Dash Rattle... already!

Two days in the shop, dash removed, still not fixed. They were going to call in the Toyota Field Rep, but now think they have a fix when a part comes in. I have to take the car back. Not happy at all.

 

I did that.....

....on my $6,000 Geo Metro.
My II rattles juuust a little now and then. Not bad for an Econobox---but you can get a II for less than 20K if you shop around some.
Yes...judging by the complaints I've read, interior rattling is an issue, but it seems to be part of the 'character' of the car---so I give it a pass, mostly.
Corvettes and Camaros rattle too.

There are parts of this car that I really am impressed with. Other pieces/parts seem to have been grafted from an $12,000 Yaris.

But....there's no denying that this vehicle is the MPG champ. You just have to pay for it sometimes....

 

I'd give up 5mpg or pay an extra $1000 for a quiet interior....

 

Had a buzz/rattle coming from the center of the dash, pressing on the top right above the vents silenced it, so when I brought it to the dealer for oil change n stuff I had them look at it. They stuck a couple shims in and now it's quiet as a tomb! I guess the exact problem varies from car to car, but it's mostly a result of using hard, lightweight plastics for the dash assembly. Anyways, if it annoys you, have your dealer fix it, it might be a quick and easy fix!

 

Maybe Toyota should invest in a shake table. A little white noise should bring out all the rattles and they should be able to kill them one by one. Every Toyota I have ever owned has rattled. You just gotta live with it sadly.

 

And I thought I was the only one with that exact problem! I had some thin black foam rubber I forced up there to stop the buzz/ticking sound. I also did the same for the binnacle cluster as I was getting ticking from it too. I had to force thin strips of the foam rubber where the edge of the dash meets the cluster shield both above and below the display. It stopped it.

Now for the glove-box. It turns out the buzz/ticking comes from a gear embedded in the door that allows that black plastic latch to retract on both sides. I had to drill behind that sticker to discover this. Hopefully, injecting grease in there will solve it.

A shake table could help, but what Toyota needs is a table that sets up sympathetic vibrations created by the engine running. That's what is bringing up these buzz/ticking problems once the body starts to vibrate from engine and road conditions.

 

Re: Dash Rattle... already!--OURS DOING THE SAME

Hello,

Bought our 2010 Prius III in June and has 4500 miles on it. Having noises from the hatch area as well as several rattles from the console, upper dash, to glove compartment. Went to shop on Nov. 10 and stayed until Nov. 19, mainly wroked on the noise from the rear. Took aprart and re-assembled the hatch multiple times. Ordered some part described as a "clip" to maybe fix the dash rattles. Car went in yesterday for that to be installed. Dealer had to have Elite Auto Glass come out to remove windshield so these parts could be installed. As of this morning upper left side of dash is quiet but center to right side still unacceptable and still have some noise from the rear. Dealer has stated stuff insulation inside hatch as explanation to why gaps exist in the fit of the interior plastic to the hatch itself. We expect to contact dealer again today to advise still not fixed and ask where we go from here?

At this point completely frustrated and unhappy--glad to see we are not the only ones having these issues!!

 

Welcome to PC! You are not alone as many of us have the rattles and noises you speak of. Some have been identified as common noises with solves. Some not. I am currently debugging my rear hatch rattle too and have already removed the black plastic cover shields to determine the origin of the noise. Another member has already contacted me to ask if I found the source of the noise as yet.

I will post my findings and where I'm at with the study:

1) Riding back there with a friend driving, I heard the rattle on the driver’s side of the rear hatch frame. I could not determine the cause and thought a tool was sitting in the inner frame making the noise – none found. I took an old heavy sock, wadded it and gently forced it between the wiper motor assembly and the inside of the glass thinking the seal was somehow loose around there.

2) With the hatch open looking at the rain rails, there are large hard black plastic spacers on each side that make contact with an upper spacer on the hatch door. I laid some cloth across the lower spacers so that it would be between the upper spacers when the hatch was closed. My fear was they were rubbing on each other creating a noise.

