I think you just saved me a lot of money. Lol. I just bought my 2013 and this is exactly my main complaint with the ML system. Wow, what a great piece of information. Thanks so much.

 

is this a problem on all model years? I am looking at a 2014 wML

 

Funny, I just got this fixed today on mine with front passenger door. Took it to the dealership and the tightened everything up. No rattling/distortion now.

 

I had a previous car done by Simplicity in Sound here in NorCal - top end tuners. It was a mid-range build for them ($5K) and sounded great. I'd say ML is close enough for me. I didn't feel any need to do anything to it. The bass is decent for stock, the articulation and soundstage are good. And it is integrated and easy to deal with.

So I'd favor the ML system. Plus if you switch cars, anything non-stock to me decreases value in resale. I've sold previous cars and when I omitted upgraded sound equipment, I got better offers. The ML system adds value to the car, an aftermarket system IMO decreases value.

 

IMHO any 4GS from 13+ with ML will do this... they may have fixed this in 16+, but I know my 2015 has it... noticed it on the 3+ hr ride back from NJ when I picked up
my car at the end of this summer.... the good thing is it's not really a big deal its a 5 minute fix... there's even a youtube video that discusses it...


Use a high quality electrical tape like Scotch Super 33 or 66.... never have to worry about it breaking down, or getting schmoo on things... stretches well. I wrapped mine like 4 times with super 33... not a peep after!

-Mike

 

Don't forget to give credit to ItzFilyO for the great video and simple DIY. I'm sure it has helped countless individuals here.

Miss you in the 4GS forums buddy. Hope that RC is still working well for you

~ Im2bz2p345

 

Definitely, he may have even been one of the people that chimed in the original thread where this was brought up.. there's actually a whole thread about this
around here somewhere... just couldn't find it offhand...

-Mike

 

So, I did this tonight. Pulled the switch panel carefully using a butter knife. Used this to wrap...



Reinstalled panel and tuned up the audio...





then went to my go to sound check song...






Turned the volume to 45 and it was ON.

System sounds awesome and I just saved hundreds of dollars because I didn't have to replace what I thought was a blown speaker.
Very, very happy. Thanks for the info.

 

What exactly am I supposed to hear? I don't really hear any rattling or wheezing from the door, maybe the previous owner did something to it.

What I find strange is how high I have to set the volume. Is that normal? I usually have to listen at 35-40, which seems abnormally high to me. You don't even get boombastic, high volume music at those levels.

 

Mine sounded like a blown speaker whenever I got the volume above 25 or so. If you aren't hearing it then it's not a problem for you.

When I was sound testing it last night and had it at 40 or above it was pretty darn loud. Definitely could hear it outside from anywhere near my yard/house.

 

It's worth noting that not all music will trigger the resonance which vibrates the switch panel. Sometimes even deep bass would not trigger it... the bass had to hit certain frequencies to get the switch panel to resonate. I think the reason it showed up pretty quickly in my car is I listen to a wide variety of music... Like even Peg by steely dan would trigger it, in between some of the bass lines etc. What was really weird is some EDM would trigger it, others would not. Depends on the tracks within the mix, etc. On the other hand some music tracks wouldnt trigger the distortion at all. It's pretty obvious to me though that the system was fitted to this car without a whole hell of a lot of testing.

As far as "where the volume goes" it all depends on how hot the track is and the source etc. For example I have a couple Boz Scaggs albums and for some reason, whoever engineered his albums, the audio levels aren't "hot"... so you end up cranking the **** up... and low 40s requried to get it loud. Most of my music I can't go above like 30ish though. It was kinda freaky though- because my JBL system in my Camry LE with the sub maxed out at 45 or something though... basically if you had it on 40 you were gonna go deaf lmao.

-Mike

 

Yeah, I listen to about 75% EDM, the rest is a combination of Hip Hop and 80's Hair Bands. lol. But, I spent most of my time listening to that damn rattle thinking it was a blown speaker. Most definitely was triggered more by EDM and like you said, certain frequencies of bass most definitely did it.

 

I hate to bring this up again, but what exactly is being taped together? In the video above, it wasn't really clear where to apply tape or what two pieces need to be firmly fixed together. I just recently got my 4GS and I've realized that I have a small rattle as well.

 

Watch the youtube in post 35 of this thread. Shows it very clearly.

 

Right, but is it the outer black housing and the inner whitish/beige switch tub the two things being taped together? Just all the way around?