Help with high frequency rattle

[tomkozski]

Hello all,

I got a new WRB BRZ Limited just under a month ago, put on around 800 miles so far, and the car already has developed two distinct rattles. One sounds like the speaker or a wire in the door is loose, sounds like plastic hitting on plastic when driving over rough or uneven roads. I've tried pressing down on various parts of the dash and door when driving, including the window switches, but nothing will make it go away. It sounds like its coming from the driver's door, then again the way sound bounces in cars it could be anywhere (in my old Mazda3, what I thought was the radio rattling was actually a loose piece of trim in the footwell).

However, that is not the annoying rattle. At highway speeds, mostly on concrete pavement, I get a very high-frequency buzzy rattle. Sounds like it's coming from somewhere in the dash or possibly the door - hearing sensation is that it's eye-level height but to my left. It's loud enough where passengers hear it and ask what it is. It seems to go away when I open the window, but the sound of the wind could be masking the rattle.

A bit disappointed with the rattles, particularly with such a new car. I'll raise it with a dealership when I first go into service, but wanted to see if anyone here might have had something similar, or if there are other known rattle-making spots in the car that I should look at.

At least I don't have crickets yet.

[tennisfreak]

I have 2 rattles in mine (1100 miles currently).

1 rattle underneath drivers side dash. It comes and goes intermittently and I cannot pinpoint it.

1 rattle in passenger door speaker. Happens whenever there is very low frequency coming from speaker. Tried reducing base but some songs still get the speaker to rattle.

It sucks but not sure I want to go tearing car apart trying to get rid of them. My experience has been (even at dealer) is that once taken apart they never go back together the same. There has always been something that did not go back together like before (missing screw, plastic clip, uneven fitment, etc...).

[microbionic]

dash one I had, it was the little tray under the controls, I stuffed a bunch of old shop rags in there, after removing the radio and trim.... and the sound went away...

[BRZnut]

lots of odd rattles. When new I had a high freq rattle above my head coming form the headliner, but only at highway speeds on concrete roads. That one went away on its own at 5,500 miles.

But , within one day it was replaced by a ticking rattle somewhere where the front door meets the dash. Many have mentioned this rattle and some have even posted you-tubes of the sound. Some say it is from the door switches but when I press the switch trim nothing changes. Have not been able to solve this one yet

[tomkozski]

Originally Posted by BRZnut

lots of odd rattles. When new I had a high freq rattle above my head coming form the headliner, but only at highway speeds on concrete roads. That one went away on its own at 5,500 miles.

But , within one day it was replaced by a ticking rattle somewhere where the front door meets the dash. Many have mentioned this rattle and some have even posted you-tubes of the sound. Some say it is from the door switches but when I press the switch trim nothing changes. Have not been able to solve this one yet

Sounds very similar to my rattles. Blasting the sound system doesn't reproduce any of them, but at least it masks most of the rattles while driving. Oh well, hoping that they'll go away as the car loosens up with use.

[tomkozski]

Originally Posted by BRZnut

But , within one day it was replaced by a ticking rattle somewhere where the front door meets the dash. Many have mentioned this rattle and some have even posted you-tubes of the sound. Some say it is from the door switches but when I press the switch trim nothing changes. Have not been able to solve this one yet

Finally figured out what has been causing the 'ticking' rattle in my BRZ. It's nothing inside the door; it's a wire bundle under the dash near the fuse box - about same height as the hood release, just move hand right and feel for a wire bundle hidden above/behind the plastic. Either something came loose or Subaru/Toyota just came up with a bad design to hold down those wires. Still trying to figure out the high frequency buzzy rattle...

[PantsDants]

If you have plastic-y rattling coming out of your doors that mostly comes on with the stereo, the thing I tried that worked really well was to take off the door panels, take out the panel containing the window switch, and line the edges where it meets the door with Dynamat. I did the sides and front (towards the front of the car) of the window switch panel, and the back edge of the door panel because there are little teeth on the window switch on that edge. No more rattles when I blast the bass.

[pghfan19]

anybody else find any other fixes for this issue? I've tried the above recommendations to no avail. I have a ticking noise and it sounds like its coming from the "a pillar" on the driver's side. I"ve pulled back the panel and can hear it but can't find anything loose. I took the car to the dealer and was told they fixed it (they put some felt on different parts of the panel for the "a pillar")..drove the car off the lot and heard the noise right away.
Its not the loudest noise but its definately there..frustrating because I don't typically listen to the radio so it stands out, especially since its right near my ear. I have a video of it..I can email it to anyone who wants to compare.

[terrypm]

Originally Posted by pghfan19

anybody else find any other fixes for this issue? I've tried the above recommendations to no avail. I have a ticking noise and it sounds like its coming from the "a pillar" on the driver's side. I"ve pulled back the panel and can hear it but can't find anything loose. I took the car to the dealer and was told they fixed it (they put some felt on different parts of the panel for the "a pillar")..drove the car off the lot and heard the noise right away.
Its not the loudest noise but its definately there..frustrating because I don't typically listen to the radio so it stands out, especially since its right near my ear. I have a video of it..I can email it to anyone who wants to compare.

I wonder if it can be the wiring that runs up the a-pillar to the side airbag? I believe the side airbag module is to the left of the drivers head.

[Gen]

I've fixed my rattles by wrapping just about every plastic connector in foam and placing foam on the back of just about every interior piece. All of them. Metal under the dash? Foam. Wires in the headliner? Foam. Fan ducting? Foam!

I hate rattles. I hate them a lot.

[BRZprime]

Originally Posted by microbionic

dash one I had, it was the little tray under the controls, I stuffed a bunch of old shop rags in there, after removing the radio and trim.... and the sound went away...

I have a feeling this is the exact problem I'm having