Squeak and rattle concerns accounts for approximately 10% of
overall vehicle Things Gone Wrong (TGW) and are major quality
concern for automotive OEM's. Objectionable door noises such as
squeak and rattle are among the top 10 IQS concerns under any OEM
nameplate. Customers perceive Squeak and rattle noise inside a
cabin as a major negative indicator of vehicle build quality and
durability. Door squeak and rattle issues not only affects customer
satisfaction index, but also increase warranty cost to OEM
significantly. Specifically, door squeak issues which irritates
customer generally occur due to incompatibility of materials used
in different interface of door trim. Squeaks are friction-induced
noises generated by stick-slip phenomenon between interfacing
surfaces. Several factors, such as material property, friction
coefficient, relative velocity, temperature, and humidity, are
involved in squeak noise causes. For example, door armrest leather
is exposed longer to sunlight and when customer places his hand on
the armrest, an annoying squeak noise is generated due to
weathering effect. In this study, an experimental work is conducted
to investigate squeak performance of door trim materials against
weather ageing effect. As per the standard SAE-J2412,1000 hours of
polymer weathering test which is considered equivalent to 5 years
of product life were performed to door trim material samples.
Material compatibility test were performed on door trim samples at
different time interval of 0, 250, 500,750 & 1000 hours to
evaluate its squeak risk behaviour. On basis of RPN results, it was
found that some material combination failed at 500 and 750 hours
highlighting squeak risk due to weathering effect. This paper
introduces a new DVP, where a process can be established for
material selection and avoid customer perceived quality issues not
only for a new vehicle but even after mileage degradation.