interior rattles

[TW85]

Anyone in here has ever take the vent panel (drivers side) off ? I think I might have to take it out myself and see what I can do from there..

The air vent to the left of the gauge cluster or the defrost vent for the driver's door window? If the air vent, it is simple if you are careful. You need to remove the panel below the steering wheel, the footkick panel on the left side of the floor, and the panel with the mirror adjustment & security light. After those three panels are removed, the air vent is removed by gently pulling with an upward force. I had it all taken apart today in an attempt to fix the rattle but could not find the felt I bought. Lesson 1: Find needed materials before taking apart the dash!

[laphan]

thanks, I got the vent next to the speedo out and put as many tapes there and it stoppd the rattle. Now I have some rattle coming out from the steering column...

[steven0930]

better send it back to TOYOTA and do the checking. I got it, too. But, mine is from the roof ><;
every time I drive, I have to have my roof open. Eventho the sun is killing me..

[BattleAngel]

I have a 2006 Solara and it started to rattle in the back too. I originally took it to the dealer and they could not find it, so I took matters into my own hands.

Think of your car as Engine being North and tailpipe being south. Open your trunk and find the little round hole that is cut out for access to the brake light that sits center of the back window. Reach in the hole with your fingers and feel dead south for the place where the top speaker grill/pannel comes into contact with a plastic pad designed to allow the speaker grill to rest upon it. With your finger, push up and you will see that you can now rattle your whole grill in the same way that vibrations from car movement vibrates it, only you can not do it as fast, but I assure you, this is the spot causing the rattle. In-between the resting spot and the leg of the pannel there is just enough play there to allow that whole pannel to bounce and make noise, and the pannel gives just enough that you can get a paperclip in-between those two pieces and it will stop the rattle forever! It will be tight enough to hold the paperclip in place and it will not ever rattle in the least again. Let me tell you though, this is hard to do and takes patients as you cannot see what you are doing at all, you can only get about 2 fingers in there at a time and it requires you laying down inside the trunk for the best position. Once inserted, you'll be a happy rattle-free Solara person again.

I personally hate rattles more than anything and belive that a car as expensive as a Solara should be pretty free of rattles. The design of the rear speakergrill pannel is a flaw in my opinion and those two pieces should be fastened with something from the factory.

[TW85]

A few months ago I removed the rear panel and put felt on the "pads" that you described (five or six in total, if I remember right) and still have two distinct rattles coming from the back. One is almost a clanking sound (metal on metal) whereas the other is a true rattle. My next step is to remove all rear panels, including the two side panels, and put felt on every part that comes in contact with something else. I have been after these frickin' rattles for a couple of years now!

[linmk2]

When this "thread" first appeared, I mentioned that I had a small rattle in the dash. It sounded as if it were coming somewhere around the speedometer. Well, I stopped it! The only problem, it had nothing to do with the dash. One day when I was getting out of the car and shutting the driver's door, I heard that same noise. This time, it was much loader. I Kept opening and closing the door. The rattle seemed to be coming from the rear. I then moved to the rear while banging the quarter panel with the palm of my hand. The noise? The rear license plate! I put a small slice of foam tape under it. Rattle gone. It guess the moral of this story, search high, low, front, and back for the pesky rattle. I think you can do a better job in solving the problem, than the dealer.