I have the well known Elise window rattle on my passenger side door. It was driving me nuts. I tightened all the usual suspect screws, everything was tight. If I turned the two bottom adjustment screws enough to stop the noise over sharp bumps, the window wasn't seating well when rolled up. This often fixes the rattle by pressing the window into the door's weather seal, but it wasn't the right solution for my car.
So after tinkering with the door panel off, I found that the upper plastic guide that slides on the window rail at both the front and rear was loose enough that I could move the window back and forth just a bit. There are two guides per side and the bottom guides were tight.
Here's a picture of the window down, showing the guide. It's epoxied to the window and pinches the rail. It just doesn't pinch quite tight enough and lets the window knock around. Unfortunately, the guide is not adjustable.
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In this picture, the window is raised and you can see the guide has worn the paint from the rail. Either it used to be tighter, or it's been tapping at the rail long enough to wear through the paint.
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I cleaned all the grease from the rail and put a piece of electrical tape in the location where the guide rests in the down position. I then re-greased the rails.
![Image]()
![Image]()
The rattling is totally gone. I've run the window up and down a couple of dozen times and there is a slight noise when the guides roll over the tape edge, but everything is holding in place and the door has been rattle free.
The alternative to the tape that I was considering is a strip of very thin felt. But the tape appears to be working so I'm going to leave it this way for now.
![Image]()
![Image]()
Hopefully I won't have problems in the summer heat, but at least I know where the rattle is coming from and I can try something else if the tape gives out.
So after tinkering with the door panel off, I found that the upper plastic guide that slides on the window rail at both the front and rear was loose enough that I could move the window back and forth just a bit. There are two guides per side and the bottom guides were tight.
Here's a picture of the window down, showing the guide. It's epoxied to the window and pinches the rail. It just doesn't pinch quite tight enough and lets the window knock around. Unfortunately, the guide is not adjustable.
In this picture, the window is raised and you can see the guide has worn the paint from the rail. Either it used to be tighter, or it's been tapping at the rail long enough to wear through the paint.
I cleaned all the grease from the rail and put a piece of electrical tape in the location where the guide rests in the down position. I then re-greased the rails.
The rattling is totally gone. I've run the window up and down a couple of dozen times and there is a slight noise when the guides roll over the tape edge, but everything is holding in place and the door has been rattle free.
The alternative to the tape that I was considering is a strip of very thin felt. But the tape appears to be working so I'm going to leave it this way for now.
Hopefully I won't have problems in the summer heat, but at least I know where the rattle is coming from and I can try something else if the tape gives out.
