Noise in Dash...Arrghh!!

had the "blower vents" rattling...the vents push on the outer contoured piece(on the inside)...to get to it...you can "grab" the top of the vents on the pasenger side and pull toward you from the top...the vents snap off...then the vents on either side of the Display snap off the same way, as well as the driver one by the left door...the piece across the drivers side snaps off by pulling up...just be careful when you resnap everything back...go right to left in sequence ...seems like it snaps back easier when working right to left...dont know if that would be your rattle, but i know it was mine...now its quiet as a mouse.....

 

You have 4300 more miles than I do! I will post my coming home story.

My suggestion for a dash noise is the center speaker on top of the nav screen. My suggestion for a noise that fools you into thinking it's the dash, is that loose shelf inside the center armrest.

And then the dealer's supposed to be helpful in this situation, if you have the time. Good luck!

 

Try putting your hand on the small panel right under that small window on the dash to your left. That's what where my ratttle was. It happened when I tried 42/40 psig in my new Hydroedge tires. Now if I could just find that dash squeak. Probably the speaker but it's not the center speaker grilll for sure.

Fred

 

Re: That Red Avatar

The real one looks so much like that avatar (and yours) that there's no point in changing it, at least until I get permanent (and wittier) plates.

 

Yes, I had that rattle... and by amazing coincidence, just yesterday I fixed it.

Details to follow.

Stay tuned.

 

Here's the personal log entry I just typed up for this:

Dashboard Rattle Fix.

A couple of weeks ago, a noise appeared. It was too subtle and didn't happen often enough for me to locate the source though... until I started poking at the dashboard and made it worse. It was the reflector that displays the projection of the speedometer/odometer cluster. (By the way, did you know that was just a reflection? The actual illumination equipment is located deep within the dashboard. That's why what you see appears to be within a deep, dark tunnel.)

Anywho, I decided investigate. Pulling up on the dashboard (it's secured by clamps that just push tight) above the reflector revealed the problem. There was a teeny, tiny bit of space above the reflector allowing it to jump up when the car hits a bump... which caused the rattle I was hearing.

So, it was obvious that I needed something to set on top to hold it in place. That object would have to be black, since it would need to cross through the visible vent opening for the defroster to the closest & most secure part of the dashboard. It would have to be flexible enough to endure the routine bouncing of the dashboard. And it would have to be tough enough to take both the extreme heat & cold the car would be exposed to over the years. The length needed to be about 6 inches, the width about 1 inch, and the height about 1/8th inch. Well, by dumb luck (or fate?) I had just purchased that exact object, a man's comb. Sure enough, it worked perfect too. The plastic was made for conditions like that. The spine was ideal for strength. The teeth work great for gripping, and allow air to flow through that small affected section of vent. The length was sweet. And of course, the black color conceals it well.

I was shocked to discover how well the dashboard secured down on top of it. But with the nearly invisible fit and the dead silence it now provides, what the heck! That fixed it. And it was a quick, easy, and cheap too.

Now I'm curious as heck what other will think of my bizarre ingenuity and if they will actually try it themselves, should the need arise.

 

yep, those are the ones...when you pull them off the dash, in behind, the "vents" themselves fall away from the opening...they "click" into place on the back side, mine wasnt "clicked" into place...all of them were that way...when we "re-clicked them" back into place, they lined up perfectly and the rattle quit...

 

So in the 2005 model the comb should be made standard. Put it in the first aid kit.

 

That small, thin section of dash above the speedometer reflection was all I needed to lift. Doing that revealed 3 clamps and around 8 to 10 inches of length, that's it.

By the way, the section of dashboard around the speedometer in the Classic was easily removable too. In fact, I showed that aspect off to a reporter once. Before he could even finish asking about the accessibility, I already had the piece in my hand. So I suspected Toyota would do something similar with the new one. That's why I took the chance and gave the 2004 a test pull. It worked.

Anyone here ever try that with the entire dashboard?

 

When I was a kid I hung out at a garage… a customer brought in a car (station wagon) with a rattle in the back… we looked at everything… removed everything… the rattle stayed… removed the upholstery.. still rattled… sounded like a can with marbles… test drove it… had it on the hoist… still rattled… one guy sitting around looking at it, at lunch went and got a torch and cut a hole in the frame…. Jacked the front of the car up until the back was dragging on the ground…rattle, rattle, clunk…a beer can rolled out of the hole…in the can, rocks and a note: “wonder how long it took you to find this? “
American auto makers… hope the Japanese don’t have the same sense of humor…

Bob

 

I get a very quiet ticking sound when I first get in the car after its been in the sun all day and become a furnace. The sound goes away after the ac cools things down. It is irregular and intermittent, so i attribute it to contraction of components in the dash that have expanded due to heat.

Can't even hear it if the radio is on.

I

 

Rattles are the only thing that I dislike about the Prius. Turn off the radio, drive over uneven pavement, and you'll likely hear various rattles and other noises coming from several places. And this is with just a few thousand miles on the odometer; I wonder how bad this will get at 23, 30, 40 thousand miles and beyond.

I wonder to what extent the many suggestions to inflate the tires 7 pounds over the factory recommendation contribute to the rattles. I'm going bactk to 35/33 to see if it helps.