Picked up '05 Nav earlier this week - and was amazed about the center console rattle prob driving off dealer lot. Thanks to this post, I saved myself a trip to the dealer this weekend, for such a minor nuisance.

As for an update. The pics were very useful. Thanks Kefler. Though I bought the insulation tape, when I opened it up, I realized it was one of the screws attaching the speaker to the grill was not fully screwed in, so did not use the tape.

Though it seemed as though the screw could not screw up any further, I undid it, and screwed it back and forth a few times to loosen the threads. Then carefully screwed it until, there was little or no space anymore.

Did a test drive for 20 minutes on previous roads where I heard the minor rattles, and so far so good.

Thanks once again. Sorry, no pics - didn't have my camera with me.

 

I seem to have the same noise...more like a buzzing. Is that the same as the rattle being refered to?

 

Did that fix your problem? Same problem here...when I accelerate.

 

This applies well in my friend's TL... he puts the thick felt around the speaker and between the metal underneath and the speaker...

 

Great Instructions.

I would emphasize the note to pry up the speaker from the RIGHT side. That way if you do make a small mark, you won't have to look at it when you're driving.

 

My speaker rattles as well. Unfortunately, when I try to remove the speaker, it is very very difficult. I put a screw driver in on the right side and try to life the speaker. It doesn't budge. From the pictures, it looks like I have to release the clips from the bezel. is this what I am aiming for when inserting the screw driver?

Am I also affraid that if I lift up on the speaker, the clips will fall off into the vehicle. I have seen those types of clips before and they don't retain all too well.

I must be missing something. Any help will be appreciated.

 

Guys...great posts. I just discovered the center speaker buzz/rattle in my '05. Great to know how to fix it. I'll give this a shot next weekend.

 

I have the same center channel buzz. Been trying to find the time to fix it! Late model year 05

 

Just got 06 TL same center speaker rattle. If I put my hand on the speaker it goes away.

 

Thanks for the great post... tried the foam tape and now its quiet as a mouse.

 

I noticed that the last post was some time ago, but I will hope to get a response. I have what sounds like to me a metallic vibration/rattle coming from my dash. It almost sounds like a screen vibrating. Is this similar and/or the same as the noise that everyone is experiencing?

If the fix is as mentioned, shouldn't I be able to push on the speaker when I hear the noise and thus stop it?

I agree with everyone, if I can fix it rather than the dealer, I am all for it. Any information/help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks.

 

my sub has a rattle?? anyone else with this prob?? i do have a tendancy to turn the volume up, but my bass n sub were never turned all the way up. I usually keep the bass around half way up, n the sub a bit more that half but now it rattles, did i fuck it up somehow?? could i replace it w/ an aftermarket freeair w/out adding a new amp??? if so, anyone think of a certain brand which would work good/??? those damn fools at circuit city don't know shit. what size is our sub's anywho??? i drive a 05 tl w/ navi?

thanks yall

BIG DON P

 

Cool,

I bet thats what the dealer did, I had dropped my car of for different rattles and that was one of them. I even drove around with the tech in my car. My TL spent two days in the shop. I will post a new thread on this with six copies of the service report.

 

I dont think you messed it up if it just sounds like rattling, unless it sounds extremely bad at almost any volume. If you are looking for a huge, window shaking increase, I would suggest going with a 12 inch sub, or something. Free air-subs are going to be a bit more difficult to find and also you have to take into consideration what to use to power it and etc..

What I did was I ordered a bit of sound deadning, and deadened the rear deck area from inside the trunk. This got rid of 99% of the rattling and also did wonders to the stock bass. I actually had to turn the sub down with the deadning.

I would try this mod first before going out and changing the sub, because even when you do decide to swap subs in the future, you will have rattles, and doing this will eliminate the present rattles, as well as any that might come up in the future.

 

HAVE ANY PICS OR INSTRUCTIONS ON REMOVING THE REAR SPEAKER TRAY for REPLACING THOSE CRAP SPEAKERS ??

 

If its unrelated, sorry!

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Hi.

I was wondering, on this last post, you are referring to the back center speark (subwoofer) that rattles right? Cuz mine is rattling alot when i play music with lots of bass, it's annoying. I was about to go to the delearship to ask them to fix it, but theni saw this thread? So, can i follow these steps to fix this rattling noise?

Thanks!

 

Would anyone be able to confirm whether this fix also works for the left and right speakers on the front dashboard? I seem to be having the same type of rattle with these two speakers, not the center speaker.

 

Thanks for the write up on the center channel speaker noise I had the rattle / buzz sound coming from my TL that I could not find until I saw this post. I used some weather stripping foam that I bought at Home Depot and guess what the rattle is gone. I also thought the tweeter speakers were rattling some so I wrapped those in black electrical tape to make them fit tighter in the holes. Took the car to the dealer for my first service last month and told them about the post and the center channel rattle and they hadn't heard of that one. They also fixed a rattle near my right A/C vent. Now I am getting a bad rattle from the rear of the car sometimes, I think on my next service I will ask them to look at those as well using the service bulletin in this thread. Good luck to everyone!

