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Creaking Door Hinge

32K views 70 replies 32 participants last post by  Brendenp 
#1 ·
So lately my driver door stopper hinge created a creak sound near the base at the frame of the car. Not sure it's loose or welding of the frame got weak. Anyone else have an issue like this? Thinking on bringing the car in over the Thanksgiving holiday.
 
#3 ·
I have the creaking sound too. Took it to the dealer and said "it was normal". They showed me a brand new ford edge with the same sound[scratch] Tried and put some lithium white grease on it and it didn't work.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Ironically, my FF has EXACTLY the same squeak now, and there is no amount of grease or lube that will make it go away. I guess that I am glad that it is a pretty common issue. I doubt the door will fall off, so I will not worry much about it going forward.

This is just another small example of marginal fit and finish that most of us have come to expect with automotive manufacturing in the United States.
 
#10 ·
Well I finally did a video of it in case anyone else was wondering. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbDvdwREkag and part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i4e26GkcDE It's very strange, on extremely humid days it goes away. It's also literally coming from where the door strap is bolted to the frame and is amplified within the pillar. As you can see they already tried to quite it down with the grease there, but that was the day I took it in which we had intense dense fog and it never produce a sound that day. Taking the car back in later this month since apparently the driver's door speaker was blown somehow and that was the cause with all the rattles. o_O
 
#12 ·
So as of today I am 99.9% sure that the plate welding has gone bad on my car. I had the dealer take a look at it a month ago and they put a lot of grease on the door strap and it has not stop the creak. I am surely determined that the plate that is welded to the frame of the car where the bolt screws the door strap to is the culprit. All creaks are coming from there. I told the service adviser and he said he his willing to have the body shop to take a look at it when I have the time. Unfortunately for me I won't have time to take it in until May because of school. Hopefully it does not get any worst. This is the second time I have taken the car in to have it looked at.

cobie56; Yes I do find the seat does squeek every once a while, but it rarely happens so I'm not too concern with it as compared to this door issue.
 
#13 ·
I have the same creaking sound. Brought it to the dealer and they sprayed it down with grease but it still creaks to this day. Doesn't bother me as much anymore.
 
#15 ·
Doesn't bother me as much anymore.
Me neither. I have larger problems with the car now, after dealership "repairs".

It's like having a slight headache and then accidentally bashing your thumb with a hammer... you momentarily forget about the headache because your thumb hurts so much.

Troubled by that tiny creak? Let a dealership do major suspension and transmission work on your car, and your concerns about that little creak will pale in comparison to the new noises and vibrations your car will end up with.
 
#14 ·
Mine does this, too.

It's the sheet metal creaking and buckling. Sort of like those clickers they use to train dogs.

No amount of lube will fix this.

Letting the dealership try to fix it is almost certain to make things worse.

My advice would be to just live with it until it either goes away on its own, or goes away with the car when you trade it in.
 
#16 ·
I do agree that things like suspension and transmission work are a bigger issue, but seriously a new car shouldn't do this and this creak is very ignoring sometimes for the past 6 months. It starts out as little creaks but as of now on bad days you can literally hear it 15 ft away. It's that loud. Makes me feel like I'm in that movie Grudge. It makes you think on what other things are being compromise considering this is part of the car's body. We have a 2010 Civic that we brought new and that car has never been to the shop once besides oil changes. This car has already been in the shop to have a speaker replaced but the door panel still rattles but less frequently, a tailgate realigned because it was way off from the factory, the a/c fixed because it wasn't blowing cold at all, the transmission updated which we never seemed to noticed that it did anything, and the center bezel trim around the radio replaced because some how the black paint was coming off. I don't think I've known anyone who brought a new car had this much stuff done in this short amount of time. I'm just disappointed and frustrated because I truly loved this car and did a lot of shopping around, test driving, and research when looking into a hatchback.
 
#20 ·
As of yesterday, this was my 4th attempt to address this problem. Not only did I have them look into whatever was making this noise, my door check on both sides broke in the front doors. The outer layer was made of hard plastic with a metal rod running inside of it. Both broke within a month apart. This plastic snapped in half. For the creaking noise, they told me it was the torsion spring that was making the noise and they can't do much more about it. Not sure if they were even trying or not wanting to fix it at all. I'm going to bring it back tomorrow, because it's making more noise than ever and my transmission had acted up as of yesterday. Tried to make a left hand turn onto the main road and it would first feels like it was in neutral, then it would be stuck in first gear for 15 to 30 seconds as I got onto the road with the engine revving past 5 rpm. I seriously thought I was going to get t-boned or break down into oncoming traffic.
 
