Interior noises - rattles, creaks, squeaks!

[JAMSXR]

Some positive feedback. 2000 miles in, there is the odd creak and rattle but no worse than any AMG or M car I’ve owned. Loving this car.

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[Bonito]

Yes. Someone else posted this. Not sure what it is, but it doesn’t bother me as it’s infrequent and not very loud. Maybe it doesn’t bother me much because I have much worse rattles elsewhere that I can hear even with the audio system on.

Does it have a metallic ping sound to it and does it only occur at low speeds? Another forum member had them swap our their airbag assembly and that fixed it. There is an issue with the springs in the assembly it seems and either reseating it or changing it for a new one usually fixes the issue.

 

[balucipher]

Any tips on how to fix my a pillar / dash corner rattle?

 

[Bonito]

Any tips on how to fix my a pillar / dash corner rattle?

To test if my passenger side rattle issue was in fact from the A pillar I stuffed some craft foam in the top of it (where the seam is near the airbag stamp) and that stopped the noise. Once I confirmed that I just took it to the dealer and told them to take it off and reseat it. They were going to just replace it entirely but the part is on backorder. They ended up taking it off, felt taping every contact point on it and then put it back on. I'm not hearing rattles anymore.

I specifically took it to the dealer instead of just taking the A pillar off myself because supposedly one of the A pillar tabs is VERY easy to break so you'll want replacements on hand.

 

[Mimzie2763]

Does anyone have a buzzing noise in the hatch area? Only occurs when accelerating. I have a downpipe, frontpipe, and axel back exhaust so that is probably why it is buzzing but damn... it is annoying.

 

[TypeRGirl]

Crossed over 4000 miles and was initiated into the CTR Rattle Association lol It sounded like it was coming from the dashboard near the infotainment unit/ac controls and would vibrate even louder past 2500 rpms. Pressing around on the panels didn’t help me locate it or stop it from getting worse, it drove me nuts for over a week. Come to find out, it was the rear view mirror mount! Just a light press upward (the plastic there feels very thin so go gentle on it) and it instantly stopped. Thank goodness it was an easy fix and I didn’t have to pry open the dash, fingers crossed it stays this way!

 

[TypeRD]

Yeah, I’ve found that many of the small rattles like that are, at least, temporarily fixed by simply pressing on them a bit. If they come back in a few days, just press on the known areas again. Stuff like that, I’d like to fix, but is definitely livable.

It’s the loud rattles that I can hear, even when playing music pretty loud, that drive me nuts…especially if I can’t simply press on them to get them to go away. I’m waiting for nicer (cooler) weather to come around to investigate further and take things apart. Until then, eh, it’s fine.

 

[mujoa]

Crossed over 4000 miles and was initiated into the CTR Rattle Association lol It sounded like it was coming from the dashboard near the infotainment unit/ac controls and would vibrate even louder past 2500 rpms. Pressing around on the panels didn’t help me locate it or stop it from getting worse, it drove me nuts for over a week. Come to find out, it was the rear view mirror mount! Just a light press upward (the plastic there feels very thin so go gentle on it) and it instantly stopped. Thank goodness it was an easy fix and I didn’t have to pry open the dash, fingers crossed it stays this way!

I joined the forum just to thank you for posting this! I've finally figured out where my rattle is coming from and yeah, it's the same issue you described. When I press on the plastic cover near the mirror, everything is silent. Unfortunately, when I let go it starts rattling again. Now I just need to find a way to keep it in place. Taking it to the dealer is always a hassle so I'll try to fix it myself for now. I'm just so relieved that I finally know what it is

 

[TypeRGirl]

I joined the forum just to thank you for posting this! I've finally figured out where my rattle is coming from and yeah, it's the same issue you described. When I press on the plastic cover near the mirror, everything is silent. Unfortunately, when I let go it starts rattling again. Now I just need to find a way to keep it in place. Taking it to the dealer is always a hassle so I'll try to fix it myself for now. I'm just so relieved that I finally know what it is

So glad my post helped someone else out! That’s what I enjoy about the forums and everyone who contributes, it’s been a tremendous learning source for me.

If you figure out a solution, please share. Thankfully mine is holding for now. But I swear that rattle sounded like an electronic buzzing or something vibrating from inside of the dash and was so loud! Sure, tiny rattles I can handle but never thought to check the rear view mirror of all places

 

[elusiveaura]

I just popped mine off and stuck a bunch of foam padding there. Quiet now.

So glad my post helped someone else out! That’s what I enjoy about the forums and everyone who contributes, it’s been a tremendous learning source for me.

If you figure out a solution, please share. Thankfully mine is holding for now. But I swear that rattle sounded like an electronic buzzing or something vibrating from inside of the dash and was so loud! Sure, tiny rattles I can handle but never thought to check the rear view mirror of all places

 

[Bazgab]

I just popped mine off and stuck a bunch of foam padding there. Quiet now.

