Explorer A-Pillar Rattle/Noise

[Lantz]

Yea, you think it would, but every Ford rep and any dealership service manager I talk to all act dumb and say something along the lines of "wow! I've never heard/seen this issue before!" .....Really people *eye roll*

I've even showed them the TSB. I thought it was extra funny this time because the service manager said this same line, and I thought to myself well that's funny since I was here less than a year ago to have the passenger side A-pillar moldings replaced. I've realized that Ford doesn't stand behind their products and its just a losing battle on the customers end unfortunately. Its a real shame because I love my explorer. You should never have a piece of your car just fly off while driving down the highway. Its a safety hazard. This should be a major recall. I would be PISSED if I was driving behind an EX and the A-pillar molding flew off and hit me at 75 mph. Sucks to be out of warranty and a college student having to pay for this!!! lol

I posted a message to Benny. Hopefully he can help me out!

Thanks for the help, Sgt1411!

 

[peterk9]

A TSB is only covered for free while the vehicle is under warranty (factory or ES). Once the warranty runs out it's owner pays, regardless of the TSB involved. There are also many examples here where Ford has done out of warranty repairs at no cost to the owner. You can't really say they don't stand behind their products just because a TSB wasn't covered because the vehicle was out of warranty. It is also true that there are some cases where Ford should have stepped up but didn't. I'm very sure that they aren't the only manufacture. Benny or his service department should be getting back to you. Good luck.

Peter

 

[Lantz]

Well we can agree to disagree. I don't think that they don't stand behind their products because a TSB wasn't covered... I think they don't stand behind their products because there many examples of people's A-pillar flying off while driving, which seems like a safety issue to me, and they haven't done a recall on this piece. I understand my car is out of warranty and they won't fix it for free, which is why I'm trying to find any of these pieces for cheap compared to the $327 I was quoted. And what about the notorious paint bubbling on the hood (which my car also has a case of)? I've read the whole thread of that issue and how Ford won't pay to fix people's cars that are out of warranty when it's clearly deffective because of galvanic corrosion. I love Fords and especially mine. I just think there service is terrible in my experiences.

 

[peterk9]

I believe the few that had the 'A' pillar blow off had it repaired previously for the 'buzzing' sound. And the reason it came off was due to the dealer just replacing the plastic panel and reusing the plastic clips which were sometimes already damaged or missing. Because of that, a short time later Ford added the clips to the package as part of TSB repair. I believe the 'A' pillar issue was more common with the early year models. I don't recall it being an issue with subsequent years. The cowl noise seems to have replaced it.

Peter

 

[3587]

I had the same issue with my 2015 Sport. Dealership couldn't replicate it, so I had to live with that god awful noise. I was finally able to fix it when I traded it in for a BMW. Night/day. Best of luck everyone.

 

[Fer38]

This forum is tremendously informative, I appreciate all your comments!!

So... I have a 2016 Explorer Limited with 23k miles on it with a buzzzzz on the passenger side.

After reading all your posts, it seems that I need to replace the cowl panel grille (TSB 15-0143), and so far the key to this repair is point #6 of the TSB, which I would say it is not a defective part from Ford but a consistently wrong installation!

6- Adjust the cowl sheet metal outer left and right side retaining clip hole locations to 2 mm (5/64″). This adjustment allows the front cowl panel grille cover seal to make consistent contact with the windshield glass.

I will provide the solution to my particular case after taking it to the dealer.

Thanks!

 

[Fer38]

This forum is tremendously informative, I appreciate all your comments!!

So... I have a 2016 Explorer Limited with 23k miles on it with a buzzzzz on the passenger side.

After reading all your posts, it seems that I need to replace the cowl panel grille (TSB 15-0143), and so far the key to this repair is point #6 of the TSB, which I would say it is not a defective part from Ford but a consistently wrong installation!

6- Adjust the cowl sheet metal outer left and right side retaining clip hole locations to 2 mm (5/64″). This adjustment allows the front cowl panel grille cover seal to make consistent contact with the windshield glass.

