Speed-ER doc

My steering wheel airbag/horn developed an annoying rattle a few days ago. I found if I pulled slightly on the horn from the top, it went away, so I stuffed a folded napkin in there and it is gone. Hopefully the dealer can fix it, it looks cheap with a napkin in there.

TORacing

guys I also have the rattles and I discovered the source if you have the sunroof. When you ride withthe sunroof open it tends to rattle for no apparent reason problly wind catching it, esspecially in quick turns. I think it's just some loose bolts.

TwoZooms

I have an annoying rattle in the middle ring of the instrument panel (the one surrounding the tach). I can press on the ring with my thumb and make it stop, but it comes back as soon as I release the pressure. I'm going to roll the dice and have the dealer try to fix it at my next scheduled maintenance (which probably won't be until this fall).

jgoldstein2000

I have the same rattle... it comes from the tachometer, speedometer, oil gauge pods in front of the steering wheel. when i press down on them it is fine but as soon as i release it is back. it is a horrible rattle because it is right in front of me and non stop.

has anyone had this fixed?

devious12

Ok if anyone has gone this far let me know...
I have had rattling in the door panels, sunroof and rear dashboard. So, I brought the car into Wantagh Mazda of NY where I purchased it, and will never enter that god forsaking place again. After extensive pleaing and debating with the techs, sales people, sales manager, district manager, and even had the regional manager "Tina" come down from corporate office and take a ride with me to hear the noise. While the noise was rattling with "Tina" in the car she and the tech who rode along with us, both stated they heard nothing. I said to them, "so I am hearing things then?" "do I need to get my ears checked?" They were in the car and the car was making extensive noise, although they still stated they heard nothing. I call Mazda Corp. and hit a dead end there also. All in all if I would have known all of the problems I was going to encounter with Mazda service, at that dealer and the regional manager I may have not purchased my 8 there, and maybe not at all. The car still rattles. I have to live with it but when I upgrade the stereo system I will dynomat the whole car to minimize the noise.

Rattle8

I also have rattling 8 syndrome (interior). Only got 600 miles on the car. They started at around 100 miles. I wonder what type interior ( leather or cloth ) the rattle less ones have. Such a nice car to have a rattlely interior drag it down.

StewC625

My RX-8 is too new to rattle yet, but it will - that's the lot of driving a stiffly-sprung car with low-profile tires ... just the way of the world.

Just so you don't feel bad, I traded a 2001 Acura 3.2 TL for my RX-8, and that damn thing had a deep, low-frequency rattle behind the passenger side of the dash that was NEVER fixed. And my dealer made some effort - removed the dash and wrapped the wiring harnesses with foam, removed the A pillar trim and taped down the wires and stuffed with foam, etc. The only thing we can figure is that the passenger airbag module was loose, but they wouldn't do anything to that, whiich is understandable.

The best effort you can do is on that weekend when you diligently vacuum and clean the car, go through the interior and tighten every screw you can see. I did this religiously with my 1985 RX-7 and it made a big difference - mine was tight through 60K miles (although can't say the same about the slush-filled steering box on that car ... YIKES!).

Stew

zoom44

would having removed the door panels have anything to do with your rattles?

Rattle8

No door panels removed or anything else. The dealer said bring it in and they would try to fix the rattles. However, my experience with interior work is some mechanics scratch the interior up and don't put panels back correctly, which creates new rattles. I'll probably end up doing it myself. I have the typical driver side window, driver side A/C vent, and instrument cluster rattle as well as intermittant pop, snap noises in different areas of the interior. Btw, has anyone pressed on the shiny trim on the sides of the center console? Mine makes a sound like cellophane on steroids ( loud crackley noise ), especially the piece on the passenger side. I think Mazda used too many snap type fasteners on this car, which will flex or become loose from the pounding caused by the low profile tires, as Stew said. Needs more screws.

Erik's8

No, Zoom44, haveing the door panels removed has nothing to do with the rattles. The rattles had been there before I took the doors apart and are still there. I plan on locating every one of them and fix them myself using foam fillings everywhere possible.

Erik

zoom44

No Offense Meant Just Thought It Needed To Be Asked

Erik's8

No, Zoom44, none taken at all. I just wish it would be as simple as that to fix them.

marcj1

~2700 miles, still no rattles (my first post on this thread was at 1100 miles)

leather
sunroof
bose stereo

no nav
no disc changer
no minidisc
no ground affects, flare, or other ornamentation

93rdcurrent

There are rattles and squeaks that our cars are subject to. One simple solution for the rattles has been checking the door connectors. Mine were loose on my car. Fixing it still didn't solve my problem completely. Any time the temp moved from 40*F or colder I started to get a squeak that sounded like someone sitting on my leather seats with latex pants on just moving around. I took the car into the dealer several times and was not able to get to the bottom of it. When I mentioned the lemon law and that I would continue to bring it in until it was fixed or qualified to return it I was finally taken seriously.

The dealer was given the ok to have a car audio shop look at it. They took out some foam sound dampeners and replaced them with dynomat. They then insulated the drivers and passenger front doors with dynomat and that took care of it. No more rattles or squeaks. It seems that the foam blocks expand and contract quite a bit depending on weather conditions. Now I have a rattle in the passenger door but I think it is from a loose connector because holding the door in with music up to higher volumes will eliminate it. The car is going back in to the dealership this week.

I have been lucky not to have rattles coming from under the dash or in the center console areas. But you can rest assured that if I did I would be the first person to take it to the dealer and I wouldn't take the "we can't find it" answer. Like I said they have 4 tries in my state to fix a problem and if after those 4 tries they can't then I can return it for a complete refund. I recommend you look into your state laws. Hitting the dealership with a return of a car they have to sell as used means a big hit to their bottom line $$$. You'd be suprised how helpful they can become. Hope this helps.

ndxhound

My 8 is just one month old. I noticed a rattle a couple weeks ago. Only appeared in the morning. Figured out that it was the louvers in the driver's vent (the one on the left side of the steering wheel). Turned the vent a few degrees and the rattle went away.

I, Claudius

I had an incredibly annoying rattle coming from the driver's side door. The sound appeared to come from somewhere above my ear and five or so inches to the rear. I was just about ready start ripping into the sucker, when it occurred to me that I might try taking the garage opener out of the little cubby in the driver's side door.

It turned out that was the source of the rattle. Maybe the window glass was acting as a resonator or the sound was traveling up the window, I dunno - but it was as though the sound had been projected up a couple of feet and six inches to the rear of where it was actually coming from. Since I moved it, no problem.

I envy you Homelink people, by the way. Now I can't figure out where to put the damn thing.

93rdcurrent

Cladius, I envy you garage door opener people. I tried to put in a garage door opener but the installer told me that I don't have enough clearance for them. I have the homelink and I can't even use it

BillK

You are very lucky.

The normal way this goes is:

1) Dealer calls manufacturer
2) Manufacturer decides the rattles are "normal" for the car
3) Manufacturer refuses any more rattle claims, ever.

BTW, in most states you cannot lemon for rattles; it needs to be something related to the every day usability of the car as transporation or something safety related; except for making you so upset it causes road rage, rattles don't fall into either category...

93rdcurrent

I was going to dynomat the car anyway. I just wanted the squeakiness taken out. That was the fix for it. No more rattles coming from the doors. The dealership wants me to be happy I guess. And the squeaks may have been loud enough to have been considered a distraction while driving :shrugs shoulders: maybe?

JoePaterno

My 8 rattles like a bitch in the winter. It annoys the hell out of me. Oh well. I love the rotary too much to complain.

Dark8

So did anyone figure out what was the cause of the buzz that goes away when you press on the steering column? My '8 has developed it after 2.5K and now with 3.5K and the JICs it has trippled in volume. I can hear the dealer now, "What did you expect when you tripple the spring rates."

zoom44

yes in fact Mazda did at least for one steering related rattle. there is a TSB for it now- click me

hope that solves your rattle

jgoldstein2000

I have two horrible squeaks/rattles that I would love help with if anyone has encountered:

1) The dash behind the steering wheel that holds the tach, etc. It sounds like a mosquito buzzing... if I hold down on the left side of it it goes away.

2) The rearview mirror... don't know why... but squeezing it stops the rattle

These 2 thing are killing my driving experience as they are often incredibly distracting/annoying

reddragonmd

the only rattle i have is when my sunroof is tilted, not opened. you can hear the shade, or the sunroof itself banging around over bumps and turns. its really freakin frustrating.

Dark8

Thanks for the info.