Harman Kardon speaker vibration

[tom1040]

Greetings,

I have a 2012 300c AWD with all the options-including the upgraded stereo(Harman Kardon). With some music, there is a pronounced vibration coming from the back deck. There is a YouTube video on this exact issue (autosavant).

Does anyone else have this complaint? I took it to my dealer and we compared my issue with 2 other cars with the same system. Both did the exact same thing. This must be a defect.

Others have this problem? Did you get it fixed? If so, what were the steps?

Thanks for your time. Nice site!

[MADDOG]

I've had to deal with this on a Charger that we modified a while back. We put mid bass speakers in the rear deck and it rattled. We put rubber washers on the mounting screws and the problem went away.

In your case dial back the bass a bit on your head unit equalizer or controls and see what happens. Those mid to bass freqs can really shake things up.

I don't see a TSB out on this for your car so maybe the dealer can solve it for you and maybe you can just save some time and money by doing it yourself.

1. remove the rear package tray cover from inside the trunk.

2. Turn on the system and dial up the bass.

3. Get back in the trunk and watch for visible vibration and/or feel each speaker to see if they are loose.

4. Isolate the speaker from the metal package tray with rubber washers or some other vibration absorbing material at each mounting screw location. Believe it or not, those little fiber furniture sliders that you put on the legs of chairs and tables to protect floors work fantastic for this.

[tom1040]

My dealer cannot figure it out. They are paying for an oustide shop to take a look at it. It happens only on particular music, such as Jonny Lang Turn Around CD-track #6. For those who happen to have this CD and the Harman Kardon system, I would be interested to find out what you think.

Thanks again!

[cinca]

I am subscribed to this thread and eager to hear the results of your research. I am in the midst of a 300 C purchase and not sure if I should get the Beats or HK system. I, too, saw the auto savant video and read a few articles comparing the systems and while I love the idea of the 19 speaker HK system having a rattle in my trunk definitely doesn't feel very high-quality.

Keep us updated!


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[tom1040]

I will. As far as the H/K system outside of the vibration issue, I find it to be quite powerful and actually quite good-for a stock system. However, the deal breaker may be this back deck speaker issue. I suspect it can be rectified-perhaps by replacement of the subs-at least I hope so. If you do find that particular song track, please listen to it @ the dealership. This way more people and dealers will have something to complain about to Chrysler.

Strange enough, some high bass tracks from other artists have no ill effect at all. There is something that is just not quite right.

[Mojave]

I have the HK system in a 2013 and have not experienced the issue. I do not have that CD to test though

[tom1040]

It would be awesome if you could find that track and give it a try out. As I indicated in my initial post, we (the dealer and I) tried it in two other new cars-a Chrysler 300c and a Charger with the same system. The results were identical. Volumne around 40-50% and the resulting distortion from the back deck. All three cars were the 2012 model year.

Again, I would be very interested to see if you get the same result or not. For what it is worth, I used an actual CD-unsure if there would be any differences in dynamics coming from a Ipod or SD card....?

[Mojave]

Burn the song and email it to me? monkarsh2000@yahoo.com

[tom1040]

Originally Posted by Mojave

Burn the song and email it to me? monkarsh2000@yahoo.com

Done. (I hope)

[Mojave]

OK, let me try it out