Noise behind dash.

I have a 97 Tacoma that when the temp gets cold I hear a strange noise behind the dash just to the left the of steering wheel. The faster I go the louder it gets. Usually happens if the temp drops below 45 but stops when the car completely warms up. Any ideas?

Reply 1 : Noise behind dash.

I had the same problem but on passanger side. It was the windshied wiper plastic cowl rattling off the windshield. Went to Advance Auto and bought a strip of foam and stuck it under the cowl.. Sound was gone.

Reply 2 : Noise behind dash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimmejr I have a 97 Tacoma that when the temp gets cold I hear a strange noise behind the dash just to the left the of steering wheel. The faster I go the louder it gets. Usually happens if the temp drops below 45 but stops when the car completely warms up. Any ideas?

Is it a rattling type sound? If so, allot of the Tacoma's have rattling dash problems, i know my dads 03 has a rattle that if it were my truck i would be ripping the dash apart to stop it. And my 04 has a little rattle to it, but not nearly as bad as my dads 03. The rattle does tend to subside or completely go away when the temp starts to raise and the plastic starts to soften up.

Reply 3 : Noise behind dash.

The passenger side dash of my 03 rattles like hell sometimes. Is there not a TSB or number of them for our trucks?

Reply 4 : Noise behind dash.

No TSB for the dash that I'm aware of. OP, maybe your speedo cable is loose?

Reply 5 : Noise behind dash.

Gimmejr,

Does the noise stop if you press down on the top of your dash in the area you hear the noise? I had a similar problem with my 02 Double Cab shortly after I bought it in 2004. The noise I heard was due to having slight play in the front dash mounts. (Where the dash meets the windshield.) I solved the problem by buying 6' of 3/8" O.D vaccum line from my local auto parts store and wedging between the dash and the windshield. The line is all black and looks like an additional piece of trim.



I wouldn't recommend taking the dash apart unless you have no other choice. Most of the dash components fits together with snap mounts... the more you remove the components the more play you'll have in the mounts, potentially leading to more noises.

Reply 6 : Noise behind dash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fowl Mouth Retriever Gimmejr, Does the noise stop if you press down on the top of your dash in the area you hear the noise? I had a similar problem with my 02 Double Cab shortly after I bought it in 2004. The noise I heard was due to having slight play in the front dash mounts. (Where the dash meets the windshield.) I solved the problem by buying 6' of 3/8" O.D vaccum line from my local auto parts store and wedging between the dash and the windshield. The line is all black and looks like an additional piece of trim. I wouldn't recommend taking the dash apart unless you have no other choice. Most of the dash components fits together with snap mounts... the more you remove the components the more play you'll have in the mounts, potentially leading to more noises.

Also to, i was going to mention this but forgot until Fowl Mouth Retriever said something.



When i took my instrument cluster out to replace the bulb in it, i figured while hear i might as well at try to fix the dash rattle. So with everything out of the way i had a pretty good open space to work in behind the dash on the drivers side. I started pushing on the top of the dash lightly to make the noise appear and from what i could tell at the time it was coming form the metal support beam that connects the top of the dash to the bottom of the dash. Its attached with two screws, one at the top and one at the bottom with dowel pins in both top and bottom to alight the screw holes. I took the screws out and put some thin weather stripping that you can get at a hardware store (its in a roll and has a sticky side to it) in between the two matting surfaces of the support beam and the dash. I put everything back together and the noise subsided quite a bit but was still there. So i hunted a little more and found the real problem. In back of the dash is a steel tub that runs the width of the truck behind the dash. The location of the problem is right behind where the bottom right screw goes in to secure the instrument cluster. Behind the mounting area is that steel tube and the plastic of the dash is touching the metal causing a creaking sound when it vibrates. And dammit i should have taken a picture of the area! But anyway i had some Velcro laying around so i just unbolted some more dash bolts to get just enough play to pull the dash away from the steel and stuck a piece of the soft side Velcro in between the plastic and the steel. Conclusion, no more noise. Im guessing it was a factory clearance problem, beings that nothing on a new vehicle is perfect.



The only thing i caution you about is that with the metal support for the upper and lower dash, you NEED a stubby Phillips head screw driver for the top screw and an ANGLED Phillips for the bottom screw. You know the screw drivers that are bent into the letter S.