Rattling from everywhere

Anonymous · June 30, 2003, 14:25

Hi,

I've had my MR2 for about 3 weeks and I've noticed there are three distinct rattles which come and go.

The first one, which can be heard about 90% of the time (with the roof up), seems to come from the glove box/passenger airbag area. Sounds a bit like a wire slapping against something. I've tried holding onto the glove box buttons and generally proding and holding areas of the dash but nothings has worked so far.

The second rattle can be heard about 20% of the time and seems to come from the steering column or near by. Again, I've tried holding areas of the centre console/steering column/instument panel without success. This noise seems to be plastic rubbing up against other plastic, unlike the first slapping sound.

Lastly I seem to get a noise by my right ear (only when the roof's up), it's not a wind noise and seems to be coming from the plastic hinge cover on the roof or one of the roof struts behind my head.

The other day all three rattle's could be heard and it was really frustrating. I thought my previous Peugeot was bad but this beats it hands down.

Any idea's or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Mike.

Anonymous · June 30, 2003, 14:34

Peter Laborne has a site with lots of MR2 Roadster stuff on (http://www.mr2roadster.net), amongst this is an FAQ (http://www.mr2roadster.net/index1a.html). Items number 2, glove box rattle, sounds like at least one of yours, if not the first two.

Anonymous · June 30, 2003, 14:42

check that your sun visors are screwed in properly... this caused 2 of mine. The other one behind your ear ive had... its a loose panel that can be sorted quite easily... search for another thread about rattles... i think buster or hardcore sorted that problem out.

Anonymous · June 30, 2003, 16:35

I had the 'standard' glove box rattle....they all do that sir!

I cured it by putting a self adhesive pad of felt on the left hand side of the glove box opening. You will see that on the glove box drawer that to the left side...nearest the passenger door frame....there is a web in the moulding. I found that this was fouling the dashboard and creating the rattle that you described. By carefully placing the felt pad in the correct place, the vibration is stopped.

Not sure if that explanation is clear enough but post again if you want more advise.

There are any number of rattle cures and this might not cure yours but it might give you a idea....

Others I checked were the air bag cable, glove box lock, under dash cabling etc, but none worked for me.

Once cured though the car is great...just persevere!

I've got one from my wind deflector which I just cannot narrow down but haven't given up yet......

The plastic trim panels aren't well fastened together generally but it is a car built to be light and you half expect lightweight fixtures and fittings.

Andrew

Anonymous · July 4, 2003, 09:18

--RATTLE UPDATE--

OK, I believe the airbag/glove box rattle to be coming from the cable inside the airbag compartment as suggested on a few posts.

The other rattle which I thought was coming from the centre console/steering column is infact coming from the drivers seat. I can't pin point whether it's the seat or seat-belt fastener. Has anyone else noticed this rattle (or squeek I should say).

Will a local dealer fix it under warranty? or am I going to have to do some seat disection?

Mike.

zud · July 4, 2003, 09:23

Probably stating the obvious, but just in case... if I have the (leather) seat right back against the luggage bin I get a squeak.

filcee · July 4, 2003, 10:27

I have the squeek - but I thought it was caused by me getting a bit of a lardy a*e s:D

s:D

I've not worried about it too much - I don't really notice it unless the hard top is on, plus I won't have the car for much longer anyway - so not worth the effort to track down.

Anonymous · July 7, 2003, 18:14

Any update on the rattle behind the right ear??
I've tried everything i can think of on this one but still it persists!

Has anyone successfully fixed this one?
Pretty much taken the whole of the car apart and still its there - help!

Jon

Anonymous · July 7, 2003, 18:17

Could be the actual seat belt mechanism it's self, I sometiems get vibration at certain Fq but over come this by expandable foam but not advisable as you wont be able to use your seat belt, s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

I have never tryed to take one of these apart so take it out and you may find somthing lose inside s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous · July 23, 2003, 09:24

Ok, the seat rattle/squeek is really starting to annoy me. I've been driving for about a week with the seat's off the rear bin and it's still there. It's intermittent which is even more annoying.

I'm going to have to contact the dealer on this and ask them to look at it (as well as the airbag rattle which has been suggested on this site as probably a loose cable).

I'll let you know what happens at the dealer.

Mike

SteveJ · July 23, 2003, 09:44

Quote from: "Buster"Could be the actual seat belt mechanism it's self, I sometiems get vibration at certain Fq but over come this by expandable foam but not advisable as you wont be able to use your seat belt, s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

I have never tryed to take one of these apart so take it out and you may find somthing lose inside s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

**SAFETY NOTE** Don't be tempted to dismantle the seat-belt mechanism as it has an explosive pre-tensioner (part of the SRS AirBag system) which can have a nasty habit of going off if you don't handle it properly s:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: s:crazyeyes:

Anonymous · July 23, 2003, 11:07

Quote from: "yorkie"--RATTLE UPDATE--

The other rattle which I thought was coming from the centre console/steering column is infact coming from the drivers seat. I can't pin point whether it's the seat or seat-belt fastener. Has anyone else noticed this rattle (or squeek I should say).

Will a local dealer fix it under warranty? or am I going to have to do some seat disection?

Mike.

Hi.

I have this one, even though I don't have the leather seats, but I pinpointed it to the seatbelt fastener... It seems pretty obvious, and I'm sure you've tried it, but I just push the fastener forwards about 45 degrees.. and bingo! No more squeak!

A little annoying as obviously I have to do it every time I get in the car, or wriggle around with the seatbelt on.. but it solved that squeak a treat!

Cheers,
Tim.

