Dear fellow P-car enthusiasts:

I bought a 2007 Targa 4s recently (finally!). Was excited until I started driving it. Over a few days, I started noticing considerable pops in the rear part of the car body every time i drive on the road that is slightly uneven - which they all are. Or when turning into / off my driveway. It sounds like loud pops. Makes me think it is a plastic forming / deforming when I drive. The sounds seems to be coming in from generally the back section. I think it may even be where the glass and the rest of the body meet.

As you can imagine, I am terribly disappointed. This was supposed to be my dream car. But now I dread driving it. It reminds me of an old beat-up Buick (slight exaggeration here)

Steps I have taken so far:
1) Used McLube Saikote and lubricated the rails etc. of the sliding glass. the creaking sounds happens even when the targa roof is closed.
2) used McLube Onedrop to lubricate the hinges

Just to clarify - this is a noise I hear inside the car. As I drive it.
Nothing on the outside. It sounds normal from outside (and great!)

Any other ideas? Those of you owning a 2007 Targa, do you hear this type of noise?

Appreciate any pointers

Thanks
Jim

 

Targas are known for roof noise. Use Blaster dry Teflon spray to lubricate the moving parts and use Gummi Pflege to treat the weatherstripping that the targa roof seals against and slides on as well as the rear hatch and door seals.

Your rear shock top mounts could also need replacement, but that's more of a clunking sound than a creaking one.

 

Thanks Petza for the reply. I will definitely try out the steps you have suggested.
Will share an update on how it goes

 

I've owned an '07 Targa 4S (997.1) for 10 years and I haven't experienced any noise, popping, or any roof "flex" related issues at all. Twice per year I vacuum the tracks, wipe them down and apply silicone spray. That's it.

One thing worth checking is the hatch locking mechanism. If you very gently lower the hatch, it will stop very close to the body of the car, whereupon the power latch mechanism will "grab' the hatch and suck it the remaining tiny bit into the fully sealed position. If that electronic latch isn't working or fully engaging the hatch, the popping might be that the latch isn't fully closing, which might result in some noise. If you can get your fingernails under the very back of the glass hatch, then it's not fully closed.

One of the quirks of my car is that when opening the back hatch, sometimes it won't pop open the requisite amount, and juuuuust as you put your fingers under the glass, the latching mechanism described above will engage, forcing a VERY quick reaction as the glass reseals! LOL. I can tell now just by looking whether the hatch is up far enough to avoid the finger trap, but new Targa owners need to understand the possibility of this happening.