DOOR sounds like a an OLD Pickup TRUCK door on closing

[pk2]

My door goes “clunkka dunk” yours probably goes, ”click” when closed.

It appears to fit square, the rubber looks good and I don’t believe it has ever been hit. I bought a special star type socket driver to adjust the latch and striker plate position to no avail. It made absolutely no difference.

The car only has about 40k on it so I wouldn’t think It’s a question of driver side wear.

Are there any common problems any one knows about items that wear I should know about?

Regards, PK

[extanker]

let a bodyshop look at it

[clickman]

Mine sure doesn't go "click", but I've never been concerned about it.

[JTP]

The doors on my 35 yr old Vega shuts with a more solid feel than on my Boxster. Very disappointing.

[JoeFromPA]

My boxster sounds exactly like a 1988 911 vert...

Heheh, which is to say: it sounds like a well built vert. The door swing is solid, and the latching is solid, but the moment it smacks together it has some vibration too it.

FYI, my 06 Honda Civic sounds like a vault in comparison (Whoompf!). My 08 Legacy GT (frameless windows) sounds actually slightly less solid than the boxster.

[pk2]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

My boxster sounds exactly like a 1988 911 vert...

Heheh, which is to say: it sounds like a well built vert. The door swing is solid, and the latching is solid, but the moment it smacks together it has some vibration too it.

FYI, my 06 Honda Civic sounds like a vault in comparison (Whoompf!). My 08 Legacy GT (frameless windows) sounds actually slightly less solid than the boxster.

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Thanks All,

So, 3 sorta crappy sounding, 1 good (but not now, checked to see if the latches are loose?)

Convertibles’ by nature don’t have the same rigidity as a coup of course so my expectation aren’t to high but the passenger side sounds a lot better and it's been t-boned before. I would think then the passenger side isn’t really as good as it could be. That makes the driver side real bad.

It just kinda wrecks the experience for me, makes me grit my teeth

Regards, PK

Funny thing, Lexus cheats, they have super special “tuned” composite dampening pads strategically placed allover the place to make the whole car seem so solid.

[lahalte]

Does it sound loke that when the window is up or down.My mechanic told me that the window bar in the door when badly in place does that sound.When the window is up the sound disappears.Easy to repair.

[pk2]

Originally Posted by lahalte

Does it sound loke that when the window is up or down.My mechanic told me that the window bar in the door when badly in place does that sound.When the window is up the sound disappears.Easy to repair.

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Interesting thought. I seem to recall doing some experiments along those lines at some point, forget the upshot. I’ve never looked inside. Would be surprised if something wasn’t amiss in there.

Ill have to look at it again. Thanks

PK

[JoeFromPA]

Pk - Subaru's doors have been famous for being incredibly tinny sounding when shutting. However, Subaru's door framing (a & b pillar for example) is obscenely strong. So the car is solid, but it doesn't shut with solidity mainly due to the frameless windows.

If your passenger side was t-boned, my guess is that the body shop put it back together nice and tight. Might want to look at taking the driver's side door off altogether and re-starting from scratch, if it bothers you that much. Did you notice it progressively get worse, or just one day "there it was"?

You might also be able to put in some un-obtrusive rubber bumpers that dampen the door shutting and hold it very tight.

Just some ideas....such a minor thing that happens before you even drive off to let it bother you

[pk2]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

Pk - Subaru's doors have been famous for being incredibly tinny sounding when shutting. However, Subaru's door framing (a & b pillar for example) is obscenely strong. So the car is solid, but it doesn't shut with solidity mainly due to the frameless windows.

If your passenger side was t-boned, my guess is that the body shop put it back together nice and tight. Might want to look at taking the driver's side door off altogether and re-starting from scratch, if it bothers you that much. Did you notice it progressively get worse, or just one day "there it was"?

You might also be able to put in some un-obtrusive rubber bumpers that dampen the door shutting and hold it very tight.

Just some ideas....such a minor thing that happens before you even drive off to let it bother you

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All this input is really helpful as it’s making me focus on different areas, think them through and come to a tentative conclusion.

Ya know JoeFromPA, The door fits square as ell, (the manual has some measurements but they’re splitting hairs so I haven’t broken out the micrometer) It fits visually better then the passenger side where it’s a little off up by the “A” pillar.

I don't really recall when it started bothering me. That a good question though, goes to the possibility of wear somewhere.

I begining to think maybe my whole window /mechanism/guides/assembly is off or loose or some bushings are gone making it slop around. When you slamm it the door would stop dead and the mechanism would keep going for a split second than “clunk” a micro-delayed secondary hit.

So I think the experimenting with dampers are a good Idea but maybe inside the door too?

Regards, PK

P.S. Regarding Subarues, One of my post reference Lexus’s sound/vibration dampening strategies. I’ve worked for them and own one and it amazing the lengths they go to. Their dampening pads and the like are actually tuned to the exact frequency of various panels and components and strategically placed. I wonder if Sube. applied themselves in the same way there would be a different story.

[JoeFromPA]

Subaru simply made all their new cars have framed windows (going away from a gorgeous styling exercise) and since then, the doors sound solid enough for that market.

Interesting side note: When my 08 legacy gt has it's window up and door slammed, it sounds a bit less than satisfying but not bad. When the window is DOWN and the door is slammed, all those fine polymers on the arm-rest buzz visibly as the door shakes in it's frame.

...

Lexus goes to extreme lengths to make sure a consistent experience is given to it's customers. One of Lexus core strengths is producing the exact sound experience the customer desires....silent running, lack of noise, excellent acoustics in the cabin. It makes for a dis-engaged, floating experience IMHO, but they do it superbly well.

Your boxster door will never sound like that. It's a frameless door slamming into convertible top and it DELIBERATELY leaves the top window door when the door shuts, before raising it. This means you don't get the air sealing effect that sometimes prevents door shake.

However, it sounds to me like your boxster moves beyond the latch which causes a bit of movement and noise. This makes it easy for the door to shut all the way, but creates more rattle. I'm no expert in this area, but there are ways to reduce the movement once the door enters the latch.