One thing about my 2012 Prius that completely drives me nuts, is plastic squeaks and rattles. I'm excessive/ compulsive when it comes to these gremlins. I said to myself, " Enough is enough." With that, I proceeded to tear into the driver side trim panel at the window switch trim. Carefully removing the silver accent and the window switch panel, I coated all the clips and guide receplicals with "Boot Seal" beeswax waterproofer. Low and behold... No more squeaks. Did the same with the console storage bin cover. It's like a different car. Now, a word of caution: Don't attempt this if you are not 100% sure of the disassembly procedures. The Prius interior is put together with very fragile, plastic clips (that's why is squeaks and rattles so much) and requires very prudent removal. The whole plastic interior is like a puzzle. So, be careful !!!
Thanks for the tip. Here is what I did for my door switch. I also thought about spraying the insides of various pieces with that 3m sound deadening rubberized coating (or plastidip). I'm loving the ride now! IMG_6355 by CoolPrius posted May 1, 2016 at 1:37 PM
Mine was very rattle free until I hit about 100,000 miles. Then a rattle developed in the area of the passenger seat belt. Other than that, its just road noise and engine/CVT when accelerating.
As the car ages, the plastics lose plasticizers that cause shrinkage. In other words, " they dry out". They also become brittle and can break very easily. That's why you have to be very careful when disassembling any interior parts.
