Squeaky/rattling dashboard anyone?

[suzboy]

Hi all,

I seems to have a few problems with my Kizashi.

Recently I have noticed that there is a squeaky noise coming from the dash, behind the windscreen vent near the speaker area.

It squeaks more when the car goes over a bump but sometimes it goes away. If you punch the area the squeak goes away for awhile

Will take it back to the dealer for a troubleshoot. I am not happy when I was told that squeaks and rattles are not covered under warranty (I bought a demostrator).

They are going to charge me to try to locate the problem. But seems like I have no choice because the squeaks is driving me crazy (I am those people who can hear everything).

I wonder if the dealer can actually fix the problem, or are there any mechanics around who can fix it (but not void Suzuki Warranty)?

Thanks.

[BM-Power]

Hmm, they shouldn't charge you for it as long as the car is under warranty. Try a different dealership, they might be able to help you.

I'm guessing they realise it's a lot of work dismantling and looking for loose things under/behind the dashboard so they're trying to pass on the cost of labour on to you.

Good luck

[suzboy]

Thanks BM-Power.

I don't think other Suzuki dealers want to do all these works too. But shouldn't they be able to send the bill to Suzuki HQ to reimburse the cost? Can other dealers refuse to fix a car bought from another dealer (as they are basically, compeitiors).

I have written Suzuki HQ a email to see if they feel that this is warranty repair. Hopefully the answer is positive.

[murcod]

Hmm, they shouldn't charge you for it as long as the car is under warranty. Try a different dealership, they might be able to help you.

In the Australian Warranty hand book there's a specific clause about rattles and squeaks. I think it says they're not covered after the initial 1 month "service" (or some other similar period.)

Quite likely it is the same overseas. Most new vehicles have the same clauses in their warranty.

[suzboy]

Thanks David. You are a star. Thanks for looking at the warranty book for me so promptly.

Since the sound is driving me nuts, I will have the dealer have a look at it and see if there is an easy fix. Otherwise I would probably live with it. I don't want to be spending money on it.

It is disappointing that it is happening to a 1 year old car. The fit and finish of the Kizashi seem very good, and this shouldn't happen.

[suzboy]

Suzuki Australia just got back to me. This is what their response is:

Please refer to the terms and condition's in your owners handbook which state that "interior trim noises, squeaks and rattles or misalignment after 3,000klm or 3 mths from commencement of warranty period are not covered".
I'm sure your dealer can attend to any issue you have but not everything is covered under warranty. If in the process of conducting a retail repair a manufacturing defect is found it will be naturally be covered under warranty.

Therefore if you wish to proceed you then need to authorise the dealer to go ahead on the understanding that it is a retail repair until such a time as it is found not to be.

Seems fair to me.

[klement]

The same here in Slovakia, the dealer will not cover any rattling or squeaking claiming that it does not affect the functionality of the car.

What I do is whenever it starts to really bother me, I try to push the different plastic parts on the dashboard/doors/etc. This way I usually find the part that is loose and then either stick something under it or between this and another part. For places which are not visible I found the sticky transparent dots which are meant to be used under things such as keyboard to be stable on the desktop to work well, I just pry the rattling plastic part a bit away from the part under it, stick one of those dots under and let it snap back. For filling the gaps between the dashboard parts, I found that the black seals used for plumbing work well, the seal looks like a rubber circle with one side thinner than the other, so just cut a piece of that a stick it in any space where necessary. It matches the color perfectly and if you match the length of the rubber with length of the space nobody will tell that it's not been there from the start.

[Sluggo]

No troubles with my Kizashi but my last car did have a squeak from the area where the dash and windshield meet. Silicone sprayed into that area stopped the squeak for the next 80,000 miles.

[CLLee]

Hi guys,

Haven't posted for a long while....

It's a long shot, but might worth having a look.
What are you storing in the storage compartment under the headunit?

My 42,000km 20-month-old Kizashi had a buzzing rattle that's been bothering me since the 3rd month or so. It sounded like it's coming from the area where the dash meets the windscreen. Sometimes, it seemed it was from the air vents. Sometimes, the dash speaker cover. Where ever it was, it did't sound like it was from the storage compartment. It rattled according to the acceleration/deceleration of the car. Say, it's quiet when I was cruising along but when I hit the brakes to gradually slow down, it buzzed. Sometimes, it's the other way round, buzzing when moving and no buzz when braking.

I couldn't be stuffed asking the dealer to look at it, because I know they are just going to take off the dash, and that has the potential of creating more rattles or issues.

On day one, I mounted a TomTom GPS unit in the storage compartment. I stuck a plastic sheet using double sided tape in there to hold the suction cup of the GPS unit. Recently, I put my hand in there to fiddle with it and the rattling stopped. Came back the next day, and I pressed the plastic sheet hard against the wall and it stopped.
So, I removed the whole assembly, replaced the plastic sheet with a heap of rubber non slip pads, and so far so good.... no rattle or buzz.

My theory is that the rattling plastic sheet at the back of the compartment must have travelled through the back of the dash and ended up sounding like it's coming from the windscreen. Acoustic source inside a car can be hard to pin point.

Clear out everything inside the car and see if it helps.
I hope this helps. Good luck!!!

[ipaqxman]

How do you mount a gps in the tiny hole under the head unit