Wife complains of "popcorn" sound.

adric22 · 12-04-2009, 08:15 PM

My wife has been driving the I2 to work and has complained of a sound like popcorn ever since it turned really cold outside. I haven't had a chance to experience it until this evening. It is actually coming from the headliner, and as the car drives down the road and encounters the normal vibrations of the road, the headliner makes little popping sounds. The interesting thing is that the sound doesn't come from the same place. It quite literally moves location randomly and sounds like you are inside a giant pop-cord machine. Now, granted it isn't really that loud, but it is certainly noticable. Has anyone else noticed this?

Dick_Larimore · 12-05-2009, 08:56 AM

My car may have the problem you describe. My attempt to describe the sound is that it is like frozen sleet hitting the windshield. It is not loud and I am not sure where the sound is coming from. It did begin when it got colder outside.

The origin of the sound in the headliner does make sense. The metal roof stays cold no matter how much the interior warms up and I have noticed that this noise does not go away even when the car is fully warmed up on the inside.

The Beard · 12-07-2009, 06:49 PM

We've had the EXACT same thing. It started once the morning temps dropped into the 30s and lower. After the car interior warms up it lessens but does not disappear. It's pretty irritating.

The noise from our headliner comes mostly from where it meets the windshield. If you press on it and feel around you will see that it is not very secure and that there is a noticeable (and moveable) gap between the windshield and headliner.

I am going to ask about it when I go in for our first oil change (we have 30% life yet). I'm wondering if some sort of padded adhesive strip would quiet things down.

jpleong · 12-08-2009, 01:52 PM

I hope you guys get some good (cost-free) resolution when you ask because I've not experienced that problem (knock on wood) since the temps dropped. I can only imagine how annoying and agitating that sound must be...!

JP

The Beard · 12-31-2009, 12:48 PM

I just got back from having our first oil change. I mentioned the "popcorn" sound and the service manager took a short ride with me. He heard it to. He said he wasn't sure how long it would take to remedy it so I got a loaner for the morning - a Civic LX-S (very nice). After about an hour and a half of trying something, driving it to see if it worked they found the cause. There is a wire harness for the map light that is attached by plastic clips. They put some felt tape around these clips and the sound is completely gone. My drive back home was blissfully quiet.

They charged me $0 for this repair.

-brids · 01-20-2010, 02:54 PM

Glad to hear that! My popcorn sound started a few weeks ago, too, when it got very cold. It is driving me crazy. I got the oil changed for the first time yesterday and the service tech went for a drive with me and for whatever reason, the sound decided to go away. Now, of course, it is back with a vengeance. I'll give them a call and see if they might do this for me. I'm going to cross my fingers, because I can't live with this!

-brids · 01-21-2010, 09:14 PM

This seems temperature related. The sun was out today for the first time in weeks and it was 35, finally above freezing and the driver's side popcorn sound seemed very very slight, if at all. What I did notice was a rattling on the passenger side now, pretty pronounced. I was hearing two things. This one is under or behind the right side's airbag, beyond the glove compartment. I took everything out of it to check it and it's definitely inside somewhere. It is loudest when going over less than flat roads.