Listening to your favorite playlist when driving, especially on a long road trip, can be relaxing and exciting at the same time. I tend to enjoy every moment of a long drive once I’m able to hear my favorite song.
However, my mood can be completely ruined by the rattling of the vehicle door that’s usually caused by the speakers. Luckily there are ways you can fix this problem without breaking the bank!
In this article, I’ll briefly explain how to stop a car door from rattling so you can enjoy listening to your favorite songs as you drive along. This seven-step method is extremely effective, and from personal experience, I know that it’s quite easy to carry out.
How to Stop Car Door Rattling from Speakers
1. Remove All Items From the Pockets in the Door Panels
Before removing any screws or repairing any speakers, you can start with the easiest task: removing all items from the doors’ packets.
Sometimes, the rattling noise is caused by loose items inside the pockets of the door panels. You may find coins, glasses, watches or other small items that could be making noise while you play music. If you find any of these things, you should remove them all and test your audio again.
Hopefully, the rattling noise is gone. If it continues, you’ll need to move on to the other steps below.
2. Locate the Speaker Causing the Problem
To stop your audio system from rattling, you must carefully inspect your speakers and determine which one is the culprit. In order to do this, you’ll need to adjust the fade and balance on the stereo receiver.
In my own experience, the rattling noise was coming from just one of the speakers. To fix this problem, you can adjust the fade, which will allow you to move the sound between the front and rear speakers. Similarly, adjusting the balance will move the sound between the left and right speakers.
After finding out which speaker is rattling, you can attempt to fix the issue. Loose screws are the most common cause of rattling speakers. However, there are many other things that might cause this problem, including vibration from the car’s panels and speakers that are totally “blown.”
If you want to get rid of the rattling or vibration, you’ll have to work your way through these four steps below:
- Inspect each speaker’s mounting
- Determine if a particular speaker is blown
- Install bass blockers
- Check the car’s body panels
By the time you’re finished going through this list, your car’s audio problem may be solved.
3. Remove the Door Panel
You’ll need to detach the door panel in order to reach the speakers, if they’re located inside the door, and to install sound-deadening material in your vehicle. Most door panels have a series of plastic tabs that cover the screws, so I recommend that you first use a flathead screwdriver to pop these tabs out, and then remove the screws. If you don’t have any idea how to remove the door panel, then this article will be a great resource for you.
4. Remove the Vapor Shield
Once you’ve completely removed the door panel, you should search for a sponge-like object that’s also known as a “vapor shield” (it’s made of rubber in some cars). The vapor shield plays an important role, as it’s used to prevent water from coming inside the car.
When removing the vapor shield, you should be gentle. Once you’re done, you’ll notice a big hole that’s been specifically designed to help a mechanic easily access the windows. This is the place where you’ll have to apply a sound-deadening mat.
5. Apply the Sound-Deadening Material
Now after you’ve successfully completed all the steps above, it’ll be time to apply the sound-deadening material. There are many different sound-deadening materials you can use, but I personally recommend the Dynamat Extreme Car Door Kit. You should position as much of your sound-deadening mat as possible inside the previously mentioned hole, so the rattling can be stopped completely.
You should also keep in mind that the thickness of your sound-deadening mat will determine how effective it will be. This is why I highly recommended getting Dynamat: It’s very thick, with self-adhesive capabilities, and it’s also heat-resistant.
Unfortunately, Dynamat can be quite expensive for some people, and I’m aware of that. This is why I took the time to search for the best affordable alternative, and the Noico 80 mil Sound Deadener comes out on top (click here to check out the current price online).
For more information on this step, here’s another article on sound deadening car doors.
6. Check if the Mat is Effective
After you’ve successfully installed your sound-deadening mat, you should check whether any doors are still rattling when you play music. If you still notice rattling, you can apply more mats to the aforementioned mechanical hole.
7. Replace All the Parts You Removed
Once you’re satisfied with the results you’ve achieved, you should put back all the parts you removed earlier, including the vapor shield and the interior door panel. Make sure you do it slowly and carefully, to avoid damaging the door of your car.
Conclusion
Most cars tend to rattle when the music you’re listening to contains loud bass sounds. Nonetheless, if you follow the above steps carefully, you should be able to prevent your car doors from rattling due to the sound that’s coming from your speakers.
If you’ve tried all the steps above and nothing seems to have worked, then you may need to hire a car audio expert. The downside to this is that hiring an expert to examine your vehicle and audio system can be a bit costly, especially for those on a tight budget.
Here’s another article you may want to check out: Noico Sound Deadener Review – Get the Facts (Today!)
image: Pixabay