Dash Rattle

My new Prius C is only 6 weeks old, but started hearing some annoying rattles from the dash area when driven on rough roads (tarmac or roadworks). Anyone else had this? I live in New Zealand.

I have solved the major buzzing experienced in my car. I have no idea if yours emanates from the same location. I found that the junction of the 'A' pillar and the dash was the source of mine. I have eliminated the annoyance by forcing some hard rubber wedges into the space. I have yet to trim or replace them with something else for a better-looking fix. At present they are working for me.

My car recently developed a rattle in the dash. After reading your post, I took a quick look at it and noticed that one of the two fasteners that supports a grill on the top front of the dashboard, just behind the base of the windshield, is missing. One end of the grill is therefore unsupported and free to rattle against the dashboard. The missing piece looks like the head of a circular plastic rivet about 18mm in diameter. I suspect it was never installed because I have never seen it floating around in the car. I will ask the dealer to fix it when I get a chance.

Yes, I found this (missing fastner) too! It seems that it is like this in all PriusC's. My dealer is checking this out with Toyota! Also thanks ufourya for you suggestion. I am taking the car back to the dealer today.

Is it the one on the passenger side with the size of a quarter? I didn't see it in mine either.

Yes, it is on the passenger side (but remember, passenger side to us in New Zealand is the left-hand side!).

The foreman of the service team at our dealer came for a drive with us yesterday and managed to hear the vibrations/rattles for himself. The car is booked in for Thursday and he said he will take a couple of technicians with him for a ride to pin-point the noises! He said he had fixed a couple of regular Priuses, but this is the first Prius C for him! I'll update after Thursday.

Welcome to my world.... I am trying to fix all these rattling spots for a log time, but can't find them all yet. I spotted couple of places but it is still work in progress. I don't know if it will be even possible to find all spots... probably not, since the root cause of the problem is a hard plastic!

Update: The car was at the dealer yesterday. The technicians pulled the dash out and checked all the 'rubbing' areas and inserted felt etc. and secured all lose wires and stuff; checked the centre console and all doors. Well, this has fixed most of the annoying rattles. However, there is still a minor vibration (on really rough roads) from the dash display area and the technician said it would be very hard to fix this! We are happy with it, at least for the moment and they said we should take it back if any major rattles re-occur!

We had a new Yaris as a courtesy car for the day, and I am not surprised why we heard those vibrations etc. in the PriusC. PriusC's engines are so quiet compared to Yaris's! Oh, the Yaris also had a few creeks!

What did the dealer do about the missing fastener that attaches the floor of the front windshield defrost vent to the dash? Was Toyota able to supply it?

The front vent fastners (two) turned out to be sensors. We have one on the driver side which we were told is the sensor for automatic air-conditioning. The one missing would be for automatic windscreen wipers or for automatic lights. Our PriusC does not have these available!

Did you happen to check other PC in the dealer's lot to see if they all are missing the right sensor?

Yes, I did and it is the same for the others!

my dash has been rattling but i can't seem to figure out what it is. i don't see anything moving. if it gets worse i may worry about it. i just turn up the radio problem solved

Heard a rattle from behind the center console of the dash previously. I took off the glove box to peek inside and found a free socket dangling with some tapes around it. It seems this was not used and taped to the main wiring loom but somehow, maybe due to heat, the glue on the tape melts and the socket breaks free. Just re route the wires so the plastic socket wont rub against the dash center and wrap the tape around it again, so now even if the tape did fail again, the wire will still be in place and not dangling around.

Re: I took off the glove box...
Was it easy to take the glove box off? Would you mind writing a short description as to how this was done? You may send it to me directly if you wish (to siva.ganesh@agresearch .co.nz). Thanks.

It's pretty easy just like most japanese cars. You need to remove the damper, open the glove box all the way, then pull it right off.

Update on the rattles...

Took the car back to the dealer last week (Tuesday). The foreman of the service dept came for a ride and we booked the car in for two days.

They pulled the dash out and put felt etc on the back (below the windscreen) and behind the display area etc.; and it seems the rattles have stopped!!! We are really enjoying the quiet and smooth drive now. Very happy!

I also had a rattle that I thought was from the dash but discover it was coming from the lever to open (unlock) the hood, it seems to be from the metal wire that rattle with the plastic lever that pull the locking mecanism under the hood...I just bent the wire a little and the rattle is gone, maybe it's one of yours.

Thanks Forza! This rattle has been driving me crazy! My car is in the shop (was involved in a hit & run resulting in minor damage). I told them about the rattle, hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone. As soon as I get it back, I'm going to look at the hood lever. I bet this will fix it- that's exactly where the sound is coming from- but for some reason it's the only place I didn't look.

I have a rattle that started with about 2,000 on the car. Seems to be coming from the dash by the base of the A pillar or between the dash and the passenger door. Most obvious when the car is cold, first coulple of miles, in the morning.