Anonymous · July 23, 2003, 14:59

Mike

I get the rattle from the area near my right ear (and also from the near-side). Like you I am sure it is coming from the plastic cover that protects the hood hinge. I have tried using electrical insulation tape on each side of the hinge bolt, but due to the copious amounts of grease couldn't get it to stick!! Back to the drawing board on that one!!

I was intending to ask everyone at JAE.

s:)

s:) s:)

s:)

Anonymous · July 23, 2003, 15:02

Quote from: "Roger H"Like you I am sure it is coming from the plastic cover that protects the hood hinge.

Could you be a bit more specific? I'm not aware of that one!

--H--

Anonymous · July 23, 2003, 15:50

-H-

The hood is the thing that keeps you dry when it's raining and it hinges into sections when it's dropped down s:roll: :roll: s:roll: s:roll: :roll: s:roll: s:roll: :roll: s:roll: s:roll: :roll: s:roll:

On second thoughts if you mean the plastic hinge cover, sit in the driver's seat and face forward. Look up to your right at the release button on the hood mechanism. Approximately one inch further to the right is a funny black plastic thing. If you hold the bottom edge it will lift up and reveal the hinge mechanism. If you let it go it makes a noise against the metal of the hood frame. That's what Mike and I are on about s:!: :!: s:!: s:!: :!: s:!:

s:)

s:) s:)

s:)

Anonymous · July 23, 2003, 16:04

Ah yes, I know what you mean. I managed to stick my hand in there once while I was driving along and got covered in grease! I nearly crashed the car trying to drive without getting grease everywhere.

I'll have a look later. Cheers!

--H--

Anonymous · July 24, 2003, 13:37

C_a_r_t_e_r,

Thanks for the suggestion about the seat belt fastener, this worked a treat. I'm going to look into it further to see if I can secure the fastener more to make it a permanent fix rather than just giving it a poke every time I hear the squeek.

I've found a new one now. My seat is one notch position from the back from the end. My seatbelt rubs on the corner of the leather seat behind my right shoulder and this causes a sqeek next to me ear. The only thing I can think to fix this is by sowing, glueing or sticking a piece of thin felt to a small 1" section of the seatbelt which is rubbing.

If anyone else has had this seatbealt/leather seat trouble and solved it then let me know.

Mike.

Anonymous · July 25, 2003, 12:52

I wouldn't suggest you stick, glue, or sew anything to the seatbelt webbing, as this could weaken the webbing, and would therefore be an MOT failure.

You could stick a nice big patch of felt on the seat where it rubs if you like - but it would look shocking.

Can't you treat the leather with something to quieten the squeak ? Leather conditioner almost certainly has some silicone in it, which would help a lot I expect.

James.

Slacey · July 25, 2003, 12:54

You could try growing a bit more! s:lol: :lol: s:lol:
Being tall, my shoulders lift the belt well away from the seat.

Anonymous · July 25, 2003, 13:16

I'm 6 foot tall, average enough I think.

Maybe some American Football style shoulder pads would do the trick though.

Anonymous · July 25, 2003, 13:52

Quote from: "yorkie"Thanks for the suggestion about the seat belt fastener, this worked a treat. I'm going to look into it further to see if I can secure the fastener more to make it a permanent fix rather than just giving it a poke every time I hear the squeek.

No worries, glad it worked for you too! Drove me crazy! Let me know if you have any luck with a permanent fix, and I'll see if I can do the same to mine!

Tim.

Anonymous · October 1, 2003, 16:16

I bought my MR2 in July and experience all three rattles. I have found where two of them are but cannot find the third.

1. the rattle in the roof comes from the first hinge (behind the plastic cover) I find using a small amount of grease in the hinge resolves the problem

2. the second squeek is the driver's seat tilt mechanism which I will get sorted under warranty.

3. the third rattle has just appeared, behind the glove box. I know it is not the glove box, as it sounds like a wire rattling against the inner body work. I have yet to investigate though!

As a new owner, all I can say is despite the rattles, what a fantastic car the MR2 is!

Anonymous · October 1, 2003, 16:26

Quote from: "colindanks"3. the third rattle has just appeared, behind the glove box. I know it is not the glove box, as it sounds like a wire rattling against the inner body work. I have yet to investigate though!

That one could be the air bag... i think i may have this one too (amongst the many others i have including A pillar, drivers air vent (area), glove box, centre console (near stereo, metalic sound), panel behind my right ear, drivers door panel etc etc..... s:(

s:( )

Anonymous · October 1, 2003, 16:42

Quote from: "krisclarkuk"centre console (near stereo, metalic sound), s:( s:( )

Kris... I used to have that metallic rattle from the centre console around the stereo.. tracked it down to those flimsy metal flaps that sit either side of the console.. go-on, give one of them a tug - I bent mine up a little, and the noise went away!

A large friend of mine had a bag jammed between his legs in the passenger seat, and I think his foot bent it which started the rattling...! s:evil: :evil: s:evil:

Worth a try!

Tim

spyderman · October 1, 2003, 19:16

Quote from: "yorkie"Ok, the seat rattle/squeek is really starting to annoy me. I've been driving for about a week with the seat's off the rear bin and it's still there. It's intermittent which is even more annoying.

I'm going to have to contact the dealer on this and ask them to look at it (as well as the airbag rattle which has been suggested on this site as probably a loose cable).

I'll let you know what happens at the dealer.

Mike

ok i can help you here.
i had the same rattle and at the end of the day i found out the stupid reason why i had this rattle coming from the passenger side.

make sure that when theres no passenger in the car, the seat belt plastic fastener will be inserted in the special location on the column next to the passenger seat. s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

i hope you will understand what im trying to tell you.

btw Bristol is a nice place, ive been there 4 times, im from overseas you see. My X-fiancee was from Bristol....