Loud Harsh Rattle From Under Off-side Dash

[Guest blatters]

HELP :blink:

 

I've just got back from a 2,600 mile journey from Scotland to Austria and the car developed this awful rattle from under the driver's side dashboard which drove me nuts! Please help - I can describe it in detail 'cos I've lived with it across Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France & England.

 

It's not there when you start up from cold. Things warm up and, especially at speed or >3,000rpm, this plasticky rattle sound starts. It's sounds like it's coming from under the fuse box area. At over 3,500rpm it really sounds terrible.

 

It's just a slight rattle in a straight line at under 3,500rpm. But the slightest turn on the left of steering and it gets a lot worse. Particularly under acceleration because, if I depress the clutch and keep turning left, the rattle goes. It won't do it at standstill either.

 

I've fiddled around the lower driver's side dash and fuse box area. But no joy. Just got back from hols today and will have a better inspection tomorrow but any ideas?

 

If it helps I had the following done by the dealer before we left for hols. A set of new steel wheels mounted, cambelt changed and aux water heater changed.

 

Finally, can anyone tell me what their TDi 115bhp Galaxy is like at over 3,500rpm? I rarely drive in this rev range but the car's really booming at this rpm and above. Is that normal?

 

Thanks to anyone with advice. I've checked the search engine already and will the suggested points tomorrow but I'd be really, really grateful for any further help.

 

Best wishes.

 

Blatters

[Guest marcusheawood]

O/S/F CV joint failure perhaps, or maybe the garage didn't re-attach the undertray properly!

[Galaxy23]

Was the rattle there before you took the car to the dealer ????

 

It may be an idea to check your tyre pressures in the first instance.I am aware of someone who had a similar problem only to find the tyres under-inflated.

I have several ongoing rattle problems with my galaxy as well and will discuss further with you if you like?

 

 

Regards,

 

Paul.

[Guest blatters]

Thanks guys for your suggestions.

 

Had some time today to try and remove Europe's finest autobahn salt and so also had a poke around.

 

The only thing I could find that was rattling was a plastic undertray part just below the fuse box. It was fitted really poorly and was loose to touch. I've removed this item and will now need to see if that was the cause. The trouble is that it doesn't usually rattle until it's warmed up and got a few miles under her belt, done a bit of speed and started turning towards the left. So I'll see how it goes this week when I go back to work to Edinburgh.

 

The C/V joint. Hmm, I hope not. I've only done 46k and the car's only 2yrs old. I've just had this problem on my wife's Peugeot 206 and it was a very different noise. And it knocked both left & right turning. It also started as soon as I drove her car off. Also I hope not as we're talking

[Guest lablover]

I too have a rattle coming from drivers side somewhere. I'm going to be more observant next time I drive the car, and see if it's there from cold, and let you know... Maybe we have the same problem? I had new tyres about 2 months ago, and I have to confess I haven't checked them soince, so will check that too.

 

This might be a daft question, but how do you know if you have an alarm or not? I have an '02 plate 115 TDi LX and it has the small red flashing LED on drivers side, and remote central locking, but not sure if it has an alarm. Does anyone know? Also, the car stalled the other week (my fault - wrong gear and v cold engine) and when I restarted it, the red LED went mad, wouldn't stop flashing, and then did really long flashes then stayed on - any idea what that means?

 

Cheers,

 

Julia

[Guest lablover]

PS meant to say regarding Volvo XC90 - I heard they had huge problems with gearboxes - maybe there's a website like this for Volvo owners? Also, Volvo is now owned by Fraud so I'm not sure if that has lead to Volvo becoming less reliable with a slightly more down market image? I've had 2 volvo's - older ones, a 440 and a 940 - and they were both brilliant cars. I just wish I could afford a newer one, and not have to put up with crappy brands like Vauxhall and Ford, but that's all my budget can stretch too at the mo.

 

I'm dreaming now....

[dave_m]

one of the fins on my airvents fell of and went down inside the ducting and rattles like mad when the fans are on.

 

Its driving me mad :)

[Guest blatters]

Jules,

 

I'm not an expert on the alarm but try this as it's a certain way to check if your car's equipped with an alarm.

 

Unlock the car with the remote key and only open the rear tailgate. Do not open any other doors. After a few minutes the alarm will go off.

 

I know this because it does this on mine every time we were taking our skis and boots off on our winter holiday. The car automatically relocks itself unless you open a passenger door.

 

Haven't really done any mileage yet to test whether my removing the plastic undertray from below the fusebox has solved the problem. I'll give it a week or so of commuting to Edinburgh and see.

 

But today the centre colnsole was creaking away. I've explained to my teenage son that perhaps the best thing to do is gradually strip out the interior like on the WRC rally cars! That should solve it all.

 

No suggestions for the broken air vent - sorry. Currently dealing with my own crisis.

 

Best wishes.

