Easy Rattle Fix - Passenger Dashboard/Vent

I finally fixed the rattle that's been aggravating me for the past several weeks. User SaveChief found the source of the rattle in a previous post, but didn't update his thread with a how-to or any postmortem. I'll do that here. The fix is really easy (requires no tools at all), and I wasted a lot of time messing around with the passenger-side vent and the cupholder assembly trying to find the source. The rattle is indeed where SaveChief thought it was, where the plastic vent tube leading from the passenger-side vent connects to the ventilation system. The tubes become disconnected, and the vent-side tube rattles against fixtures behind the glovebox. To get to the rattle, open the passenger door and pull on the bottom of the trim piece to the right of the glovebox. The piece will pull out fairly easily - it's only held in by some tension clips. Once you've pulled that piece out, pull out the the plastic trim piece to the right of the piece you just removed. It attaches by two tabs that slot in behind the rubber door seal, and a tension clip at the front of the item. Pull it out of the tension clip, and pull toward the back of the car. Again, this item pulls out fairly easily. Now you'll be able to see the source of the problem. The black plastic vent tubes that connect to each other right behind the aluminum support brace will probably have come loose from each other. Simply push the vent tube on the right into the one on the left securely. Then use some duct tape or other solution to seal them up so they won't come loose again. At this point, I also wrapped some felt tape around the wire that hangs in front of the vent tubes, as I felt (ha!) that it would also help prevent any potential rattles. You can just pull the wire out a bit in order to get the tape on it. So that's it! Just snap the two trim pieces back into place in the reverse order you removed them, and you're done. So far, my rattles in this area are gone and I'm much relieved. Also, I know that if I hear the rattle again I can get to it on the spot with no tools needed.

Great job. That would seem like going down the rabbit hole to me. When I hear rattles I figure you would have to dismantle half of the car to get to get to it. Nice work.

I've taken my whole dash apart searching for rattles. Thanks for the write up. I would also suggest putting some felt tape or dynomat type material on the back of the metal panel mounting clip receivers. I found that there were a few rattles as a result of those shifting around. In addition, the metal knee supports behind the glovebox was dynomatted in mine as that metal was vibrating. Now I am rattle free (in that section).

First apologies for the bump. I've got the rattle behind the air vent too, same side but RHD car. Kind of stops for a bit if I hold the dash top vent firmly but then it comes back. My Q - how to remove the lower dash section on the drivers side. Its one long piece so does it just pull down and out or is it more complicated than that? I'm a bit anxious about giving it a big tug and breaking a fastening or something.

Has anyone determined why our Caymans rattle so much? Is it because the chassis is so torsionally stiff, it shakes the interior loose? Does Porsche not know how to put a modern interior together? Or- Maybe we're just an overly anal-retentive bunch? I wish I knew because these rattles drive me as mad as the rest of you :wall:

Been there, done that (yes the tube had pulled apart), still had the rattle. Went back in and pulled out the glove box to do a more thorough job duct taping the tube, including felt, cable ties on misc. things, etc., even put felt on top of the drink holder unit........... Still have the occasional rattle, that seems to be more tied to the resonance of the exhaust (Remus) as to hitting bumps in the road.....

I appreciate you writing this up & posting pictures. Had a similar rattle in same area of my '11 987. Opened up the same area & found the little metal clip that holds the wire to the side of the panel, shown in picture 3, was cockeyed & causing one end of the metal clip to vibrate against the panel like a mouth organ. The vent tubes were connected but loose, so I realigned the clip & snapped it in properly, as well as tightened up the vent tubes with some cable ties. All is well now, just wanted to let you now I appreciate your help with the excellent post. If you've never heard a mouth organ before, it makes one heck of an annoying rattle.

As long as the thread has been brought back... 1) overly anal-retentive: yes 2) I think it's 2 things together: (a) snap-together plastic pieces which are cheap and easy to manufacture and assemble, and (b) stiff suspension that transmits more shocks to the interior. But anyway I appreciate the post, this is a great how-to!

I have the rattle! Very annoying. Pics have disappeared for the fix which would be very helpful if someone has a way to access or repost them. Thanks!

My '08 CS suffered from this rattle, and although I don't have the original photos, here are some I took while applying the fix. The bad boy is the black duct I'm pointing at in #3. In order to insure that the duct stayed in place I choose to add two small sheet metal screws, one at each end. Unfortunately this also meant I had to remove the glove box, etc. to reach it, but hey, at least I got some clear photos... Hope this helps.

Thank you! Looks like I'll be pulling the glove box.

Thank you!! This has been driving me nuts for the last month or so. 1 rattle down, a few more to go!

I can't thank you guys enough for posting this and the pics. 2012 Boxster S BE. The constant rattle was horrible. Stumbled upon this during the COVID social distancing with way more time on my hands. Sure enough the air duct was dissociated. I only used 1 screw though nearest the center because the end nearest the passenger vent didn't seem to really pop in and engage the vent and had a foam gasket around it like it might need a little play? Hopefully it doesn't start rattling. 1st test drive rattle totally gone. I could still feel a cringe in my brain every time I hit some rough spots just bracing for the chatter. Guess it'll take a while for the PTSD to resolve.

I hear a little rattle that seems to be coming from the underside of the dash assembly on the driver's side of my '07 'CS'. It's not too bad, but I'd like to find and fix it ... some day. The motor and wind noise (when the windows are down) mask it pretty good. I'm accustomed to older P cars (SWB 911s , 912s & 914s), and have to say that the interiors were never what I'd call plush. The Cayman 's look a little more plush, but everything seems too easy to pull apart - no screw-type fasteners to secure the panels & trim pieces to the body, and the plastic clips do break if not careful. I've had to drill & screw some of the trim pieces to keep them in place. It's just a play around car so I'm not concerned about being real anal with the looks of the 'modifications'.

Hi Car_guy! Thank a lot for those pictures. Do you know if this is the same construction on the left driver's side? At the moment I do have a rattle sound there, when driving over bumps or uneven surfaces coming from the upper driver's side dashboard area. Wondering if its the same reason. Recorded video of the rattle noise: Suspension was already checked in a car repair shop and they also believe its from the dashboard.

jamesdean1313 Sorry, I never had any problems on the left-hand side of the dash and therefore no need to figure out how to take it apart. I'm sure you've already thought of trying the online parts lists whose explosion of all the pieces might give some clues. Guess others would appreciate you posting some pictures of how, and what you find.

No, there are several more screws and other to detach. Look around the internet I'm sure you can find a good video or how-to.