How to open up the dash? Rattle driving me INSANE

[mavman14]

Does anyone have a video or instructions on how to open up the dash by the defrost vents? I have a rattle coming from the drivers side defrost vent that I cannot stop from the outside no matter what I try. My truck has 3500 miles on it and it's been getting progressively worse since new.


It sounds like two pieces of plastic are rubbing against each other in there. I've tried stuffing shims between the black and blue plastics, I've shoved weather stripping in there, felt, metal shims, everything. Some things slightly improve the issue, but nothing has fixed it.

I reached out to two local dealerships for warranty repairs and either get ghosted or they tell me they can't get it in until late November. My confidence level in them actually caring and fixing the problem is zero anyways.

If I put my hand on the black defrost vent and pull it towards me, the noise goes away. Its something about the interaction with that black vent and something in the dash itself.

So, I would like to possibly open up the dash and troubleshoot myself. Before I go breaking anything, does anyone have a video or instructions on how to get in there? Thanks!

Video link of the dash rattle:

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[Gschaef]

I don’t have an answer on how to access that area but I can give you a heads up on my dealer experience If you go that route. Mine had a very similar rattle, only worse. I tried everything suggested on the forum to try and fix it with no success. However there are many threads about this with suggestions that worked for some people.

I finally took mine to the dealer and they needed it for four days as they have to pull the dash. They used a Serenity kit for the fix but unfortunarely it didn’t work and they said they would try again but would need it another four days. I declined. Good luck.

 

[Oscarcat]

I have a similar noise in my 2022 EB [Lariat with acoustic glass windshield.] A rumbling sound over rough pavement in the same location as you. I read all the posts on this forum, tried wedging things in at the speakers; tried stuffing foam weather seal between the glass and dash all across where the dash meets the windshield. I wonder if the noise is where the defrost duct connects to the defog vent and is vibrating? I have no idea where to start to disassemble the dash but I don't think it is easy. My dealer said "we need it for 4 days". I am afraid to let them touch it lest they damage pastic parts. I have a '24 scheduled for production the week of 10/23/23 and I am hoping Ford solved this by now. I will be following this thread...

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Does anyone have a video or instructions on how to open up the dash by the defrost vents? I have a rattle coming from the drivers side defrost vent that I cannot stop from the outside no matter what I try. My truck has 3500 miles on it and it's been getting progressively worse since new.


It sounds like two pieces of plastic are rubbing against each other in there. I've tried stuffing shims between the black and blue plastics, I've shoved weather stripping in there, felt, metal shims, everything. Some things slightly improve the issue, but nothing has fixed it.

I reached out to two local dealerships for warranty repairs and either get ghosted or they tell me they can't get it in until late November. My confidence level in them actually caring and fixing the problem is zero anyways.

If I put my hand on the black defrost vent and pull it towards me, the noise goes away. Its something about the interaction with that black vent and something in the dash itself.

So, I would like to possibly open up the dash and troubleshoot myself. Before I go breaking anything, does anyone have a video or instructions on how to get in there? Thanks!

Video link of the dash rattle:

Hey there! If you send us a DM with your VIN and Ford dealer info, I can look into your concerns on my end.

 

[Aherpa]

Does anyone have a video or instructions on how to open up the dash by the defrost vents? I have a rattle coming from the drivers side defrost vent that I cannot stop from the outside no matter what I try. My truck has 3500 miles on it and it's been getting progressively worse since new.


It sounds like two pieces of plastic are rubbing against each other in there. I've tried stuffing shims between the black and blue plastics, I've shoved weather stripping in there, felt, metal shims, everything. Some things slightly improve the issue, but nothing has fixed it.

I reached out to two local dealerships for warranty repairs and either get ghosted or they tell me they can't get it in until late November. My confidence level in them actually caring and fixing the problem is zero anyways.

If I put my hand on the black defrost vent and pull it towards me, the noise goes away. Its something about the interaction with that black vent and something in the dash itself.