 

Thanks to all involved in this post. Just got my 06 TL and had the front center speaker rattle. I thought it was coming from the defroster vents, but after reading the post, I tried placing my hand on the speaker when I heard the rattle. Bingo!

I pulled the speaker with a butter knife and some cloth. I then disconnected the speaker and shook it to see if the rattle was in the unit itself. Hearing no noise, I shook the connector and voila, I found the rattle. I used some first-aid tape to wrap up the connector. The noise is gone without a long drive to the dealer and the hassle factor of trying to explain the situation to a tech.

 

Does the same thing apply to the dash tweeters as far as removing them from the dash???

 

Almost forgot does anyone know how to remove the rear dash so that I can get to the speakers. They suck!! and were is the amp that powers the speakers on the doors and that rear dash??? Pictures would very helpful.

 

I did a search for how to replace the sub in the back deck but all I found was this thread regarding the center channel. How hard is it to replace and how expensive is a new sub-woofer?
Thanks in advance!:

 

Kefler - Thanks for the pics! I love this site! I just bought my 06 TL about a week ago and noticed two rattles but both are fixed now!

1. The center speaker rattle - 100% fixed with the above steps.
2. Glovebox rattle - With the glove box open, to the right side there is a bar that stops the glove box (from coming out too far). I noticed it was just hanging there in the open so i pulled it out of the hole and it kept coming. I then realized it attached to the glove box in a little groove, snapped right in. No rattle from the glove box now!

For now, silence is golden - Good luck all!

 

Not sure if its just my car, or I suck...but could not get that center speaker out for the life of me. Used a very thin screwdriver, pried it from every edge and nothing. I gave up, the last thing I wanted was to crack my dashboard, which I honestly felt was probably going to happen if I kept trying.

I'm pretty handy when it comes to doing things like this but I'm seriously about to just print this page out and bring it to the dealer lol.

 

I stopped trying to get the centre speaker grill out of my 07 TL as well to solve a very annoying and persistent rattle I swore was coming from the centre of the dash or console. I also gave up due to concern about damaging something. I then noticed on this thread that some participants noted that the rattle I was concerned about could, in fact, be caused by the driver visor vanity mirror (in spite of my absolute certainty that the rattle was from the centre of the dash or console). Out to my car. Guess what? The visor wasn't seated properly in it's retaining clip. Pushed it in and problem solved. Time elapsed: one-tenth of a second. I hadn't used the visor in several weeks but had been driving at high speed for an extended time over rough pavement. I'm sure there's a lesson here somewhere.

 

WOW, that really helps....i have the same problem too....going to fix it tmr..thanks

 

Did this fix today. I bought some self adhesive felt strips at the local hardware store, popped that speaker out, put the felt in there and put the speaker back in. Should fix me right up. I did not have this rattle until the cold weather came around..o well lol fixed now.

Just be careful because there are little metal clips on the speaker and I had one fall off on me. Thankfully it didnt drop to where I couldnt find it. I was able to get it no prob and place it back on the speaker.

 

I just did this fix today on my 05 tl. I have to say, personally this was one of the scariest things I have ever had to do to a car that I owned. The speaker wouldn’t pop out for anything. I tried prying up from the right first but no matter what I did, the speaker kept falling back in (the clips wouldn’t let go of the dash). I tried from the left but also got nowhere. I left a few marks that wiped away with my cloth, but the whole time all I could think about was the price of a new dash… Even though I wouldn’t buy one if I left marks, just the thought of it was terrifying.

So here is where I had to try a bunch of things to not leave any marks, but also get the damn speaker out.

I masked off the right side around the speaker with masking tape and also slipped some tape into the side of the speaker, I had the screwdriver wrapped in a clean rag, and I wrapped a thin wood shim in a paper towel for leverage. These things definitely saved me from leaving marks (I still left a few very faint marks ). I had my brother help me and while he pried it up from the right side, I slipped another screwdriver in and finally got one of the clips to come loose (being gentle wasn’t working so I had to use force). I then proceeded to pry the other clips up with my hands: NO LUCK. I had to pry from the underside of the speaker as well as my brother lifting for them to let go.

Warning: 2 off the metal clips fell off in the process of prying up the speaker, 1 of them into the center of the dash. Luckily my brother was able to find it, but if he couldn’t I’m sure I would have had another rattle and ended up tearing my whole dash/center console out.

Looking forward to no more dash rattles. Now I had to tackle the rear deck woofer.

 

Just bought a 07 TL. 5 min into the drive i noticed the rattle. I put my hand on it firmly and it would stop. Im glad you guys found a simple fix for this kuz its annoying! I will definitely do it this week!
Thanks!

 

wow, 2 years later and the buzzing just came back... i added more foam and its still there... i'm going to try and see if its one of the clips like some one mentioned... drives me nuts

Thought i'd bump this post back up in case new members experience this.

 

Thank you ! Just bought a TL type s and this center speaker rattle was driving me crazy , everyone thought I was delusional, but thanks to this thread I can keep my sanity and drive with no rattles ! Excellent write up