Job Aid
September 2016

04876 Version 1

Identifying Noise Issues
INTRODUCTION
Next to intermittent electrical issues, rattles and squeaks are probably the most difficult issues to troubleshoot. When we
asked the best rattle and squeak technicians to name their biggest challenges, they consistently named two difficulty
areas:
•
•

Duplicating the noise.
Isolating the source of the suspected noise.

They also mentioned that in some cases, they repaired a different noise than the one shown on the RO. They also
wasted time in disassembly while tracing the source of the noise.
This resource guide is designed to address these concerns by providing specific troubleshooting techniques to isolate
and repair vehicle rattles and squeaks.
OVERVIEW
There are two rattle and squeak issues, language and location.
Language refers to finding a descriptive word for abnormal noises. For example, one person may call a noise a rattle,
while another person says it is a clunking noise.
This issue is magnified when we add the service advisor to the information loop. Both the service advisor and customer
are probably not technically oriented, so they don’t use the same language as technicians.
Location refers to identifying the correct noise. In some cases, technicians repair a different noise than the one listed in
the R.O. This occurs because people hear the same rattle or squeak differently. Every person’s hearing is sensitive to
different frequencies, and as people get older, they may lose their ability to hear high frequencies.
In many cars, the technician can hear several abnormal noises while driving the vehicle. Depending on the issues, the
noise complaint on the R. O. may be barely audible over other noises.
To address language and location issues, we recommend driving the car with the customer present to help hear and
identify the noise issue. If a test drive with the customer isn’t possible, we’ve included a chart designed to help improve
communication. You can use it to help standardize body noise names, and to gather hints regarding the sources of
various noises.

CLIENT INFORMATION: The information in this bulletin is intended for use only by skilled technicians who have the proper tools, equipment, and
training to correctly and safely maintain your vehicle. These procedures should not be attempted by “do-it-yourselfers,” and you should not assume
this bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle has the condition described. To determine whether this information applies, contact an
authorized Acura automobile dealer.

© 2016 American Honda Motor Co., Inc. – All Rights Reserved

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NOISE NAMES

Noise
Name

Banging
Bonging
Booming
Buzzing
Chafing
Chattering
Chirping
Clacking
Clanging
Clanking
Clapping
Clashing

Sounds Like
Slamming a wooden
screen door
Striking a large gong
Distant thunder
A swarm of bees
Rubbing dry hands
together
Wiper sweeping a dry
windshield
A cricket
A railroad car rolling
down the track
A cow bell or triangle
Dropping a wrench on
concrete
Clapping hands

Noise
Name

Sounds Like

Gurgling

Water flowing in a pipe

Hissing
Hooting
Howling
Humming

Air leaking from a tire
An owl call
Wind blowing through a
door gap
An energized transformer

Jingling

Loose coins in a pocket

Knocking
Moaning

Knuckles rapping on a door
Saxophone playing a low
note
Flexing a metal sheet

Oilcanning
Pattering
Pinging
Popping

Creaking

Striking cymbals
together
Dropping wood blocks
on a concrete floor
Flipping a switch on and
off
Empty bottles hitting
each other
Pushing a solid wood
door closed
Breaking a tree branch
Logs burning in a
fireplace
Opening a rusty hinge

Croaking

A bullfrog calling

Slapping

Crunching

Walking on gravel

Squeaking

Droning

A prop plane flying in
the distance
Fingers drumming on a
desk.
A flag flapping in the
wind
Raking a shovel over
pavement

Squealing

Clattering
Clicking
Clinking
Clunking
Cracking
Crackling

Drumming
Fluttering
Grating

Pounding

Rain Drops on a window
pane
Marbles rolling around in a
can
Opening a champagne bottle

Rattling

Slamming your fist on a
desktop
A gavel striking a sound
block
Shaking a box of loose candy

Roaring

River Rapids

Rumbling
Scratching

Clothes tumbling in a dryer
Rubbing two pieces of
sandpaper together
Running your fingernails
across a chalkboard
Hitting the water with the
flat side on an oar
Wet rubber soles on a
hardwood floor
Tires making a hard, fast turn

Rapping

Screeching

Ticking
Whining

A mechanical clock keeping
time
A distant siren

Whistling

A tea kettle at full boil
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Grinding
Groaning
Growling

