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Clicking from glove compartment on rough roads - Click HERE for Original Thread
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jonnygoodboy
I've isolated a clicking sound I get on rough roads to the glove compartment. The sound goes away if I put preasure on the glove compartment door or leave it open.

It seems like the latch must be a little loose. On my Civic, this type of thing was easy to fix, but there was little reason cuz it was a comparitively loud car. Any suggestions on how to address this on the 'X?
jonnygoodboy
I got some felt with an adhesive backing, like a felt tape. I cut a piece long enough to just wrap around the squared-u shaped latch, and another little strip to go on the edge of the compartment door. After applying both, the noise seems to be totally gone!

I don't know if both were necessary, but it was about as easy to do both as to do either one separately.
jonnygoodboy
The clicking seems to be decreased, but it's still there. :3:

Someone on this board had a similar fix done by Acura service. I wonder if they could speak up and provide details on the locations service used for the felt tape?
megabuck2
Is it clicking to squeaky noise?
Mine is speaking all over the place. Funny thing is if I have pressure on the glove comp door, no squeak, so i figure its the door...when at stand still, I would try to duplicate the sound by pushing, shaking but to no avail. The squeak is driving me nuts!!!!

I'll bet when I take my X for 7500 mile service, I or the service guy won't be able to duplicate...once on the road home, i will bet the sound will return....

Any help out there?

Mike
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megabuck2
Before someone comes here and yell at us to search for the thread on this problem...found it...search under, surprise, Glove Compartment, under Problems. Its seems the only solution is to have the dealer replace the entire box to be rattle/squeak free.

Mike
ootyboy
I had the same noise problem. The dealer removed the box and found a 8" metal hook in the back of the box, that was causing the noise. Once they took out the hook problem was solve. I wonder if at the Honda plant they were missing a piece from their assembly equipment??
CHiatt
The clicking noise you hear from the glove box is coming from various plastic features of the glove box rubbing on the plastic opening in the dash.

Mine came from a lower right inside plastic gusset molded in the glove box.

To fix: open the glove box door, un-screw the opening damper on the right outside, remove the two inside stops, opem the glove box all the way and prop up from floor with your owners manual case. Next look for corner gussets at the bottom inside of the glove box. Also look at the inside edge of the dash opening, you might see witness marks where the gusset has been rubbing. Now take a sharp knife (an Xacto knife cuts the plastic like butter) and trim the gussets so that they won't contact the inside of the opening. Re-assemble in reverse order and enjoy the quiet.

Mine hasn't made a peep since I trimmed it. Replacing the glove box, as I read some dealers have done, MIGHT fix it since there are molding and posisioal variations between glove boxes.

Cliff:2:
jonnygoodboy
CHiatt, thanks for the tip. I'll try it out ASAP. :)
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soesed
my problem is that the latch doesn't pull the box "door" close enough to the frame leaving enough "play" to allow the box to knock against the framr when going over bumps. There doesn't seem to be a way to move the striker back to pull the box door closer to the frame.
CHiatt
Soesed,
I agree with your reply if we are talking about a rattle. Mine and some of the others here sounded more like a squeaky "click". It would go away, temporarily, if you opened and closed the glove box, or if you left it open. Also, it seemed to make the most noise with small bumps or irregularities in the road.

In looking for my solution, I disassembled the glove box latch assembly and looked at the catch in the opening frame. To me, the only adjustment to bring the door more closed looked to be bending the latch "U" in a bit. You can get a better look at the situation by openeing the glove box fully.

Regards,
soesed
I agree, but the U latch (striker) is not attached to a rigid structure so when you attempt to bend it, the frame supporting it "gives" so you end up bending something that eventually bends back. I think that I'd have to actually remove it and have it bent by someone who has the ability to do it without breaking it and without marring it. The dealer should be doing this if Acura doesn't provide an adjustable striker.
jonnygoodboy
quote:
Originally posted by CHiatt
...To fix: open the glove box door, un-screw the opening damper on the right outside...
I took a quick look a few minutes ago, but can't seem to identify the screw to un-screw. Can you help me out? TIA
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CHiatt
JGB,
The screw you are looking for is located on the outside wall of the right side of the glove box. It retains the slotted linkage of the opening damper. Next, to open the glove box all the way you have to remove the opening stops. They are located on the inside side walls of the glove box. To remove them, pop the back edge towards the center of the glove box and remove them by fiddling them out of their respective slots with the glove box partially closed (so you can still get your hand inside). Once the stops are removed, the glove box opens a so far that you need to prop it off the floor with your owners manual case to keep from damaging it.

Go for it!
jonnygoodboy
Thanks CHiatt. There should be enough daylight left today to try this out...

Of course, that's assuming I don't get confused. I have this great ability to get confused by small things!

This is gonna rock if it works!
jonnygoodboy
Shaving the gussets didn't pan out. There were some very small witness marks, almost imperceptible, but I figured if I already had it apart I'd go ahead and trim the gussets.

(By the way, mucho thanks for the clear instructions on how to take it apart, CHiatt. Really a piece of cake. :4: )

Went for a test drive: same rattle as before. So, the my rattle's not from the gussets rubbing.

My other hypothesis was the loose fit to the latch hook. To test this, I closed the glovebox with a couple of cotton towels draped over it to provide a really snug closure and continued the test drive. Imagine my surprise: the rattle was still there! Neither attempt made any difference at all.

When I had the glovebox taken apart, I noticed some cables and stuff back there, some of which have plastic connectors in the middle. Maybe they're the source of the noise? My next attempt to fix the rattle will be to police those cables. Wish me luck!

You know, the rattle is so low it can't be heard over the stereo, which is pretty much always on. It's the principle of the thing -- this car shouldn't have rattles! Also, I'm a little anal. :D
xcel
Hi Jonnygoodboy:

___It is not just the principle … Our 03 Corolla and the 92 Previa don’t have rattles and your brand new X shouldn’t have any either. Take it in and have it looked at during its next service or sooner.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net
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jonnygoodboy
quote:
Originally posted by megabuck2
Before someone comes here and yell at us to search for the thread on this problem...found it...search under, surprise, Glove Compartment, under Problems. Its seems the only solution is to have the dealer replace the entire box to be rattle/squeak free.

Mike

Yep, that's what finally fixed it.

Here are all the things I tried:

  1. I installed felt in various places, including latch hook and around the edges of the door. No luck.
  2. I trimmed the gussets where witness marks were a little evident (a la CHiatt's recommendation). No luck.
  3. Service installed felt (warranty). No luck.
  4. Service replaced latch (warranty). No luck.
  5. Service replaced entire box (warranty). Bingo!
So far, I've gone about 500 miles since the box replacement. No rattle! Yay!

Valencia Acura service did a great job. (Kind of a win-win: I get rid of the rattle, they get warranty reimbursements.)
soesed
I've been battling same - noise finally gone as this time they "insulated striker" = wrapped the striker with electrical tape (no kidding) so the box is held taught. It's been 2 weeks, no noise, but the tape is starting to show wear. Perhaps Acura will come out with a titanium version of the .05 cent repair.

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