I have this very annoying noise that is coming from the passanger dashboard on rough road. I don't know what it is and it is very hard to pin point it! I had a friend drive the car while putting my ear to the noise and I couldn't pin point it myself, it just sounds like its coming from the glove compartment/passanger dash area.

I removed everything out of the glove compartment and it still makes the rattle noise on rough road.

Somebody help!

Thanks.

 

mine does the same thing..... I think it is a factory installed rattle...

 

I doubt its a factory installed rattle... lol... are you being sarcastic with me?

But seriously, anyone else have this issue or know what it is? It sounds like something is loose somewhere in the dash and it just keeps wobbling back and forth making noise.

 

check these things:

the air vent on the top of the dash. it is know to come loose and rattle. it gets very hot and very cold and is made out of plastic. A bad combination.

could be some thing in the arm rest. I know you said it is coming from the passenger side, but trust me. empty the consol out and see what happens.

the air vents. look and see if the air vents move freely and all in one piece.

ash tray. could be a wire harness behind the ash tray. it is easy to remove the J-Gate bezel and ash tray compartment. look and see if there is anything in there that might make noise.

last. hit the door while parked. just tap the door from the inside while closed and see if you hear the rattle. try this with the window up and down.

 

Ok I have picked up a dash rattle myself. I had it last winter/spring too so maybe it is temp related?? It seems to be in the area between the radio and the glove box. If I press hard on the edge of the top edge of the dash above the wood facia it stops but starts again when I release pressure. It does not always rattle, comes and goes, and is road activated and not engine activated. Is there some fitting that might be the cause? Any words of wisdom? It only does about half the time, sometimes starting and stopping while out driving. Very annoying to say the least.

 

I'd be willing to be it is the right vent below the windshield.
The plug at the far right keeps popping out of mine - Easiest fix is to always drive around with a passenger who can push the plug into place when it rattles again.

 

i had the same rattle on my x type and it turned out to be the vents on top near the screen.i just put a couple of spots of superglue on mine and this cured the problem.

 

Not too happy to write in this topic... but i have a different question.
If the vent does not pop out how do I take it out to do some padding or something to get rid of the rattle?

Thnak you,
R.

 

Mine sounds like a screw that is not seated and then it suddenly pops into place. An hour so later I get in and start the car up and there it is again. It might last for one minute or ten minutes. Then poof, it’s gone again.

 

I have the same sound but working on it one step at a time...

I,ve noticed that if I push above the radio (like Tarheel72) the rattle goes away. I think I've finally isolated the sound to the veneer cover over the passenger airbag. If you knock it it definately rattles. Now I need to know how to remove that cover and put a teeny bit of foam or rubber behind it.


Earlier I replaced the plastic plugs with custom made metal ones...

1. Traced the head size of the plug on a piece of 1/16" thick aluminum.
2. Drilled out the center just big enough for a 10-32 screw to pass through.
3. Using a hacksaw, cut out the rough outline.
4. Using the dremel, cleaned up the outline and then gave the 45 degree taper around the perimeter on one side. At this point it looks just like the plastic plug - with the addition of a hole in the center.
5. Painted the metal plug and head of 10-32 stainless rounded head allen screw satin black.
6. For assembly (top to bottom) -10-32 rounded head screw through plug, set into plug hole on top of dash. From bottom of dash, fender washer and 10-32 teflon nut. Little bit tricky at bottom side of dash (I did remove the glovebox for access - super simple). DO NOT TIGHTEN TOO MUCH! You will end up stressing the plastic vent cover, either cracking or crushing it.

 

I did some investigation and discovered, as some suggested, that my problem was a loose plastic plug at the corner of the dash on the passenger side, up near the windshield. It was supposed to be holding on the vent cover on the dash but it was loose. I took it out and reseated it tight and it solved my problem completely. I would have sworn it was coming from inside the dash but I was dead wrong. If it pops out again I will use glue but for now it is holding tight.

 

Opposite Tarheel's experience, I too have the rattle. I took the right defrost vent out, applied a thin bead of silicone adhesive to the entire vent and the plastic plug, and reassembled. The rattle remains. No change what-so-ever.

How do I get the wooden cover off from above the glovebox? And how do the air vents come out (without breaking)?

Thanks.

 

Took my front, passenger defrost vent out completely and threw it in the trunk. The rattle remains. My next move is to remove the glove box and the wooden airbag panel and see if I can find the rattle behind all that mess.

 

rclangelan: Do you have a picture of your "Jaguar SS Exhaust tips"? If not, do you know and where can I see/find a picture of the tips? Many thanks. Bill in O HI O.

 

I will have to snap a pic tomorrow. Standby...

 

Tore my glovebox out and crammed my head in there. Started punching things trying to reproduce the rattle.

Best I could tell, it's coming from the passenger air vent (not the defrost vent). It's just a ridiculous mess of snapped-together plastic and loose gears. I threw some Dielectric Grease on the plastic gears in hopes to quiet any chatter. Then, I strapped some zip ties around the vent tubes/housing (and other nearby components) in an attempt to keep tension on them in multiple directions.

This was last night. So far, today, no rattles, but it's really too soon to tell, as the rattle seemed to come and go.

Will keep everyone posted as time passes.

 

UPDATE:

A week has passed. My fix seems to have resolved the rattling issue. Car is perfectly quiet now. When hitting large potholes, I might get a single "Click" or a "Crack." No more of the loose rattle that seemed to last longer than the impact.

I will continue to monitor the fix. For now, my Cat is a much more enjoyable ride.

 

Ok then. I hope this helps. I bought a 2003 2.5 AWD. Immediately I drove it home I noticed a rattle from behind the dashboard. It was much worse over rough roads, not huge pot-holed roads just rough surface roads (You know the type) I pressed the dash and got my partner to listen and try to find where the rattle came from. Cut a huge story short. I was sitting parked up (Legitimately I might add) I googled "X-Type dash rattles on several Jaguar Forums. One guy said it was the windscreen air vents? He said they work loose and stick proud of the dash by a few millimeters? I checked mine and bingo both vents were sticking up from the main dashboard and were loose. I pressed them back into their correct position and the rattle stopped for one day only. Easy fix superglue! very carefully put blobs of superglue along the length of the vents then hold them down until the glue hardens. I did this two months ago and it hasn't returned. I'm not saying this is your rattle but its a common one and so, so easy to fix yourself.

 

The replacement plugs are cheap and come two to a pack. I replaced mine in 2010 and have had no problems since. Mine is garaged most of the time and is not exposed to a lot of direct sunlight so that may have something to do with it. But I would try that before going to glue. If you ever have to take them off you would have a mess on your hands.

 

The replacement plugs are cheap and come two to a pack. I replaced mine in 2010 and have had no problems since. Mine is garaged most of the time and is not exposed to a lot of direct sunlight so that may have something to do with it. But I would try that before going to glue. If you ever have to take them off you would have a mess on your hands.******************************

Yes thank you for pointing out that glue is messy. the clips you refer to are to secure the outer side of the offending windscreen vents. There are no securing clips for the inner side of the vents. This pre-loads the vents to the outer side. Over rough ground (The whole of Yorkshire) these vents spring loose in the middle. Apart from my suggested method of using super-glue. You could take out the whole dashboard and drill a small hole and fit self tapping screws? Or employ someone to push the vents back into position every time you drive? I guess minimum wage will be a problem?