3) Everyone should do this: put heavy-duty double-stick pads between the back of the license plate and the car body. Also, if you have a license frame, put the double stick pads between the inner lower frame and the front of the plate (hidden) to stop the plate rattle. Make sure when you close the hatch, you do not hear any rattle from the plate area.

I will post back here when I discover the true cause of this annoying rattle.

 

Lucked out so far. Had car for a year, only heard the rattle once during a cold morning. Haven't heard it since. Hopefully will stay that way forever....

 

Only 700 sum miles on my '10, but as temps have dropped (into 20sF) I have heard the occassional squeak/rattle. Given the COMPLEXITY of an IP assembly + materials they are now made from: amazing it isn't much worse.

One of the quietest cars (interior squeaks) I've had was my '05 Accord, traded for the Prius. IF the Prius matches that car I'll be very pleased.

On a different note: filled the lil car up today: per computer readout a "paltry" 47.4 mpg....but actually figuring the mpg....even 50! Quite impressive, IMO. DFO

 

After a total of 4 days in the shop, they think they have the right dash rattle figured out. Supposedly the "Toyota guy" (field rep?) knew exactly what the problem was--needed insulation around the little triangular window next to the big window.
We shall see. I've had 3 Camrys, and they never rattled--two now have over 150,000 miles, and they don't rattle.

 

Just bought my Prius 4 days ago. Rattles with less than 100 miles on the car. The hatch area has a lot of rattling and the center armrest some noise when hitting larger bumps. I have an 04 Mazda that rattles but not quite as much as a brand new Prius.

I called Toyota customer service and filed a complaint. I would recommend everyone who has the problem do the same. It only takes a few minutes and complaining in a forum isn't going to solve anything. Toyota needs to hear the feedback. If enough complaints are heard they will get a fix out. If not, I guess we can keep complaining in the forum.

 

I hate to ask this, but have there been any rattles on Prius's bought with production dates of October 2010 or later????

Toyota is claiming that they fixed the rattle problem as of October production!

(the production date is one driver door jam -- it will say 10/10)

dave t.

 

Unless they change the plastics and construction drastically, I'm afraid the 3rd gen Prius interior will always be susceptible to some rattles n squeaks!

 

I rode in a GIII Prius and it didn't rattle nearly as badly as my Pinto. Gets better mileage, too.

My 2006 GII had a squeak from the hatch area—that's a big piece of car, and a big hole in the structure—but the dash and other panels seemed very tight.

 

Where did you hear that dd taylor? My Prius manufacturing date is 10/10 and I'm sorry to report it rattles quite a bit. At first I attributed it to the cold weather but my 6 yr old old car, and my parents Camry does not rattle in the same weather conditions. Most of the rattles on my car come from the hatch area, although I'm starting to hear some develop in the dash. Yeah, I could go through and hunt down every rattle and cover everything with felt tape, but come on, it's a brand new car.

This is my first Prius, and although the mileage and technology are good, I think the build quality is very low and it really feels like a much cheaper car than the price tag suggests. It does not ride very smooth, I can feel every bump in the road accompanied by a squeak or rattle. This forum got me really excited to own a Prius but now that I've had it for a week, I just keep thinking about other cars I could have bought. Maybe I'll grow to love my Prius (especially when summer comes and MPGs soar) but first impression hasn't been to great.

Hope that helps hearing first hand from a recent customer.

 

Yes its in the centre of the dash in front of the speedo.
My local dealer fixed it in an hour they just take the top of the dash off and put in a new clip.
Its nice and silent now,the rattle came at 20,000km I have now done 37,000km and it has not returned.
Good Luck!!!!

 

I'd love to know how complex removing the top of the dash was. I'm sure I could find and fix all my rattles myself, if I knew that procedure.

 

Anyone have good results on silencing rattles from the hatch area? So far my dash rattle hasn't been too bad but the hatch is driving me nuts.

 

Re: Dash Rattle...

I'm not liking the numerous rattles but I'm digging the ~57 mpg :cheer2:.