Why Does My Windshield Creak or Tick After Replacement?
The short answer
- A windshield creak or tick is two hard parts touching at the glass edge. Six carmaker bulletins name seven causes, and not one blames the urethane.
- Upper A-pillar creak on 2016 to 2018 Audi A4 and 2017 to 2018 A5: a guide pin on the glass scraping a metal lug. Audi's fix bends the lug down 1 to 2 mm.
- Tick at the top or bottom on 2003 to 2013 Toyotas: the two stoppers on the top edge (200 to 250 mm from the corners) or two retainers on the bottom (140 to 200 mm). The fix cuts them, in 0.3 to 0.4 hours.
- Creak, pop or tick at the base of a 2013 to 2015 Equinox or Terrain when the body loads side to side: the cowl center bracket. GM bends it clear and seals it, 0.7 hours.
- New glass brings new pins and stoppers, and the cowl comes off and goes back on. A faint creak in the first few days can be trim settling; one that lasts past a week goes back to the shop in writing.
A creak or tick from a windshield is almost always two hard parts touching at the edge of the glass, not the glass or the glue failing. Where the sound comes from tells you which parts. Carmaker bulletins trace it to pins and stoppers on the top edge of the glass, retainers on the bottom edge, and brackets and hooks in the cowl. A new windshield can bring the noise out. It comes with its own pins and stoppers, and the cowl comes off and goes back on during the job.
What a creak is, and how it differs from wind noise
Here a creak means a short, dry sound from the glass area: a creak, tick, pop, tap or chatter. It is made by solid parts rubbing or tapping against each other. It comes when the body flexes, so you hear it over bumps, on rough roads, or in a turn.
Wind noise is a different problem. It is air moving past a gap, it rises with speed, and painter's tape over the gap stops it. If your sound is a whistle at 60 mph, read how to find wind noise after a replacement instead.
Four more terms come up below:
- Technical service bulletin (TSB). A repair note a carmaker sends its dealers for a known problem. The ones here come from the files of NHTSA, the federal safety agency.
- Stopper or guide pin. A small plastic part bonded to the top of the glass. It locates the glass in the opening when the car is built.
- Retainer. A similar part bonded to the bottom edge of the glass, with a pin that sits under the windshield.
- Cowl. The plastic panel and grille between the bottom of the windshield and the hood, held by hooks, clips and brackets.
Where the sound comes from tells you the cause
Note whether the sound is at the top or the bottom, at a corner or the center, and what the car is doing. Then match it to this table.
| Where and when | What is touching | Factory fix | Bulletin and vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creak at the upper A-pillar, left or right | A guide pin on the top of the glass scraping on a metal lug of the body | Bend the lug down 1 to 2 mm with a plastic wedge | Audi 2046397: 2016 to 2018 A4, 2017 to 2018 A5 (2018 by VIN range) |
| Creak, tick or rattle at the top of the glass | Two stoppers bonded to the top of the glass, against the roof panel | Cut off the stopper tip and open a gap to the roof | Toyota T-SB-0141-10, 2003 to 2013 models |
| Tick or rattle at the bottom of the glass | Two retainers bonded to the lower edge | Cut the retainer pin off flush | Toyota T-SB-0141-10: Avalon, Camry, Solara, Venza |
| Creak, pop or tick at the base, when the suspension loads side to side | The cowl center bracket against the bulkhead | Bend the bracket clear, then urethane sealer between bracket and bulkhead | GM PIT5435, 2013 to 2015 Equinox and Terrain |
| Chatter from the cowl over bumps | The cowl grille slipping and sticking on the glass | New pads on the 8 hooks behind the grille | Mazda: 2004 to 2009 Mazda3 and Mazdaspeed3 built before August 7, 2008 |
| Tapping where the dash meets the glass, over bumps | The front edge of the dash hitting a body bracket with no felt pad | Felt pads on the brackets, with the windshield removed | Mazda 09-004/13, some 2013 CX-5 |
| Creak at the A-pillar over rough roads | Two body panels scraping where they join, not the glass | Bend one panel to open a gap of more than 1 mm | Mazda 09-002/14: CX-5 built on or before June 1, 2012 |
The last two rows are not the windshield at all. They sit right next to the glass, which is why they get blamed on it.