A running garbage
disposal
Stepping on a loose
floorboard
A dog expressing
displeasure

Zapping

A short, quick buzz

TROUBLESHOOTING BODY NOISES
This section of the resource guide reviews the five steps required to effectively repair vehicles:

GATHERING INFORMATION FROM THE CUSTOMER
The initial information gathering stage is the most important step in this whole process. As we explained, identifying the
correct noise is essential.
Before performing a test drive, you need to know the exact driving conditions required to reproduce the noise.
In addition, it is also important to find out if there are any special circumstances required to duplicate the noise•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

What accessories are installed?
Does the car need to sit before creating the noise?
If so, for how long?
How warm is the car when the noise first becomes noticeable?
Does the car need to be driven for a period of time before the noise appears?
What types of weather conditions are present when the customer hears the noise?
What are the ambient temperature and humidity levels?
How much weight (people, passengers, and trunk contents) is in the car when the noise occurs?

•

How is the weight distributed?

All of these factors can have a dramatic effect on the success of your noise duplication and isolation efforts.

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DUPLICATING THE NOISE
Next, you need to duplicate the noise. Duplicating a body noise is usually difficult; you need to get as much information
from the customer as possible, and be able to consistently duplicate the noise. If you can’t recreate the noise, you can’t
isolate the issue.
Sometimes you may have trouble duplicating the noise on a consistent basis, but you heard the noise at least once. In
this situation, look for an alternative way to consistently turn the noise “on”. You have two options: dynamic and static.
Dynamic approaches require you to drive the car. Look for roads and locations that create the noise in a consistent
manner. Once you find a location that reliably creates the noise, you can return to the same spot after repair and
confirm the noise is gone.
Static approaches are used with the car parked in your stall. This could include applying loads to the chassis with a jack
or bouncing the car up and down to move suspension components.
You can create creaks and squeaks dynamically by entering or exiting a driveway with an elevation change. If your first
try does not work, try the same action at different angles, or use the driveway ramp to place one wheel on the curb.
Another option is to slowly drive over speed humps. All of these actions are designed to make the body twist and
generate noise.
Other dynamic options include driving the car backwards, quickly applying the throttle or brakes at low speeds, and
applying the parking brake with the car stopped, and then loading the engine with the throttle in both forward and
reverse.
In your stall, you can try several static duplication techniques. For certain types of noises, such as buzzing and rattles,
putting the car on the hoist and hitting each tire with a large rubber hammer may duplicate suspension noises. In the
interior, you can pound on the suspected area with a closed fist.
Body pops and creaks usually require flexing the body to apply stress to the body joints. To do this in your stall, place
someone in the driver’s seat and lift each corner of the car with a hydraulic jack. With a corner fully lifted, “bounce” the
other corners of the vehicle while someone else listens for noises. Once you’ve checked that corner, quickly let it down
and repeat this check for the other corners of the car.
The idea is to find a way to duplicate the noise and make the noise repeatable. If you accomplish this, you can isolate it
and identify the source.
Static techniques are extremely helpful since they don’t require you to drive to a test spot, and you don’t need to remain
in the driver’s seat during your checks.
LOCATING THE GENERAL AREA OF THE NOISE
Body noise issues may be caused by interior trim rubbing together, or from exterior subassemblies, chassis
components, or sheet metal issues.
The difficulty lies in isolating the noise down to a specific location. For example, what sounds like a noisy spot weld
could be caused by a metal bracket touching a body panel. In addition, a noise generated at one spot may broadcast
from a different location. For example, a noise heard near the top of a “B” pillar may actually occur at the base of the
pillar.
In fact, noise is transmitted throughout the body in much the same manner that sound carries between two cans
connected with a string. Body sheet metal is an excellent sound transmitter, which means the driver’s seat receives
sounds from all directions.