I will provide the solution to my particular case after taking it to the dealer.

Thanks!

Well, it was just a missing "clip" on the cowl panel grille.

 

[Linh Nguyen]

Hi everyone,

I am having the same problem of wind noises when driving high speed with my 2013 Explorer XLT. I called up to Ford Motor Company and they say that because there are no complaint being made to the corporate office, thus they haven't made any recall on these Explorer. So they told me if I come across any one with this problem then have them call directly to Ford and they will make a case to recall these vehicles. Maybe if everyone call and let them know the issue, we might be able to do something about this. The number is below:

Ford and Mercury United States
Phone 1-800-392-3673

TDD. 1-800-232-5952

M-F. 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM (ET)

Sat 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM (ET)

Can anyone give me an estimate of how much it costs for the dealership to fix this problem?
Thank you

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Linh.
This problem seemed to be with the early model years. I believe many repairs were done under warranty with a few members doing it themselves. There is a thread showing where a member did his own repair.

Peter

 

[TxRanger351w]

This has started happening on our 2014. It's not as high pitched or consistent as it was on our early build 2011, but it's definitely the passenger side A-pillar in cross-wind situations.

 

[peterk9]

This has started happening on our 2014. It's not as high pitched or consistent as it was on our early build 2011, but it's definitely the passenger side A-pillar in cross-wind situations.

Have you eliminated the possibility that it may be the cowl on that side?

Peter

 

[TxRanger351w]

Have you eliminated the possibility that it may be the cowl on that side?

Peter

It's higher up on the pillar. I thought about the cowl after I had a similar issue on my F-350.

 

[ExPlat]

I've had this wind buzzing noise and rattle for quite a while, been hearing it intermittently on the passenger side at highway speeds - then it stops. Lately it's getting very loud when it happens so I looked at TSB 15-0143 and checked the A-pillar molding on both sides, they're a little loose on the bottom. When I lifted up the passenger side flexible cowl molding I noticed the first 2 molding pins were not clipped into their slots and tried to push them in place. One clipped in correctly but the one nearest the end will not stay clipped, the flexible cowl material seems warped preventing this clip from staying in place.
So, back to the Dealer for the umpteenth time to get yet another warranty repair. I'll take a printout of the TSB along as backup.

 

[Will1122]

I have found that mine is dependent upon the air temperature. There was no buzzing in winter months, but as air density changed, resonant frequency of the loose rubber was found. Interested to know if anyone has glued their rubber to windshield or something more permanent on their own? If the fix is the adjust the gap between cowling and windshield, can this be done on our own?

Right now masking tape is working perfectly!

Whistle or Buzz-type Noise from Front Cowl Panel Grille Cover - 2011-2016 Ford Explorer

 

[stuarto]

I thought I'd add to this post because I started having the A pillar rattle, drivers side, recently.
It was only present over 80km/h and sounded like two coins tapping each other. It was driving me crazy.
From the inside of the car, it sounded like it was coming from about 1/3 of the way up the pillar

I tried all the usual stuff of taping things down etc with no luck. I gave in and pulled off the cowling and VOILA!!

Of the 6 bolts holding the mount to the chassis, I noticed that one was very slightly loose and the washer could move. I removed the whole assembly then just but the bolts in on their own - went for a drive and all good! Couldn't believe it - took me many hours over two days to get to this.

Anyway, used thread lock when I put them back in. Also used E9000 glue on the cowling, and clamped in place for a few hours, just to be sure.

Hoping this helps someone

 

[peterk9]

So the issue was the cowl and not the 'A' pillar.

Peter

 

[stuarto]

So the issue was the cowl and not the 'A' pillar.

Peter

Note quite Peter, it was a bolt that had worked loose. Two issues : one the washer was able to rattle very very slightly and, two, the bolts actually two pieces of the A pillar metal sheets together. The riveted thread is not attached to the outer panel