Driver side Dash and instrument gauge rattle!

[2019fordmustang]

Hi guys, hope you are all well and safe.
Since I bought the car in 2019 I noted a lot of dash rattles. I fixed the main one where the ac vents were and the chrome strip that covers most of the dash.

The main one that is bothering me the most is the chrome looking rings on the analog speedometer and rpm gauges and the top part of of the driver side dash pad. The rings feel loose and they vibrate. When I hold it with my hand the vibration goes away.

I took the car at the dealership yesterday and of course they said two of their technicians can't hear it. I asked him why the rings are lose the guy was like I know this is not the best quality like infinity or bmw is it will have some quality issues. I love my car but Its hard to live with these annoying rattles. Any tips on fixing it myself?

Sponsored

 

[JakeLethal]

Hi guys, hope you are all well and safe.
Since I bought the car in 2019 I noted a lot of dash rattles. I fixed the main one where the ac vents were and the chrome strip that covers most of the dash.

The main one that is bothering me the most is the chrome looking rings on the analog speedometer and rpm gauges and the top part of of the driver side dash pad. The rings feel loose and they vibrate. When I hold it with my hand the vibration goes away.

I took the car at the dealership yesterday and of course they said two of their technicians can't hear it. I asked him why the rings are lose the guy was like I know this is not the best quality like infinity or bmw is it will have some quality issues. I love my car but Its hard to live with these annoying rattles. Any tips on fixing it myself?

Yea, sadly these S5550's have the rattle in the dash, kinda notorious. A buddy of mine cut up an old CC and stuffed it where the A/C vent was and that did the trick! OR of course doing a complete digital dash swap! haha.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Hi guys, hope you are all well and safe.
Since I bought the car in 2019 I noted a lot of dash rattles. I fixed the main one where the ac vents were and the chrome strip that covers most of the dash.

The main one that is bothering me the most is the chrome looking rings on the analog speedometer and rpm gauges and the top part of of the driver side dash pad. The rings feel loose and they vibrate. When I hold it with my hand the vibration goes away.

I took the car at the dealership yesterday and of course they said two of their technicians can't hear it. I asked him why the rings are lose the guy was like I know this is not the best quality like infinity or bmw is it will have some quality issues. I love my car but Its hard to live with these annoying rattles. Any tips on fixing it myself?

I have found that forward rattles can be:

1) See that flat section between the speedo/tach gauges in your image? It makes a rattle sound and for whatever reason transmits that sound almost above its location. Hard to explain but one would not think THAT piece is rattling, but it does. Next time you hear a rattle place your hand on it.

2) L and R A-pillar plastics. Usually the air bag tethers behind them rattle between the plastic and the metal windshield frame. Pull off and better secure the tether or line metal windshield frame with felt tape. Also the tweeter grilles on the front side are known to rattle. Pop tweeter cover off and place a small dab of black silicone on inner edge of the tweeter hole, then put tweeter grille back on.

3) The headlight switch was the source of early 2015-2017 rattles. Check that to make sure something behind it isn't rattling. There's a few threads on this site about that switch rattle.

4) The large L and R side body to door rubber gasket is secured along the roof line from A to B pillars by metal fasteners. Make sure fasteners are not loose, tighten as needed.

5) Headliner is secured to roof by magnets. Check to make sure a magnet didn't separate or that something else isn't loose above it and isn't moving around.

6) Speedo/Tach gauge trim rings as mentioned - only way to fix is to remove the cluster and shim the rings from behind. There's a thread on here discussing how to silence the rings.

7) Center dash appliqué above center stack that holds the HVAC vents or if PP, the gauges. Press on it and see if rattle subsides, if it does - remove and place felt tape along the dash or at the clips that hold it to the dash assembly.

8) The defroster vent at top of dash and base of windshield. Again another source of rattle; remove and use felt tape.

9) The top dash center speaker grille - again, hold it and rattle should stop. Remedy, remove and use felt tape. Also while it's off, check to make sure wire harnesses are not loose and swinging around behind it.

10) Lower trim LEFT piece of dash, on driver side that is below the headlight switch. Remove and use felt tape.

11) Look for any loose or hanging wire harnesses or unattached clips under dash. Sometimes a source of rattle can be those items running up against or bouncing off things while driving.

12) 2018+ a known source of rattle can be the TEDs and/or their associated wiring harness in the upper seat backs. Some have found that securing the harnesses with wire ties or zip ties silences the rattle. Others have found that reseating the TED will help.

13) Check driver and passenger side seat to seat track bolts as well as seat track to floor bolts. Some have found those to be loose.

14) The outer bolster lower seat trim plastics - check those and make sure they are 100% secure as those pieces have been known to cause rattles.

15) As silly as it may be, check and make sure the e-brake cable assembly is secure under the car. It's been known to be loose which will result in a rattle coming from the console area. There's a thread on here in the DIY section that shows how to tighten it up.

16) front seat belt receptacles on either side of center console. They should have felt on the side facing the center console to avoid rattles while in motion. If there isn't any felt, apply it to the side that faces center console.

 

[Andrew@Lethal]

Hi guys, hope you are all well and safe.
Since I bought the car in 2019 I noted a lot of dash rattles. I fixed the main one where the ac vents were and the chrome strip that covers most of the dash.

The main one that is bothering me the most is the chrome looking rings on the analog speedometer and rpm gauges and the top part of of the driver side dash pad. The rings feel loose and they vibrate. When I hold it with my hand the vibration goes away.

I took the car at the dealership yesterday and of course they said two of their technicians can't hear it. I asked him why the rings are lose the guy was like I know this is not the best quality like infinity or bmw is it will have some quality issues. I love my car but Its hard to live with these annoying rattles. Any tips on fixing it myself?

