riproaringca
New Member
- Joined
- November 21, 2023
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Peterborough, Ontario
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2023 Explorer Platinum
Backstory: We took delivery of our brand new 2023 Explorer Platinum in the relatively warm month of May 2023 here in Peterborough, Ontario. As the weather became colder and as we put some km's on the odometer, we noticed a super-annoying squeak or rattle coming from the passenger side roofliner or moonroof/sunroof. Couldn't figure it out for the longest time: Weather and time commitments made us put it off.
The Solution: Found a thread on Reddit's Ford Explorer ST group which pinpointed the OEM square rubber insulator pads located on both sides of the car -- in the moonroof/sunroof mechanism, right behind the passenger and driver's ear where the big, plastic bar separates the sunroof from the rear panoramic glass.
These pads appear to be landing spots for the spring-loaded plastic bar to rest when the front glass is in the 'closed' position. One of ours was in the proper position, the other on the driver's side was out of position so that the plastic 'foot' landed on the metal of the roof, thereby putting a bit of a torque in the plastic bar whenever the sunroof was closed. This likely put some extra pressure on the passenger's side 'foot' which was exacerbated when colder weather caused everything to tighten-up.
Removed the original pads and replaced them with adhesive-back felt pads (the kind you'd put on a cupboard door) which are available at any dollar store.
To get at these pads, pop open the sunroof. Carefully removing them is pretty easy with a flat-bladed screwdriver if you can't get a purchase with your fingers on a corner to peel them away from the metal framing.
The Result: The spring temperature on the day this was completed and solved was about 0 Celcius -- plenty cold to allow the squeak to occur before the repair. After the new felt pads were installed the Explorer was taken on a couple of test drives. No annoying squeak!
The Solution: Found a thread on Reddit's Ford Explorer ST group which pinpointed the OEM square rubber insulator pads located on both sides of the car -- in the moonroof/sunroof mechanism, right behind the passenger and driver's ear where the big, plastic bar separates the sunroof from the rear panoramic glass.
These pads appear to be landing spots for the spring-loaded plastic bar to rest when the front glass is in the 'closed' position. One of ours was in the proper position, the other on the driver's side was out of position so that the plastic 'foot' landed on the metal of the roof, thereby putting a bit of a torque in the plastic bar whenever the sunroof was closed. This likely put some extra pressure on the passenger's side 'foot' which was exacerbated when colder weather caused everything to tighten-up.
Removed the original pads and replaced them with adhesive-back felt pads (the kind you'd put on a cupboard door) which are available at any dollar store.
To get at these pads, pop open the sunroof. Carefully removing them is pretty easy with a flat-bladed screwdriver if you can't get a purchase with your fingers on a corner to peel them away from the metal framing.
The Result: The spring temperature on the day this was completed and solved was about 0 Celcius -- plenty cold to allow the squeak to occur before the repair. After the new felt pads were installed the Explorer was taken on a couple of test drives. No annoying squeak!
