I've had rattles and vibration noises coming from my dash since I bought the car. I never could figure out where it was coming from. I know this topic has been discussed at great length in many posts but I haven't seen one with the solution I found. If you still have noises from the dash in your box, you need to continue reading. Even if you don't have a specific noise, this read may be worth your time because all of my dash rattles and hums are gone from rough roads but it seems much quieter in the car overall even on smooth roads.

Yesterday I was out doing a little electrical rewiring and decided to be adventurous and take out the whole dash to see if I could find the source of the noise. It was actually much easier than I thought. After removing it and searching I found that the ducting for the windshield defroster was the source of all my noise. It is made two pieces snapped together and makes a lot of noise because they aren't snug together. I sealed the two halves together with silicon RTV around all the connecting edges including the vent top. I also put felt on the securing tabs in the car.

I didn't take very many pictures of the process because I was too caught up in the work. Here is a picture with the dash out and one that has the duct in the seat.




If you want to do this, here's the short version of the steps.

1. Remove the A-pillar covers by grabbing them at the top and pulling towards the opposite side. when they pull free lift straight up and then remove once the lower tabs are free.
2. Remove the dash tweeter covers by prying them up with a screwdriver or something similarly flat. Be careful not to scuff the dash.
3. Remove the tweeters.
4. Pull the ***** off the temperature controls and remove the 2 phillips screws under the temp and vent selector *****.
5. Pull the the center dash piece out and unplug everything and place it in a safe location.
6. Remove the little square cover plate from the large pocket on the passenger side of the dash above the glove compartment. Take a 12mm socket and remove the bolt directly behind it. That's what holds the airbag in.
7. Remove the plastic screw and the tab thingy in the middle of the instrument cluster. Grab the instrument cluster face and pull straight out to remove.
8. Remove the 3 phillips screws from around the instrument cluster and remove it from the dash. Unplug the main harness and the securing tab at the opposite end and place the cluster in a safe place.
9. Now it's just a matter of removing all the screws holding the dash down. There are 3 around the stereo just inside the vents and one in the middle. There is a screw behind each tweeter location. There are 2 in the instrument cluster area, one is actually under the speedometer location.
10. Now just lift up on the front of the dash. Once you have it clear of all the securing tabs pull towards you while lifting to get the air bag clear. Don't go too far because you still have to unplug the airbag. The connector is kind of tricky to undo. I really don't know of a good way to explain it but it's spring loaded.

Now with the dash out you can revel at how simple everything looks underneath. The duct is held in the middle by a plastic trim plug thing. I hate those. Pull it out and then each side has a built in clip. Push from your side towards the front and up to get those out. I was able to get the vent out by lifting up slightly and sliding it towards the passenger side until I cleared the wiring. With it out you should be able to just tap it and hear all the racket it can make. Just take RTV and go around ever edge where they meet, especially the top vent where the air actually comes out (very noisy). Let that dry while you put felt on the mounting tabs in the car. I bought self-adhesive felt from Wal-Mart. It's less than a dollar a sheet and that stuff STICKS. Just put a little square on each tab where the vent mounts and you are good. Cut the holes out before you place it though. Now reinstall everything in the reverse order of removal and enjoy a much quieter ride.

If you have any questions, give me a yell.

 

Or you could just take it in and let them fix it under warranty like I did.:D
I think there is even a TSB on it.

But that is an awesome tutorial, I'll use if I need to take the dash off.

 

That would be too easy. I haven't seen a TSB on that particular piece. I also like to do things myself. I love the challenge.

 

nice write up. But i still love it when Warranty fixes things fro free

 

Mine's going in for some unrelated warranty work Tuesday, maybe I'll have them look for the tiny mariachi band that lives in my dash then...