EXACTLY! Few rattles elsewhere in the dash area (which are NEW, BTW). but above quote is the really bad rattle.

When you say "I pushed it down between the windshield and the top of dash..", should I assume you're talking about the inside of the FIT? (Always wise to confirm just in case...)

My '97 Honda Civic Hatchback was not so noisy that I wouldn't have noticed a dash rattle. One solid, excellent car.

 

The gap between the top of dash and the windshield inside the car... A wooden spatula is a great tool for pushing it into place... I completely filled the gap from one side to the other and the only rattles I can here is from loose tools and stuff in the glove box.. It's well worth the $4.20 for the backing rod and 2 minutes you'll spend putting it in place... If they have it in 3/4" size I would go ahead and get that size but the 5/8" stuff will do the job, it just has a tendency to work its way out of place in my car... If I don't drive too fast on rough road surfaces it stays in place...

 

my car makes so much noise now i dont even notice any dash rattles, lol

 

@MNfit... I can't help but wonder how your beastie would sound with some serious boost...Is the noise mostly exhaust or intake?? You might consider getting an Apexi exhaust control valve... I have a 2 1/2" size pipe with the control valve sandwiched between two 3" stainless steel flanges leaving 1/4" gap between the butterfly and flange opening... I can completely close it and drive at 70MPH with no problems... The Spectre air filter is much louder than the oval K&N and you really can feel the difference in performance...

 

THe noise is Intake, vibration from the engine and stiff engine mounts, dash rattles, stiff suspention and exhaust.

 

What a bloody mess. Wish I had known about all the probs. this UNfit car has before I bought it last September! Hindsight = 20/20 vision, they say.

 

It's weird to me that you're having so many problems. I've only had that one rattle and was able to fix it easily. And I'm super sensitive about rattles.

 

MNfit and I have modified cars that hot rods so our cars are pretty noisy .... Fits are great cars but like everything else on the market that is affordable, they have plastic parts from the front bumper to the back and in between.... My wife drives a Subaru Forester that's dash will briefly buzz at times, we just write it off as a quirk and slap the dash to make it stop... There are too many endearing qualities the Fit has to let a rattle that only occurs under certain conditions upset you and write it off as being a bad car.... When it warms up this spring the rattle won't be as bad and may even go away... I hope someone can help you find solution for the noise.... I heard some buzzing from my dash briefly yesterday and remembered that I had thrown some nuts, bolts, washers and tools in the glove box. I thought about this thread, giggled and it went away....

 

Under certain conditions??? UNDER ALL CONDITIONS. And, it's not just a baby's rattle - it's a Reggae Band.

Why should Honda be allowed to get away with shoddy workmanship? (Price of car matters not - that's just an over-used rationalization for poor quality control.)

 

B3 - please tell again how you fixed your one rattle, so I don't have to search all over this website for the info. Thanks.

 

B3 is teaching school right now but she may get back to you before long... I remember her being upset with the rattle she had.. Her car is like an upscale Eurocar now... I helped her work on her car once and kind of think I got in her way... You may have to remove some of lower dash panels to find the problem.... Reggae Band??? That would get old pretty fast...

 

Here's the outcome of MY dash rattle:

Took FIT back to dealer (under warrantly until 9/12), and lo and behold, the service department actually fixed the rattle (hopefully forever):

Here's what the tech wrote on the invoice:

"Panel that attaches on the bottom of the driver's side dashboard wasn't attached all the way and causing a loud rattle. Reattached the the panel properly and test drove. No rattle now."

Can you believe my good luck? Thanks to all of you for your advice and assistance. I may be back...

 

Awesome. I'm glad you got it fixed!

 

Great feedback Real Mary, should help many 'rattlers'. +reps+ to you.

 

glad you got it sorted out Real Mary

 

Thanks again, y'all.

Guess the moral of the story is if you have a dash rattle, make certain all PLASTIC (ick...) panels of dash are attached fully and correctly.

It does seem to be a plastic panel problem, no matter the location of the rattle, doesn't it? Am I stating the obvious?

 

The outside trim is a different rattle.

This is definitely something inside the dashboard. It goes away when you open the glove box, and no it is not a pen or something in the glovebox either. Comes and goes with heat and cold, nothing to do with outside trim on the windshield.