427

OK kidz ... There have been many complaintz regarding a squeak near the A-Pillar or Round Vent on the dash. I hope I don't curse myself, but I may have an easy fix for you to try.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I found that pressing or lifting on the corner of the dash relieved the noise. Someone also has mentioned that sticking their finger between the door & dash eliminated the squeak. My first solution ("Rattle me this" thread) lasted only a week or so ... Then the noise slowly returned. This current solution has lasted over a month (with one small adjustment) and I hope it can be repeated successfully for you. On to the cause and fix ...

I don't believe the noise is coming from the round dash vent at all. It is my contention that there is flexing in part of the dash panel itself ... On the SIDE of the dash between the car door. (Thus the elimination of the noise when someone reported sticking their finger in the slot between the dash and the door.)

When I had the car door wide open, I was able to replicate the noise/squeak by pressing on the **SIDE** of the dash ... This area was NOT on the top of the dash, but to the left of all the vents (round and square) and just above a little door (it may house a fuse panel). I noticed a small flexing occurring as I pressed on this area and the squeak was pronounced.

My fix involved two partz ... But I'm pretty sure the first one was unnecessary. I'm not taking anything apart to see for sure. Perhapz you can skip step one and just try step two ... Then report back to us. BTW- I have black interior, so I used a thin piece of black leather as my material of choice (so it will semi-blend in). You can try just about anything that will take up space and can be easily cut and folded.

STEP #1 - Cut a piece of leather about 1/4" wide and 1" long. With the car door wide open, I lifted up on the corner of the top dash pad to create a small space between the padded dash and the wooden section (near the square vent). I then forced the leather strip into this opening ... It is completely invisible, but places some tension in this area.

STEP #2 - Cut a piece of leather about 3/8" wide, 3" long and rolled it up into a tight ball. With the car door wide open, look at the SIDE of the dash and notice the little door (fuse panel?). Now look towards the front of the car and notice a 1/2" gap between the dash pad and the firewall. I placed the rolled up piece of leather in this gap so it would force some pressure on the side of the dash pad. Working on the drivers side and pretending the side of the dash is a clock ... I inserted the rolled up leather ball into the gap at approximately the 10 o'clock position.

After a month or so, the squeak started to return ... So I readjusted the rolled up leather piece and also put a good amount of interior conditioner in this area too. So far, so good.

If someone has the time, open the little door on the side of the dash (is this the damn fuse panel?) and see if I can you can jam some material up inside ... Above the little door and towards the top of the dash pad.

Sorry I don't have a digital camera to give you more detailz (I do have a camera, but broke the card reader). Please let us know if you have any success with eliminating this annoying squeak.

Ciao,
427

Big Dog

Thks. Will give it a try -- interestingly enough this rattle has disappeared over the past 3 weeks. Suspect the heat/humidity have something to do with it.

scottj

Mine comes and goes, too. For a while I thought it was heat related but now I'm not sure at all.

No official word from Acura on this one? Seems like a common enough problem that they'd have a fix by now.

bluemule

I have finally decided that that particular noise is more of a "creaking" than a rattle. I've been speculating that it's due to the tight interface between the vinyl dash and wood trim in the vicinity of the vents left of the steering wheel. Been meaning to very judiciously squirt some sort of lubricant in the crack. However, after seeing your post, I opened the driver's door and mashed around a bit...noticed that the wood trim moves independently of the vinyl. In poking around, I mashed on the wood trim just enough to cause it to shift slightly towards the steering wheel. Can't confirm yet, but didn't notice any "creaking" on a Sunday drive of 250 miles. Will update my observations later in the week. As others have noted, the creaking seems to come and go, so I may have done nothing at all.