03 Forester rattle-noise in dash

[Jerre Bassler]

Now that we have plowed snow covered roads, I have a bad rattle-noise in
the center dash area. At first I thought it was coming from the right
side door area, but if I hold my head over to the passenger side it is
definitely coming from the center area of dash. (radio, heat controls?)
I cleaned out glove box and took all CD's and cassette out.
Ideas?

 

[David & Caroline]

not sure if it's the same as the Impreza (it might be since the Forester is
based upon the Impreza) but there are a bunch of clip connectors which are
used to hold together the dash (the trim panel that the vin plate is on, the
clock pod, etc.) which rattle - can be fixed with a dab of silicone on each
one, or by shimming them with squares of felt. There are also places where
wires and plastic portions of the dash can come into contact with the metal
support which goes across the cabin inside the dash - shimming those with
foam or something similar works to eliminate that, too...

 

[MrEd]

Interesting, my 03 Forester has same noise. Drove about an hour Sat.
morning on packed snow. Noise was irritating.

 

[Rob]

Now that we have plowed snow covered roads, I have a bad rattle-noise in
the center dash area. At first I thought it was coming from the right
side door area, but if I hold my head over to the passenger side it is
definitely coming from the center area of dash. (radio, heat controls?)
I cleaned out glove box and took all CD's and cassette out.
Ideas?

I have a similar problem in my Forester XT. It stops if I open the lid of
the top dashboard compartment and apply a downward force to the area that
houses the digital clock.

 

[Jim Knoll]

I have a similar problem in my Forester XT. It stops if I open the lid of
the top dashboard compartment and apply a downward force to the area that
houses the digital clock.

Same noise in '04 Forester. Has less than 800 miles on the vehicle and
now that snow is here in Mpls, MN, USA, and roads are more ice covered
and bumpy, there is a slight rattle behind dash or near dash cd holder.
That's my ONLY 'problem' with the vehicle so far.

 

[Sgt.Torg]

Same here with my 2003 Forester 2.5X. I'm VERY VERY disappointed with
interior quality at this point (less than 1 year old). Silver-colored center
console is very poorly designed - too many joints with plastic-on-plastic
contact. Thinking it might be the little spring loaded doors in the console.
If you press on them while cold they creak and groan. Bezel around heat
controls also seems to flex more than it should.

 

[Richard Chang]

Now that we have plowed snow covered roads, I have a bad rattle-noise in
the center dash area. At first I thought it was coming from the right
side door area, but if I hold my head over to the passenger side it is
definitely coming from the center area of dash. (radio, heat controls?)
I cleaned out glove box and took all CD's and cassette out.
Ideas?

I have a noise in my 03 Forester that I can reproduce by thumping on
the top of the steering wheel. It is more a twanging sound. It acts up
when I drive over rough pavement. They repave some of the roads around
here with a slurry mix instead of real asphalt. This leaves a rough
surface that is perfect for causing dashboard buzzes and rattles.

Can anybody else reproduce this? You don't have to thump that hard.

Richard

 

[Richard Chang]

Now that we have plowed snow covered roads, I have a bad rattle-noise in
the center dash area. [...]

I have a noise in my 03 Forester that I can reproduce by thumping on
the top of the steering wheel. It is more a twanging sound. It acts up
when I drive over rough pavement. [...]

Answering my own post... I finally got around to diagnosing this
noise. It turns out not to be any loose plastic pieces. I removed the
lower dashboard under the steering column. (BTW, this was easy, just
remove 2 screws, one by the hood release and one on the other corner.
The top pulls out.) There's a big metal bracket that makes a U under the
steering column. You'll see the top of two bolts securing the bracket
staring at you. In my vehicle, this metal piece buzzes when I drive over
rough pavement or thump on my steering wheel. (I don't usually thump on
the steering wheel, but it reproduces the noise very well.) I think
that the bracket just has an annoying resonance frequency. Nothing
looked loose. It was bolted securely. I can make the noise stop by
holding parts of the bracket. I couldn't think of a way to secure the
bracket any tighter, so I took a raquet ball sized piece of plumber's
putty and shoved it between the bracket and the instrument housing.
(None of this is visible when you close up the dash.) So far the noise
has gone away.

If anyone else has this problem, I can post a picture. Also, if anyone
has a more elegant solution than plumber's putty, please let me know.

Richard

 

[BBB]

Duct tape!

 

[Andrew Morris]

Silastic... just pump it in between the bracket and the steering column...

Now that we have plowed snow covered roads, I have a bad rattle-noise in
the center dash area. [...]

I have a noise in my 03 Forester that I can reproduce by thumping on
the top of the steering wheel. It is more a twanging sound. It acts up
when I drive over rough pavement. [...]

Answering my own post... I finally got around to diagnosing this
noise. It turns out not to be any loose plastic pieces. I removed the
lower dashboard under the steering column. (BTW, this was easy, just
remove 2 screws, one by the hood release and one on the other corner.
The top pulls out.) There's a big metal bracket that makes a U under the
steering column. You'll see the top of two bolts securing the bracket
staring at you. In my vehicle, this metal piece buzzes when I drive over
rough pavement or thump on my steering wheel. (I don't usually thump on
the steering wheel, but it reproduces the noise very well.) I think
that the bracket just has an annoying resonance frequency. Nothing
looked loose. It was bolted securely. I can make the noise stop by
holding parts of the bracket. I couldn't think of a way to secure the
bracket any tighter, so I took a raquet ball sized piece of plumber's
putty and shoved it between the bracket and the instrument housing.
(None of this is visible when you close up the dash.) So far the noise
has gone away.

If anyone else has this problem, I can post a picture. Also, if anyone
has a more elegant solution than plumber's putty, please let me know.

Richard

 

[Mr_Ed]

Hey Richard,
I have same noise, haven't take dash apart yet. So any pics would be
appreciated.
TIA, Ed

 

[Richard Chang]

Hey Richard,
I have same noise, haven't take dash apart yet. So any pics would be
appreciated.

I made a web page: <http://home.comcast.net/~chang/ForesterDashNoise/>.

Hope it banishes your buzzes and rattles as well.

Richard

 

[Mr_Ed]

I made a web page: <http://home.comcast.net/~chang/ForesterDashNoise/>.

Hope it banishes your buzzes and rattles as well

Very good info,
Thanks
Ed