Nasty rattle...

[SpaceRanger]

Ok, so I just got back from the dealership. The truck was in for the tail lamp recall, remove some adhesive from the windshield, full detail, fix a scuff mark on my rear fender, tires being horribly out of balance (they balanced and rotated them about a month ago) and for this rattle.

On top of them doing a horrible job detailing the truck (door jambs were all still dirty and back seat is filthy), them saying nothing was out of balance but they still added weights (what?) to the wheels, and the stereo being left on full blast on a hip hop XM radio station and bass turned ALL THE WAY UP (I prefer it at about half way on the B&O system)... I digress, this thread is about the rattle.

They said the rattle is "due to the normal expansion of the plastic during extreme heat and cold weather. So this rattle is normal and can't do anything about it." Ugh. I'm just going to put some foam back up there. Nobody will know the difference.

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[David J Appel]

Ok, so I just got back from the dealership. The truck was in for the tail lamp recall, remove some adhesive from the windshield, full detail, fix a scuff mark on my rear fender, tires being horribly out of balance (they balanced and rotated them about a month ago) and for this rattle.

On top of them doing a horrible job detailing the truck (door jambs were all still dirty and back seat is filthy), them saying nothing was out of balance but they still added weights (what?) to the wheels, and the stereo being left on full blast on a hip hop XM radio station and bass turned ALL THE WAY UP (I prefer it at about half way on the B&O system)... I digress, this thread is about the rattle.

They said the rattle is "due to the normal expansion of the plastic during extreme heat and cold weather. So this rattle is normal and can't do anything about it." Ugh. I'm just going to put some foam back up there. Nobody will know the difference.

WOW! No it's a flaw in the design. I'll try the backer rods too, hopefully I don't break the bezel!!

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Ok, so I just got back from the dealership. The truck was in for the tail lamp recall, remove some adhesive from the windshield, full detail, fix a scuff mark on my rear fender, tires being horribly out of balance (they balanced and rotated them about a month ago) and for this rattle.

On top of them doing a horrible job detailing the truck (door jambs were all still dirty and back seat is filthy), them saying nothing was out of balance but they still added weights (what?) to the wheels, and the stereo being left on full blast on a hip hop XM radio station and bass turned ALL THE WAY UP (I prefer it at about half way on the B&O system)... I digress, this thread is about the rattle.

They said the rattle is "due to the normal expansion of the plastic during extreme heat and cold weather. So this rattle is normal and can't do anything about it." Ugh. I'm just going to put some foam back up there. Nobody will know the difference.

Hi Nick,

Rattles like this are not normal nor should they be tolerated. Elevate this complaint to Ford Customer Care and if possible...find another dealer. Good luck!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Alex]

Just started noticing the rattle about a month ago. I am taking my vehicle in to the shop next week for the Recall and Rough Cold Start Shifting(that they didn't fix the first time I brought it in). I will bug them about this as well. I just put a small piece of plastic under the bezel so it props up the plastic and that stopped the rattle. But it looks stupid. I'll for sure try the Rod Solution if the dealer doesn't do anything. I'll make sure it gets reported to Ford as this is obviously and issue.

Let us know what the dealer says, I hope they come up with a solution to fix this.

Ok, so I just got back from the dealership. The truck was in for the tail lamp recall, remove some adhesive from the windshield, full detail, fix a scuff mark on my rear fender, tires being horribly out of balance (they balanced and rotated them about a month ago) and for this rattle.

On top of them doing a horrible job detailing the truck (door jambs were all still dirty and back seat is filthy), them saying nothing was out of balance but they still added weights (what?) to the wheels, and the stereo being left on full blast on a hip hop XM radio station and bass turned ALL THE WAY UP (I prefer it at about half way on the B&O system)... I digress, this thread is about the rattle.

They said the rattle is "due to the normal expansion of the plastic during extreme heat and cold weather. So this rattle is normal and can't do anything about it." Ugh. I'm just going to put some foam back up there. Nobody will know the difference.

Sorry to hear about your dealer experience, if it makes you feel any better my dealer said they couldn't do anything either. Good luck with the backer rods, hope they work for you like they did for me. If they do work, let us know.

 

[Alex]

WOW! No it's a flaw in the design. I'll try the backer rods too, hopefully I don't break the bezel!!

The bezel hopefully wont break, the backer rods are going under the dash so it shouldn't be too much pressure on the bezel. I would make sure the bezel is warmed up before pulling on it if it is cold out. Let us know if the backer rods worked for you, I am curious to see if it works for anyone else (or if I just got lucky ).

 

[David J Appel]

The bezel hopefully wont break, the backer rods are going under the dash so it shouldn't be too much pressure on the bezel. I would make sure the bezel is warmed up before pulling on it if it is cold out. Let us know if the backer rods worked for you, I am curious to see if it works for anyone else (or if I just got lucky ).

Sure thing. Does the bezel just pop up or do you hold it up with enough tension to slip the back rod below the dash?

 

[Alex]

Hi Nick,

Rattles like this are not normal nor should they be tolerated. Elevate this complaint to Ford Customer Care and if possible...find another dealer. Good luck!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Hi Phil,
There seems to be a receptacle missing in the dash for one of the white clips on the defrost bezel located by gauge cluster. This seems to be causing the bezel to rattle on the dash when it is cold out, and you have the heat coming through the defrost vents. I'm not sure if it is only on the XLT models or if the Lariat models have this issue as well. It seems that the XL models have the emergency braking LED's in this location so I don't think they have this type of rattling issue.

I resolved this issue by using three, one inch diameter by nine inches long foam backer rods, and inserted the rods in the cavity under the dash. By doing this it raised the dash, and put more pressure on the bezel where the receptacle is missing (I think there might be an Autocad drawing a few posts back with more information on the location of the backer rods).