So, I would like to possibly open up the dash and troubleshoot myself. Before I go breaking anything, does anyone have a video or instructions on how to get in there? Thanks!

Video link of the dash rattle:

Since Ford has responded, please keep us informed of a solution. Mine has started making new dash noises as well (10,400 miles).

Good luck.

 

[ppagan2012]

Does anyone have a video or instructions on how to open up the dash by the defrost vents? I have a rattle coming from the drivers side defrost vent that I cannot stop from the outside no matter what I try. My truck has 3500 miles on it and it's been getting progressively worse since new.


It sounds like two pieces of plastic are rubbing against each other in there. I've tried stuffing shims between the black and blue plastics, I've shoved weather stripping in there, felt, metal shims, everything. Some things slightly improve the issue, but nothing has fixed it.

I reached out to two local dealerships for warranty repairs and either get ghosted or they tell me they can't get it in until late November. My confidence level in them actually caring and fixing the problem is zero anyways.

If I put my hand on the black defrost vent and pull it towards me, the noise goes away. Its something about the interaction with that black vent and something in the dash itself.

So, I would like to possibly open up the dash and troubleshoot myself. Before I go breaking anything, does anyone have a video or instructions on how to get in there? Thanks!

Video link of the dash rattle:

This is the "temporary" solution I did in mine. It's really annoying that noise. It is the only complaint I have about the vehicle.

 

[Oscarcat]

Same problem here since new. A rumbling noise from dash in front of the driver over rough pavement. It is about the same at 8700 miles. This leads me to believe it is where the defog duct connects into the defog vent that is molded into the dash cover. There have been many posts about this. One posted that his dealer did a "serenity" repair, what ever that means. But he didn't post back or I missed his post as to how effective the repair was. The "Official Ford Account" sent me a message, I gave her/him my VIN and never heard another thing. My dealer said to leave it for 4 days. However, I am afraid to do that for fear they will damage the dash cover. I don't want my Mav to be their guinea pig.

 

[clos0791]

Does anyone have a video or instructions on how to open up the dash by the defrost vents? I have a rattle coming from the drivers side defrost vent that I cannot stop from the outside no matter what I try. My truck has 3500 miles on it and it's been getting progressively worse since new.


It sounds like two pieces of plastic are rubbing against each other in there. I've tried stuffing shims between the black and blue plastics, I've shoved weather stripping in there, felt, metal shims, everything. Some things slightly improve the issue, but nothing has fixed it.

I reached out to two local dealerships for warranty repairs and either get ghosted or they tell me they can't get it in until late November. My confidence level in them actually caring and fixing the problem is zero anyways.

If I put my hand on the black defrost vent and pull it towards me, the noise goes away. Its something about the interaction with that black vent and something in the dash itself.

So, I would like to possibly open up the dash and troubleshoot myself. Before I go breaking anything, does anyone have a video or instructions on how to get in there? Thanks!

Video link of the dash rattle:

It sounds like something loose moving around and hitting something else as the truck moves or goes over bumps. I've had similar sounds in other vehicles and it could be a wiring harness or something similar that is not secure and swinging around. It does not sound like squeaking or plastics rubbing against each other to me.

 

[Gschaef]

Same problem here since new. A rumbling noise from dash in front of the driver over rough pavement. It is about the same at 8700 miles. This leads me to believe it is where the defog duct connects into the defog vent that is molded into the dash cover. There have been many posts about this. One posted that his dealer did a "serenity" repair, what ever that means. But he didn't post back or I missed his post as to how effective the repair was. The "Official Ford Account" sent me a message, I gave her/him my VIN and never heard another thing. My dealer said to leave it for 4 days. However, I am afraid to do that for fear they will damage the dash cover. I don't want my Mav to be their guinea pig.

