Rattles and squeak in brand new cars

3rdDegree

Do all brand new cars out of the showroom have those annoying (to some people, anyway) little rattles and squeaks? I've owned three cars from new: a 2006 Mazda 6 which didn't make a sound for years, a 2016 Mondeo which had a couple of rattles from day one and now a Camry with a few throughout the car as well.

They annoy the hell out out me, but is this normal and is there any point trying to get them fixed? I'd guess that if a garage took apart and reassembled a dashboard they'd introduce more rattles than they'd fix!

Rusky rusky

3rdDegree wrote: »

Do all brand new cars out of the showroom have those annoying (to some people, anyway) little rattles and squeaks? I've owned three cars from new: a 2006 Mazda 6 which didn't make a sound for years, a 2016 Mondeo which had a couple of rattles from day one and now a Camry with a few throughout the car as well.

They annoy the hell out out me, but is this normal and is there any point trying to get them fixed? I'd guess that if a garage took apart and reassembled a dashboard they'd introduce more rattles than they'd fix!

I got VW to fix some of the rattles 3 months into ownership. They changed couple of trim panel but the majority of the rattles are still there 2 years later so I just ignore them.

colm_mcm

There should realistically be no rattles from dash etc. Keep at them til they resolve it.
Sometimes leather seats will squeak!



Years ago I sold an Avensis Verso to this nice enough lady. She came back 2 weeks later spitting fire. She was driven mad by a rattling sound from the back of the car, she basically went ape and demanded we find and remove the rattle or she’d be on to her solicitors.

5 minutes later the technician handed her her child’s rattle which was under one of the seats. She was suitably embarrassed and thankful

The old Prius and Auriss were terrible for rattles, they had a retrofit kit that consisted of a load of sticky foam for glove box lids and armrest covers - and self adhesive strips to stick onto the trim clips to tighten them up.

kirving

Not acceptable. My car is 7 years old now and has 230k km and not a single rattle or squeak. Last car was 10, with the same mileage and it had just one in the dash that drove me mad until I solved it with a piece of paper folded up and put between two panels.

Comhrá

My 161 Audi A4 had a vague vibration somewhere in the lower R door from new. Never managed to isolate it but it disappeared after a year or so. (Or maybe I've gone a bit deaf)

The car is still totally free of rattles and squeaks after four years and feels like new still. Seems to be very well put together

Toyotafanboi

Plenty do have rattles. Some would be known issues, some individual manufacturing defects, some would be customer error.

I have 3 really memorable ones.

A Passat owner complaining of a light clunk when braking, every single time. Road tested, confirmed and took the owners golf ball out of the spare wheel well for him.

Rattle from around an air vent in an i40, owner said it sounded like a €2 coin rattling around in there. Definitely heard the noise, stripped the car, sure enough, €2 in the air duct. Told the customer not a warranty issue, they said "sure that must be there since I bought the car so". We were just wondering then how you knew it was a €2 coin.

Best one was a dull rattle from a drivers door in a Golf. Whipped the door card off, found a snickers bar in the bottom of the inner door. Still have no idea to this day how that could have happened. Both car and snickers returned to customer safe and well.

MetzgerMeister

I was driven mad by a squeak in my E92 years ago. It was coming from the driver's seat base so I oiled up everything underneath with a number of different products from WD40 to White Lithium grease to no avail. I gave up.

A few days later I cleaned down the seats and applied leather cream to them as it was due and what do you know...squeak gone. It turned out that it was the leather bolster rubbing off the leather on the seat base that was causing it because it was dry.

3rdDegree

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

I was driven mad by a squeak in my E92 years ago. It was coming from the driver's seat base so I oiled up everything underneath with a number of different products from WD40 to White Lithium grease to no avail. I gave up.

A few days later I cleaned down the seats and applied leather cream to them as it was due and what do you know...squeak gone. It turned out that it was the leather bolster rubbing off the leather on the seat base that was causing it because it was dry.

I actually suspect that two of mine might be the leather seats, which if true, I'd have no complaints about. But two more seem to be in the dash on both sides, or possible in the front doors. Only get them on rough roads which cause a kind of vibration. I plan to empty everything out of the car and take it for a spin at the weekend to make sure it really is the car and not the contents, but I'm almost certain it's the car. There's very little in it that could rattle!

Hellrazer

Anyone hear about the lads that found an "intimate " toy under the seat of a ladies car?
She`d complained about a humming noise and they found it lodged under a seat!!!

