I'm going to stab my dashboard...

[Pete4 1.8t]

Hey Guys,

So I have this rattling buzzing noise in my car that drives me insane. It only happens between 2,600-2,800 RPM's when I'm driving. It's worst in third gear for some reason. I can't pinpoint the exact location of the sound though, it's coming from the front area of the passenger compartment. I'm thinking either the dashboard around the defroster vent!?! But then sometimes I think it's coming from around the moonroof switch. I know people have had buzzes with each but any other ideas would be helpful. DIY?

[Jibberific]

do you have a boost gauge? mine buzzes.

[Pete4 1.8t]

no my car is completely stock. It only seems to be obnoxious when it's cold outside. Now I have to play my christmas music extra loud so I don't start pounding on random pieces of my interior.

[martini]

i had a vibration by the sunroof switch... when i put my hand there and pressed on the surrounding plastic, it went away

i ended up pulling the trim down and putting some felt up there to prevent the buzzing

[Pete4 1.8t]

I'll give that a shot, I've try pushing on the switch and light covers and stuff but I'll try right around there. If not I'll just take it down and felt pieces that move anyways.

[Hamotee]

I had something similar. It turned out to be a piece of a leaf stuck under my wiper arm that would vibrate against the windscreen at speed. I know it's stupid, but it worth a quick check.

[road_tripper]

When my instrument cluster went out, one of the warning signs (sounds?) was a buzzing noise at certain RPMS.

If you want some entertainment, throw in a passenger or two in the car, and watch them search for the sound. I had people pointing to the trunk, center armrest, homelink... the sound seems to bounce all over the interior.

[rocketheavy]

could it be a deeper problem like the cam tensioner?

[AudiA4Turbo22]

have the same problem good luck, my sunroof rattles, the dome light rattles even after i fixed it, my sub area rattles, my dash rattles everything rattles, the worst is my dash squeaks good luck.

[Mark]

my dome light rattles sometimes . . . around the sunroof switch, if I have something stowed in the bins under the seats they rattle sometimes, I've had debris in the windshield wiper cause weird noises, my boost guage randomly buzzes, the rear seat latch and/or hindge sometimes. Depends on the temperature of my cabin, if it's cold outside it rattles more . . . also the trim sometimes cracks really loudly when it's super hot and the AC cools the aluminum.

lots of fun noises.

[jackyaudi]

^^ lol they are not fun at all. They drive me insane. I been on the hunt for any and every single interior squeaking noise and I killed them all (took months), and the ones that are left I know where they coming from and when.

OP: it could be from many places. Here are some to check:

1. The ashtray and surrounding areas. Yes, I know its under there, but I thought I had a noise coming RIGHT from the dash and it ended up the ashtray and the plastic cover around the gear box were loose.

2. Check the Glove compartment's handle. When you hear the noise press on both the handle and the glove compartment itself, see if the noise goes away. If so let me know and I will let you know the fix for that.

3. Check by pressing that plastic cover after the sunroof switch. Inside there, there is the stuff that you can use to close the sunroof when the switch does not work. Well, lots of time there is some noise coming from that cover. Pressing on it should pinpoint if thats what it is.

4. Check the vents on the extreme LEFT and RIGHT sides. Those are known to make noises caused by vibrations and cold weather outside.. You can tell if its these by pressing on them when you hear the noise.

5. The dashboard itself can make squeaking noise at the extreme LEFT or RIGHT sides, close to the headlight switch and the LEFT or RIGHT mirrors. Fix is to put foam paper in specific places there. Pics needed to explain.

Do what I usually do when I try to find the noise: Tap gently everywhere on the dash, vents, doors, etc specially where you think its coming from. Do that when the car is at idle on cold start.

I was thinking to do a DIY on the fix for ALL interior noises that I encountered, but am now stuck fixing other things in the car.

[Turbo1A4]

my arm rest is broken therefore it rattles...is it behind the glove box by chance

[Peoples-2]

My cabin rattles as well (armrest, sunroof, dash)...nothing the music can't drown out though.

[jon102034050]

i had this same problem and I just fixed it a couple days ago. I took down the sunroof panel thing and put a shitload of masking tape up there and its good to go. Just take it down (reference a4mods.com) and see if you can jiggle anything around in there, if you can, tape it down. Thats what I did.

[Charlescrs6]

of course after reading this thread coming home today my passenger side door kept rattling, AH.

[Pete4 1.8t]

Okay wow lots of good ideas here. I will try to fiddle around with the trim around the sunroof switch and probably end up taking it off too. It's really annoying because if I'm in neutral and rev up the engine nothing happens, I have to be moving in order to get this god awful buzzzzzz sound. I don't think the cops will be kind when I explain to them that I have to go faster on the highway to keep out of the 2,600-2,900 RPM range. haha. I wish I wasn't at college! It makes working on my car that much more difficult.

