Got a creak/ticking noise in my Focus which is proving very hard to pin down. Generally hear it as the car is going over bumpy roads etc - it sounds like it's coming from behind the A-pillar trim but when I had a passenger listening for it they suggested it was coming from lower down.

I've had the glovebox out and trim around the end of the dash but found no potential causes, a-pillar trim off and gone mad with felt and foam to stop any clips or harnesses rattling. Last night I had a look where the wiring runs up the pillar and under the headliner - found the loom had come away where it was glued to the headliner so fixed that and put loads more foam and felt in places where harnesses may have vibrated against the body panels. On the weekend I dived into the engine bay, removed plastic leafscreen and panel below this then got the battery and battery box out but the only potential I found was where the heated screen cable dropped down through a triangular hole in a panel. Wrapped the cable and edges of the hole with foam.

But none of this has worked - you still get the noise with the a-pillar trim removed and also the glovebox.

Has anyone fixed a similar noise or got any suggestions where to look which I haven't tried yet?

Door seals?

Door seals?

I don't think so - they used to creak a bit on my last ST but this is a different kind of noise. May just try some vaseline on the seals anyhow just to rule the seals out. Cheers

Still get the noise even with the passenger door ajar so it's not the seals. A-pillar trim now packed with a load of foam but no improvement.

If didn't know better it sounds like the glass creaking but can't replicate it without driving the car :(

Today I was getting ready to go to next step of removing nearside front wheel so I could have a look behind the wheelarch liner and see if anything there was possibly causing the rattle, when I had another quick look under the bonnet and have possibly found the culprit at long last.

Seemed like the plastic deflector/finisher which run along the inside of the wing was able to vibrate against the edge of the wing up near the windscreen - made similar noise and not far from where it seemed to be coming from when I was inside the car. Could also see some scratch marks on the plastic which seemed to tie in with where it could tap against the wing.

Padded out the inside of the wing and the edge of the trim with some foam, then took the car for a drive and couldn't hear anything. Will give it a couple of drives to see for certain if it's fixed at last, typical if it's been something daft like that after all the time I've spent trying to fix it!

Update - not fixed after all, having someone else drive the car this evening with me in the passenger seat trying to pin the creaking noise down didn't help either. If I didn't know better I'd say it's like the windscreen creaking but can't replicate this by putting pressure on the screen myself :(

I know your pain,

Ive given up :(

is yours the mk2 ? we had a MK2 07 plate from brand new, had the same problem and never got it sorted, seemed worse in warm weather, it sounded EXACTLY like a cable rattling in the A pillar. I tried EVERYTHING. it went back to the plebs at the dealers many times (in Crewe) and they denied ever hearing it, they were terrible, every issue I had with the car they ignored. So my experience of this rattle is, try to ignore it. if its more of a CREAKING noise there is a TSB on the MK2 about seems creaking between the spot welds, I think it was around the B pillar. and the fix was to pry open (slightly) the seam.

same issue with the rear drivers side pillar, the sad thing is im slowly getting used to it now :(

I've seen the TSB but didn't think it would have applied to my issue and despite everything I've tried so far I couldn't honestly say where it's actually coming from :( I'd be pretty wary of trying to open any seams around the windscreen aperture as I'd most likely crack the screen.

Even putting a some cloths into gaps where the harnesses run into the headliner, and at the bottom of the a-pillar haven't even reduced it to give me a clue. Even padded out another loom in the IP where it could tap against the plastic heater ducting. Also tried pushing some foam into the channel of the windscreen seal to see if that helped, though a perm fix for that would be tricky.

Seems every time I fix a likely looking culprit I get a nice quiet test drive which kids me into thinking I've sussed it at last.

But there is still hope. Googling for the problem found this post but also on focusstoc some owners had similar issues and cause was said to be the windscreen - one or two had screens replaced after chips/cracks and the noise went away.

One fix which worked without having the screen changed was putting silicon grease between the edge of the seal and the a-pillar, or that's how I read it. That could tie in with people noticing the noise stopped when it rained. I've had this seal give problems on my last ST but that was a known issue with the seal coming away from the screen and causing a howling noise! When I've previously looked at the seal I did seem to be able to cause a similar noise but I thought this was from the seal where it grips the screen, hence the foam 'bodge' which didn't seem to do much.

Been out riding up hills all day then dozed off but going to dig out a bit of silicon grease I think I've got in my toolbox and give it a go.

Bit of an update on this - tried applying some silicone down the edge of the seal, has some panel shine left over from years back so gave this a go using cotton buds to work it along the edge of the seal. Next drive of the car was nice and quiet but the creaking soon came back :( then tried some silicone grease again with some cotton buds but this didn't make any difference at all. If anything I was managing to make it worse, but at least that told me I was working in the right area.

Then had a further look at the windscreen seal with the intention of pulling it away from the glass so I could use silicone or worst case PU, to secure it better. PU sticks great but is an absolute nightmare as soon as you get it on your fingers and accidentally touch anything else. Usually go through several pairs of workshop gloves when doing a PU job.

However the seal is very tightly closed up at the bottom corner of the screen with no room to pull it away, due to it being fitted in place before the screen goes on the car. Trying to prise the seal away from the glass part way down the pillar was a no-no too (least for me) due to risk of causing paintwork damage or even possibly the screen itself. Had picked up silicon sealant and instant gasket using my Halfords discount :) and some silicon spray lubricant too. Finally tried the spray, with a few cotton buds again to run it along the edge of the seal to pillar, and also underneath the seal in case it was also rubbing on the body there. Though in truth the screen should sit a couple of mm high of the body aperture so the PU bead isn't flattened and spread outwards when the glass is fitted.

Trying this seems to have worked for now, will see how long it lasts .

I've got an annoying plasticy creak in mine that I couldn't locate easily. Turns out that under the passenger seat theres an air duct which seems really loose, not sure how its supposed to be secured tbh, think its just meant to be push fit but it doesn't stay in place long!

Was looking under my drivers seat tonight and my vent isn't exactly tight either - I'd wager they're just a push fit through the carpet to another section of ducting.

Lot easier in manufacture as you can't really secure the vent in place then fit carpet over it. Or you could but it would take too long. Being out of the way under the seat makes it less crucial to be firmly fixed in place.

I used metalic heat resistant tape on all ducting joins which stopped that rattling or coming loose

troy45 - did you finally get to the bottom of this. On a cold night last night I got a similar creaking noise to that which you described.  I have a 2015 Mk 3.5 Titanium.

I've managed to fix this by spraying Waxoil inside the pillar area - you'll have a few days of the smell of it but once this wears off - no noise