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"Fixing the 'rattly roof'
problem on the Seat Leon
Introduction and Warning
These notes describe how I dealt with the 'rattly roof'
problem on my Leon. This approach worked for me, on my 2000 model year car. It has not been verified by Seat or anyone else, so use the notes at your own risk.
Symptoms
The 'rattly roof'
problem (as it's been referred to in the Leon forum on CupraNet) has the symptoms of a vibrating, rattly noise that is loudest at around 2000rpm, and worse in cold weather. The noise is not easy to place - it may seem to come from the back of the car or it may appear to bounce around. You can tell if you have this
problem by pressing upwards on the roof lining when the noise appears. If you can silence it this way, you have 'rattly roof'.
Brief explanation
The noise is coming from one of two sources - either the steel braces which are fitted across the roof on the inside, or from the headlining itself which is semi-rigid and can vibrate against these braces. This 'fix' addresses both. It consists of putting insulating material in place above the headlining to deaden the vibration. The major part of the job is to remove the headlining from the rear of the car to gain access, so the instructions to do that form the bulk of these notes. This job took me about 2 hours, plus a (needlessly long) test drive to check that the fix worked. The result is a much quieter car, and not just around 2000rpm where the noise was previously worst.
Tools needed
A large flat-bladed screwdriver, a crosshead screwdriver, some wadding and a clean, dry, small handtowel - preferably old, unless you truly love your Leon, because you are going to donate the towel to your car. A tea towel is too thin and a bath towel is too large....
Instructions
1. Begin by removing the grab handles above the front seats. Cross-headed screws hidden from view by plastic caps secure these. (The caps themselves are hinged to prevent their loss when you open them, a neat piece of design).
2. Move both front seats fully forward and continue working from the rear seat. Remove both rear grab handles. Release the edges of the lining from the soft plastic trim along the sides of the car.
3. Remove the central piece of plastic trim at the rear of the roof lining. This runs across the car ahead of the hatchback opening. It is held in place by 5 strong clips. Insert the large flat-bladed screwdriver under the end of the plastic (i.e., pushing the screwdriver towards the centre of the car from the side). Push it a few inches in and twist to release the first clip. You can now release the other clips using a combination of the screwdriver and simply pulling.
4. I was relieved to find that the large trim pieces at the rear corners of the roof can be left in place. They do not hold the headlining in place.
5. The headlining is now held in place by the upper trim panels, which cover the front seatbelt adjusters. These trim panels are held by screws that are themselves covered by the
lower trim panels concealing the seat belt reels. The
lower trim panels clip in place at the bottom. You may be able to remove them by pulling; if not, use the flat-bladed screwdriver to prise the
lower end of the vertical edge away, and this will release the clips. Pull the
lower edge of this panel away from the side of the car and the upper end, which slots into place will come free. Do this for both left and right side panels.
6. The screws holding the upper trim panels are now visible and can be removed. Pull the
lower edge of the upper trim panels a little towards the centre of the car and then downwards. Notice how the top edge is held in place by lugs slotting into the car body sides - you will need to insert these lugs correctly when re-assembling later. The seat belt remains threaded through this trim panel after you remove the panel - leave it.
7. Now you can remove, or rather
lower, the headlining from the rear to give access to the space above. Take hold of each rear corner in turn and pull it out from the corner trim panel. The headlining is now free at the rear (it remains attached at the front) and you can
lower it into the car. You will find that you need to bend, or probably fold, the headlining to clear your body, as you need to work from the rear seat. Try not to fold the headlining more than you have to, but it is quite forgiving - I put a couple of creases into mine and they disappeared completely a day or so after re-assembly.
8. You will now see the inside of the roof and the braces across it. There are no climate control sensors here (contrary to some stories) and the only cables in this space on my car (SE trim) are at the left side, connecting the equipment on the hatchback and the roof radio aerial. Check the aerial connector (just in front of the hatchback on the left side) whilst you are here - mine was loose.
9. Check each brace in turn and if there is space between it and the roof, feed some wadding into the gap to reduce vibration. I used upholsterers' wadding but any soft material would do - a folded J-cloth, for instance. The braces on my car were not firmly attached to the roof except at the sides, and one had some rubbery mastic-like compound in between the two metal pieces. I suspect they should all have this compound - the wadding substitutes for it.
10. At this stage I partly re-assembled the roof lining and took a test drive. The noise was muffled but still there. I suspected that the lining itself was vibrating against the roof and responsible for some or all of the noise. So I lowered the lining again and laid a handtowel on its upper surface, front edge of the towel well forward but not overlapping the control box which you'll see mounted on the underside of the roof at the front of the car. (This houses the roof mounted interior lights and switches). There is space to re-assemble the lining with the towel in place without affecting the fit of it. Don't use a damp or dirty towel unless you want your car to smell forever!
11. Re-assembly is almost the reverse of removal. Start by easing the rear corners of the headlining over the rear corner trim pieces, and then ease the soft trims along the sides of the car over the edges of the lining. Then refit the upper trims over the front seat belt adjusters, being sure to position the lugs at the top edges into the holes in the car body correctly. Re-fit the
lower trims and the trim across the rear of the roof lining.
12. Now I hope you can do as I did and start to enjoy your Leon again!"
