I have a rattle on my Fabia dash which is driving me round the bend!

It is very intermittent and usually only occurs on long runs. It appears to be coming from above the air control panel.

If I knew how to remove the panel, I'd probably be able to sort it.

Not sure if there is a Haynes manual available yet, so can anyone help?

Thanks

I get the same rattle too, but not so often now - It seems it's squeaked itself OK again. Normal treatment is to turn the radio up a bit more... :speaker:

I believe this is a comon Fabia "fault" and has been dealt with somewhere here.

Try doing a search for the thread.

IIRC you have to remove the middle air vent and tighten the nut/screw that holds the dash to the bulk head. Be warned it's supposedly a real b**stard to do.

Cheers.

Adrian.

Haynes have no plans as yet to produce a manual for the Fabia, and its the same answer for the Octavia.

If the car's still under warranty then ask your dealer to sort it - mine offered to do it for me when they noticed the rattle (it was in for something else)

Thanks but my experiences with garages makes me think that they would only make it worse.........

However, I found the earlier thread that Adrian mentioned "creaking dashboard despair" and have already removed the air vent control panel in order to expose the bracket which allegedly causes the problem.

My next problem is that I need to be Houdini to get in there and pack it with foam, as is suggested!

The view of it is really restricted by the cups that the air vent panel fits into, and also there is a strip of plastic immediately in front of the bracket, making access almost impossible.

If any of you guys who have successfully carried out the "mod" have any tips on how to go about it, these will be gratefully accepted!

In my car I have the little in-dash tray that you push in and it pops out so you can in things like phones etc and I have found that this rattles badly at low revs. It could be solved by getting felt but it's too much bother and it serves as a good reminder to change down a gear! I have never had any rattles apart from this, but I deon't know what model year your's is but later Fabias, 2002 models, seem to be worse than any others.

Originally posted by flyingscot in this post

I deon't know what model year your's is but later Fabias, 2002 models, seem to be worse than any others.

Mine is mid 2001 (Y), and I've heard that newer models have worse rattle problems than me. This is one factor which slightly puts me off buying a new Fabia.

If you remove the glovebox (undo the bolts/screws holding it in and it should slide out - watch out for the cable for the glovebox light, etc) you should be able to get a hand round to the area behind the vents. Might be more hassle than its worth mind you...

Thanks for all suggestions - I managed to get some foam rubber pushed in between the bracket and the top of the dashboard.

Been for a run this pm, done about 40 miles and not heard a peep! Hope it stays that way.

The car by the way, is a Tdi comfort - Oct 01.

Regards,

awt41

Originally posted by awt41 in this post

Thanks for all suggestions - I managed to get some foam rubber pushed in between the bracket and the top of the dashboard.

Been for a run this pm, done about 40 miles and not heard a peep! Hope it stays that way.

The car by the way, is a Tdi comfort - Oct 01.

Regards,

awt41

Was just about to point you in the direction of the old "creaking dash despair" link , but it seems that you've found it!

Fixed mine about 10,000 miles ago and the noise has never returned.

Enjoy the silence!

Haynes have no plans as yet to produce a manual for the Fabia, and its the same answer for the Octavia.

That's quite flattering, isn't it?

Originally posted by awt41 in this post

Thanks but my experiences with garages makes me think that they would only make it worse.........

However, I found the earlier thread that Adrian mentioned "creaking dashboard despair" and have already removed the air vent control panel in order to expose the bracket which allegedly causes the problem.

My next problem is that I need to be Houdini to get in there and pack it with foam, as is suggested!

The view of it is really restricted by the cups that the air vent panel fits into, and also there is a strip of plastic immediately in front of the bracket, making access almost impossible.

If any of you guys who have successfully carried out the "mod" have any tips on how to go about it, these will be gratefully accepted!

I was involved in the earlier "creaking dashboard despair" threads and as yet have still been unable to fix my rattle, and so have 2 skoda dealers. Each time the plan is to pack the centre air vents at the back, but my rattle now comes from the left hand side of the dash, is very responsive to temperature, in the cold it's silent, when warm or the heater is on it creaks like a good'un.

If a dealer can fix this problem I will happily sell my soul, I cannot honestly see a day when the rattle goes away, and I am planning selling my Fabia as soon as I am in a position to do so primarily because of this, it's a small niggling fault, but one that I can no longer bear to live with, it makes any journey without the stereo on a miserable one, and let's face it, sometimes it's nice to travel with the stereo off.

Why I ever sold my first 2000 reg Fabia I will never know, it was perfect in every way. I think my new one was built in the Ukraine which would explain the dodgy quality issues I am having.

Good luck you will need it. :confused:

Sorry to hear about it - I guess you won't be buying another Fabia?

I can report that my rattle does seem to have disappeared since I packed it with foam, but perhaps it's early days yet......

Regards, awt41

how do you remove the vents, i wondered if the switches where the heated rear sindscreen is came off to reveal screws etc, just all looks very tight fitting and easy to make a mess

Alastair

I'd almost forgotten about this thread, its more than 12 months since I cured the problem ( there has been no further occurrence).

Alastair - there are no screws to remove, just carefully prize the air vent panel up. It's a very tight fit so take care not to use something which may mark the dash.

Good Luck!

Tony