#23 ·
Gotcha! I'd like to loop in your regional customer service manager, who is in the best position to assist. Shoot me a private message with your full name, best daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and servicing dealership.

I'll get this into the right hands.

Todd
 
#25 ·
It's probably my OCD and that fact that I'm SUPER TICKED OFF at this car more than ever right now. But I am going to do whatever it takes to get this done and fixed or some compensation back for such a headache it has caused. Should of bought that 2011 Honda Accord instead. We bought a Honda Civic brand new a year before and not once had it had any problems and you can tell also when you go to their forums, unlike this one just full of it since this MK3 section was created.
 
#29 ·
It's within the door. I'm not sure exactly how it looks like or designed on this car, but when I had to replace my Volvo's door check it was a torsion bar that acted like a spring on rollers. They didn't say what caused it, just said it was that and nothing they can do about it. What concerns me the most is that they cannot resolve this issue and if it is, which I'm sure is a weak welding, that it could crack the sheet metal and causing bigger problems. It was a known problems with the Volvo 850s with bad door checks that would cause stress on where it would be bolted onto the frame. It would first make sounds like the Focus now and later make popping noises. By then the welding breaks or the sheet metal would crack. I replaced my Volvo's before this happened. Also another known vehicle that had such problems is the Toyota Sienna. Their problem is weak welds within the door that also would make similar creaking noises do to the stress from the hinges opening and closing from normal operations.
 
#35 ·
Just had this exact same problem start on my car. Ridiculous. Went to the dealer this AM and was specifically told it was "normal". I can tell you right now that my $10,000 2004 Focus never made this sound even after all the rallycrossing.

If I were to walk up to a $22,000 new car and open the door and it made this sound, I would never buy it. So tired of this car.
 
#36 ·
So an awesome dude over at focusst dot org came up with a solution.

Things you'll need:
5/8" driver socket
Driver wrench for said socket
5 minutes

What you need to do is go to the driver's door and open it. In between the door hinges you will see a plastic dust cap, take it off. There you'll see a bolt, use the socket and give it a bit of righty tighty, after that the creak should be gone.

 
#37 ·
So an awesome dude over at focusst dot org came up with a solution.

Things you'll need:
5/8" driver socket
Driver wrench for said socket
5 minutes

What you need to do is go to the driver's door and open it. In between the door hinges you will see a plastic dust cap, take it off. There you'll see a bolt, use the socket and give it a bit of righty tighty, after that the creak should be gone.

I'm not sure about the repair mentioned above^ but my solution is below. It worked well for me, but might want to try other ^ solution first.


The creak comes from the sheet metal below the A-pillar, around the area where the black detent strut/bar/catch whatever, is bolted to the sheet metal with the single Torx bolt. The strut itself does not cause the creak, it is actually the door hinges that cause the sheet metal to flex. There is another piece of sheet metal that is tack-welded behind the visible layer, where the black strut is attached.

The two layers of sheet metal are essentially rubbing against each other when the door is opened. The tack welds do a poor job of keeping a snug fit between the layers. I fixed the creaking in my door by doing the following.

Repair time: < one minute

Tools Required: One small rubber mallet/hammer (Do Not Use Metal or large Hammer!!)

Procedure: Identify the tack-welded area behind the black catch strut (where the strut meets the door frame).
Lightly tap small rubber mallet against the metal, approximately one cm above the strut mount bolt. Close and open the door to check for creaking. Repeat process until creaking is gone.

NOTE: Metal behind the strut mount point is extremely ductile (soft). Hitting it with the hammer, even lightly, will cause a small dent in the metal. This is necessary for eliminating the space (that causes the creaking) between the layers of sheet metal. A small dent will remain in the metal, however, the creaking will very likely cease, a fair trade off in my opinion.

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for the possible outcome or consequences of attempting this procedure. Attempt at your own risk.
 
#40 ·
Do you guys think that part is covered under the PremiumCARE warranty?
 
#43 ·
driver door creaks

I have a 2012 ford focus SEL. Driver door would creak when opened from when bought new. Has 22,000 miles on it now. Dealer replaced door check and problem was still there. They then retorqued the dash and end of problem! I also took care of some the creaks and snaps from the dash.
 
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