This is a little annoyance that has been slowly getting worse for a few months now. Basically, when I'm going slower (between 15-30mph or so) and rolling over soft bumps or some rough patches in the road, I'll hear this plasticky rattle noise (think electric toothbrush against a plastic cup or trash can) coming from somewhere near the center of my dash. I THINK it's on the external side because it's a little muted, but I have no idea where it might be coming from and haven't had any luck fixing it!
I've been doing some digging on the forums to see if anyone else has had a similar issue, but it seems most of the rattles other users have run into are associated with either the timing belt tensioner (replaced that last November along with a new side motor mount), or the cat's heat shield which makes a metallic rattle. I thought it might have been the timing belt cover because I couldn't get one of the last bolts on there, but then remembered that this noise had started BEFORE I did my timing belt and after wedging a rubber washer behind the one loose spot and securing it it made no difference. I've also tried placing some rubber and washers between the plastic cowl under the wipers to no effect, and didn't really see any plastic parts underneath the car that lost their little clips.
What I'm wondering is where to go from here... could a bad rear motor mount be contributing to the noise? Is there some other plastic doohickey that I might have overlooked that's known for making noise? Do I need to take out my dash and see if sun/heat has cracked or broken something loose in there? If any of you guys have run into a similar noise or issue I'd love to hear your feedback.
I've been doing some digging on the forums to see if anyone else has had a similar issue, but it seems most of the rattles other users have run into are associated with either the timing belt tensioner (replaced that last November along with a new side motor mount), or the cat's heat shield which makes a metallic rattle. I thought it might have been the timing belt cover because I couldn't get one of the last bolts on there, but then remembered that this noise had started BEFORE I did my timing belt and after wedging a rubber washer behind the one loose spot and securing it it made no difference. I've also tried placing some rubber and washers between the plastic cowl under the wipers to no effect, and didn't really see any plastic parts underneath the car that lost their little clips.
What I'm wondering is where to go from here... could a bad rear motor mount be contributing to the noise? Is there some other plastic doohickey that I might have overlooked that's known for making noise? Do I need to take out my dash and see if sun/heat has cracked or broken something loose in there? If any of you guys have run into a similar noise or issue I'd love to hear your feedback.