Noisy Dash - Partial Fix

[noone]

When I first bought my GTI, it had been driven around 9,000 kms in the first 2.5 years of its life. It was kept in very good condition and did not have any cabin noise when driving. After having had the little beast for a couple of weeks and doing the ECU and springs, the whole dash became a mess of creaks and groans (guess I may have driven it a little harder than the nice old lady I bought it from). It got to the point recently where I decided to reduce the tyre pressure down to about 34psi all round to reduce the dash talking and sounding like an old spring bed every time the rear wheels hit any small bump or the road changed Camber quick enough to put a little strain on the chassis.

I noticed that by poking and prodding my way around the dash over the last while, it seemed to be the central console area was the main culprit.

I had some time on my hands, so I started pulling everything at the front off, only to soon decide I was in over my head after only removing a few small panels from the passengers side. After putting all that back (with a screw left over of course) I decided to look at the central dash which was always where I expected to make the most headway.

I removed the top tray (same as is required when installing the Dash Cubby) and the 2 screws (hex) that hold the top of the central dash section in place.

With this section loosened, I pulled back the dash as far as was practical and used a foam tape (from Bunnings, used for door insulation) between all the surfaces that would meet. I put a few sections of non-slip-matt on top of the exposed area before putting the tape around the area the tray would sit in.

After putting it all back together, the majority of the squeaks are gone, mainly the ones that were easily triggered!

As I'm sure there are plenty of areas in the dash that could cause a noise, if you think this may relate to you, then there is an easy test to see if this will help: when sitting in the vehicle pull the tray towards you and push it away from you, if it creaks and groans then this 15 minute, $6 experiment may mean you can put the window up, turn the stereo down and put the typre pressure back to where it should be.

Previously I had other squeaks which sounded like they came from the door / side dash and were repaired by the dealer who said it was an issue with the radiator mounts being loose. This didn't sound right, but I don't know the car well enough to know any better... It sounded like a loose screw sitting in the door or just behind the side air vent.

[oliverconnell]

nice work, had a go myself a couple of times tightening behind the dash but noises always came back.

Ill be dropping by bunnings tomorrow and having a crack at what you did.

[Gti Dave]

Nice write up mate. I'll be sure to give it a stab when time and curiosity permits.

[Roodosutaa]

I had a similar problem in that the driver's door card rubs against the part where it joins the dash and creaks (either the dashboard was adjusted too high or the door card was too low) - but instead of foam tape, I used adhesive felt from an arts supplies shop - much cheaper and works just as well

[ACTGTI]

Previously I had other squeaks which sounded like they came from the door / side dash and were repaired by the dealer who said it was an issue with the radiator mounts being loose. This didn't sound right, but I don't know the car well enough to know any better... It sounded like a loose screw sitting in the door or just behind the side air vent.

That's exactly what I have. It distinctly sounds like something loose in the front top of the door near the side air vents on both sides. Did the tightening of the radiator mounts get rid of it?

[noone]

That's exactly what I have. It distinctly sounds like something loose in the front top of the door near the side air vents on both sides. Did the tightening of the radiator mounts get rid of it?

I took it there twice.

1st time they said it was fixed, I didn't get out the driveway before I could hear it again.

Next time I took it there, they 'said' it was the radiator mounts. I don't understand the correlation, does not sound quite right to me, but if you tell your mechanic / dealer this was the resolution for me, it may point them in the right direction...

Good luck, its a horrible little noise, used to happen when the car was idling some times, so frustrating...

[insanekiwi]

My cheap fix for a rattle that was driving me nuts - 1 x name card.

I knew where it was from.. from that centre panel. I got 2 dealers attempting to get it sorted, and they couldn't. I know they spent a lot of time using felt liners every where... but still couldn't fix it.

There was one section next to the vent where I could press with a finger and the rattle would disappear..... obviously I couldn't drive with the finger on the dash..

I had a name card in my wallet, cut it, and stuck it between the silver centre part and the grey dash...(just squeeze it in) that sorted out the rattle I had for 2 years!! I am so happy.

It's usually the centra fascia that causes the rattles, I agree with you.

Mind you now I have an ugly paper sticking out on the side of dash, I will try to find a replacement item....

[morbo2000]

I got some tape off a mate who works for holden that's used for stopping sqeaks and rattles. I used it very liberally around the centre console area while i had it apart installing my new stereo and it has helped alot. I also had to do around the interiour light/alarm sensor area on the ceiling as i had resonate rattles at certain speeds/revs around there.

Now of course there is a new rattle in the door.

After seeing all of the hard plastic everything thats able to rub together it baffles me that vw didn't just do this from the start. My 2000 magna had anti rub tape around it's centre console area i'd imagine exactly for this reason. I didn't have anywhere near the problems with rattles with it.

[noone]

There are a few small sections of tape from factory, but looked like they were sparingly on the last roll from the application that was hardly liberal.

After a few days of minor use, I've found that the rattles whilst reduced seem to come back sometimes to a lesser degree depending on the humidity and temperature...

Work in progress!

[ACTGTI]

I took it there twice.

1st time they said it was fixed, I didn't get out the driveway before I could hear it again.

Next time I took it there, they 'said' it was the radiator mounts. I don't understand the correlation, does not sound quite right to me, but if you tell your mechanic / dealer this was the resolution for me, it may point them in the right direction...

Good luck, its a horrible little noise, used to happen when the car was idling some times, so frustrating...

Thanks mate, yes mine happens at idle. It's terrible! I find it hard to believe it was the radiator mounts so it will be interesting to see what my dealer says it is.