Rattle in my Speakers??

[kellyyysayss]

I just have stock speakers in my 2000 NB. For some reason, they rattle when there's low/heavy bass. My VW dealer said it's probably something loose inside of the door panel, and to open it up and see if anything falls out?

Is this really the case or is it something else? It happens on both doors.

[Wingnut_rb]

Mine only does it on the Pass door but stops if I put pressure on the door panel (about 8 inches back from the door pocket). I guess the only way for you to find out for sure is pull the speaker and clean out the speaker/mounting area and inspect the speaker.

[Smileybug]

I wouldn't be shocked if your speakers are shot. Mine were doing that last year. Figured that after 10 years they needed to be replaced (and I had some MBquartz speakers that fell into my lap ). Took the doors apart and the speakers were trashed.

[kellyyysayss]

If I apply pressure in that spot or on the speaker directly, they stop rattling. Should I just replace them?? I don't know what to get, or how much $$ to spend.

[Wingnut_rb]

Originally Posted by kellyyysayss

If I apply pressure in that spot or on the speaker directly, they stop rattling. Should I just replace them?? I don't know what to get, or how much $$ to spend.

If you go to Best Buy or similar, you can listen to diff speakers to see what you like. But I wouldn't buy there, too expensive and much cheaper online but a good way to find what you want. I'm not a ICE guy so someone else will have to step in on this one. The stock speakers do leave alot to be desired so replacement isn't a bad idea.

[Smileybug]

I didn't try to stop them. I basically knew mine were shot. 10 years is a good run for speakers, and if you do take the door apart to look at them (which really isn't too hard), you'll see that the stock speakers aren't that great. The foam on mine had completely disintegrated.

If you head over to the car audio section here, I know there have been several threads on speakers.

Taking the door card off isn't bad. Either you have something rattling in your door or have dead speakers so you'd be taking it off anyway. I'd personally go and check it out. There are a few screws in the bottom of the door and you have to pry off the grab handle and there are, I think, 2 screws under it. After that, you basically just have to pop the plastic clips on the back of the panel. I got a car trim removal tool from Pep Boys and it helped to get the panel off without damage to the paint and clips.

[Susallah]

I had this same problem with my 2006 vert. Luckily, it was still under warranty (I happen to have a GREAT service dept. available) and they were able to fill in behind the speaker with some kind of spray foam. It stopped the rattles and I was able to use the speakers with lots of bass again.

I am unsure how expensive that is, but it might be cheaper to just get new speakers.

Good luck!

[kelove]

I have a premium sound system in my car and it has really good bass, but on some songs I can hear rattling from my rear speakers..it doesnt sound like my speakers are busted, but i dont know....does anyone know why it rattles or how to fix it?

[Blugg]

My guess



In the below photo i have colored red where from memory the black plastic clip things are. In my Bug these come loose sometimes. If a sharp short fist BANG to that part of the door doesn't make the stud go back in, chances are it's broken off. Remove door panel. Take off grab handle, flat blade screw driver to prize off the cover and 2 cross head screws under it. 3 Torx scres run along the bottom of the door. Flat blade screwdriver with tape on the end to stop scratching or use a plastic spatula from the kitchen. Prize the door panel from the door all the way around. Best done with the window DOWN. Shouldn't need to unclip the window switches or door opener as you'll be able to tilt the panel open. Check the plastic studs around the edge for fractures

[kellyyysayss]

Thanks so much for that! Where are you getting those photos? I'm putting a new compressor in next week and I'd love to have something like that to work with.

I think I may end up getting new speakers eventually.

[rmhartmann]

I have a 2000 NB also that has the speaker rattle. (I have the 1.8T w/Monsoon sound system). Today, I removed the door panel and discovered that the foam surround had dry rotted--completely fallen apart.

I then googled "speakers new beetle" and found this thread. Some of the other google results were for generic speakers...

As is probably mentioned elsewhere in these forums, the NB speakers are not a generic type that are easily replaceable. The speakers are mounted in a NB specific plastic basket assembly that fits the door panel with a separate rubber gasket on them. I have seen that some people figure out a way to retrofit generic speakers, but I would like to keep the fit of the original factory installation. However, I would like to avoid going to the stealership for factory replacements.

As it turns out, the foam surround is actually replaceable. I found this place online: Parts-Express.com – Refoam & Repair Kits – Speaker Repair, Speaker Parts, Adhesives, Glue, Speaker Surround Repair Kits

I think I am going to give this a try. Anyone out there have any experience with these?

[kellyyysayss]

Thank you so much! I have yet to take the door panels apart to take a look but that is the problem, I'm positive. I'm just getting around to the compressor issue I've been having for months and my radiator hose leak.

I'll be doing the speakers after the above is done, and I find a grille to install.

[VdubOne]

The stock vw speakers suck, to be honest, they always rattle with good bass, the best to do is replace the door speakers with same size, more power handling speakers using the correct gauge speaker cable, trust me i did it, and it sounds great now

[kellyyysayss]

Originally Posted by VdubOne

The stock vw speakers suck, to be honest, they always rattle with good bass, the best to do is replace the door speakers with same size, more power handling speakers using the correct gauge speaker cable, trust me i did it, and it sounds great now

What speakers did you get?

[Downtime]

My pass door speaker rattled pretty bad at any volume, pulled the door panel off and this is what I found:


That's one dry rotted 12 year old speaker! Luckily I had some aftermarket speakers/grills laying around.
Mounted those on the outside of the door panel:


Just to give you an idea of what you could do...

[agento2]

I replaced the front speakers in my 01 a week ago. On both speaker the suspension was completely rotted away with the cone just hanging in the middle and the drivers side the magnet was laying the bottom of the door.

A couple things i don't think anyone mentioned, the stock speakers are riveted in, so you have to drill out the rivits to remove them. And usually you'll need to make/buy and adapter ring to mount an aftermarket speaker, to mount them out enough to clear the window rolling down. And to adapt the stock wiring I cut the socket out of the stock speakers and wired it to the new speakers to use the stock harness.

[kellyyysayss]

Originally Posted by agento2

I replaced the front speakers in my 01 a week ago. On both speaker the suspension was completely rotted away with the cone just hanging in the middle and the drivers side the magnet was laying the bottom of the door.

A couple things i don't think anyone mentioned, the stock speakers are riveted in, so you have to drill out the rivits to remove them. And usually you'll need to make/buy and adapter ring to mount an aftermarket speaker, to mount them out enough to clear the window rolling down. And to adapt the stock wiring I cut the socket out of the stock speakers and wired it to the new speakers to use the stock harness.

Thanks for mentioning this. It'll help a lot when I go to replace them this month. I probably would have opened the panels and been very confused about the rivets. Haha.

You know where I could buy those adapter rings?

Downtime- I have a feeling something similar will happen to me.

[agento2]

from what i was seeing online alot of people make them from MDF, i bought mine from best buy, Scosche is the brand, they make all sorts of audio install stuff.