Here you go. You have to take off the A pillar trim to do everything as far as I went with it. So I felted everything up while I was in there.Can you post a picture of your dash to show how much you've taken it apart to get out the trim piece you've pictured earlier?
I have the exact same experience with my car. Thanks for giving me some direction with fixing it. Unless it bakes in the sun, it's quiet.Hello and thanks for the help in this thread specifically. I am chiming in with my progress on this same issue - defroster trim piece rattle.
To be clear on my issue, if I parked the car in the sun on a hot day and then turned AC on later it would rattle like crazy for 5-10 minutes. Once temp was normalized it would stop chattering. I could place my hand on the defroster panel and make the noise stop, repeatedly, over a couple months of dealing with this this summer. One day I drove with a little pick tool wedged under it and it seemed to alleviate the issue entirely, so I am convinced it is this trim piece.
I tackled removal of all the dash pieces to get at this yesterday. I took my time and used trim tools to remove everything. Toughest bit was the A pillar but once I realized you have to angle it out towards the dash I got them out pretty easy.
Using trim tools was clutch, I did not break or lose a single clip. I did not brute force but instead slid the tools in and applied gentle pressure until the clips released.
Attached is a photo of my defroster trim piece. You can see there is felt tape on every other "fin" at parts - leads me to believe these are the areas making contact, since Ford applied tape to part of it.
I have applied thin foam tape to all the other fins and some other parts as well, and have re-installed this. I am currently letting my car bake in the sun and then am going to run a test later today with the AC and driving to see if this solves it.
I had a 2019 Mustang that did not do this at all.
When I was re-installing the defroster trim piece at first it was fairly difficult to get it aligned back in place. I learned you kind of flex it so the back connectors pop in at the narrowest part of the windshield, then I used my trim tool pieces to push each clip in place and gently pressed it in one by one.
I am leaving my dash in pieces for a few days to verify I solved this before I put back. I am also going to felt tape more areas in the A pillars and perhaps under the trim pieces just cuz I think it can't hurt, since I have everything apart.
I used this thread for a lot of info about how to get at this trim piece - #19
My issue was not coming from there, it was the defroster piece up closest to the window. The center speaker is much easier to get to - just 3 trim pieces (small corner next to glovebox, main piece with air vents, and speaker cover panel. With trim removal tools those are off in about 5 minutes by an amateur like me!
Very interesting. I recently had a 2019 GT Premium before this that Ford bought back, and it did not have this issue at all after 10 months of ownership. Makes me wonder if the tooling is starting to wear out for some of the trim pieces thus making the 2020s a bit looser. Total random speculation.
Very plausible. I tested mine on the way to work today, if I press to the upper left corner of the left most vent on the vent trim, right near the speaker grille. The rattle stopped completely when I pressed there. So I don't think I have to go as far as you did. I'll tear into it tonight and update if it's fixed.
