[Joe Schmoe]

This is on an '05 ZX3. The rattle is coming from the dash in the area behind the A/C vents - both sides so it must be something that is present on both sides of the car. I've eliminated the door panel, the side mirror trim and the A/C vents themselves as causes. Anyone have a problem with the hinges rattling...or any other ideas?

 

[bluefront]

Under-dash rattles can be hard to trace down.....but I seriously doubt a single problem would cause noise on both sides of the dash. You're just hearing an echo of sorts from all of the dash area, that comes from a single loose part.

My '06 had a similar rattle that I had problems finding.....sounded like it was from the driver door or under the left side of the dash. Turned out to be the inner wire of the hood release cable. I wrapped a long section of water pipe insulation foam around the cable....tightened it down with zip ties. No more rattles.

Good luck.

 

[FociBoi121]

ugh dash rattle, i have it ,mostly my fault since i installed two 12inch subs since i bought the car it hasnt worsened but mine wont get any better good luck

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Under-dash rattles can be hard to trace down.....but I seriously doubt a single problem would cause noise on both sides of the dash. You're just hearing an echo of sorts from all of the dash area, that comes from a single loose part.

My '06 had a similar rattle that I had problems finding.....sounded like it was from the driver door or under the left side of the dash. Turned out to be the inner wire of the hood release cable. I wrapped a long section of water pipe insulation foam around the cable....tightened it down with zip ties. No more rattles.

Good luck.

I think I read one of your posts here and tried that...not it. I think it's a similar part that is found on both sides of the car...the rattles happen at different times but are exactly alike with the exception of volume.

I may need to bust out the the stethoscope and get my GF to drive me around.

 

[killer ZETEC]

i have poly mounts all around the whole car rattles.
i will ahve no such luck finding all of them (the dash itself visibly shakes with teh ac on.)

 

[loudfocus01]

^^^^^
Same here with all 3 mounts, and I'm used to the rattles. I don't pay them any attention anymore.

 

[bluefront]

Engine mount troubles often cause noises from inside the car, including dashboard noise. So it's easier to start at the source. Hard connections between the engine and the body are often to blame....could be a cable, a hose, maybe a large wire harness.

So....if you can find a particular rattle inside the cabin, it's possible to fix or mute the noise. But you may also fix the noise at it's source under the hood. It's possible to fix most rattles....but sometimes not easy. I've used electronic "chassis ears" with multiple movable sensors, and a switch panel with earphones from the driver position. You'd drive around, and locate the sensor that picked up the noise. Then move the sensor around that particular area. Eventually you could isolate the noise.

There are cheaper versions of "chassis ears" using a single sensor. They work about the same as the version with many sensors....just take longer to find the problem. They can also be used to find suspension noises, but you have to be careful with the sensor wiring. I've seen such a device at Harbor Freight fairly cheap.

You can also ignore noise, or crank up the sound system. I usually try to find the noise. Dangerous engine noises can be mistaken for simple rattles if you're not careful....

 

[andrev001]

You should clean your ride more often . You know "One penny can change the rattle" j.k ))

 

[spacegravity4me]

Aren't you a bit old to be playing with a rattle?

 

[trailbikerider]

I've got one coming from the dash area too, and it's REALLY annoying. I don't think I'll ever be able to find it though.

 

[bergj1986]

Do you have an aftermarket head unit?

I thought I had a dash rattle. Whenever I would turn, I would hear a creaking noise from the dash, turns out it was the sloppy mounting ears on my radio mounting kit. Stuck some cardboard between the mounting ears, everything's great now! Solid as a rock and no rattles.

Might be worth looking into.

 

[streetfocus]

The one thing I heard about was the AC lines touching (around the firewall). Something to try.

 

[dyllicious]

i have an 03 se and i had really bad rattle it was actually the plastic in front of my gauges rubbing the other plastic piece that it touches i got some clear silicone and put it around it and it stopped

 

[CaysE]

Could also be the blower fan if you hear it out of both sides.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Ressurecting this. Had a breakthrough yesterday w/ this rattle. Was playing a song with a lot of bass and the rattle went away...when the bass went away the rattle came back. So.....it's in the door with the speakers.

 

[S0C0nFused]

The one thing I heard about was the AC lines touching (around the firewall). Something to try.

Makes more a of "ZIIIiiiiinng" sound. very metalic. And it's back! Still have not worked out how to keep them separated permanently. But! to the point, it sounds as if it's coming from either the passenger side door or dash area. But its really other side of the firewall. Just a thought there Joe Schmoe. [wiggle]

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Rattle destroyed. I just lost the whole writeup...so you get the short version instead.

Inside the hinge side of the door (remove speaker). Pic shows end of "door open stopper". Applied Dynamat Extreme (thick and sticky rattle stopper) to the end of the stopper and over the pin. Rattle gone.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Engine mount troubles often cause noises from inside the car, including dashboard noise. So it's easier to start at the source. Hard connections between the engine and the body are often to blame....could be a cable, a hose, maybe a large wire harness.

Give this man a cigar! The car was transmitting lots of vibration into the interior recently. In particular, the rearview mirror was, at times, useless for trying to identify cops who might be following behind. I thought it may be the replacement windshield I had installed. But there were other rattles too. A while back I noticed that like my GF's Mazda3, the passenger side engine mount had ruptured. I put it off thinking that it didn't look *too* bad. I just got around to replacing it an hour ago and started the car.......it felt like the engine was no longer attached to the vehicle! ZERO vibration at idle now. Z E R O. I drove it around and I'm floored by the difference 30 minutes of work made. Note that the old mount wasn't completely degraded to the point it was on the Mazda. On the Mazda, not only had it ruptured, the lower rubber part of the mount had broken. Oddly, replacing hers didn't make near the difference as this one on the Focus.

A couple other odd rattles I've found recently. It seems one of the bulbs in the 3rd brake light had disloged iteself INTO the light housing...so it was bouncing around in there. However, much of the housing seems to be melting on the inside around the bulbs...so I wasn't able to get it out of the housing and plugged into it's plug. Rather, I was only able to lodge it into it's partially melted hole. Solved that one. I mounted some of the fuzzy side of velcro on the back of the rear plate to keep the plate from buzzing against it's plastic mount. The other one I just tracked down was the rear cargo cover. The midpoint on the sides is making contact w/ the trim that supports it. Some black fuzzy velcro on the ledge there should solve that one.

Maybe this car is a keeper now...