Just a FYI - I did respond about the Serenity fix in this thread and others. Unfortunately it did nothing. Same rattle. My dealership said the rattle is a known issue and the fix they have for it is a kit made by Serenity, hence the name. No part number, it’s just listed under Misc in the parts catalogue. The good part is they did no damage to the dash. In fact you couldn’t tell they did anything. Hmmm. I declined to give it to them for another four days. I have since traded in the vehicle so it was never resolved.

 

[Oscarcat]

Just a FYI - I did respond about the Serenity fix in this thread and others. Unfortunately it did nothing. Same rattle. My dealership said the rattle is a known issue and the fix they have for it is a kit made by Serenity, hence the name. No part number, it’s just listed under Misc in the parts catalogue. The good part is they did no damage to the dash. In fact you couldn’t tell they did anything. Hmmm. I declined to give it to them for another four days. I have since traded in the vehicle so it was never resolved.

Hi Gschaef and thank you for correcting the record regarding that you did post back. I missed it! Regarding the "Serenity Kit" did they give you any details as to how or where it was installed and where, what I call a rumble, not a rattle, originated? I think Ford should be more aggresively involved since it may have to do with a part from one parts supplier. Using the defog duct as an example, if the duct fits inside the defog vent, there should be foam or other material on the outside of the duct to form a cushion between the two. Likewise, if the duct fits over the defog vent, there should be soft material to form a cushion between the outside of the defog vent and the duct. The rumble does not seem to eminate from the passenger side vent area. Hope this helps the Official Ford person who reads these posts create a more perfect Maverick.

 

[Gschaef]

Hi Gschaef and thank you for correcting the record regarding that you did post back. I missed it! Regarding the "Serenity Kit" did they give you any details as to how or where it was installed and where, what I call a rumble, not a rattle, originated? I think Ford should be more aggresively involved since it may have to do with a part from one parts supplier. Using the defog duct as an example, if the duct fits inside the defog vent, there should be foam or other material on the outside of the duct to form a cushion between the two. Likewise, if the duct fits over the defog vent, there should be soft material to form a cushion between the outside of the defog vent and the duct. The rumble does not seem to eminate from the passenger side vent area. Hope this helps the Official Ford person who reads these posts create a more perfect Maverick.

They were not able to determine the reason for the rattle or where it might have originated. We took a test drive and they acknowledged it existed and needed to be fixed. It was frustrating since they are aware of the issue yet appear to have no idea of the cause. The Serenity kit consists of what I would describe as small individual gaskets. They remove the dashboard and then install one of the gaskets at each connection where the dash connects to the body hoping that provides a cushion to what might be causing the rattle. But it did nothing in my case.

The rattle was coming from around the defog vent on the driver side of the windshield. If I pressed down with some force it seemed to get better but you can’t drive that way. I have read several posts in other threads that said the rattle went away when their windshield had to be replaced and I always thought that was the issue with mine. But they aren’t going to pull a windshield to find out. I did try putting some insulation between the dash and window where the rattle was coming from as suggested by others. I tried everything on the forum and nothing worked. Good luck.

 

[Gschaef]

They were not able to determine the reason for the rattle or where it might have originated. We took a test drive and they acknowledged it existed and needed to be fixed. It was frustrating since they are aware of the issue yet appear to have no idea of the cause. The Serenity kit consists of what I would describe as small individual gaskets. They remove the dashboard and then install one of the gaskets at each connection where the dash connects to the body hoping that provides a cushion to what might be causing the rattle. But it did nothing in my case.

The rattle was coming from around the defog vent on the driver side of the windshield. If I pressed down with some force it seemed to get better but you can’t drive that way. I have read several posts in other threads that said the rattle went away when their windshield had to be replaced and I always thought that was the issue with mine. But they aren’t going to pull a windshield to find out. I did try putting some insulation between the dash and window where the rattle was coming from as suggested by others. I tried everything on the forum and nothing worked. Good luck.

One last thing. It was like a combination of a rumble and a rattle.

