, I'm told is noise being transmitted by a poorly fitted and flexing rear window. Hopefully, after yet another day, I'll have the car back. Yikes!

Finally got the car back on Friday and they got all of the rattles out ! Been driving it all weekend and it's sweet.

Well, I jinxed myself by my last post. About 2 weeks after I got my car back, there was a new rattle -- this time, coming from the drivers' side rear window, which they shimmed to fix the earlier rattle. The car has been in the shop now since Tuesday. They've gone back through the shim, did the passenger side window while they were at it, installed a new rear window seal (they said it was flexing too much), and performed the sunroof assembly TSB. Now, it's all back together and, would you believe, the only rattle that's left is the one I started with!!! It's just above the driver's side B-pillar and next to the sunroof assembly. Sounds like it's coming from somewhere in the headliner, but am not sure there's anything there that could be rattling. Any more thoughts?? Thanks.

Dmitri, I had a similar rattle and they found it in my center console! It turns out that the shifter mechanism had not been properly tightened. They discovered this only after tearing out most of the inside of the car trying to find the problem. Rusnack is Thousand Oaks fixed it. Maybe your dealer might contact them.

Wow! That's interesting - especially if what causes the rattle is in the center console but it sounds like it's coming from higher up in the car. I'll have these guys (Circle Porsche in Long Beach) check into it. Thanks.