I got good news and bad news.

First the good news; You can fix the rattle yourself.

Now the bad; It is a combination of surgery and demolition.

My experience; New hardtop creaked/clicked right in my ear, everytime I went over even the littlest bump. I was looking for the obvious-defrost wire, loose external trim, even the gas flap; no relief. The general area of the noise became a place for a wierd collection of wire ties, foam padding and tape is a effort to stop the noise.

Looking at the repair manual, it shows the rear latches are attached to the top with three bolts in a triangle pattern. The bolts are a loose fit in the hardtop boss so that you can adjust the postion of the hard top for the proper fit, then tighten them, locking that latch in place.

Here is the problem.

The bolts one of the latches were loose, so every time I went over a bump they moved with the top and created the click sound. When I took the top off, the right side HT latch wiggled with the slightest pressure.

You need to take the top off and have someone support it (back window down- thanks Franko!) then, you have to at least partially remove the black plastic trim piece which is snapped onto the hardtop frame.

The trim piece is held on by the typical interior fastener snap. Be careful, the trim piece bends a little but you really need to get behind the area where the fastener is and apply pressure from behind with a flat trim tool, or you may snap the finish trim (surgery).

You can't miss the three bolts once the trim is removed. I did't have to take my trim all the way off the get at the bolts either ( I didn't want to disconnect the defroster wire). You must at least, generally align the latch with the hardtop's bottom edge. There is enough play to make the latch VERY crooked in relation to the HT edge. It will be impossible to get the latch to work when you re-install the HT if you're off too much.

Tighten the three bolts to 14-18 ft/lbs (about as tight as a spark plug), and snap the trim back on. I had to punch the area around fastener with the side of my hand, to get the trim fastener to re-seat (demolition).

My hats off to anyone who can adjust those bolts while the HT is on the car. Between the roll bars and the rake of the top, I couldn't fit a hot dog back there let alone my arm.


Regards,
BD

 

We had the OEM hardtop installed on Chris's 04; they have the upgraded strikers. Some noise when going over bumps but that can be handled using silicon grease per the install instructions.

Hi K...

 

same thing happened to me... both my strikers were loose... my car is lowered also, and that might have cuase the bolts to back out... a little blue loctite has cured the problem so far.

 

I'm checking mine now. I took my CR top off for the first time and its on my living room getting some Shin Etsu right now. Checking the latch bolts for looseness next and will use loctite as necessary.

Please note some alignment can be had by slightly moving the rear latch locking paddles slightly off locked position according to the top install manual.

Where are the clip exatly located on the trim panel to remove?

 

Immediately after my HT was installed it squeaked and rattled like crazy. I put up with the noise for about a day, then went to the dealership and bought Shin Etsu silicone lube and applied it to all the soft black rubber seals on the outside edges of the hard top/windshield where the HT mates to the windshield, body, and around the windows.

My '06 S2K now has over 50K miles on it, and the HT is on the car year round; about every six months or so I apply some Shin Etsu silicone lubricant on all rubber surfaces. The HT has not needed any adjustments.

This may help quiet things down too... For latch rattles the dealer can give you some EPT Sealant (kind of like foam weather stripping), it really doesn't take very much to perform the fix below:

Clickie ---> Squeaks and Rattling Latch Fix

I performed the fix, AND tied down the latch hooks on each side of the lowered soft top with plastic cable ties (rubber bands work too); now my hard top is very, very, quiet - even on the bumpiest roads.

 

There is a procedure in the Honda Service Manual that describes the proper adjustment procedure for the hard top.

These are the bracked behind the drivers / passengers head, and bolts (I and K) that needs to be adjusted. It is under the B-pillar trim, on the hard top...

Your dealer / installer should have done this simple procedure...

 

If he's hearing alot of rattling, I'm guessing its the soft top hooks. They rattle like crazy when the soft top is down even if they are latched. You just don't hear it when driving normaly because of the wind noise. But with the hard top on they are very noticeable. I'm sure there is a way to secure them, but I've learned to ignore it.