Uh-Oh!

[Tushawn]

I have been trying to ignore it, but it is eating me up everytime I drive my 5. When I go over bumps I hear a rattle coming from the windshield area. It is getting more and more frequent. The thought of going to the dealership with this one is dreadful. My wife keeps telling me to turn up the radio, but I can still hear it. This is my first brand new car and this rattle is unacceptable. My 1999 Jeep Cherokee does not have any rattles and that thing has gone on many a 4WD excursion. I baby the 5 so I just can't understand why? Any advice on this one?

[chaosProtege]

check for ice stuck by the wiper arms.

[Antonio DiMarco]

I have been trying to ignore it, but it is eating me up everytime I drive my 5. When I go over bumps I hear a rattle coming from the windshield area. It is getting more and more frequent. The thought of going to the dealership with this one is dreadful. My wife keeps telling me to turn up the radio, but I can still hear it. This is my first brand new car and this rattle is unacceptable. My 1999 Jeep Cherokee does not have any rattles and that thing has gone on many a 4WD excursion. I baby the 5 so I just can't understand why? Any advice on this one?

I've heard the same thing. Kinda like a muted groaning more than a rattle. It sounds like it's coming from the windshield but I think it's the fluid filled engine mounts. My 3 makes a similar noise but I believe that since the front wheels are closer to the passenger compartment in the 5 that it's more pronounced. I only really hear it when the car is cold or it's close to freezing temps outside. I plan on having my dealership look at it at the next service.

[Tushawn]

Antonio,
I definitely have a distinct rattle. It sounds like the windshield or something against it is loose. At first it seemed worst on cold days, but today we had temperatures in the 40's and it was pretty bad.

The more I think about the groaning noise I definitely have heard that, but I always thought that was just a bushing noise. When I turn out of my driveway in the morning I hear the graon and then thats it. The rattle concerns me.

[the_saint]

The groan is the electric assist power steering.
The rattle, I don't know.

[Antonio DiMarco]

The groan is the electric assist power steering.
The rattle, I don't know.


No it's not that groan. The groan I hear changes pitch as the body twists. sounds like the windshield is rubbing against the body. Actually as I say it, it's more of a rubbing/muted creak than a groan.

[george pavell]

take it to the dealer thats why its under warranty!!!

[Tushawn]

George,
I am definitely going to take it back, but I "local" (45 minutes away) Mazda dealer did not make me feel warm and fuzzy with the recall. Thought of having one of those guys dismantling the dash is scary.

[george pavell]

true i hear yeah good luck

[Zoom5Zoom]

Heya

Let the "local" listen to it anyways and record it for your benifit. It could be something stupid like a wiper assembly part....

Cheers
Zoom5Zoom
(cheers)

[Wuster]

I think it is the wipers.

Try this test:

fold up a piece of cloth or something soft and place it between the wiper blade and the windshield (make sure it doesn't block your vision out the front).

Go over a bump, you shouldn't be able to hear the rattle anymore.

I had a rattle on my Mazda3 and then finally figured out it was the wiper blades bouncing off the windshield when i hit big bumps.

[Tushawn]

I will try anything at this point. Thanks

[Wuster]

BTW - my suggestion is just a way to isolate the cause of the noise.

It's not a fix. I just got use to hearing the rattle.

If it does turn out to be the wiper blades, you may want to try after market blades. They're usually a little bit "beefier" than the stock ones.

[mazdaFIVEmike]

Also try having your wife drive and you sit in the passenger seat. Sometimes these nasty little rattles are deceiving where they are actually coming from. Sitting in the passenger seat you might get a different impression.

[Wuster]

Yeah, I have a funny story about that.

Years ago, I bought this brand new Ford Probe GT. Drove it for a few weeks and then there was this rattle coming from the front of the car. Took it back to the dealership about three times and they can't find the rattle. Finally convince one of the mechanics to take a ride with me. We got about 1/2 mile down the road and the rattle started.

I was just about to tell the mechanic that I wasn't crazy for hearing the mystery rattle when he leaned forward and pull the cassette out of the tape player.

Rattle went away.

Oh yeah. I felt like an idiot... (loser)

Now whenever i hear a rattle, I try to get someone else to drive, so I can search for it to see if it was something simple...

[Antonio DiMarco]

I think it is the wipers.

Try this test:

fold up a piece of cloth or something soft and place it between the wiper blade and the windshield (make sure it doesn't block your vision out the front).

Go over a bump, you shouldn't be able to hear the rattle anymore.

I had a rattle on my Mazda3 and then finally figured out it was the wiper blades bouncing off the windshield when i hit big bumps.

So I switched out the standard Mazda Wipers with some Winter Wipers and the rubbing/rattle noise went away. I'm guessing the noise from the wipers was amplified by the windshield glass.

[Tushawn]

I am going to try that. If it works I will be so happy.

[GlenH]

I have been trying to ignore it, but it is eating me up everytime I drive my 5. When I go over bumps I hear a rattle coming from the windshield area. It is getting more and more frequent. The thought of going to the dealership with this one is dreadful. My wife keeps telling me to turn up the radio, but I can still hear it. This is my first brand new car and this rattle is unacceptable. My 1999 Jeep Cherokee does not have any rattles and that thing has gone on many a 4WD excursion. I baby the 5 so I just can't understand why? Any advice on this one?

I have the same issue with a 2006 Mazda5 GT. The noise is coming from just infront of the passenger-side sun visor area, sounds like the window seal has broken and is rubbing - sort of a muted rubbing/chirping sound - is always present on bumpy surfaces. I will take it into the dealer soon.

Glen

[Antonio DiMarco]

I have the same issue with a 2006 Mazda5 GT. The noise is coming from just infront of the passenger-side sun visor area, sounds like the window seal has broken and is rubbing - sort of a muted rubbing/chirping sound - is always present on bumpy surfaces. I will take it into the dealer soon.

Glen

Wipers

[dommo_g]

Before you spend any money, remove everything from the glove box and door panel storage areas. I know you said it's coming from the windshield area, but if you consider the interior of a vehicle, you can see how it's easy for noises to project in a way that makes the source deceiving.