Creaking in door panel plastic

[pw1981]

I found a thread in this from long ago, tried all the fixes suggested and none worked.

The driver and passenger door panels on my 2018 Limited creak when I or a passenger lean a leg against them. It’s terribly annoying.

Previous threads suggested it’s the faux wood area rubbing against the plastic by the handle, but none of those fixes (business card wedges in there or folded up electrical tape) worked at all.

I don’t really want to pull the panels, but I will if someone has an idea where I can glue rigid foam to address the problem.

 

[1970Maverick]

I don't know how your panels are attached but it may be one of the metal clips that push in and you have to pry out. I had a similar squeak in a Chevy astrovan and I pried the clip out and put a layer of electrical tape to "tighten up" the fit.
Not sure where you would glue foam without pulling the panel but be aware if you use something like styrofoam it can squeak too. try rubbing a piece of styro on a hard surface and you'll hear what I mean. May be better off with a dense sponge rubber.
I hope you find it, my Astrovan drove me nuts for months before I found it.

 

[scottdm]

I found a thread in this from long ago, tried all the fixes suggested and none worked.

The driver and passenger door panels on my 2018 Limited creak when I or a passenger lean a leg against them. It’s terribly annoying.

Previous threads suggested it’s the faux wood area rubbing against the plastic by the handle, but none of those fixes (business card wedges in there or folded up electrical tape) worked at all.

I don’t really want to pull the panels, but I will if someone has an idea where I can glue rigid foam to address the problem.

The door panels come off pretty easily (screws near bottom edges and near door handle/latch). I ended up using sheets of felt which seemed to work pretty well to stop the rattles and squeaks, though it takes some trial and error. This is the kind of stuff the dealer will never figure out and you're better off tracking it down yourself.

 

[1970Maverick]

Those are the metal clips along the edge in scottdm's post that gave me the squeaks in my astrovan.
You can find thin felt with peel & stick backing at any craft store.

 

[scottdm]

Those are the metal clips along the edge in scottdm's post that gave me the squeaks in my astrovan.
You can find thin felt with peel & stick backing at any craft store.

You can see the little 1" squares of felt on the painted metal where Ford tried to address potential spots that rub. A little extra felt never hurts from my experience to quiet things down. Agree on adding adhesive felt to the metal clips. Some of the metal clips came with adhesive felt from the factory, but not all of them for some reason.