Glove box rattle...

[kvndoom]

...turns out it isn't the glove box at all. At least not on my car. It was the weirdest thing, too, because I would only hear it if the box was closed. I could open it and leave it hanging, and the noise would stop. It didn't even matter what I had in the compartment.

When I had the glove box off yesterday to run the amp wire, I saw for the first time, the floor vent duct. Holy s***, that thing is just held in place by a prayer! I took it off and looked at it and wondered if this was the source of the noise. It would make sense in a way, since opening the box would probably cause pressure against it, keeping it from vibrating and rattling.

So, I left it off. I seldom have passengers anyway, and when I do, screw 'em, their feet will just have to stay cold. (whistle) I drove around some this morning and I must say, that is absolutely the quietest the car has been since I drove it off the lot in June. I'm not putting the piece back on, but anyone who is getting that rattle might want to try some double-sided tape or something to help keep that duct in place.

 

[SPEEDYONE]

HAHA good find.

i have the same rattle, when i open the glovebox door it stops.

I have to take a look soon as the weather gets a tad bit warmer and check it out.

Thanks.

 

[Hank3]

Use some felt pads...or the furry side of velcro and place them where the two rubber knobs of the glovebox door make contact with the compartment.

N/M - this fix didn't work for me. Gonna try some other fixes and will try to remember to report back.

 

[rollazn]

I have the same problem... it's going to drive me insane.

any step by step instruction? I want to fix this as well.

 

[Hank3]

There have been a few different fixes on one of the other forums. Members have had success with them.

I narrowed mine down yesterday to the latch I think. As soon as I pull the latch lever with my finger to unlatch, the noise immediately goes away. Could be the prongs that extend out to hook onto the glove box. I think it has to do with the temperature, too. I don't notice it when it's warmer outside. The main road that I drive on to work every morning has subtle bumps that makes it rattle like crazy. But trying to pinpoint the rattle has been somewhat challenging whilst driving. I should've had a passenger...

 

[5Miata10]

For me it is not the duct. I isolated that piece with foam and the noise persisted. The glove box noise goes away with the glove box open and also when I press on the closed door. I have tried cloth tape and rubber tape in several spots with no success. Tomorrow, I will try to wrap cloth tape around the latch strikers on each end of the lid or around the latch striker opening.

This noise plus a console noise around the e-brake are driving me crazy.

 

[Hank3]

The last couple days I've used a small towel where the latch hooks connect the the glovebox and the rattle has diminshed about 90%. It still will rattle on really rough roads. But little ones that set it off don't do it any longer. More troubleshooting needed...

 

[derspi]

The last couple days I've used a small towel where the latch hooks connect the the glovebox and the rattle has diminshed about 90%. It still will rattle on really rough roads. But little ones that set it off don't do it any longer. More troubleshooting needed...

Been there, done ALL that before and even drove around sans glovebox for the past few weeks because I never got around to really diging around and putting it back together. I, too, thought it was the latch hooks and even suspected the lock cylinder assembly and tried so many different things to dampen the glovebox door, the lock assembly and finally the latches. All worked to some degree but eventually the noises would resurface.

I stumbled across this thread last week by kvndoom and figured I should give it a try since the glovebox was already out of the car. I was skeptical at first but after taking off that flimsy foot vent and re-installing the glovebox, to my surprise, no more noises! So if you're still struggling with this notorious rattle/ticking, give kvndoom's suggestion a try.

 

[Hank3]

Spent a little time reinforcing the rattle areas today. I wrapped two cable ties around the passenger foot vent and the metal pipe behind/underneath the glove box. Then I put some electrical tape over the plastic clip that secures the vent piece. You guys weren't kidding when you said that thing was poorly secured. Hopefully now it'll be more secured and less proned to rattle. What I could've done, in retrospect, is put some padding on the back of the vent piece and then secured it, but we'll see how this idea works:

And then I put some extra padding on the glove box since I had it off:

It warmed up again the last few days down in FL, so when the temps drop again, I'll report back. Never had an issue with the glove box rattle during warmer temps here

 

[CosmicArkie]

kvndoom,

I've been following all the threads about the "rattle" and, after taking the car apart and confirming the total lack of retention of the vent, I can say without a doubt you've got a big wet kiss coming from me if this fix works like I think it will.

 

[Hank3]

No rattles to report from the glove box so far...