A worked example: a tick at the bottom of a Camry
Take a 2011 Toyota Camry that had a new windshield fitted. Suppose that a week later it starts ticking from the bottom of the glass on rough pavement. Here is how the Toyota bulletin sorts it.
- Find the parts. Toyota's table shows the Camry has both kinds: two stoppers at the top and two retainers at the bottom. The sound is low, so the retainers come first.
- Find where they sit. The retainers are typically 140 to 200 mm (5.5 to 7.9 inches) in from the lower corners. Each one is stuck to the back of the glass with double-sided foam tape, with a pin on a plastic block underneath.
- Apply the fix. The technician lifts off the cowl louver at the base of the glass and cuts the pin flush with a fine-tooth mini hacksaw. Then comes a test drive and the louver goes back on. Toyota allows 0.3 hours of labor for this.
- If it were the top instead. The stoppers sit 200 to 250 mm (7.9 to 9.8 inches) in from the top corners. Reaching them means removing the sun visors and A-pillar trim and lowering the front of the headliner slowly, so it does not crease. The tip is cut off and a taped screwdriver opens a gap to the roof. Toyota allows 0.4 hours.
The glass stays in, and nothing touches the urethane. The louver also came off for the replacement, so if the pins check out, its clips are the next suspect.
Is the urethane cracking? Almost never
The fear is that a creak means the glue is breaking up. The bulletins point the other way. The six bulletins behind the table name seven causes, and every one is a hard part touching another hard part. None blames the urethane. Only one fix takes the glass out at all, Mazda's dash tap, and that is to reach the brackets under it, not to repair the bond.
Cured urethane is a tough, stiff rubber, as how windshield urethane works explains. GM's fix for a creak at the base of the glass even adds a high viscosity urethane sealer to stop the noise.
A real bond fault shows itself in other ways. A void in the bead lets in water or air. You get a damp headliner, a wet footwell or a rush of air at the top of the dash. If you have any of those, follow the water leak sequence first. A creak with a dry car and no new air noise is a loose part, not a failed bond.
Sealer goes at the part that touches, not over the seam. In GM's fix it goes between the cowl bracket and the bulkhead, after the bracket is bent clear. None of these bulletins stops a creak by sealing the edge of the glass.
Why a new windshield brings the noise out
Three things change when the glass is replaced, and each one lines up with a known cause.
- New pins and stoppers. On the Audi and Toyota cars, these parts sit on the glass itself. Audi says the guide pins are "needed in production for positioning." A new windshield brings a new set. If the old ones were trimmed under a bulletin, the fix leaves with the old glass. Toyota even tells technicians not to do the bulletin repair until the new glass is in.
- The cowl comes off and goes back on. The cowl has to come off for a replacement, so its hooks, brackets and clips are all handled. On the Mazda3, the grille chatters on the glass without its hook pads, and Mazda's fix installs or replaces pads on all eight hooks.
- Clips that are reused. A nylon clip that is pushed back in holds with less force and can buzz, as mouldings, clips and the cowl explains.
A faint creak from the top in the first few days is a separate case. New mouldings and clips are seating, and the first 48 hours treats that as usually normal. Recheck after a week.
How technicians pin down the spot
The bulletins use a few simple checks. You can note what the car does, but leave the trim and cowl to a technician. GM writes that its bulletins are "NOT" for a "do-it-yourselfer," and Mazda says the same.
- Press near the suspect part. Audi has the technician press down on the glass near the guide pin to check whether the noise is gone. Mazda has the technician confirm that the dash tap stops when the front edge of the dash is lightly pressed by hand.
- Load the body. GM's creak shows up "when the suspension is loaded from side to side." Its technicians find it with chassis ears, a listening tool clipped to the wiper arms or the steering rack mounts.
- Separate lookalikes. Mazda warns that its dash rattle and A-pillar creak are hard to tell apart. On the CX-5 that rattle came from low torque on the cowl panel bolts. The fix retightens all ten to 17 to 22 ft-lb, with the bottom of the glass protected first.
Be ready with three facts: where the sound is, what the car is doing, and when it started. Chatter from the wiper blades is a separate problem, covered in wiper chatter and streaking.
When it is a warranty comeback
If the creak started with the new glass, it is the installing shop's job to fix. A shop workmanship warranty covers rattles and loose trim from broken or left out retainers. It normally lasts as long as you own the car (see what a replacement warranty covers). Report it in writing with the three facts above.
