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Rattle

7K views 52 replies 15 participants last post by  The Hood 
#1 ·
The Yeti has had a rattle for some time. It seems to come from the central are a of the dashboard and is at its worst (or best) when the ambient temperature is low and the car interior is also cold. The rattle is intermittent and sound like a couple of pieces of plastic tapping together. Happily, or perhaps not for the task of identifying the source, the rattle disappears as the car interior warms up.

That leaves only a short time to find the source so all I have done up until now is empty the glove box and the dash top stowage, poke the dashboard while driving and put the vents and heating system in various configurations. None of that helped but the short cold spell earlier this week persuaded me to have another go at finding the source.

As a start I have removed the dash top stowage box and the centre vents. That gives me a good view inside the top centre area of the dashboard but I found nothing obviously loose or rattly. The vents themselves have a small amount of play between the finger grip and the left/right vanes, but that play seems insufficient to cause the rattle.

It's all set up for a test drive tomorrow morning:


 
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#3 ·
I'm not sure yet about the dials. The glovebox has been empty for all my testing although I may still remove it at some point depending on how the testing goes.

I need to test bit by bit to have any chance of finding the source.
 
#4 ·
You may have completely removed the parts that are causing the trouble........ noises like that are often the result of adjacent trim/components chafing. Expansion as the interior warms up tightens the fit, and the noise stops. If you put them all back together, you may find the problem has gone away.... but if not, try slightly repositioning them, or forcing a bit of polythene or similar into cracks between them.
 
#6 ·
Good Luck!
 
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#9 ·
In cold weather mine makes a noise that is a cross between a crackle and a rattle, if I put my finger in between the steering wheel shroud and the instrument binnacle it stops. I think they use polystyrene blocks as packing under the steering wheel shroud, strangely now I know what causes it, it doesn't bother me any more.
 
#11 ·
To aid diagnosis, try connecting a signal generator to the stereo, then dial the freq up until the buzz/rattle starts ?

For higher frequency buz detection, something like https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.finestandroid.soundgenerator&hl=en connected as bluetooth audio works well for me.

For lower frequency rattles just crank up the intro to Blue Monday. (note: Other contemporary music is also available, your windows may be at risk if you turn up to 11). :wink:

Spag
 
#13 ·
Test drive done and the rattle is still present. It's not the dash top stowage box or centre vents unit!
Next step is remove either the glove box or the ICE unit.

.
 
#16 ·
In the meantime, pollen filter checked for 'rattling' leaves but all clear.
Glove box removed and test drive done. The noise is still present but the large space vacated by the glove box makes it more easily heard.
Rain stopped play for now but the next candidate for temporary eviction is the radio unit.
 
#17 ·
Meant to say earlier, but your latest avatar image is an interesting epicyclic gear unit. Unusual to see one with helical / diagonal cut teeth? Or that could be me only ever having taken apart epicyclic units from agricultural machinery with straight cut teeth.

What is it from please? Out pure nosiness!

Good Luck with The Rattle btw.
 
#19 ·
Meant to say earlier, but your latest avatar image is an interesting epicyclic gear unit. Unusual to see one with helical / diagonal cut teeth? Or that could be me only ever having taken apart epicyclic units from agricultural machinery with straight cut teeth.

What is it from please? Out pure nosiness!

Good Luck with The Rattle btw.
It's just a .gif file I found somewhere on the interweb and saved because I found it intriguing. Helical cut teeth are the norm for car auto gearboxes

The first epicyclic gears I took apart were labelled Sturmey Archer. I had little idea about what I was doing but the gear change link had broken inside the spindle. A lot of bits fell out but eventually I manage to complete the jigsaw and it did work again.

As it's a .gif file my avatar should show the gears in action but either I'm uploading it incorrectly, the file is too big or the forum won't allow them. Drag and drop in the message box works though. If you click on the thumbnail you can watch the gears for hours. :)
 

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#18 ·
Radio unit (Amundsen 1) removed but test drive aborted due to sudden onset of rain/hail shower of Biblical proportions. By the time it was over the car was too warm to continue the test.
 