I had a rattle up in the mirror plastics as well. It sounded like the center console at first but confirmed it was up by the mirror. I put some sound mat up in those pieces and on/around the center speaker trim piece directly behind the infotainment last week.

Happy with the results; all the rattles that were bugging me are gone.

 

[TypeRD]

I’ve found that sometimes the rattles are actually from plastic pieces that are tightly fitted to each other. Rather than rattling they’re actually rubbing and sort of sticking to each other. Hopefully you all know what I’m saying. To remedy this I’ve used 303 Protectant spray. It not only helps protect the plastic from sun damage, it also is slightly oily and has a lubricating effect. So if you can locate a “rattle” as I’ve described, try spraying a small amount of 303 right in the seam between the plastic pieces and wipe away the surface excess. This has worked very very well for me so far. Only time will tell how long it will last. BUT…no dismantling the dash pieces AND it protects your interior plastics. Win. Win.

 

[mujoa]

So my car has pretty much been a rattle fest for the past couple of days. I found three sources of noise and (hopefully) fixed them. I used electrical tape, paper tape and 1mm thick felt tape as well as plastic pry tools for removing trims.

1. Rear view mirror and camera housing
I identified the first rattle coming from the rear view mirror housing thanks to @TypeRGirl. I took it apart, including the larger plastic bit of the camera housing. You can watch the first couple of seconds of this video to see how:


I noticed that the clips holding it where kinda loose on their own so I took them off and put some tape underneath, which fixed them in place.

Then I applied some black tape all around the edges of the plastic housing behind the mirror. I cut it so it's not visible when put together. This seems to have stopped the rattling coming from there.

2. Center display
I noticed occasional rattles coming somewhere from the center of the dashboard. I put my hand on the display and it stopped. I let go and it started again. Then I found this thread describing exactly that issue:
https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/center-console-infotainment-and-glovebox-rattle.51626/

You can find a PDF in that thread with instructions on how to fix it. Apparently it's a TSB for the 2022 Civic but I decided to try it on the FL5:
https://www.civicxi.com/forum/attachments/mc-10211106-0001-pdf.231608/

Essentially, you need to remove the display and place some felt tape underneath it. To do this, I removed the dashboard center trim to reveal screws holding the display. I watched the start of this to see how the center trim is removed:


Be careful here. I put a small dent in the foam around the trim while doing this. In retrospect, it might have been possible to get to the two bottom screws with a wrench from the top (when you remove the plastic cover behind the screen) without removing the whole center trim. You don't need to unscrew them completely since the screen can slide off once you loosen them. I did it the way it was described in the PDF though. There are two more screws you have to unscrew from the top behind the screen though. After that, the screen is only clipped at the bottom.

You can disconnect the hazard lights switch as well as the start button if you need more space, but do not disconnect the climate controls. I figured if I don't disconnect it, I won't need to do step 6. in the PDF "Do the climate control unit Self-Diagnostic Function with the HDS" (and to be honest, I'm not exactly sure how to even do that). The AC has been working fine once I put everything back, so I guess it worked.

The red circles is where you need to apply the felt tape (not yet done in the picture). There is already some on it but apparently not enough. Make sure it's not visible after you put the screen back. The PDF shows exacly how much and where to apply it.

Once I added the felt tape and put everything back together, I also decided to put some felt tape on the back of the display where it connects to the plastic cover. I used the front camera of my phone to look behind the screen since it's hard to see back there:

Not really sure if this was necessary, but it made me feel better. So far, no more rattles coming from the screen.

BTW: Really make sure that your rattle is coming from this exact place before you decide to do this, as all of my rattles sounded like they were coming from somwhere in the middle but really weren't. It's quite tedious and you might break/damage/scratch something.

3. Plastic trim in the passenger side footwell
While driving over bumpy roads, especially in R+ mode, I noticed a rattle that sounded like it was coming from somewhere inside the dash again. I was able to reproduce it in my driveway by lightly bumping the dash with my fist and found that the noise is coming from the passenger side footwell. There is a big plastic trim down there around and behind the knee airbag. I took it out (it's clipped so just yank it a bit) and placed felt tape all around the edges. It's quiet now.
I didn't take pictures of this but it's relatively straight forward.

It's a longer post but I hope it helps out someone out there. The reason I did all of this myself is that I really don't trust the dealers around my area. If you're satisfied with yours, by all means let them do it

For now, everything seems quiet the way I expect it to be. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

[TypeRD]

@mujoa Nice, comprehensive, post. I also like your approach with adding extra felt here and there. It certainly doesn’t hurt anything and it’s better to just do it while you have stuff already taken apart. Great work, and well in advance of fall (cooler weather) when I and likely several others will really dig into some of these things.

 

[mujoa]

@mujoa Nice, comprehensive, post. I also like your approach with adding extra felt here and there. It certainly doesn’t hurt anything and it’s better to just do it while you have stuff already taken apart. Great work, and well in advance of fall (cooler weather) when I and likely several others will really dig into some of these things.

Thanks! Yeah I wasn't holding back on the felt tape. I'd hate it if I had to take the interior apart again

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