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ISOLATING FROM GENERAL TO SPECIFIC
Once you have duplicated a noise issue, there are two methods to locate the source.
The first method is to isolate using your ears, and then press and probe suspected parts until the noise disappears. You
can also remove parts and drive the vehicle to see if the noise goes away. We call this the push, pull, or remove option.
The second method uses a listening tool to narrow down the location of the noise. From there, we are back to the push,
pull, or remove option.
When looking for the source of a noise, it is important that you only remove one part at a time whenever possible. If you
remove multiple parts and the noise turns off, you don’t know which one caused the issue.
LISTENING TOOLS
Listening tools include the automotive stethoscope, along with an electronic stethoscope or Steelman ChassisEar
listening tools.
Automotive stethoscopes are similar to Doctor’s stethoscopes, but come with special tips to help probe the vehicle.
These include a solid contact probe, or an extension tube to listen inside boxed sheet metal sections.

Automotive Stethoscope

Electronic stethoscopes are also available to probe for noises. Using this electronic tool, you shut out surrounding noise
with the headphone cups, and can adjust or amplify vehicle sounds.
If you wish to use these stethoscopes during dynamic testing, it becomes a two-technician job. One tech may have to
move all over the passenger compartment while the second tech drives the car under the conditions required to
duplicate the noise.

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Electronic Stethoscope

To help locate the source of transmitted sounds, we recommend an electronic listening device with multiple
microphones such as the Steelman ChassisEar. During use, the technician can choose one microphone at a time, and
compare noise intensity from point to point. This allows technicians to identify the loudest test point, and then move
other microphones closer to the noise source to narrow down the transmission point. The goal is to find the spot where
the noise is loudest and clearest.

Steelman ChassisEar with pickups

The ChassisEar microphones mount on large alligator clamps. The microphones rely on sounds transmitted to the
component they are clamped to, rather than sounds transmitted through the air. This makes them very effective when
listening for body creaks caused by noisy spot weld and metal contact issues.

ChassisEar pickups mounted to Intake Manifold

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ISOLATING THE SPECIFIC CAUSE
Regardless of which listening method that you use (stethoscope, ChassisEAR, etc.), here are some common noise
isolation techniques.

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•
•

Visually inspect the part for correct alignment and positioning.
Physically check the part for loose mounting tabs or bolts.
Place tension on the part to see if the noise goes away during the test
drive.
Remove the part from the car and retest for the noise.

•

To help with these isolation techniques, we also interviewed our factory,
engineering, and service operations people. Based on this information, we
created the noise example chart on the next page, which provides another
resource to narrow and isolate vehicle noises.

NOISE EXAMPLES
Noise Type

Possible Causes

Noise Examples

Interior Noises
Buzz

Rapid movement of light components at a
high frequency due to looseness or
touching another component.

Combination-meter to meter panel

Chirp

Rapid movement of parts that are tight and
close together.

Combination –meter to meter panel

Creak

Two materials moving together at a slow
speed while in firm contact with each other.

A & B Pillar noises,

Squeak

Two pieces of material in contact with each
other. The type of material contact can be
described as follows:

Rubber pieces rubbing together

•

Plastic material to plastic material
contact

Combination –meter to meter panel

•

Metal parts to metal parts

Bearings and seat tracks

•

Plastic material to metal parts

Door liner touching the metal panel with the
felt missing

•

Foam material to metal parts

Seat back

Jingle

Very loose parts or detached parts

Very loose center dash bolt (washer rattling
around )
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Rattle

A clearance issue between two parts

Door lock rod rattle

Rolling object

Detach parts such as bolts rolling around

A detached bolt rolling around the trunk

Stick and
release, Pop

A soft material that sticks to a harderinflexible material when undergoing slow,
moderate to large movement

Instrument panel support

Tick

See Stick and Release

Twang

Steel or spring steel vibrating

Knee bolster

Clunk

A heavy object hitting another heavy object
(one object is usually solidly mounted)

Strut damper, loose or broken mounts

Clatter

Loose parts inside another part

Brake pads and shoes

Squeak or
creak

Rubber to metal movement

Stabilizer bar bushings

Groan

Metal to rubber (partially lubricated) A
longer noise

Damper assembly issues

Grunt

Metal to rubber (unlubricated) A Brief noise

Stabilizer bar bushings

Knock

Similar to a clunk but more sharp.

Loose fuel filter bracket

Rattle

A clearance issue between two parts

Moon roof loose

Screech

Unlubricated metal to metal contact

Disc brake dust shield

Exterior Noises

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