Hellrazer

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Rattle from around an air vent in an i40, owner said it sounded like a €2 coin rattling around in there. Definitely heard the noise, stripped the car, sure enough, €2 in the air duct. Told the customer not a warranty issue, they said "sure that must be there since I bought the car so". We were just wondering then how you knew it was a €2 coin.

.

I had a very similar one in a Volvo S40.
Customer complained about a rattle in the dash that "sounded like coins inside the stereo"

Took out the audio unit and found about 20 different coins in it. The kids were feeding it with change whenever the owner of the car left change in the coin holder.

Another one that was disappointed when it was explained that it wasn't a warranty issue.

colm_mcm

Hellrazer wrote: »

Anyone hear about the lads that found an "intimate " toy under the seat of a ladies car?
She`d complained about a humming noise and they found it lodged under a seat!!!

That happened a girl I knew years ago when she was staying in a hotel, gave out about the noise in the room from the AC, got moved to another room, noise still there, checked her bags..noise cumming from there

GustavoFring

Had a new Superb back to the dealers after a couple of days for a really bad dash rattle. They did something and it went away for a few days. Couple of more tries and it always came back. Every single time the throttle was touched a metallic rattling sound came from the dash, quite loud and very, very noticeable. Drove me crazy, only drove the car when I absolutely had to.

peasant

The only thing that rattles in my yoke is the ice scraper in the door bin (put it there myself)...and the fingernails of every video car reviewer ever when they drag them over the allegedly "cheap" plastics

Cee-Jay-Cee

My 2010 Mazda 6 which just turned over 80k miles a few weeks ago has a rattle somewhere near the boot or rear seats. I obviously can’t figure out wheee it’s coming from when driving so will have to get the wife to drive it and I’ll sit in the back and listen. It’s the first rattle I’ve had in the car although on very cold mornings there’s a squeak from the dash but it goes away after the car warms up.

I would not tolerate a rattle on a new car.

mickdw

Why would someone put up with rattles on a new car.
I would firstly ask to drive another new one off the forecourt. If no rattle, just tell them fix please.

PsychoPete

One Duster we sold in 2015. Customer complaining over rattles from day one, came back threes so the third time pulled the whole interior out and put foam anywhere that might rattle. It must be the quietest Duater in the country. Kadjars are awful for interior rattles most customers wouldn't even notice it

L-M

I had a 192 Passat with a very annoying rattle in the passenger door somewhere.

Now have another new Passat (Company car before anyone begrudges me) and I just heard the same rattle driving home.

Either someone is taking the piss out of me or what, I don’t know. But I have extra hearing for rattles and I think I may have a little cry.

colm_mcm

I had one in traffic just before Christmas from what I thought was the drivers door, emptied out the door pocket, slammed the door few times, opened and closed the window, thumped various parts of the door, left my finger on the mirror switch/various points on the door

Turned out to be my keys hitting off each other.

Outkast_IRE

Have a 2010 fiat 500 with 49k on the clock, kept in pretty good condition by myself. There is always some rattle, squeak or another sound, and the road noise when on the motorway is atrocious.

The road noise drowns out most of the rattles and squeaks. The road noise is a well known issue on the 500 and alot of small cars, so much so that some people retrofit self adhesive acoustic insulation inside the door panels etc.

That being said, i drive very little cause i work in the city center and take public transport , i actually like the car very much and have driven alot of the Wild Atlantic way in it, perfect car for your 50-60km/hr coast roads, up small boreens etc.

Colonel Panic

I've got a 192 Mazda 3 and heard the occasional rattle at around 50kph from the dashboard, but it's gone away since. Only other rattle I've noticed is when I put sunglasses in the overhead compartment for sunglasses. It could do with a soft inlay to dampen that!

There was a clunk from the front suspension, but that was an issue that got sorted at the dealer in less than a day.

ofcork

I have a rattle from the seatbelt holders in my avensis don't know what would stop it.

Comer1

mickdw wrote: »

Why would someone put up with rattles on a new car.
I would firstly ask to drive another new one off the forecourt. If no rattle, just tell them fix please.

Because the dealer will probably not be able to fix it and may even introduce new rattles in trying. That has been my experience anyway.

Rowley Birkin QC

Hellrazer wrote: »

I had a very similar one in a Volvo S40.
Customer complained about a rattle in the dash that "sounded like coins inside the stereo"

Took out the audio unit and found about 20 different coins in it. The kids were feeding it with change whenever the owner of the car left change in the coin holder.

Another one that was disappointed when it was explained that it wasn't a warranty issue.

I was driven mad with dodgy radio reception in my E92. Took it out one day and found €2 that someone had obviously popped into the CD tray.

Perfect reception and €2. Win win :cool: