porsche's have rattled since the early 1930's. i once had a pcna rep along with a short factory tech in the jumper seat helping me find mine. wish i had film.

my guess? r&r the dash with more strategically placed foam. if it was good enough from the factory? use more. GL w it. it's beyond annoying. this i know. mines in the headliner. just part of the joy

 

I don't know if this will help -- but I was experiencing a rattle (more like a creaking) sound coming from the dash area. However, it was extremely difficult to pinpoint the location as it seemed to come from everywhere. It turned out (after much searching on the forums, both here and elsewhere), that the sound was coming from the windshield. You can do a search here and on other forums for "window rattle" or "window creaking". The solution for me was to get some Ice Wax Chain Lube (from REI) and apply it under the rubber seal of the front windshield from the outside. I did this over a year ago and the sound has not returned since.

Good luck!

 

Try holding down the right side of the gauge cluster pod. It is held in by clips that could potentially rattle. The furthest right clip is close to where your noise is coming from. I would not put much faith in the DC area dealers - especially for BMW.

My '01 has 81K and still drives like it is carved from one piece of steel like the day it was bought. Relax, you have a well-built car. BTW, I am OCD as well.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. I researched the TSB's before I bought the car and remember the window creak. Mine doesn't seem to suffer from that malady thankfully. I guess I will continue to tinker with it. Typically I have had bad experiences with most dealerships in both DC and SC but Tyson's Porsche has been decent so far.

 

You're welcome. Just thought I'd throw that possibility out there. It was driving me nuts (as the dash and everything around it seemed tight). Actually, for me, I'm glad it turned out be the window creak given that a $5 bottle of Ice Wax and 15 minutes fixed the problem. Good luck and let us know how it turns out....

 

I just bought a 996 TT last week same story babied etc... and cannot drive it without music on... rattles everywhere... spend 10 minutes feeling and examining the interior you will realize how ****ty it is. looks like a 96 supra lol.

drove my 997 cab for a bit, whole other world... but it's ok the 996 is about 70k Cheaper lol , cant complain... track car

good luck with finding the rattle... after readin your post I will give up on trying to fix mine :/

 

Just to clarify...I love my car, the interior included. I don't find anything about my car to be "****ty." I might have a rattle but the car is totally drum-tight, which is what baffles me. My car looks immaculate inside and out and I actually chose it over the 997. My 2011 Spyder had a sweet interior but the 996 interior, completely wrapped in leather, beats it hands down. And even the Spyder with 2000 miles on it had rattles. And if I do decide to trade this I will still get a 996 but a GT2.

 

Just to make sure it IS NOT the creaking window TSB issue I took a road trip to the REI and got some Pedro's Ice Wax chain lube. I pried back the rubber trim on the passenger side and lubed the gap as much as possible. I also lubed under the wiper arm trip piece at the corner of the glass. I'm going to let it sit overnight and take it for a spin in the morning. I don't think this is where my rattle is coming from but I'm willing to try anything. Stuffing the dash with foam is next...

 

I have done a lot of rattle fixing on most evey car I have owned. Rattles drive me crazy. Just a few tips from experience.

The apparent location of the sound does not always correlates with the actual location. For example, I have had a long standing rattle in my DD that sounded like the passenger footwell around the speaker. I found it a few weeks ago, it was the sunglasses holder in my roof by the rear view mirror! Sound bounces badly within most exteriors and can be very deceiving.

In the porsche, I have tracked down the following rattles (not all, just those I have found). Alarm sensor in the middle of the dash, glove box, shifter horse shoe, dash speaker cover, quarter inside the center console, gauge cluster on right side attachment, gauge hood/cover thing, trim below the steering wheel, and steering wheel adjustment mechanism. There are several others that I can't locate or are elsewhere in the car.

My guess is it the alarm optical sensor in the top/middle of your dash. Mine made a huge amount of noise.

Sorry man, I feel your pain. I have had good luck using black 1/8" closed cell foam to shim various panels or pieces until they no longer rattle. Best bet is to get a passenger and put pressure on everything in the cabin while driving. Bring some blue painters tape and mark areas where pressure eliminated the rattle. Good luck.

 

Just reading the posts from you guys makes me feel a little better about my rattle. I guess misery loves company. I will try not to stress so much over it. I'm sure I will eventually find it.

 

3" catless exhaust and all the rattles will disappear!

 

If you are offering me one to take my troubles away then I gladly accept. I will even pay shipping!

 

Hi you mentioned in your above post you tracked down some noises I am trying to figure out where my shifter horse shoe noise is coming from? if I push down in the front of the horse shoe it will stop. How did you remedy this? I was about to buy a new shifter boot horse shoe hoping it would solve it as it annoys the hell out of me. thanks!

 

Mine rattled from the back. A minor bit of pressure, like resting your hand on it, would solve the problem for me.

The round trim horseshoe around the shifter boot slides/snaps into place. There was a very minor amount of slop (say 1/16") in the back side on mine. I cut a maybe 3 x 1/2 inch of 1/8 inch closed cell stick-on foam (like ensolite) and placed this on the bottom of the horse shoe. It isolated the center console from the trim ring and made my rattle go away. You may try something similar towards the front of the horse shoe.

 

i did something very similar.. with as i said TWO ppl stuffed into it. xln't advice. they CAN be found but they're frustrating as hell. funny to hear of the "11 spyder upthread rattling too. i'm tellin ya. porsches rattle. at least it's not his ims lol