A3 3door dash rattle?

[C1WEV]

Evening all,
As they’re getting on a bit now - has anyone had any issues with their 8V dash rattling?
My (2013 3dr 2.0tdi) has an awe full buzz/ rattle between 1800-2300rpm that seems to be within the dashboard somewhere.

Any help appreciated

 

[C1WEV]

Nobody? I’m pulling me hair out trying to find this.
I’ve concluded it’s inside the cabin somewhere, possibly centreconsol or behind the dash switches

 

[Neil C]

Mine does the same intermittently. Around 1800 rpm there is a "buzz" that seems to be coming from beneath the MMI unit, behind the 2 centre vents.
I imagine that it would be a major job to sort, so have left it for now.
Read somewhere on here that wires inside the dashboard can come loose over time, so am assuming that is what has happened.

 

[C1WEV]

That’s tomorrows job - to remove the switch panel below the vents. Hopefully I’ll find something

 

[JohnM100]

The 8V is pretty well put together so assuming no past abuse they aren’t common but themes are:
* Knee airbag cover under steering wheel (mainly PFL)
* Dashboard centre speaker cover
* Air duct inside dashboard to drivers side window vent
* Fuel line / soundaktor in engine bay near firewall (S3)
* Drivers seatbelt B-pillar plastic trim
* panoramic roof

From your description the most likely are:
* Dashboard centre speaker cover
* Air duct inside dashboard to drivers side window vent

There have also been some false alarms so check all pockets & cubby holes etc
Random loose item in glovebox
Golf ball under lower boot tray

 

[C1WEV]

Thanks @JohnM100, I’m fairly confident it’s central.
So will start with the centre speaker grille and then move on to the central switch panel.
There’s many similar posts on here, but no resolution to them.

also there appears to be some bodgery under the bonnet on mine, I found the hp aircon pipe not clipped in at all and the DPF pressure sensor bracket mounted incorrectly.

Perhaps it’s had a matrix flush at some point in its timeline??

 

[JohnM100]

*If* the car has had a matrix flush then hopefully silica bag has been removed from the coolant expansion tank or tank replaced?

Diesels are thermodynamically more efficient than petrol so the cooling system should be under less stress most of the time but as those bags age they risk a world of pain (& cost)

 

[C1WEV]

First job when I bought it last weekend.
Cambelt waterpump and new header tank. No signs of burst silica in the drained coolant.

the new tank seems to come bag less which is nice.

 

[C1WEV]

Further update.
Tonight I:
Removed everything physically attached/ bolted to the dash, cloth taped anything that has a contact point and tweaked every bolt/ screw visible.

but the noise is just the same. I did find the 3 heavy wires to the 12v socket loose and knocking, but didn’t seem to be my issue.

 

[C1WEV]

Do these air vents look original? Never seen TRW branded Vwag parts before - you can see I cloth taped them to secure the ‘mechanism’ a bit better

 

[C1WEV]

Took a passenger out tonight, and they listened for the noise whilst I held it at the resonating rpm range.

She says it’s definitely coming from between the switch panel and central heater vents.

hmmm

 

[C1WEV]

Update: Fixed!!
Just thought I would update this, as there are many similar threads with no conclusion.

Removed the complete centre console and glovebox.

both aluminium pipes going into the heater matrix/ core were loose.
So a combination of cable ties and foam padding to remove any movement has cured the fault.

My suspicion is the vehicle previously had a heater core fitted to cure the common ‘lack of heat in cabin’ fault.
But used an aftermarket core which doesn’t fit as snug as the original.

overall it took around 10 hours of trial and error to find and fix this, but I managed to learn a lot on the way

pps: also found my 1/4” torx20 which I lost when removing dash parts last time lol

 

[A-S.N Member]

I have all sorts of rattles at passengers side it drives me crazy I feel your pain you had .. Can't be bothered to fix .. I need foam where I would cover my dash cam cable which rattling. It is too long
But it only rattles when driving rough surface roads.
They rebuild roads with new asphalt but they don't smooth the roads nowadays with asphalt rollers drum compactor which is odd ..
The can't be bothered and roads are basically same as they were b4 .. It wears tyres very quickly