Faux Driver Door/Dashboard Rattle - DIY FIX

I can't guarantee this will work for everyone, but I had an annoying rattle that I thought came from my driver door, but later I found it was coming from within the dashboard, under/behind the steering wheel.

I found that by pressing my toe up on the fuse block (below the steering column and a little to the left) the rattle stopped. I couldn't find anything obviously loose rattling against other parts to make the noise. Finally, by rocking the BACK of the fuse block side to side (there is only one bolt mounting the bottom of it in place) I could hear a TAP...TAP...TAP up higher in the dashboard.

It was a guess on my part, but I opted to reposition the fuse block by moving it BEHIND the lower mounting bracket. This is an easy fix, and it has solved my problem. I hope it will solve the problem for others as well.

This can be done with spare parts lying around your garage (if you save stuff like that). The bolt has funky pitched threads, so you may hunt a while to find a compatible nut to do this fix. Originally, the bolt goes through the fuse block's lower mounting bracket (plastic with no threads) and screws into the dashboard's mounting brace (metal with threads). Tighten down and go. This fix means there will be nothing behind the mounting bracket to hold it in place.

(Sorry, iPhone pics want to stay upside-down.)


(OEM setup)

If you don't have such a nut, you might have to go to a hardware store and test fit the bolt until you find a compatible nut. If you must go to the hardware store, consider getting a correct pitch bolt that's longer than what is on your Prius. You can't see it in these pictures, but the end of the bolt is tapered. So, you really don't get that last 1/8 inch to work with.

For this fix, I found a compatible nut, a washer for the front (in addition to the one on the bolt) and a lock washer for the back nut (to ensure it would not come loose). I ended up not using the lock washer because the bolt (thanks to the taper) was too short to get the nut on. Tightening it all hand snug should do fine. It's not put on all that tight (the mounting bracket being plastic and all that).


(Unless your Prius is named "Houdini," this isn't coming off)

Move the fuse block to the side and push back so that the bracket is BEHIND the metal mounting brace. Run the bolt with washer in, and as it starts to emerge from the plastic bracket, start getting the nut on. It's a bit of a contortion to get any tool back there, but you will want to do more than use just your fingers to ensure the nut is tightened down.


(Who knew 1/2 an inch would bring so much satisfaction)