2022 GTI Dashboard rattle - GOD HELP US - UPDATE FIXED!

[theotheronesakia]

Hey folks,

I'm looking for a little help from some wise VW people regarding my wife's 2022 Polo GTI. It has THE MOST ANNOYING RATTLE coming from somewhere in the dashboard region. It's so difficult to pinpoint the source of the noise so we've been left manually applying pressure in random places. No joy, though. It happens in all driving modes. I've taken a video of said rattle to see if anyone could advise as to:

- what it might be
- how to go about getting it repaired

If you can offer any help it will be greatly appreciated!

https://youtube.com/shorts/EYJT4NhiLdk

[OomStu_ZA]

This may sound weird but try pushing the roof liner up against the roof around the rear view mirror area. I had a similar rattle once and after hours of fumbling around it turned out to be the roof liner around the rear view mirror that was a little loose. Alternatively as suggest on this forum, look in to the sound actuator which itself is a common source of rattles.

[theotheronesakia]

Thank you for replying. I will try this and feedback.

[Harrihealey02]

Sounds exactly like my one used to make. It was the parking handle brake button. Try pressing it whilst driving.

[theotheronesakia]

Thank you. I'll try this, too. It's the most miserable sound in the world...

[TheRacingRat]

My rattle turned out to be the silver part of one of the air vents.

[theotheronesakia]

Just to keep you in the loop. No simple fix for this. A stethoscope has located the problem under the centre of the dashboard top panel. Behind the ICE head unit. We took it a local VW dealer who said they'd sort it out under the warranty (valid until June this year). They need the car for 2 days. They've called tonight and reported that VW HQ says that it's classed as an "adjustment" and would only be covered in the first 6 months of the warranty! They want £360 for stripping it down, and an unknown cost for repair and rebuild!

Any thoughts on this? Sounds like a bottomless pit of money to me. The noise is unbearable once you hear it

[SRGTD]

Even if it was covered under warranty, I’d be reluctant to let a dealer strip down the dashboard in a car of mine. They might cure the existing rattling noise (they also might not), but there’s a good chance you could end up with even more unwanted noises if they don’t put everything back correctly. There’s also a risk that pieces of dashboard trim might get scratched / damaged / broken during the dismantling / re-installation process.

The rattling noise does sound quite bad though and I don’t think I could live with it.

[theotheronesakia]

I could do with finding an ex-VW engineer who knows how to strip it back... Other than that I don't know what to do. I certainly don't fancy attempting it

[ciclo]

Being an engineer doesn't guarantee that the job will be done properly.
Entrust yourself to one of the good gods, and if you want things to turn out well, do it yourself.

Otherwise, it's better not to see or know what will happen at the VW dealer.
Conduct a visual inspection with the vehicle receiver for later consideration. Take photos before leaving the vehicle at the dealer in case you later need to use the warranty to restore scratched or damaged parts. The crappy plastics VW uses today are very expensive.

Even if it was covered under warranty, I’d be reluctant to let a dealer strip down the dashboard in a car of mine. They might cure the existing rattling noise (they also might not), but there’s a good chance you could end up with even more unwanted noises if they don’t put everything back correctly. There’s also a risk that pieces of dashboard trim might get scratched / damaged / broken during the dismantling / re-installation process.

The rattling noise does sound quite bad though and I don’t think I could live with it.

+ 1000

[theotheronesakia]

OK - so time for an update...
After a good deal of back-and-forth with VW UK, we came to a compromise wherein we would go 50/50 on a diagnostics and repair. So we paid £180 for our local VW dealer who took the car for two days. They stripped all the dashboard components and put anti-rattle tape on everything. We collected the vehicle on day 2 and it immediately started to rattle again . So £180 and two days wasted. The engineer was completely stumped. So...

I got fed-up and went hell-for-leather under the bonnet and around all of the internal trims. I found a couple of potential suspects but nothing I could definitively hold as responsible. Then, one day, I was the passenger and, by pure chance, happened to focus on the noise: it was on the centre console next to the passenger's right knee. Sure enough, there was about 1mm of play on the trim. I stripped it back, packed it with folded anti-rattle tape, and we're done!

https://youtube.com/shorts/mzVx9qTxk7I?feature=share

[RinDman]

Good job finding the problem ... I have a bit of rattle, not annoying me this much ... But good to know, when I'll get a tool for removing plastic cover, I'll try to fill some foam or ruber on it

[iichel]

The video doesn't work for me, but thanks for sharing back

[SRGTD]

OK - so time for an update...
After a good deal of back-and-forth with VW UK, we came to a compromise wherein we would go 50/50 on a diagnostics and repair. So we paid £180 for our local VW dealer who took the car for two days. They stripped all the dashboard components and put anti-rattle tape on everything. We collected the vehicle on day 2 and it immediately started to rattle again . So £180 and two days wasted. The engineer was completely stumped. So...

I got fed-up and went hell-for-leather under the bonnet and around all of the internal trims. I found a couple of potential suspects but nothing I could definitively hold as responsible. Then, one day, I was the passenger and, by pure chance, happened to focus on the noise: it was on the centre console next to the passenger's right knee. Sure enough, there was about 1mm of play on the trim. I stripped it back, packed it with folded anti-rattle tape, and we're done!

https://youtube.com/shorts/mzVx9qTxk7I?feature=share

Good to hear that silence has been restored again and no more irritating unwanted noises .

IMHO it’s always easier finding these extremely annoying unwanted interior noises with two people in the car; one driving and the other trying to locate the noise source, which is more often than not somewhere different to where it was originally thought to be.

[ciclo]

Thank you for sharing your experience, it is extraordinarily satisfying to fix these noises.
EVA foam tape is fantastic for these flimsy plastics.