Diy: Find Squeaks / Rattles From Centre Console

[WazR32GTSt]

Ok so ever since i've begun pulling things apart on the V35 a few squeaks have begun to appear. there is nothing loose, its just that going over bumps in the road leaves me thinking that this expensive luxury car is worth no more than a cheap silvia.

a quick search on G35driver.com and it appears that this is fairly common and there are a few sites which can regularly squeak. G35driver users suggest the parcel shelf, the door trims, the centre console, the upper dash clock mechanism, and the seats as potential sources of rattles. we don't have the analogue clock on our cars so that wasn't a problem. the doors and parcel shelf were also ok. so i had decided that the rattle/squeak was coming from either the drivers seat or the centre console.

after driving over bumpy ground i put pressure on the centre piece around the cup holder and the squeak stopped! so i decided i was going to fix it! (and take pictures to share it with everyone )

i have attached pictures at the end for everyone's reference, but i will also outline what i did..

Time required:

1-2 hours

Skill-level required:

Easy - beginners

Tools:

- scissors

- phillips screwdriver

- flat-head screwdriver

- adhesive-backed felt - $9.95 from Mitre10 (in the section with hooks and velcro)

--> see pictures for more info

Step 1: remove the trim

the keys need to be in the ignition in order to put the gearstick into drive (with the car not running!). this means you have to close both doors or the car will beep at you for the whole time.

now to remove the gearknob the silver piece around the bottom slides down revealing a small clip. if you remove this clip the gearknob will slide right off, followed by the small plastic piece.

next we remove the middle piece including the cup holders, the gear surround, and ashtray. to begin lift up the armrest. now, simply lift the trim from the sides at the end where the cupholders is. there are 4 clips that hold it in place and that's it! just lift hard enough and it will come up, allowing you to pull it out. after its loose, in order to take it out fully you will need to disconnect 3 or 4 plugs at the back and out she comes.

now, lastly, we need to remove the rear piece where the armrest is. first, take the flat-head screwdriver and pry open the small black piece of trim at the back of the armrest where the hinge enters into the car (see pic). there is 2 small holes there for you to do this. once this is off you can see 4 screws. remove them using the phillips screwdriver. Now, simply lift the whole piece of trim up. there are again 4 clips that hold it in place. the entire cubby area comes up with it in one piece

you are now left with the exposed gear selector mechanism and the airbag module --> see picture

Step 2: locate potential rattle positions

now comes your creativity. the key here is that anywhere where plastic touches plastic is going to be a source of a potential rattle either now or in the future. if you look at the trim you have removed you will even see areas where nisan has put some kind of felt to stop these rattles! you need to find potential spots and keep them in mind

Step 3: apply adhesive-backed felt

now's the easy/fun part. get your scissors and cut the felt into all sorts of shapes and sizes that will apropriately stick on the spots you have already identified. you can see in my pictures some of the areas that i have done. i made sure to do the areas around where the clips go into the dash as well as heaps of others. probably 20 or so small pieces of felt overall were used.

Step 4: replace trim

time to replace the trim in the exact order that you removed it. start with the rear piece, then the middle piece, and lastly the gear knob.

if you have been thouough then you will find that the extra felt provides some resistance to you clipping it in properly. this is good, as it means that you have definately identified areas that contact in standard positions

Step 5: take it for a drive!

now go for a drive over bumpy areas to see your handy work! you will be pleasently surprised!

I hope this was able to help others.

I personally found that it removed >90% of my sequaks/rattles although i have only given it a quick test for 30mins or so, only time will tell how effective it was.

cheers,

Warren

[rs73]

Excellent write up. Let us know if you ever decided to butcher the doors or dash

[MFC05]

any memebers v35s on here get squeaky seats, i have that problem on my driver back lefthand side its very frustrating.

[NISMO]

any memebers v35s on here get squeaky seats, i have that problem on my driver back lefthand side its very frustrating.

Yep I've got sqeaks on my drivers seat. back left or around the seat controls.

[WazR32GTSt]

sure its coming from the seat and not the centre console?

[MFC05]

sure its coming from the seat and not the centre console?

I am postive that it is a squeaks from the seats because i have pushed it down the seats and it makes the squeaky noise.

[-= SKiZO =-]

I have that sqeak too, pretty sure it's the seat belt bit between the seat and the centre console. Move it to an uncomortable position and the sound goes away.

[cookie--monster]

yeah i have the seat/console squuek too

As its also coming from the left side of the seat i will isolate it and report what parts making the noise.

Sounds like we all got the same problem!!

wounder what the fairlady/350z are like with this?

[rs73]

leather seats? leather squeaks and make fart-like sound when you move around... can't help it.

[WazR32GTSt]

ok mine also has a squeak from where the seat buckle mechanism attaches to the seat

its a specific squeak that is different to the centre consol squeaks

its been a day now with a lot of driving and no centre console squeaks since my felt trick! success!

