Dash Rattle... already!

As others above I HATE squeaks and rattles. Of slight consolation is the fact that more expensive cars, due to all the plastics being used in car interiors to save weight and money, also develop them. A late model Acura TL that I had was an absolute rattle trap. The car cost about $10000 more than the Prius.

In considering the vehicle's cost, much of the premium we pay for our Prius' is due to their extreme degree of technology.

 

Few rattles here and there, sometimes aggravated by cold temperatures, are somewhat common in cars, I agree, but this is the first time, after owning many cars (some from those highly unreliable brands), that rattles are actually driving me nuts. Those who are not experiencing it yet or are not bothered by them are very lucky...

 

Maybe Toyota should have provided the Bose QC noise cancelling headphones instead of the Bose stereo :bounce:

Toyota, are you listening?

 

I noticed a, click, creak, snap sound over bumps. Luckily, I had a passenger riding in front, so I know exactly where it's coming from. It is the passenger side dash near the speaker and windshield. Pressing on it stops the sound.
I'm not sure whether to get it fixed soon or wait to see if more rattles come up in a few weeks or months so they can all be fixed in one trip rather than wasting time on one rattle and having to go back again later.

 

It's not only the Gen3, my 2009 also has a little plasticky contact type of sound in the dash, on occasion too. It was a little embarassing with my sister and family in the car today.

 

I have the rattling noise problem and it seems to be coming from the center cup holder console as well. If I press my hand on top of the center holder when it is closed, the noise seems to disappear. Still not 100% sure it is from there but with everything removed from the glove compartment and under the center console, it seems to be the conclusion. (Oh, I should have also removed everything inside the center console too. Well, I'll try it again tomorrow.)

 

There seem to be a lot of people who have a problem on the right side of the dash (there where the speaker is). Anyone with a solution or a toyota dealer with a solution for this ? I have it from the first km's and it's only getting more frequent :-(

 

Just my opinion

It is winter! It is cold outside! It is pretty normal for car with lots of plastic interior parts to ruttle at these temperatures.
If you have any ruttles during spring, summer or fall, I would recommend to take the car to the dealer. Otherwise, just turn up the volume of your radio/cd and enjoy the ride!

 

Winter isn't that cold where I am and I still got the rattle, so that's not it.
Turning up the volume is so lame of a fix. I already listen to the radio as loud as I will. Music kind of masks it to a point, but talk radio doesn't since there is a break in the sound between talk.

 

My Prius rattles are there from summer to fall and now winter so i don't think it's a season related problem here...It's just build like 'made in china' not build like made in Japan...

 

The center stack rattles and it's the only thing that I don't like about the Prius, there is no excuse for this from the "# 1 car company"?

 

It's good that you all are saying something about what you don't like.

FYI, I know of a new 2010 model that featues a soft dash material to eliminate rattles. Will this go into the Gen4 Prius?

It's a 2010 Mazda 3 btw.

 

The only rattle from the dash I've experienced so far is from the glove compartment area in bitter cold temps at certain engine rpms. It goes away once the engine has warmed up a bit. I'm betting that if the hard eco plastic is warped slightly during molding or assembly it can lead to these sounds on certain cars and not others.

 

Have the same problem with my 3rd gen Prius which I picked up in Aug 2009. Sent to dealership to fix the problem. They removed the entire dashboard and put in soft material at the corners but to no avail. The noise is still there even after I remove everything from the glove box and central console.

Should have bought the previous generation of Prius which should have all such bugs ironed out after so many years of production.

 

In "Moving Forward" in producing not only ecologically friendly cars such as hybrids but also employing ecologically supportive use of materials and production methods Toyota while leading the way, may be once again paying the initial price of being a leader in this area.

A lot of these dash rattles might primarily be a result of the use of the new eco-plastics. Perhaps they lose or gain flexibilty with temperature change more drastically than petroleum based plastics and vinyls?

Toyota is somewhat hampered by the commitment they have made to enviromental responsibilty in regards to The Prius. The benchmark they themselves have applied is pretty high compared to the production of other cars.

Imagine if Toyota threw a petroleum based Vinyl dash into The Prius. They'ed immediately be accused (by some) of being hypocritical, of producing 100,000's of enviromentally unfriendly dashboard that were difficult to recycle.

I'm sure much of this will improve, but like Hybrid technology, use of eco-plastics and non-lead based paints, all have a learning curve, reality attached.

Not just the Prius but across the industry cars being painted with the non-lead based paints are showing a propensity towards chipping easier. The odd thing is then you have an increase in the use of Clear Bra's, 3M clear shields and Venture Shield like films being applied. Nobody really worries or has questioned the enviromental impact of these plastic films we are now using more often to protect the more enviromentally friendly paint.

Sometimes it becomes a catch 22.

 

The ecological plastic usage in the 2010 Prius is actually pretty limited, and there is none in the dash or center console area, so that's not the issue with noises. from TIS:

The following parts are made of 2 kinds of ecological plastic materials.

Injection molded parts made of alloy materials including polylactic acid (PLA) made of plant materials from corn and polypropylene (PP) are used for the cowl side trim, scuff plate and deck trim cover.

Form-molded parts that are made of plant oil-based polyurethane materials containing 15% ricinus oil are used for the driver's seat cushion pad.

 

Hmm...that's interesting. I honestly thought more of the interior plastics were eco-based plastics. Damn...then give me a vinyl dash and let's quiet this rattle trap down!

 

No such luck. The Gen II Prius also rattle.

Tom

 

I must reluctantly confess, being a Mercedes owner at present, this is the number one issue with the Prius that deters me from choosing one. I agree, there's no excuse for it, least of all from a manufacturer with a reputation for build quality like Toyota.

 

Perhaps in the future you should have facts to back up your position, instead of posting a several hundred word long supposition.

Could be just me (I doubt it), but these long winded, mostly negative, posts of yours are getting old. Why don't you just buy that VW you seem to love, and grace their forum with your prose?