dash rattle when cold

when it gets really cold teens twentys does your dash rattle? sounds like its coming from the glove box area i cant find it. any sugg.??

 

tiger you live right down the street... you know its been cold as hell here the last couple days..

 

I have the same exact rattle you describe. I have read that it is the wire bundle behind the glove box yet haven't had the time to check it out myself. Hopefully others will chime in.

 

it really annoys me... i didny but a 30k truck to listen to this crap. noises really bother me, i can hear it over the radio.

 

Since you have a double cab, don't forget to check the passenger side air bag module nuts/bolts since this is a common rattle for them. It usually only rattles when it's cold and quits once it warms up inside. At least, that was the pattern with mine.

 

Does it happen at around certain rpms only? If so it could be the bundle of wires that pass through the firewall behind the glovebox. Mine did this and I found how to fix it. Lift the hood and locate the bundle of wires. Just before they leave the engine bay there's a metal bracket that holds the wire bundle. I bent the bracket down to put tension on the wires. Worked for me!

 

I have that too when its freezing, but nothing any other time. When it warms up I will pull the glove box out and check behind.

 

Try bending the bracket in the engine bay first. It's a pain to get at it from behind the glove box.

 

I've been experiencing it every morning also and only at certain RPM's so I'm definitely going to try beinding the bracket tonight. Thanks for the advice.

 

bent the bracket... hope it works. thanks guys!

 

Mine has rattled behind the glovebox a time or two, but I seem to have more issues with the front PS door panel rattling in cold temps.

 

Mine has always rattled- I've had a dayplanner that I use to track business mileage wedged between the windshield / dash over the glovebox for years now, quick lazy-ass fix.

 

Hello all, am new to the forum but not to Toyota. This is my second. It's a 2010 Tacoma V6 Access cab. I have less than 6000 miles thus far. Believe I can offer a solution to the dash board rattle that sounds like it's coming from the glove box. At least on the 2010 models. Mine has had a very irritating rattle that comes and goes. It sounds like something is broken. Today I removed the glove box and looked for anything loose. The airbag bolts were nice and tight and the bolt on the left side, under the removable glove box liner was also. Then I reached inside of the dash board and felt of the inside of the passenger air bag switch that requires a key to turn on and off. BINGO, this thing is EXTREMELY loose and rattles big time.

Unfortunately there does not appear to be a way to tighten from the inside. Removing the false cover from the outside also does not offer a tightening solution. Someone from Toyota was out to lunch on this one. Now that the rattle has been pin pointed it will go back to the dealer tomorrow. This key switch and location are new for 2010 and is located right next to the gove box. This is the second problematic rattle I have found on my new Toyota. The first one was behind my driver seat coming from underneath the storage bin area under the jump seat. It sounded like a pin ball rolling back and forth on the metal floor pan. After removing both jump seats, and the center console, then popping the plastic rivets, I was able to remove the plastic storage bin. Underneath the plastic a 12mm bolt was found that is the same size as the bolt used to secure and anchor the jump seat. This was an extra new/unused 12mm bolt. Again someone was out to lunch at Toyota. GET IT RIGHT GUYS!!

Other than the above, I do like my Tacoma. But for $27,500 I do not expect these types of problems.

Edited 2/19/2010: Driving to work early this morning the rattle kicked in full gear. I merely had to apply pressure to the passenger air bag on and off switch, where the key is inserted, and the rattle disappeared. Did this about 20 times for my own peace of mind. No question this is where my rattle is coming from. It's definitely not the wires. Will be interesting to see how Toyota fixes.

 

It probably isn't coming from the glove box, but the wires behind the glove box. I just fixed the rattle on my truck two nights ago. I didn't create this picture...I found on this forum, but for the life of me, I can't find the thread it came from, so I uploaded the stolen pic. (A huge thanks to the original author!)

 

OK, back from the Toyota dealer. Unfortunately, as I suspected there is no easy fix. The service manager agreed the passenger air bag switch is the rattle, is not properly supported, and is a poor design. This one literally flops around inside the dashboard. Once the false cover around the key hole is popped off, the outside of the switch has a square piece of plastic that surrounds the metal key hole with a cylinder plastic affair that extends into the dash. This rig relies on a compression fit. However the outside piece is permanently glued to the inside piece and is not adjustable. There is a definite gap between the outside piece and the dashboard. According to the service mangager it either fits tightly or it doesn't. They actually thought about making a some type of a plastic ring with threads to secure the switch to the dashboard. Then the suggestion of using foam around the cylinder to reduce the rattling. Finally they decided to order a new switch with the hope the next one will fit more tightly. I asked them to remove the switch and put a false cover over it, but they stated they could not do that.

If the next one rattles as bad as this one, my plan will be to use some thin plastic shims between the square plastic outside piece and the outside of the dash to draw the cylinder more tightly to the inside of dashboard. If you have a 2010 model and have a rattle in this area, do not overlook the passenger airbag on/off switch.

 

You might get squeaks if you try plastic shims. An alternate might be to ask the dealership to use felt like Toyota use in other areas of the cabin to avoid rattles if the new switch is still loose.

 

Great idea. Perhaps they could do this upon installation as an added measure. I will offer the suggestion. Thanks.

 

The dealership received a new passenger air bag switch and installed it. According to them, they had to remove the dash to install. As I left the dealer I could tell the rattle was still there only not as prevelent. The worst bumps in the road however made it seem as if nothing had been done. This is a rattle that is difficult to fully appreciate unless you remove your glove box, reach in to your left, and feel how loose the switch is from behind the dash. With mine you can take your finger and jiggle it up and down. Although the switch was tighter than before, it's still loose and rattly with no mechanical way to tighten. I wound up purchasing some wooden shims from a hardware store. They come to a very thin point. The thin end points are what you want to use by cutting them out with a razor blade or small pocket knife. Remove the plastic cover from the switch below the vent, you can do this with your finger nail, I placed the wooden shims around the square plastic head encasing the metal key switch. This was much easier to do by pushing from the inside and exposing the obvious gap between the dash and the square head. This effectively pulls the switch tightly into the dash thus eliminating the rattle. After replacing the plastic cover no one will be the wiser.