[MFC05]

ok mine also has a squeak from where the seat buckle mechanism attaches to the seat

its a specific squeak that is different to the centre consol squeaks

its been a day now with a lot of driving and no centre console squeaks since my felt trick! success!

You should do a write up on D.I.Y squeaky seats

[rs73]

thats great news. Nissan should've done it properly then the car would be squeak free as good as a high class euro cruiser.

oh Warren, will send your cable n lights asap, battery went bloody flat again and that thingy you want is in the boot and the electric boot release dun work with the battery flat.

[WazR32GTSt]

once i tackle my seat (maybe this weekend) i will do a separate writeup

[cookie--monster]

once i tackle my seat (maybe this weekend) i will do a separate writeup

nice one warren.

my seat only squeeks when it is in the lowest reclined position.

because im 6'3'' i have the seat fully lowered and all the way foward/down to give the seat its lowest position.

Its only then that it will squeek!

[WazR32GTSt]

hmmm that's interesting as i am 6"4 and also have it fully lowred.. maybe there's a trend?

i might try moving the position around first

[Unique]

I have not experienced any rattles or squeeks ANYWHERE, let alone from the seat, in the short time I have had the car on the road. I am 6'5 and my seat is at the lowest position too.

Best of luck guys. Hopefully this is not a topic I will NEED to put into practice.

[MFC05]

nice one warren.

my seat only squeeks when it is in the lowest reclined position.

because im 6'3'' i have the seat fully lowered and all the way foward/down to give the seat its lowest position.

Its only then that it will squeek!

My one totoally opposite it squeakys when it reclinded to the highest position.

[rs73]

LOL - I think you two should swap car. That would solve the problem.

It that doesn't then its definitely not the car seat that's squeaking...

Psst... it's the butt crack that squeaks...

[WazR32GTSt]

ok just an update..

i have done some modifications to my doors to also address the same problem.

i noticed that on certain songs with a lot of bass, the door also squeaks in certain areas. this can be stopped with enough downward pressure on the top of the door fascia.

so i took the door off

- there is one screw behind the door latch

- now the silver handle comes off revealing another 2 screws

- all these screws require a 10mm ratchet with an extension +/- a phillips screwdriver

- from here the rest is clips so just pull it forward, then up and out

now, i didn't have my camera unfortunately but i can try and describe where i put the felt

ON THE DOOR ITSELF

i put 3 pieces of felt down on the door, basically at the same points where the screws go into the door.

i decided that felt would be best used on the door fascia as this is the part that moves

ON THE DOOR FASCIA

i concentrated on the top of the fascia as this is the part that touches with metal and where the squeaks seemed like they were coming from.

if you turn the fascia upside down or lie on the ground, you will see that there are 4 areas where the top of the fascia touches with the top of the door itself. i cut 4 small pieces of felt and put them onto these locations

next, there was this odd square-shaped item in the middle that seemes to jutt-out, so i put 2 pieces on this

and i think that is really all i did. i basically just looked for areas that articulate, or areas that had signs of wear, and then put the felt in that area. pretty simple stuff really

and the result?

well i haven't taken it for a drive but i did listen to my music on VERY high and no squeaks or rattles of any kind

the best part?

i used the same piece of felt as before, which means this mod was essentially FREE for me!

cheers,

Warren

Edited July 1, 2008 by WazR32GTSt

[cookie--monster]

ok just an update..

i have done some modifications to my doors to also address the same problem.

i noticed that on certain songs with a lot of bass, the door also squeaks in certain areas. this can be stopped with enough downward pressure on the top of the door fascia.

so i took the door off

- there is one screw behind the door latch

- now the silver handle comes off revealing another 2 screws

- all these screws require a 10mm ratchet with an extension +/- a phillips screwdriver

- from here the rest is clips so just pull it forward, then up and out

now, i didn't have my camera unfortunately but i can try and describe where i put the felt

ON THE DOOR ITSELF

i put 3 pieces of felt down on the door, basically at the same points where the screws go into the door.

i decided that felt would be best used on the door fascia as this is the part that moves

ON THE DOOR FASCIA

i concentrated on the top of the fascia as this is the part that touches with metal and where the squeaks seemed like they were coming from.

if you turn the fascia upside down or lie on the ground, you will see that there are 4 areas where the top of the fascia touches with the top of the door itself. i cut 4 small pieces of felt and put them onto these locations

next, there was this odd square-shaped item in the middle that seemes to jutt-out, so i put 2 pieces on this

and i think that is really all i did. i basically just looked for areas that articulate, or areas that had signs of wear, and then put the felt in that area. pretty simple stuff really

and the result?

well i haven't taken it for a drive but i did listen to my music on VERY high and no squeaks or rattles of any kind

the best part?

i used the same piece of felt as before, which means this mod was essentially FREE for me!

cheers,

Warren

nice one waz.I too have the same problem with heavy bass tracks.

Ill try this fix out too.i HATE rattles!!!!

Genius