 

[Oscarcat]

Thank you again for updating. I can sense your frustration. And the frustration of Mavman 14 who started this thread. As I wrote in an earlier reply, I know that Ford monitors this forum and I hope he/she escalates this issue to the next level where quality control and NHV engineers put their hardhats together and determine the root cause. There are many possibilities and it may be multiple things that were not properly assembled or parts that were made or attached incorrectly. In my case, I would look at the duct that feeds to the defog vent on the driver's side. Inserted to far during assembly? Not wrapped with foam where it joins the vent? Improper diameter? And to repeat and paraphrase what Mavman 14 originally asked in his very first post, if I had guidance as to how to remove the dash cover without damaging it, I would have a go at it myself.

 

[mavman14]

One last thing. It was like a combination of a rumble and a rattle.

Mine is worse than the video, that piece of metal in there helps a bit. Without that "shim" in there, the sound is a combination of the knocking you hear and a rubbing sound of plastic on plastic.

Does anyone know if you can access that area by the defog vent if you remove the gauge cluster? I know thats an easy removal.

 

[stv1cal]

Does anyone have a video or instructions on how to open up the dash by the defrost vents? I have a rattle coming from the drivers side defrost vent that I cannot stop from the outside no matter what I try. My truck has 3500 miles on it and it's been getting progressively worse since new.


It sounds like two pieces of plastic are rubbing against each other in there. I've tried stuffing shims between the black and blue plastics, I've shoved weather stripping in there, felt, metal shims, everything. Some things slightly improve the issue, but nothing has fixed it.

I reached out to two local dealerships for warranty repairs and either get ghosted or they tell me they can't get it in until late November. My confidence level in them actually caring and fixing the problem is zero anyways.

If I put my hand on the black defrost vent and pull it towards me, the noise goes away. Its something about the interaction with that black vent and something in the dash itself.

So, I would like to possibly open up the dash and troubleshoot myself. Before I go breaking anything, does anyone have a video or instructions on how to get in there? Thanks!

Video link of the dash rattle:

I have a sound similar to that, it sounds like more in front of the dash but it could be in the back , it sounds lile a harness or someting is banging, when i took my pillars off to try to insulate my tweeter grill (they were rattling) and while i was stuffing foam in the blank spaces to where i thought any noise would be comming from i did notice the harness of the tweeter (crossover) was just hangin loose, i suffed some foam to keep it from moving, i do need to redo it as i was in a hurry (did both sides) i also added dashboard seal strip between the windshild and the dash all the way acorss, and added rubber edge trip to the pillers where the speaker grills meet, also added it to other locations where the plastic parts join and may rub together, this did cut most of all the rattling. the one i still hear may be the cross over harness that i may of not covered completely since its hard to see and get your hand in the space, thats why i need to redo it.

Also i could hear rattle comming from the center console, on the right center console towards the front i keept hearing a rattle banging sound, when you bang the plastic cover with your your hand you can hear it very loud, when you open the cover there is a wire harness on the side that is attached to the side mount but loose enough that is bangs on the side, i stuffed foam around it and no longer rattles, there is another rattle(same sound) towards the back or center of the console i can hear when i bang the side but i havent figuerd out how to dissemble the censole to get to the center or middle yet, beside it doesnt seem to have much an affect when driving on bumpy roads so i may leave it alone unless it gets worse. every time i find and fix a rattle a new one pops up, but getting there. there is a slight vibraing rattle i can hear on my left door (top side closest to the hing side where the door cover meets the top part of dash where the ac vent is, when i put pressure there it stops, a fix for later as its not that bad for now.

If it were not for these annoyances i would love this truck but i dont hate it yet as long as i can figure out and repair the rattles. its a shame we have to go through this with new vehicles and i dont give a crap on how much they cost (as some people state) this is no excuse, and i dont care to hear anyones oppion about it.

good luck in finding your rattle and getting it fixed as it can be very anyoing and get you to start hating the vehicle, hope that doesnt happen.

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