Interior Noise Reduction - Sunroof
 

I haven't seen this posted before, so I thought I'd share.

I've been slowly tracking down and eliminating interior squeaks and rattles over the past year (1994 Touring model with the glass roof sunroof). I can't say I'm at the point of having a rattle/squeak free car, but I did eliminate a major and annoying source of noise today. When driving over an uneven road surface (just about most roads in the city I live in) the sunroof would be constantly shifting around. It was quite obvious that the rubber weather seal around the sunroof was no longer doing it's job properly - pushing against the glass roof when closed would result in a slight squeak, and a slight movement of the glass. I replace the seal today with a new one from Mazda ($80), and voila! - tight fit, no movement, no squeak. This was one of the last major sources of unwanted interior noise in my car - quite happy now.

what did the old seal look like? was it obviously worn, or was it something your heard but couldn't see anything wrong with the seal?

Good question.

I heard the noise, but the seal was not obviously worn out. I guess the weather seal must either shrink or becomes slightly compressed over time - sufficiently so that it doesnt form a perfectly tight seal against the roof.

Rubber like that will shrink over time.

Next time you change wiper refills, compare the length of the old vs. new. It's kinda weird.