#25 ·
did you find this rattle?

my new to me yeti has the same rattle by the sounds of it

I found it stopped when I pressed on the windscreen centre vent on the right hand side edge

it sounds like a rattle/crackle

I wonder if I can access the vent from under the storage bin in the dash centre?

how did you remove this from the dash?

thanks
 
#23 ·
Yes, that one works because it's full size at 480x480 pixels - it's not Mac Magic. :) When I reduce the size for the avatar the animation no longer functions.
 
#26 · (Edited)
For the time being I have abandoned trying to find the source of the rattle. Another test run with the Amundsen unit removed showed it was not that.
Then I thought I had found the source as two of the four screws securing the Climatronic Unit (J255) were loose. Tightening the screws made no difference.
I still think the rattle comes from inside the heater/air con unit. Removing that means taking out the centre console and entire dashboard first, so I have put everything back together.

To remove the storage bin first remove the rubber mat. That exposes two T20 Torx screws near the front. Undo them and then just lift the whole thing out, front edge first.
The central vent unit is now exposed and you can push it out of the dashboard by getting your fingers in the foam sealed joint.
You will need to have the ignition off (key out) as you need to disconnect the hazard flasher switch and passenger airbag light. Push the switch and light out of the vent unit and plug them back in BEFORE switching on the ignition again. If you switch on the ignition with these disconnected it will generate a fault code and the airbag light will not go out. VCDS or similar will then be required to clear the codes. Same procedure for replacing the vent and switch and light.
 
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#27 ·
Thanks it’s the windscreen cent and where the PIR or GPS sensor sits (I assume but mine doesn’t have either) which is rattling

I think if I remove the centre glove box I might be able to get my hand in if not I’ll push some felt tape in and squirt some silicone in

I also noticed above the clicks 2 strips of plastic whic my I assume the previous owners put in there to stop a rattle
 
#28 ·
Ah, my mistake but you did say centre vent. The part you describe is the sunlight penetration sensor.
Yes, just remove the dash top stowage box and then you can push out the sensor and unplug it. ⛵
 
#31 ·
The sensor is for the Climatronic system - heating and air con with auto control. Since your is a blank I infer your car has a different heater system.
Same method to remove the blank.
 
#32 ·
When someone mentioned foreign objects in the air vents, it reminded me of getting my own back on one of the engineers for greasing my door handles.
It was a Ford Sierra. If you make a funnel to cover the air vents, you can fit a surprising amount of bean bag polystyrene balls into each vent, with the ignition off, turn the blower setting to max and aim vents carefully.

Bizarrely - blowing polystyrene balls like this gives them a massive static charge which makes them adhere to everything, especially the driver, rubbing them to try to get them off, makes it worse.
I wish cameras were as common place back then as they are now, everyone including the boss was in hysterics, that is everyone apart from one engineer :)
 
#34 ·
We were always messing around at work, and one time after an electrician played a trick on the joiner who was with us, he poured a pint of milk down the vents on the electricians Sherpa van.
 
#36 ·
Happens to all longer quotes I think. A feature of the new platform? Probably a good one?
There is “click to expand” if you want to see the full quote. Or even go back to the original via the green arrow in a circle.......
 
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#37 ·
Never contributed on here before but can fully sympathise with the originator. Had the same thing with intermittent vibration/rattle from front passenger area which Skoda couldn't hear (let alone trace) despite 3 visits to dealer. Was fine on smooth tarmac but persistent when driving over concreted or rough tarmac type roads. Drove me nuts and tried everything on here (though I'm not so confident as to be taking the dash apart). Finally, I noticed a lever inside the glovebox almost hidden at the top with "Open" which controls the air supply to the glovebox (never noticed it before). I pulled the vent fully open and the vibration now seems to have disappeared. Coincidence? - maybe, but also worth trying for anyone reading this who may be suffering the same problem.
 
#40 ·
I pulled the vent fully open and the vibration now seems to have disappeared. Coincidence? - maybe, but also worth trying for anyone reading this who may be suffering the same problem.
Hi Cypry welcome in from the shadows, you might have just saved someone's sanity.
Sadly no sanity saved here from Cypry's post. One of my tests was to drive the car with the whole glove box removed and the rattle was still present. The rattle only occurs between 2/3 and 5/6 miles when driven from cold so it's only mildly annoying. I have checked under the gear stick gaiter and behind what used to be the ashtray for loose bits but none found.
I still think the noise comes from the HVAC unit. Maybe some more investigation next week.
 
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