The carmaker may also pay, if your car is still under its warranty and matches a bulletin.
- Toyota: the bulletin repair is covered under the Comprehensive Warranty, 36 months or 36,000 miles, and only for the condition the bulletin describes.
- Audi: the 2020 version lists a warranty claim type up to 48 months or 50,000 miles.
- GM: the bulletin gives 0.7 hours of labor for vehicles repaired under warranty.
A noise that was there before the glass was replaced is not the glass shop's fault. Point the dealer at the bulletin number. If the fix needs the glass out, as with the Mazda dash tap, it is a reset with a new cure time. A car with a camera on the glass needs calibration again too. When a redo needs new glass and when calibration is required cover both. If a shop will not engage, warranty claims that hold up sets out the evidence to send.
A written report that gets action: "A tick from the bottom of the glass, passenger side, on rough pavement, since the day after the job." That points straight at a retainer or a cowl clip. On a Camry, if it is a retainer, Toyota allows 0.3 hours.
Where this answer stops applying
Each bulletin covers only the cars and build dates it lists. Another car may have pins, stoppers or cowl hooks in other places, or none at all, and nobody has published where they rub. A creak with a crack running from the edge is a different case. Trim forced hard against the glass loads it where it is weakest, so read whose fault a crack in new glass is. A noise after a collision repair or a cowl replaced by a body shop is not the glass shop's work. Whether a dealer will do a bulletin repair under factory warranty on a car whose glass was replaced elsewhere is the dealer's call. Ask before you book it.
What to do next
Write down where the sound is, when it happens, and when it started. If it began with the new glass, send that to the installer and check the rest of the job against the post-job inspection checklist. If your car is a 2013 Mazda CX-5, a 2013 to 2015 Chevrolet Equinox or one of the Toyotas listed, mention the bulletin by number. Other problems after a job are in the replacement section.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal for a new windshield to creak?
A faint creak from the top over bumps in the first few days can be new mouldings and clips seating, and it often fades. A creak, tick or rattle that is still there after a week is not normal. It is usually a stopper, retainer, cowl clip or bracket touching another part, and it is a workmanship item for the installing shop.
Can bad urethane make a windshield creak?
It is very unlikely. Cured urethane is a tough rubber, and every carmaker bulletin we found on windshield creaks blames a hard part instead: guide pins, stoppers, retainers, cowl brackets or grille hooks. A real bond fault usually shows up as a water leak, a damp headliner or a rush of air, not a creak.
Why does my windshield tick over bumps?
Bumps twist the body slightly, and any hard part touching the glass edge or the cowl moves with it. On many Toyotas the tick comes from two plastic stoppers on the top of the glass or two retainers on the bottom. On some Mazdas it is the cowl grille or the front edge of the dash.
Can I fix a creaking windshield myself?
You can find where it comes from and when it happens, which is the most useful part. The fixes mean removing trim, the headliner edge or the cowl, and GM and Mazda both write their bulletins for trained technicians, not home mechanics. On fresh glass, any prying near the bond is best left to the shop that owns the warranty.
Who pays to fix a windshield creak after replacement?
If it started with the new glass, the installing shop should, under its workmanship warranty. If your car matches a factory bulletin and is still under the carmaker's warranty, the dealer may cover it: Toyota's bulletin falls under its 36 month or 36,000 mile coverage. A noise that predates the new glass is not the glass shop's problem.
Sources
- Audi of America, TSB 2046397/1, Creaking noises from front or rear windshield area (December 26, 2016)
- Audi of America, TSB 2046397/4, Creaking noises from the front or rear windshield area (May 5, 2020)
- Toyota, T-SB-0141-10 Rev1, Upper/Lower Windshield/Rear Glass Tick Noise (June 4, 2010, revised April 4, 2013)
- GM, PIT5435, Creak or Pop Type Noise Coming From Center Of Dash (August 2015)
- Mazda, Service Bulletin 09-002/14, Rattle noise from instrument panel and/or creak noise from A-pillar (January 8, 2014)
- Mazda, Service Bulletin 09-004/13, Tapping noise where edge of dashboard meets windshield (March 6, 2013)
- Mazda bulletin on 2004 to 2009 Mazda3 cowl grille chatter, as published by Vehicle Service Pros (October 18, 2013)