I've had what appears to be a fairly common problem with my xA - an annoying rattle that sounds like it's coming from behind the speedometer. It tends to vary with RPM and temperature. The dealer tried and was unable to fix the problem, and I've also failed after taken the dash apart twice.

That's because the rattle isn't coming from the dashboard at all. It's the plastic cowl piece that buts up against the windshield on the outside. I took mine apart and actually adhered it to the windshield using blue silicon (it's a little bit Red Green Show, but it's all I had to work with). No more rattle! Huzzah!

Here's how to take it apart: Pry off the plastic caps covering the nuts on the windshield wiper arms, and unbolt the wiper arms. Then, pop the hood and remove the screws on each end of the cowl piece near the strut towers. Next, remove a series of five or six trim clips that hold the rubber seal running along the front edge. The cowl piece should then come off in two pieces.

Then, just use weatherstrip, expand-o-foam, or whatever implement of destruction you choose to make the plastic channel fit tight over the bottom edge of the windshield. Bolt everything back together and enjoy some rattle-free driving!

Or, just take it to the dealer and tell them to fix it. If you've got time for that sort of thing.

(I'm sure I'm not the first person to think of this. There may even be a TSB on it. Apologies if I'm being redundant.)

 

Thank you for this informative post. I've been starting to notice it on my car as well and its *just* about to begin to bother me. The next time I'm up at my dealer I will mention it to them and have them fix it while they're doing one of my many free oil changes for the life of the car .

 

ok not to sound stupid, but i'm gonna anyways

got any pics

 

Sorry, no photos. But it's pretty easy to figure out once you get in there.

 

i've takin it apart a few times since then but never really looked into it i might do that this weekend and check it out good

and btw i think your the first person to figure this one out

 

Only rattle I have is when I take the cargo cover off and it bounces around.

 

I have this same exact noise, but it really sounds like it's behind the instrument cluster. I'm going to have the dealer fix it. Seems like something that should definitely be covered under warranty.

 

its not the coming from the instrument cluster, i know cause i took it out and drove without it for a test drive to find that buzzing sound and it wasn't it!!!

 

Screw that, if it rattels and it's still covered the dealer will be fixing it for me. If I screw up a mod I have no problem with fixing it myself, but I didn't pay to fix Toyota's problems.

 

the funked up part of it is since service tech ppl at the dealership can't find a simple buzzing sound around the dash,

imma gonna take it care of with my own hands and break every thing i can j/k

i just got use to it

 

skawt01:
Mine sounded like it was inside the dash, too. However, the second time I took out the stereo and heater control I put my ear up to the hole and found it was quite clearly coming from outside. When I pressed down on the plastic cowl, the buzzing stopped (I was lucky enough to have the buzzing start while the car was idling that day).

The cowl piece and windshield come together right near the front of the dash. The sound is coming into the passenger compartment via the defroster vents, which makes it sound like it's coming from behind the speedometer.

 

hmm. seems like toyota has lots of these problems lately. it happened to lots of folks over at the sienna and lexus rx forum too. same place, same fix...