Dash rattle

[MNstang]

Hey guys. I'm planning to fix a dash rattle soon. It is coming from the area by the far drivers side vent on the center dash area. I have read several threads on this issue. I'm just trying to figure out if it's rattling where the vent clips onto the dash trim or if the dash trim itself is causing the rattle. When I have the trim off I will probably try to eliminate both of those as problems but thought I'd ask for input before I pull the trim off. I'm planning to put felt tape behind where the piece clips in but I'm not sure what to do with where the vent clips to the dash trim...

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[thunderstrike]

Keep the trim off and drive to isolate the source. I plan to take driver's door panel off and drive few days to find the rattle - that came only after a door replacement due to a hit and run.

 

[MNstang]

Th

Keep the trim off and drive to isolate the source. I plan to take driver's door panel off and drive few days to find the rattle - that came only after a door replacement due to a hit and run.

Thanks - I have it narrowed down to either the trim piece or where the vent attaches to the trim. I'm planning to pull it off and try to eliminate both spots. Good luck with your door rattle

 

[CarbonZ]

Not sure if you watched this vid, but may help

 

[Cobra Jet]

Try these sections:

The long dash length vent for defroster

The center speaker cover or loose harnesses under the speaker area.

The center section of the upper steering wheel. It's directly under the gauge cluster but on top of steering wheel.

The center dash HVAC section - sometimes clips come loose or it's not secure to dash.

Headlight switch and cover plate.

Those are the most common sources of rattles.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

The center speaker cover or loose harnesses under the speaker area.

I think this is where the V6's rattle is. I need to take off the speaker cover and the vent surround, it's driving me nuts.

 

[MNstang]

Try these sections:

The long dash length vent for defroster

The center speaker cover or loose harnesses under the speaker area.

The center section of the upper steering wheel. It's directly under the gauge cluster but on top of steering wheel.

The center dash HVAC section - sometimes clips come loose or it's not secure to dash.

Headlight switch and cover plate.

Those are the most common sources of rattles.

Thank you - I'll check it out

 

[Vlad Soare]

Another source of rattles (actually, it's more like a buzz than a rattle) is the silver border of the instrument panel trim.

This is on my to-do list, but I keep procrastinating because that trim seems to be very difficult to get to. You must remove a lot of things before you can even think of removing the instrument cluster trim, and I fear that removing so many trim pieces, which are all held together by cheap and flimsy plastic clips, might do more harm than good. I'm afraid I might end up with even more rattles than I started with.

 

[Torched10]

Can't you just turn volume up on sound system.im usually alone in the car,so a loud stereo works great since don't need to talk

 

[Vlad Soare]

Nope. Doesn't work. I can hear them clearly and separately from the music at any volume that I would consider bearable. I'd have to turn it uncomfortably loud to cover them. Besides, there is always a bit of silence between songs, no matter how loud the volume might be.
It also doesn't work if you like to listen to classical music. Or to radio stations, with their long periods of news, talk shows, commercials, etc.

The only thing that I find can cover all these rattles extremely well is the blower on high speed. When the car is hot after having been parked in the sun I can hear no rattles during the first five minutes or so, while the climate control blows at full speed. But that's all.

 

[ice445]

My only rattle was from that center vent surround. I stuck some rubber behind it and it went away. Didn't have to remove anything to do this.

 

[Torched10]

Nope. Doesn't work. I can hear them clearly and separately from the music at any volume that I would consider bearable. I'd have to turn it uncomfortably loud to cover them. Besides, there is always a bit of silence between songs, no matter how loud the volume might be.
It also doesn't work if you like to listen to classical music. Or to radio stations, with their long periods of news, talk shows, commercials, etc.

The only thing that I find can cover all these rattles extremely well is the blower on high speed. When the car is hot after having been parked in the sun I can hear no rattles during the first five minutes or so, while the climate control blows at full speed. But that's all.

Then it woouldrive me nuts.too.good luck.

 

[MNstang]

I took the dash plate off a few days ago and put on about 200 miles today - the dash rattle is fixed! I am pretty sure the rattle was coming from the left hand center stack air vent. I took it out and layered a couple pieces of electrical tape behind the tabs to hold it tighter to the trim piece. Then I also wrapped tape around the perimeter of the vents. I also put some foam weatherstripping behind the dash clips before snapping those back in. It is working well so far.

While I had the trim off I disconnected the center speaker. It actually does sound quite a bit better without the center! I used navigation today and the phone without the center speaker and had no issues whatsoever.

Just wanted to close out the thread - thanks!

 

[Cobra Jet]

I took the dash plate off a few days ago and put on about 200 miles today - the dash rattle is fixed! I am pretty sure the rattle was coming from the left hand center stack air vent. I took it out and layered a couple pieces of electrical tape behind the tabs to hold it tighter to the trim piece. Then I also wrapped tape around the perimeter of the vents. I also put some foam weatherstripping behind the dash clips before snapping those back in. It is working well so far.

While I had the trim off I disconnected the center speaker. It actually does sound quite a bit better without the center! I used navigation today and the phone without the center speaker and had no issues whatsoever.

Just wanted to close out the thread - thanks!

Good to see you were able to silence the annoyance!! Your reply will help others in the future.

 

[Deleted member 35644]

This must be what's rattling in my dash. Driving over that fake brick cobblestone at my office sends it to rattle-palooza. Gonna pull that trim off today & see what's up. Thanks for posting....I started with that fake grille on top, but that solved nothing.

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