[Turb_Oh_A4]

my shifter buzzes on my five speed... if i hold it a certain way it stops

[SleeperAvant]

It seems like my steering wheel squeaks, I think it may be the centering spring for the airbag. Whenever I tap on the steering wheel at any point of the grip, it rattles and squeaks, even when the car is off. Has anyone else had this?

[A4 Moda]

I feel your pain. I wanted to stab myself at one point.

I took 5-6 weeks to take apart every single interior body panel piece in my car, including the roof/ceiling.

The rattle could be coming from a few places.

1. like somebody said, the sunroof switch is prone to this. You can open it up and add some sound deadening spray inside to NON MOVING PARTS.
2. the vents. Remove the center vent from the dash board. Usually right around the edge of the space when the vent is removed, you'll be able to hear and feel the buzzing when you tap/slap with your hands. That's a big big buzzer. I had to spray and cut out small pieces of sound deadening material to kill the buzz there. Same goes with the other two vents, though they aren't as prominent. If they don't buzz, it's best to leave them alone. Otherwise, you will likely CREaTE a buzz.
3. behind the radio, you need to remove the radio, sometimes there are some items behind there that buzz. For me, it was the FM booster that I had back there that was hitting the side of the center console. I wrapped it in sound deadening material. I can't verify this but, Maybe climate control unit may buzz, but so far, I havent' had to give it any gusto.
4. the trim surround the sunroof switch can be a major pain in the Assteroid. Removing the switch will allow you access there. Lots and lots of cotton deadening material was used here as well as the denser sticky sound deadening.

Those are a few in the front.

But basically, other places to check, remove entire center console starting from the Stereo, all the way back to the rear seat ash tray. That's all one piece.

Anyway, if you have any specific questions, PM me or EMAIL ME

Oh, one more thing, I removed my scissor switch cup holder right under the front vents. That thing buzzed like mother of Gandhi with a vengeance.

GL

Z

[Dos::Avants]

STAB it!



Kidding...

[Arclight]

Another spot is the glovebox hinges (it's the cry they make as they are slowly dying and vibrating themselves to the point of breaking...). I had the same issue and it resolved itself once the right side glove box hinge snapped.

Also, the factory screws holding my Abt sideskirts slowly back out and cause the side skirts to squeak above 50 mph. Tightening the screw helps alleviate this PITA.

Happy Hunting...

[Pete4 1.8t]

haha! I had actually forgotten about this, as I've been driving another car instead of mine. But since it got brought up I pulled my car into the garage and took apart the whole overhead console thing and put it back together, I'm thinking that the rattle was caused by these two large clips that had felt tape on them and one of the pieces got dislodged. I wrapped some more tape around it and anything else that I thought could rattle. It doesn't seem to rattle anymore so let's hope it stays that way!

[Pete4 1.8t]

Now I have this damn rattle and squeak from the steering column. It started happening after the turn signal stalk was replaced, I think I will take it back and ask them to look at that one.

[SleeperAvant]

haha! I had actually forgotten about this, as I've been driving another car instead of mine. But since it got brought up I pulled my car into the garage and took apart the whole overhead console thing and put it back together, I'm thinking that the rattle was caused by these two large clips that had felt tape on them and one of the pieces got dislodged. I wrapped some more tape around it and anything else that I thought could rattle. It doesn't seem to rattle anymore so let's hope it stays that way!

Wanna post up a DIY on how to remove the whole overhead console dash?

Now I have this damn rattle and squeak from the steering column. It started happening after the turn signal stalk was replaced, I think I will take it back and ask them to look at that one.

I have this same problem, I suspect it is the airbag centering ring or bolts that hold the airbag that is loose. I sat in my car for a couple minutes after pulling into work this morning, using my fist and hammering the grips on the wheel, listening to where the squeaks may be coming from.

[NightRoller USP]

Bringing back this thread......my dash buzzes like theres a spring in it.


Any other ideas?

[Pete4 1.8t]

Whoa and we're back, good thing I just happened to check today.... So, this is what I've found so far...

The rattling that I assumed was my overhead console actually turned out to be the lid of my armrest (which is NOT broken) I found that by pushing down on it with my elbow would make it go away. I might try some more felt tape.

As far as the steering wheel squeaking this has been giving me nightmares, I've taken it to two different places. The first time I took it back to the dealer where I had the turn signal stalk unit replaced and they couldn't hear it (of course), so no go there. Then I took it to the dealer that is actually closer and I know and trust much more and they pulled it apart and tried to realign the steering column covers. This has helped pretty well, but it still starts making it's weird squeaking and clicking noises when I least expect it. This might be one of those things where I have to take off the pieces and drive around a bit to pinpoint what's making the ruckus. Now if only I could find a Torx driver that was long enough....