'03 Vert noises?

Hi Folks!!

Have a 4-week old V-6 Premium Convertible that I am wondering just how serious some problems may be. Need y'all's sage advice/input.

With the top up, I notice a lot of noise. In verts I've had before [Mustang & non-Mustang] I am prepared for more air noise at freeway speeds than a coupe. Also prepared for the occasional rattle when you hit a larger bump or something that shakes the car a bit.

However ... what I am hearing (at 30 mph residential driving speeds) is a constant squeak or rattle in the driver's side windows, a distinct metal tapping noise that seems centered behind the visor on the driver's side, and a noticeable gap where the passenger's side roof meets the windshield rail (about 1/8" of open space shows through ... driver's side is snug). At freeway speeds, the window squeaking increases slightly and there is a distinct wind whistle at 55+ MPH. There is also a creaking sound coming from the rear when you take off from a stop ... sort of like an old screen door that needs some oil!!

On the first attempt to repair, the dealer said these were pretty much normal for a 'vert. I disagree ... and it's now back for a second attempt. This time they are sending it out to a top repair place for a 2d opinion. I've had late model V-6 rentals and also drove a few V-6 & V-8 Mustangs while shopping for this one and did not notice these noises on other Mustangs. Unfortunately, on the day I bought this one (True Blue & Parchment - gorgeous!!) ... the weather was sunny and the top was down!! And, since we're in our 80th day of above 70 degree weather in the Seattle area ... the top was not up for some time after I picked it up!!

Although I expect this to be fixed today ... in case I get the old "sounds normal to us" from the dealer, I am more than prepared to do a quick Lemon Law return. $22k is too much money to spend to be aggravated!! And, since I did a Lemon Law return on a Jeep Grand Cherokee a couple of years ago, I'm pretty well acquainted with the process (actually, rather easy in Washington State).

So -- am I being too picky or does this sound a little excessive to you?

Cheers!!

Ken

Reply to
Ken
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I have a 6 week old GT convertible that doesn't have any of the symptoms you describe above, and certainly no visible gaps! I get an unpleasant grinding noise raising the top (just for the last few inches) and it's tough to pull down and lock, but once latched down I get very little wind noise. But as you say, it is noisier than than a coupe, but that's acceptable. No window squeaking at all, and no whistling at all even up to about 100 mph.

My only irritation (noise-wise) is a rattle that comes from the passenger headrest, but I jammed a toothpick into the support and that's fixed.

And, of course, the whole car rattles and clunks like an old tractor if the road surface is anything but smooth, but on good road surfaces I've been very surprised how solid and quiet the car is.

IMHO, the noises you describe above are absolutely not normal. Sounds to me that your whole top needs some adjustment.

Reply to
Scudder

Same here. I have a 6 month old GT 'vert with absolutely no problems with the top up or down. There should be no space between the header and the front of the top when it's up. Could it be the you front rail is bent?

I did have one annoying rattle that was coming from the passenger seat behind the lower portion of the dash board. SOme of the wiring in one of the harnesses had come loose. A little electrical tape did the trick.

Joe

03 Premium 'vert
Reply to
joe

Make sure that the guide pins on the top of the windshield are completely tightened, on my old 99 vert the one on the driver's side had a habit of working itself loose, which would cause a gap.

Reply to
Jafo

Thanks to all for your comments ... fortunately, the trip the dealer resulted in about an 90% successful repair. The gap is gone, and most of the noises. There's still something coming from the area of the passenger seat/door .. but since it's faintly audible with the top down as well as up ... they suspect something in the door or seat.

You know, it occurs to me, that when I look back over my paperwork on a 1997 Thunderbird and 2000 Mustang coupe I had previously, the 2002 Explorer Limited we currently have, plus the new 2003 Mustang convertible, none of my warranty repairs have been for "mechanical" stuff. It's all been rattles, noises, loose items on doors, things falling off or missing, etc.

Maybe I am too picky.

But then again, maybe it's just plain sloppy workmanship at the factory. Clearly most of you have not had similar problems with your top so it must be engineered pretty well in the first place. Sometimes I wish they'd start deducting warranty repairs from the worker's paychecks who mess them up on the line by not paying closer attention to what they are doing. Betcha the number of complaints about stuff not fitting well would drop considerably!!

Thanks again.

Ken

Driving around with the top down ... just another sunny day in Seattle/Tacoma!!

Reply to
Ken

It may be worth checking the hydraulic cylinder mount. If you reach down and grasp the cylinder (with the top down), there should be no rotational movement. If there is some play present, the lower mount is loose and may produce a sporadic rattle in the area of the door/seat/rear trim panel. It was hard to pinpoint this particular noise in my car.....until the cylinder mount let go completely.

Reply to
John C.

Reply to
Walt

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