I tried to go through the managers at my dealer, and the most they could do was to try to add some double sided tape to keep the bezel from rattling. Through your experience at Ford Is there a better way to get out information on this issue, it seems the only way to fix this issue is to replace the dash with one that has been revised with a receptacle for the clip on the bezel.

Thanks for any information on this issue,
Alex

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hi Phil,
There seems to be a receptacle missing in the dash for one of the white clips on the defrost bezel located by gauge cluster. This seems to be causing the bezel to rattle on the dash when it is cold out, and you have the heat coming through the defrost vents. I'm not sure if it is only on the XLT models or if the Lariat models have this issue as well. It seems that the XL models have the emergency braking LED's in this location so I don't think they have this type of rattling issue.

I resolved this issue by using three, one inch diameter by nine inches long foam backer rods, and inserted the rods in the cavity under the dash. By doing this it raised the dash, and put more pressure on the bezel where the receptacle is missing (I think there might be an Autocad drawing a few posts back with more information on the location of the backer rods).

I tried to go through the managers at my dealer, and the most they could do was to try to add some double sided tape to keep the bezel from rattling. Through your experience at Ford Is there a better way to get out information on this issue, it seems the only way to fix this issue is to replace the dash with one that has been revised with a receptacle for the clip on the bezel.

Thanks for any information on this issue,
Alex

Hi Alex,

I wish I could shed some light on this, but unfortunately I have no idea of the design intent of the current product. It seems that there are enough folks experiencing this problem that Ford should investigate the cause and a possible fix. The problem has to be elevated to the level that the corporation drops the problem on the engineering management to duplicated the problem and to develop a fix. So far this does not appear to be happening. Engineers get warranty reports and high warranty repairs get flagged. The concern gets buried when owners fix it themselves, and although understandable, not helping id the problem. It is best to get Ford Customer Service involved... This seems to be a systemic problem and needs the attention of Ford Engineering, but I suspect they are unaware...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Alex]

Sure thing. Does the bezel just pop up or do you hold it up with enough tension to slip the back rod below the dash?

I ended up undoing about 3 of the white clips, there are 2 close together near the A pillar on the driver side. Then you can slide past the one that is not connected and undo one more near the center of the dash. Don't go too far, there are two rectangular tabs on the bezel that go into the center dash speaker cover and they are a pain to get back in .


I attached a video on how I got it to work (hopefully the video comes in). Two backer rods should be enough to fix the rattling; you can use three if rattling is still persistent. I ended up using three to see what would happen as an experiment, and using three will bulge the dash but the dash is already curved so it isn't that noticeable. When you put the second rod in front of the first one, just have it slip under the dash (you should feel it slip right under the lip of the dash) don't push it back as far as it will go. The further back you push it into the dash the less effective it is at putting pressure on the bezel.


Disclaimer:

Once the backer rods are behind the dash, they are very difficult to get back out. (I know from experience). If for some reason you need to remove them, It is possible to get them out, but your knuckles won’t be happy.

 

[BDoc]

Hi Phil,
There seems to be a receptacle missing in the dash for one of the white clips on the defrost bezel located by gauge cluster. This seems to be causing the bezel to rattle on the dash when it is cold out, and you have the heat coming through the defrost vents. I'm not sure if it is only on the XLT models or if the Lariat models have this issue as well. It seems that the XL models have the emergency braking LED's in this location so I don't think they have this type of rattling issue.
I resolved this issue by using three, one inch diameter by nine inches long foam backer rods, and inserted the rods in the cavity under the dash. By doing this it raised the dash, and put more pressure on the bezel where the receptacle is missing (I think there might be an Autocad drawing a few posts back with more information on the location of the backer rods).
I tried to go through the managers at my dealer, and the most they could do was to try to add some double sided tape to keep the bezel from rattling. Through your experience at Ford Is there a better way to get out information on this issue, it seems the only way to fix this issue is to replace the dash with one that has been revised with a receptacle for the clip on the bezel.
Thanks for any information on this issue,
Alex

I can confirm that Lariats have the rattle too...I noticed it when the weather cooled off and was annoyed I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Now I know where to look and some ideas on how to fix it. Thanks, Alex!

 

[Alex]

I can confirm that Lariats have the rattle too...I noticed it when the weather cooled off and was annoyed I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Now I know where to look and some ideas on how to fix it. Thanks, Alex!

No problem,
Thanks for the input on the Lariats, I will change my previous post. Let us know if you find a good solution to stop the rattling that works for you.

 

[BDoc]

No problem,
Thanks for the input on the Lariats, I will change my previous post. Let us know if you find a good solution to stop the rattling that works for you.

Will do. I'm actually looking at that trim you used early on (the one you found on Amazon). You mentioned it looked cheap, but I may give it a try in blue and see if it works and if I like it. Then again, I may get lazy and just turn the radio up louder

 

[BcP28]

I had this same rattle start up this fall once it got a little cold and I started using the defroster more. Seemed to really get buzzing when the engine was 'lugging'. I found some cheap rubber edge guard on Amazon and put a strip in front of the gauge cluster and no more rattle for me. The stuff is cheap, low profile and hardly visible, so this was a good solution for me. I thought about running it all the way across, but it honestly doesn't bother me enough to justify pulling the rest of the dash apart lol just thought I'd share in case anyone else wants a quick and easy fix to get the sound to stop.

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074289VL1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[shred5]

I have not heard this rattle yet, my build dates is in OCT.
Been real cold here too and have needed the defroster allot.
Maybe they fixed it in the newer builds.

 

[RangerJosh]

I've had my Ranger less than a week and heard the rattle this morning... Confirm cold out and with defroster on. Wasn't a terribly annoying rattle but was def noticeable, hopefully it doesn't get worse over time.

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