Passenger Side Rattle at Speed

Good morning all,

Since my 40k service(self performed), I have noticed a rattle coming from what appears to be under the glove box at around 65mph. I have done some searching and haven't really seen anything similar. I thought it might be the cabin air filter but I drove around with that removed and the rattle remained. The noise is louder when cover is removed. Could the vent be contacting the underside of the glovebox? As 65ish is my average speed, I am starting to go nuts. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

Rattles are notoriously difficult to locate, but I had a rattle in that area that was finally identified as the passenger side fender liner vibrating against the plastic under-body protection. That might not be the cause, but it might be worth a look. Just push on everything and make sure things are aligned properly. That finally fixed the rattle for me!

Good Luck!

PS: I'll add that my rattle was affected by an increase in speed and it was worse in crosswinds.

If your sure it is in the cabin, and cover and cabin filter removed then have someone drive while you push and feel around for something that changes the noise. don't forget something silly like medicine bottle in the glovebox.

my rattle in that area was fixed by removing the blower fan and taking out a reciet and leaves on the screen above the fan. but changing fan speed effected the noise so I knew where to look. My fan dropped out with just a 1/8 turn of a ring,

Remember! Those door cubbies are hollow and go allll the way back into the door. A misplaced CD or other objects will roll back in the door and drive you nuts! Get someone with little hands to reach in there. Just a thought.

Humanaquarian said:

Remember! Those door cubbies are hollow and go allll the way back into the door. A misplaced CD or other objects will roll back in the door and drive you nuts! Get someone with little hands to reach in there. Just a thought.

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^^Every time my wife gets in the car with her sunglasses, that's where she puts them. And every time I have to ask her if the rattle is her sunglasses. She removes them with a bit of an annoyed look and sure enough the rattle is gone.

That rattle, however, is more noticeable at lower rpms as I shift through the gears. The one originating from the fender liner and underbelly plastic on the outside of my car was more noticeable at speed.

In the hunt to find the rattle in my car I jammed towels in about every nook or cranny trying to stop the darn noise. I tore apart the door, some of the vents, and the plastic in the footwell area. I then stuffed in towels and used a long cane to touch things as I drove to try to find the thing. I even stuck a sneaker under the hood to wedge the cowling against the hood of the car to see if that was the problem. I had removed the cabin air filter too. I also got a cheap stethoscope and had my wife drive so I could check all around the dash. I also installed VW rubber isolation things on the fuel lines, since that was an issue on the MKV cars. I was going insane! Truly a nut job!

Thankfully, I finally found the the fender liner was vibrating and a simple wiggle and push fixed things for good. It's been a couple of years now, so I'm willing to say that it really is gone and that was the problem.

ksing44 said:

Rattles are notoriously difficult to locate, but I had a rattle in that area that was finally identified as the passenger side fender liner vibrating against the plastic under-body protection. That might not be the cause, but it might be worth a look. Just push on everything and make sure things are aligned properly. That finally fixed the rattle for me!

Good Luck!

PS: I'll add that my rattle was affected by an increase in speed and it was worse in crosswinds.

Click to expand...

I think this might be the route I need to look because I ended up behind a semi on my way to work today and it seemed to go away. I'll do some poking around this weekend and report back.

Thanks everybody!

Check plastic cover over the right strut tower. Give it a little tap on flat section.this might your rattle.

A common rattle in my car is sunglasses in the sunglass holder. I always think the sound is coming from somewhere else.

Cooper said:

A common rattle in my car is sunglasses in the sunglass holder. I always think the sound is coming from somewhere else.

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I've had that one before. I did figure it out though. It was either the remnants of my front splashguards(they were broke in an attempt to be a rally car. Another story for another time) or it was some snap in access panel just behind the wheel. Now for more happy motoring!

I have a rattle coming from the passenger-side visor. The shutter that covers the mirror rattles at around 3K RPM. If I open the shutter, the rattle goes away. I leave the shutter open normally, couting on the visor position switch to turn off the vanity lights.