 

Blatters

[Galaxy23]

My Galaxy has two annoying rattles.One is from the drivers side door.I've taken the panel off twice (couldn't find anything loose when I checked myself the first time) .The second time I got a local garage to check take the window regulator out and tape the window up.However the rattle was still there.Anyway to cut a long story short I took the car to one a Ford garage and a very helpful mechanic after spraying nearly everything in my door panel with grease told me that the noise was coming from the door latchafter taking it off.Redneck is kindly sending me one in the post and after it has been fitted I will let you know if the problem is resolved.

 

The other rattle which isn't as loud is coming somewhere from the passenger quarterlite window area.I have changed the plastic around the wiper blades,had new plastic vent cover and the spongy thing that sits underneath it.I have also had the quarterlite window taken out and resealed as it was slightly loose.I have taken the door panel off but couldn't find anything loose and have greased the door latch( just in case!!!).I've also had a new panel which sits at the end of the dash by the door if that makes sense.

I am now running out of ideas and guess i will just have to turn the radio on louder !!

I guess there is so much plastic panelling on the galaxy that something is bound to rattle.Guess they are poorly made.Should have bought a tractor.At least with that the sound of the engine would overide every conceivable rattle!

 

 

Going off on a tangent how often do you top up your oil level in the galaxy.I put 4.5 litres in about 3 months ago and must have done about 5 k .Checked the level today and found it on the minimum mark and topped it up with approx half a litre of oil.Is it normal for the car to use so much oil .i never had the same problem with a Sharan I used to haveand that was a tdi as well.

[Guest blatters]

GALAXY23: Mine's a TDi 115bhp. It has never used much oil. Sometimes I can go between 10k services without topping up although this is when we've not really hammered the car anywhere.

 

Having just covered the journey to and from Austria the oil consumption was higher and I did put 0.5litre in. But this was because we were doing 110mph and my underdstanding is that they consume more oil if revved high.

 

The manual says that owners should expect to top up with oil and the petrol filler flap suggests I check it every 1000km.

 

Your oil consumption does appear high though. Might be worth asking the same question on a new thread on this site as some of the techies will be able to tell you what they think - I just specialise in rattles, booster heaters, drop-links, aux water pumps and timing belt change interval foul-ups!

 

All the best.

 

Blatters.

[Galaxy23]

BLATTERS- It is a worry that my galaxy which is a 115 bhp tdi ghia seems to be using oil.The only thing that I have put in the engine is a plug in module which increases the bhp to about 150 bhp.Maybe this is the reason,more of a strain on the engine or something.As I am new to the site how do i open up a new thread on the site (please excuse my ignorance once more !!)

 

 

Regards.

 

Paul

[Guest vr6galaxy]

Find the section you want to post in and at the top of the active topics section you will see two buttons http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/style_images/1/t_new.gif and http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/style_images/1/t_poll.gif click the one you want and it will open up a new page with a box for the topic title, topic description, and the big box you type your question in, when your done scroll down to page and click post new topic

have fun <_<

[Guest marcusheawood]

...GALAXY23; of course your car will use more oil, you have increased the effective boost pressure and therefore there will be more blow-by past the piston rings (you are probably booting it more as well). Additionally you are also injecting more fuel which will contaminate the oil, thinning it out and thereby making it easier for it to get past the oil control rings. Consider also the increase in oil mist production for the aforementioned reasons which is recycled through the intake and burnt in the engine!

[Guest MATT]

well - my galaxy was silent for a short while, but now I've got two irritating squeaks/rattles, coming front the front passenger side, i think it is one of the following:

the lower glove box door

the two top glove boxes, as the lids to not shut tight <ie, when there shut, u can press on them, and they will move down a bit>

the door card

or the Speaker Grill on the door card

 

its is difficult to know which it is, as the rattles only happen on some road surfaces. its not all the time.

 

its annoying, and is the only problem i currently have with the car.

 

i blame my younger son, who has a habit of slamming and bashing things!

 

MATT <_<

[Guest blatters]

SOLUTION - UPDATE AFTER 1 WEEK

 

It's been one week and I've had the best opportunity to try and replicate the driving pattern that had previously generated the harsh rattle that drove me nuts on the way to & from Austria.

 

Having removed the plastic undertray just below the fuse box cover - lower, driver's side dash - the noise has gone. Now one week is too soon to be sure so I'll not be replacing the offending piece until I've done a 'dash' from the Scottish Borders to Kent & back.

 

But I thought you folks might want to know. It really was a poorly fitted item and could therefore be loose on a number of models, not just mine. Worth checking out if you've got a rattle from that area.

 

I'll give an update in a few months to close this one off.

 

One rattle down, only another four to go.

 

Blatters

 

PS. We looked over a Volvo XC90 D5 SE today. Lovely car but we're talking Zafira size for passengers rather than Galaxy. Cabin quality was nice though. We're going to have a look at a VW Touareg next. Only five seats but hoping they'll be better suited for five adults on a pan-european journey plus good luggage space in the back?