Hello everyone. I just spent the last 6 hours at the dealership trying to locate and eradicate a dash rattle that has persisted since I bought the car a few months ago(05 996 turbo S cab). It is a loud "clattering" sound coming from the area in between the airbag door and the horseshoe trim around the center vents and stereo. We tried everything and nothing worked. Every internal clip inside my dash now has felt tape or double sided tape. It seems like there is an area on the dash where the leather is pulling up from the composite dash material underneath. Nothing is visible but If I tap on the 3inch square area above the center vent trim it makes the exact rattle I hear when driving on rough roads. Anyone have this issue and if so...any suggestions at all? I'm seriously considering trading the car at this point. It sounds extreme but I am OCD about rattles and for someone who doesn't like to listen to the stereo while driving, it's brutal. The service manager is a friend and spent his entire morning driving around with me testing and retesting the attempts to fix it so I know Porsche has exhausted every option. I love this car and have just spent a small fortune on wheels/tires, mats, CF bits, etc so I hate to see it go. Help!

 

The area under the EZ Pass is where it eminates and where it rattles when i tap it...

 

Try pulling the radio and looking behind the area.

 

We did that! Had the horseshoe trim off, center vents, and stereo unit completely out. We drove it that way and tried to locate the noise. It kept coming from the area pictured above. When everything was pulled out we were able to look and feel the underside of that dash area and it was just smooth composite dash material. There are no tabs, clips, etc. However, when I was out driving this past week I had my girlfriend press on the area between the airbag door and the stereo/vent trim and the noise stopped. She didn't press the actual area making the noise but a few inches lower.

 

Are there any tight spaces in that area that you could wedge a shim in, behind the dash?

 

No, nothing. It's really strange that the sound is coming from an area where there are no contact points or tabs, etc. We thought maybe the dash was cracked under the leather but it seems solid. Service manager said it was a first for him...and we checked all the TSB's and none applied.

 

If understand correctly it would have to be inside the dash pad itself as you can see the area clearly with radio trim etc removed. I assume you pushed on same area as your girlfriend while radio etc was removed and did noise go away?

 

Even with all of those things removed putting pressure on the spot seemed to work. But there is nothing that I can think of that will fix the problem.

 

You could try wedging something from inside dash area behind radio etc against the dash pad= the tension might stop the noise.

 

Are you sure its not coming from the defroster vents? I have a terrible rattle that comes from the vents due to the foam blowing out. The rattle is so prominent that as soon as I have the time, the dash is coming out.

good luck with the fix as I can relate to your pain.

 

We tried the defroster vents. This is the second time I've brought the car in for this rattle. The first time they felt taped the defrost vents thinking that was the problem...it wasn't. Are you removing your dash and replacing it or just pulling it out and re-installing hoping you figure out your rattle? I wouldn't be so frustrated if the guys at the dealership hadn't given up on solving the problem.

 

So sorry to hear about your frustration with the rattle but unfortunately that's the premium we pay for buying a used car.

Btw, where are u located?

 

Yeah I get that there are risks to owning a used car but this was a $155k new car 8 years ago! It's been babied by only one other owner and has under 20k miles...I expected more. My 2011 Spyder was also used but pretty tight. Is the 996 a notorious rattle box? I live in SC but work in the DC area. I take the cars to Tysons Porsche in VA.

 

My 03 Turbo didn't cost its original owner $155K, just $120K, but he had it for rattles lots. (This was documented in the CPO paperwork I got when I bougth the car with just around 10K miles on it.)

Felt was used in several areas to quiet the car. I do not think the dash was involved. Most of the noise was from the sun roof. Awful things.

 

Perhaps its the disintegrating piece of foam that comes out in pieces though the vents ... doesn't that hold things in places and cushions as well ...