Help with a loud rattle

[sxr85]

Hi, unfortunately no. In the meantime I had a test drive with my car mechanic, eventually he heard the noise, and he also could reproduced it by pushing and moving down the car at left front. Couldnt be localized perfectly but the noise is coming somewhere from the top of front left shock absorber. Next Monday (14th Oct) they will dissassemble it and as a first try they will replace the strut bearing. Lets see, I will come back with the results. Further info that noise is much more louder when there is less load on the left side of the suspension, for example driving in a roundabout a with bit higher speed (which is left turn practically) the noise dissapears.

Sorry, let me correct myself, at the end of this post, "the noise is the loudest". The explanation is, the less load on the left the easiest movement for the shock absorber.

 

[MJP]

Hello, I've been experiencing a loud rattle coming from what I think is the front right corner. I've been back to the mechanics 2 times and each time they said that everything is perfectly fine under the hood and under the car. The rattle only appears when I drive on uneven road surfaces and it sounds like a plastic rattle but I'm not sure. Nothing is in the glove box or doors either.
It kind of sounds like its behind the front or right side panel but it's really hard to tell. I've attached 2 videos of it happening.
Any help/ideas are much appreciated!

I have noticed a rattle noise coming from the front of my Formentor. I checked the advise on this forum and checked the bonnet retaining brackets … no luck, I also checked the bolts under the car near the exhaust heat shield .. no luck, I left it with my local dealership for the day but they couldn’t identify the cause of the noise but admitted that it was very noticeable. They informed me they needed it for 2 days in order to remove the dashboard!! After booking it in I was driving home and decided that the noise was emanating from the roof area above the drivers seat. I started by pushing the roof lining upwards to see if that was causing the rattle/vibration but no joy. I then wedged my hand between the drivers sun visor and the roof lining and HEY PRESTO.. no more rattle. I have no idea what caused it but it’s definitely connected with the drivers sun visor. As soon as I pulled the visor down or moved it sideways the noise is no more. If anyone has a similar annoying vibration/ rattle noise give it a go.

 

[SRGTD]

I have noticed a rattle noise coming from the front of my Formentor. I checked the advise on this forum and checked the bonnet retaining brackets … no luck, I also checked the bolts under the car near the exhaust heat shield .. no luck, I left it with my local dealership for the day but they couldn’t identify the cause of the noise but admitted that it was very noticeable. They informed me they needed it for 2 days in order to remove the dashboard!! After booking it in I was driving home and decided that the noise was emanating from the roof area above the drivers seat. I started by pushing the roof lining upwards to see if that was causing the rattle/vibration but no joy. I then wedged my hand between the drivers sun visor and the roof lining and HEY PRESTO.. no more rattle. I have no idea what caused it but it’s definitely connected with the drivers sun visor. As soon as I pulled the visor down or moved it sideways the noise is no more. If anyone has a similar annoying vibration/ rattle noise give it a go.

A good example of how deceptive the source of unwanted interior cabin noises can be - the dealer thinking it was somewhere within within / behind the dashboard when the actual source of the rattling noise was in the area of the sun visor.

As for the cause of your rattle noise; I suspect it’s the hard plastic cover over the vanity mirror making contact with vanity mirror light and one vibrating against the other when the sun visor isn’t being used and it’s folded away against the roof lining. There have been quite a few instances of this specific unwanted interior noise source with the VW Golf reported on forums.

Screenshot below is from the Formentor owner’s manual that shows the position of the vanity light relative to the vanity mirror cover;

 

[CupForm]

As soon as I pulled the visor down or moved it sideways the noise is no more. If anyone has a similar annoying vibration/ rattle noise give it a go.

The best news in your case is not that you identified the noise came from the sun-visor, but the fact that you avoided the entire dashboard being removed.

 

[MJP]

The best news in your case is not that you identified the noise came from the sun-visor, but the fact that you avoided the entire dashboard being removed.

Absolutely. I was horrified at the prospect of a factory fitted dashboard being removed and then replaced. For anyone who has an irritating noise/rattle within their car I can confirm that the feeling you get once the problem has been diagnosed is wonderful!!