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Rattles are out of control...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by SW03ES, Dec 28, 2008.

  1. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

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    Hey gang, hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

    I've posted some in the past about the rattles our Prius has developed over the years. They've always been an annoyance but I never gave them much thought because I drove the Prius so infrequently.

    However, since the Lexus is getting up there in miles we've started driving the Prius on all our trips. The rattles are INSANE! It rattles unlike any car I've ever had, its awful. There are three distinct rattles:

    1. The rearview mirror itself rattles, when you squeeze it together it stops for a while, but always comes back.

    2. The radio rattles, specifically the cassette deck. Its not the little door, its the structure of the radio face itself, if you stick your fingers into the cassette deck and push down hard it will again stop for a while.

    3. The top of the dash rattles, I believe this may be the center speaker which I have read about before.

    Any ideas?!? Its out of warranty so I'd rather not get the dealer involved unless you think I might be able to get it covered. Its astounding to me that this car and my Lexus could be built by the same company, even after 120k the Lexus is still as tight as day one, the Prius has 40k and its unbearable.

    If it were me alone I'd just turn the music up on a trip and ignore it, but my wife has very sensitive hearing and she complains when I do that, so I'm left to the rattling and it just drives me so crazy I am unable to drive the car on the highway.
     
    #1 SW03ES, Dec 28, 2008
  2. KTPhil

    KTPhil Active Member

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    Center speaker cover pops off, then you can get at the speaker itself. Often the plastic cap over the magnet has come loose. Double-stick tape will solve it.
     
    #2 KTPhil, Dec 28, 2008
  3. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

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    Oh yeah, that ones easy. Its really the other two I don't have any idea how to address...
     
    #3 SW03ES, Dec 28, 2008
  4. maseace

    maseace Prius enthusiast

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    My rearview mirror rattled until I noticed it wasn't seated properly on the mounting block on the windshield. Make sure it's slid all the way down on the block and snapped into place.

    As for the tape player, does the rattle go away if you have a tape inserted?

    I have fixed some rattles by stuffing a small piece of foam into the panel(s) where the rattle comes from, in an inconspicuous area.
     
    #4 maseace, Dec 28, 2008
  5. Hytec

    Hytec New Member

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    There has been a rattle within the far left side of the dash since my 2005 was new. Pressing or lightly hitting on the dash surface stops it, but it comes right back. Is there an easy way to stop this other than standing on my head and blindly poking my fingers into unknown dangers?
     
    #5 Hytec, Dec 29, 2008
  6. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Don't remember if the new(er) Pri have coil slots, but our oldie '04 ... the 1st of the Gen II didn't. I stuck a catering truck driver's coin changer down in the center arm rest console. You wan't to hear rattles? I don't even notice rattles after installing that . :p Actually I think we got lucky in that regard ... no rattles (except the coin changer).
    Now to be more helpfull ... 4x makes a food grade Silicone lube that works on our Lexus hybrid's rear arm rest ... which used to squeek horibly in the up position:

    [​IMG]

    We have an old can of spray ... but if you want to apply it way inside something, the tube form (on a Q tip) works too.
     
    #6 hill, Dec 29, 2008
  7. SW03ES

    SW03ES Senior Member

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    Unfortunately thats not the issue with the mirror. The actual unit itself vibrates, and squeezing the mirror from the top and bottom stops it for a while. I'll check though.

    The tape deck rattle doesn't stop if theres a tape unfortunately.

    Thanks for the suggestion about the silicone, I might try that...
     
    #7 SW03ES, Dec 29, 2008
  8. sorka

    sorka Active Member

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    We have this exact same rattle on our 2009 touring 6. We also have rattles in every single door. I've never owned a brand new car that had so many rattles.
     
    #8 sorka, Dec 29, 2008
  9. Hytec

    Hytec New Member

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    Ouch, that's not encouraging, not after four model years....:(
     
    #9 Hytec, Jan 1, 2009
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