When I had my S550 my dash rattled a bit. I used electrical tape to eliminate where the plastic was rubbing on plastic. That solved some issues. The middle plastic part under the digital screen also rattled on my car which drove me crazy. I put electrical tape under that too and it did the trick. Hope this helps a little. Unfortunately the interior and dash on these cars are "modular" so you'll have all kinds of noises if everything isn't clicked in perfectly.

 

[2019fordmustang]

I have found that forward rattles can be:

1) See that flat section between the speedo/tach gauges in your image? It makes a rattle sound and for whatever reason transmits that sound almost above its location. Hard to explain but one would not think THAT piece is rattling, but it does. Next time you hear a rattle place your hand on it.

2) L and R A-pillar plastics. Usually the air bag tethers behind them rattle between the plastic and the metal windshield frame. Pull off and better secure the tether or line metal windshield frame with felt tape. Also the tweeter grilles on the front side are known to rattle. Pop tweeter cover off and place a small dab of black silicone on inner edge of the tweeter hole, then put tweeter grille back on.

3) The headlight switch was the source of early 2015-2017 rattles. Check that to make sure something behind it isn't rattling. There's a few threads on this site about that switch rattle.

4) The large L and R side body to door rubber gasket is secured along the roof line from A to B pillars by metal fasteners. Make sure fasteners are not loose, tighten as needed.

5) Headliner is secured to roof by magnets. Check to make sure a magnet didn't separate or that something else isn't loose above it and isn't moving around.

6) Speedo/Tach gauge trim rings as mentioned - only way to fix is to remove the cluster and shim the rings from behind. There's a thread on here discussing how to silence the rings.

7) Center dash appliqué above center stack that holds the HVAC vents or if PP, the gauges. Press on it and see if rattle subsides, if it does - remove and place felt tape along the dash or at the clips that hold it to the dash assembly.

8) The defroster vent at top of dash and base of windshield. Again another source of rattle; remove and use felt tape.

9) The top dash center speaker grille - again, hold it and rattle should stop. Remedy, remove and use felt tape. Also while it's off, check to make sure wire harnesses are not loose and swinging around behind it.

10) Lower trim LEFT piece of dash, on driver side that is below the headlight switch. Remove and use felt tape.

11) Look for any loose or hanging wire harnesses or unattached clips under dash. Sometimes a source of rattle can be those items running up against or bouncing off things while driving.

12) 2018+ a known source of rattle can be the TEDs and/or their associated wiring harness in the upper seat backs. Some have found that securing the harnesses with wire ties or zip ties silences the rattle. Others have found that reseating the TED will help.

13) Check driver and passenger side seat to seat track bolts as well as seat track to floor bolts. Some have found those to be loose.

14) The outer bolster lower seat trim plastics - check those and make sure they are 100% secure as those pieces have been known to cause rattles.

15) As silly as it may be, check and make sure the e-brake cable assembly is secure under the car. It's been known to be loose which will result in a rattle coming from the console area. There's a thread on here in the DIY section that shows how to tighten it up.

16) front seat belt receptacles on either side of center console. They should have felt on the side facing the center console to avoid rattles while in motion. If there isn't any felt, apply it to the side that faces center console.

Thank you for this. This is the most detailed information about this. I will work on few things this weekend.

 

[Albertcado]

Hi guys, hope you are all well and safe.
Since I bought the car in 2019 I noted a lot of dash rattles. I fixed the main one where the ac vents were and the chrome strip that covers most of the dash.

The main one that is bothering me the most is the chrome looking rings on the analog speedometer and rpm gauges and the top part of of the driver side dash pad. The rings feel loose and they vibrate. When I hold it with my hand the vibration goes away.

I took the car at the dealership yesterday and of course they said two of their technicians can't hear it. I asked him why the rings are lose the guy was like I know this is not the best quality like infinity or bmw is it will have some quality issues. I love my car but Its hard to live with these annoying rattles. Any tips on fixing it myself?

How'd you fix the AC vent rattle? Are you referring to the middle section where there are 3 AC vents above the radio unit? I'm hearing a random rattle that's more like a fast buzzing that sounds like its coming from inside that middle AC VENT area + middle part of the dash. I have no clue where it's coming from, it almost sounds like its coming from deep within.

Can you walk me through how you fixed it and what caused it?

 

[2019fordmustang]

How'd you fix the AC vent rattle? Are you referring to the middle section where there are 3 AC vents above the radio unit? I'm hearing a random rattle that's more like a fast buzzing that sounds like its coming from inside that middle AC VENT area + middle part of the dash. I have no clue where it's coming from, it almost sounds like its coming from deep within.

Can you walk me through how you fixed it and what caused it?

Hey buddy, I'm so sorry for late reply for some reason I was not getting notifications. After going through everything I realized the best thing is to remove the whole chrome trim and put some foamy tape behind the vents and then you put the Chrome trim back, it would snug the vents. I did not do that, what I did was cut a very small piece of nylon/rubber washer and wedged in between the vent and the trim on the top. It's black washer so you can barely see it. All three vents are pretty quiet since I did it. When I get home I can take some pictures.

 

[Albertcado]

Hey buddy, I'm so sorry for late reply for some reason I was not getting notifications. After going through everything I realized the best thing is to remove the whole chrome trim and put some foamy tape behind the vents and then you put the Chrome trim back, it would snug the vents. I did not do that, what I did was cut a very small piece of nylon/rubber washer and wedged in between the vent and the trim on the top. It's black washer so you can barely see it. All three vents are pretty quiet since I did it. When I get home I can take some pictures.

Thanks! Some pictures would be super helpful. Do you know what exactly was causing the rattle in that area though?

Sponsored