Rattles and squeaks

Boy, that sure is odd!

I've had both an 05 and an 06, and haven't had any of these types of noise problems. Admittedly, I usually do have the audio system on, but have been known to drive occasionally with no audio. Are these noises so loud that they drown out your music???

There is one known "issue" with the glove box rattling. It has to do with the little upper tray/shelf in there not being positioned right on the little rails... You can probably find a whole thread on just that if you search this forum.

Have you tried to track down what part is squeaking? (Have someone else try to find it while you drive & generate the noise.) Is it inside the car or outside?

I hope you figure it out, because it's a great car, and you shouldn't have to be irritated while driving it!

If all else fails, turn up the RADIO!!! :-D

 

Check the upper glove box and make sure nothing is rolling around in there. I added some of that rubber matting so that when things are in there the will not slid againg hard plastic.

I thought I had a major squeak which seemed to be under th drivers seat but it was actually the rear seat back. I had not fastened it properly in its latch after I had the rear seats folded down. Once I latched the seat back properly the squeak was gone. So far NO other noises, squeaks, or rattles

 

With the heat of summer, I've noticed the door panel where I rest my arm is squeaking. On the passenger side, it's very tight and doesn't depress. But on my side, you can push it down a couple of millimeters and when you let go, it springs back up. I'm wondering if resting my arm there has actually broken something loose. I can't tell if I need to glue it or put a little dry lube on it.

I remember seeing some other threads on this issue, so I intend on doing a search, then seeing what the dealer will do when I take it in for the next service and steering campaign.

 

I've had a few rattles to deal with, (less than my last car and Audi A4). The dash had the common speedo glass rattle which I took care of myself by wrapping the edges of the speedo glass with some gaffers tape ( about a 3 hour job to remove and reinstall!) The one I haven't dealt with is the driver's grab handle above the door. These things seem to rattle on every car I've owned, and it's 2 inches from my ear. Any ideas on how to silence that one?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(narf @ Jun 27 2006, 11:53 AM) [snapback]277381[/snapback]</div>

Hey narf,

Can you give more specifics as to how you removed the glass speedo, and resemble it? I have a rattle coming from there and I have had a terrible time trying to resolve this one. Is there a way to remove the large black piece of dash that surrounds the speedometer?

As far as the handles go, I have sprayed some white grease from an aerosol can into the tiny holes around the plastic and wiping away any excess grease with a paper towel which seems to do the trick. I imagine using WD40 would probably work just as well.

I have also noticed that the floor panel directly above the battery in the trunk has a tendency to make noise but I have no idea how to get it off. Does anyone know how to get in there?

Has anyone brought their car in to the dealer to have these noises resolved? Did the dealer fix it on the first try?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wheels @ Jun 27 2006, 01:57 PM) [snapback]277467[/snapback]</div>

I did mention grab handle rattle and the driver door panel squeak to the dealer. The dealer told me that the grab handles are not screwed down. Rather they are fastened by a clip. The dealer did tighten the handle and now I do not hear rattle anymore. The door panel, well, dealer applied foam underneath it to make it tighter. It lasted about a month and now the squeak is back when I rest my arm on the door panel. The passenger side is fine. It is very securely fastend on the passenger side, but not the driver side. One member had the panel replaced with no success. I learned not to rest my arm on the door panel...

 

Many rattles have been reported in this forum. My 2004 Prius had at 6000 miles had more rattles than our Dodge Caravan has at close to 100,000 miles. The car simply rattles too much. This is the only think I dislike about the Prius. I run the tires at 36/34 because at 42/40 the car may just come apart. :blink:

 

Virtually every rattle I've had turned out to be something in the cup holders. Every time, I'd swear the sound was coming from the dash.

Once, the rattle was from an empty styrofoam coffee cup, of all things. The center console/cup holder seems to vibrate at a fairly high frequency, causing things in it to bounce around. For instance, once I had a water bottle in the cup holder and the the little ring around the bottle's neck that snaps off of the cap when you unscrew it, was bouncing and dancing up and down causing a rattle that sounded like it was coming from the dash.

The next time you hear a "dash" rattle, put your hand on anything you might have in the cup holders and see if the rattle goes away.

The only other rattle I get comes from the pulldown handle over the driver's door. I can make that one go away temporarily by pulling it down and then letting it go back up.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(unruhly @ Jun 27 2006, 08:14 AM) [snapback]277365[/snapback]</div>

Same rattle and I have noticed a another rattle on the passenger side.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wheels @ Jun 27 2006, 11:57 AM) [snapback]277467[/snapback]</div>

It's not too bad, but it is time consuming. I had to remove the entire front and upper dash assembly to get at it. There are instructions somewhere in the forum, that's where I found the information. The large black piece of dash is all one piece, part of the large upper dash. This entire upper dash has to be removed, then the speedo unit is removed from the back of it. Once you have the upper dash out of the car you can unscrew the speedo from it. Then you can coax the clear speedo cover out of the speedo unit by removing the screws that hold the front and back of the unit together and slipping the cover out from between the two. Don't try to take the front completely off the back of the speedo unit as it has some snaps holding one side together that are easy to break.

(I wish I took pictures, but I just wanted to get the job done).