 

[kvndoom]

kvndoom,

I've been following all the threads about the "rattle" and, after taking the car apart and confirming the total lack of retention of the vent, I can say without a doubt you've got a big wet kiss coming from me if this fix works like I think it will.

gawd, I hope you're female and cute...(hand)

 

[not yellow]

This noise plus a console noise around the e-brake are driving me crazy.

my car is brand new and i have a few rattles. the release button on the ebrake handle rattles on rough roads. still working on a way to secure it without affecting it's function. heard the infamous "glove box rattle" once, gonna check out the duct that's referred to here. also a nice one at the base of the windshield. no idea about this one yet....

 

[MM BOOST]

The windshield rattle is the cowl at the base of the windshield under the hood. That has been a known issue on the speeds.

AND THANK GOD SOMEONE ELSE IS HAVING THE GLOVE BOX RATTLE!! I thought it was just me because of removing the glove box to run amp wires, and then the dogbone rear mount and BC coilovers. It sounds like my glovebox is tap dancing low rpm's in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear. It drives me NUTS. My girl gets in the car all the time and it happens, and she goes im gonna rip the dam thing out and throw it out the window. I ride around with the ******* thing open half the time cause I can't stand the noise. WTF was mazda thinking!?

 

[not yellow]

The windshield rattle is the cowl at the base of the windshield under the hood. That has been a known issue on the speeds.

good tip... what's the fix?

and, yeah, i feel you on the rattles. even the smallest one will drive me nuts!

 

[Kindred]

good tip... what's the fix?

and, yeah, i feel you on the rattles. even the smallest one will drive me nuts!

There's a TSB for the cowl shutter if you want to take it in or if you search around the forum there should be a thread with a DIY fix.

 

[Hank3]

Here's the TSB for the Windshield Cowl Rattle:

http://www.protegefaq.net/tsb/mt000005636.html

 

[derspi]

Alright, more info. to those suffering from this infamous rattle and/or ticking from the glovebox. After stuffing some foam and re-attaching that foot vent, the rattles have subsided BUT after about a week, the light but super annoying ticking re-surfaced. So I took the whole damn glovebox out again and inspected it thoroughly trying to figure out just what the heck was causing that ticking and I think I may have found it.

I've always suspected that it was either the lock cylinder assembly or it could be the two plastic latches that hold the glovebox door closed. Since there's not much I could do with the lock assembly, I attacked those two latches. Hank3 has an up close pic of them if you want to know what I'm talking about. Since the latches slide in and out of the door you can't put anything on them. So I took some sturdy 1/4" thick furniture felt (the kind you put on chair legs to protect floors), cut out some small pieces and wrapped the sections where the latches meet the glovebox housing when closed. Because there was some serious play (gap) even when the door was closed, I chose to go with such a thick material. The downside is that now when I close the glovebox door, I need to slide the latches in first (by holding the handle out), close the door, then let go of the handle and allow the latches to slide in place. If I don't do this, eventually, the felt pads may just peel off from the force of the latches sliding over them. It's been 4 days now and my glovebox is completely rattle and noise free - woot! Hopefully it stays this way for a long long time.

 

[cmw08.5cwp]

Just noticed my glove box rattle the other day. Going to try to fix it this weekend.

 

[Nliiitend1]

Alright, more info. to those suffering from this infamous rattle and/or ticking from the glovebox. After stuffing some foam and re-attaching that foot vent, the rattles have subsided BUT after about a week, the light but super annoying ticking re-surfaced. So I took the whole damn glovebox out again and inspected it thoroughly trying to figure out just what the heck was causing that ticking and I think I may have found it.

I've always suspected that it was either the lock cylinder assembly or it could be the two plastic latches that hold the glovebox door closed. Since there's not much I could do with the lock assembly, I attacked those two latches. Hank3 has an up close pic of them if you want to know what I'm talking about. Since the latches slide in and out of the door you can't put anything on them. So I took some sturdy 1/4" thick furniture felt (the kind you put on chair legs to protect floors), cut out some small pieces and wrapped the sections where the latches meet the glovebox housing when closed. Because there was some serious play (gap) even when the door was closed, I chose to go with such a thick material. The downside is that now when I close the glovebox door, I need to slide the latches in first (by holding the handle out), close the door, then let go of the handle and allow the latches to slide in place. If I don't do this, eventually, the felt pads may just peel off from the force of the latches sliding over them. It's been 4 days now and my glovebox is completely rattle and noise free - woot! Hopefully it stays this way for a long long time.

That's the solution I've been using since day 1.

Every once in awhile I have to reapply/replace some felt as it wears down, but all-in-all it's been a very effective solution.