alexdi

Title says it all. Anything solid I place in the cupholder, the sunglass case, or the main armrest compartment will rattle when the engine is loafing at low RPM. Even cheap cars have rubber liners. This one, it seems, does not, and that black felt is a poor substitute. Has anyone found a good replacement or a cupholder drop-in? And if your rattles have come from elsewhere, how'd you find and fix them?

Dubl-A

I turn up my music

lightonthehill

Takes two people. One person trying to search for a rattle is an accident waiting to happen.

Either my wife or I drive while the other one finds the rattle. The rattle searcher simply presses hard against everything in the area where the rattle seems to be coming from, and when the rattle stops, whatever is being pressed against gives us a good idea of what the problem is. If this doesn't find the rattle, the searcher then begins opening compartments and digging deeper.

So far, in two years with our '09, we have tracked rattles to a magnifying glass rattling against a flashlight in the glove compartment, styrofoam cups creaking against the sides of the front seat cupholders (we don't seem to have this problem with the rear seat console cupholders), ice cubes rattling in cups of cola in any cupholder position, a screwdriver rattling against an emergency flare in our trunk cargo system, a large button on a field jacket rattling against a rear seat belt buckle, a tube of lip balm repeatedly rolling into a metal tire guage in the top center console shelf, a rock wedged into a groove on a rear tire, and a roll of tums we keep in a metal container clinking against a map scaler in the map box we keep behind the driver's seat.

So far, we have had zero rattles attributable to the car itself.

smarty666

I'll lay you dollar to donut that most of these rattles coming from objects that are in the car are actually due to the car, well not the car, but the tires. I have had similar issues since day 1 with rattles with objects in the car. I cannot have anything in the cup holder without it make loud noise. I've come to realize its the vibrations being caused by the Goodyear RS-As that come with the car. So technically, its not a car thing, but a tire thing. I finally put the two together when at higher speeds I hear the noise get louder from a cup in the cup holder and realized that I also felt increased vibrations in the wheel, pedals, and seat.

As soon as I felt this, I put my hand on the cup and held it in place and the noise went away, plus I could feel the vibrations in the cup in my hand while I was holding it down.

I've spoken with Nissan and Goodyear about this and both said the RS-As have inherent vibration issues but that the Maxima is a true sports sedan and is suppose to have vibration and noises and so its okay in their book. WRONG!!!

alexdi

It'd be nice if I could blame the tires, but everything I experience occurs when the engine is between 1200 and 1400 RPM. It's easy to duplicate: just put the car in reverse, hold the brake, and give the slightest bit of gas with the other foot. That'll make the car shimmy like an old Panzer and you can pat to your heart's content.

So far, here's what's caused noise:

- A loose mount on my radar detector
- A tight GPS mount
- A seatbelt piece clicking against something
- Sunglasses in the overhead compartment

I'm convinced there may be another in the dash. And another disappears when I press on the overhead compartment, even without sunglasses. Both seem to come and go, so pestering the dealer seems a bit premature.

STARR

iTrader: (1)

My car does not rattle, and a bottle/can in the cup holder is not a rattle

lightonthehill

Some of the tire firmness/roughness is my fault, because I'm carrying 37 psi in front and 36 in the rear. That will make for a fairly firm ride with any tire. If I kept the psi at Nissan's recommended 33, I doubt I would have so many of these things moving around in my compartments. But then if I wanted a soft ride, I would have bought a Buick.

I must say I have had better luck with my RS-As than most folks here. I'm getting good mileage from the tread which is wearing very evenly, and I have never had to align or balance since I bought the car two years ago. The tracking has always been perfectly straight. If not for the fact I can get very good tires for less, I would have considered the RS-As when the time came to replace these.

smarty666

I keep the PSI at 34 all the way around and it sure doesn't drive or feel like a Buick. Even at the lower PSI there are still vibrations at speeds 50mph+ and get worse as you go. It's been like that since day 1 and multiple hunter balancing hasn't gotten rid of it. I haven't had issues with things moving around, I'm talking about things vibrating and making noise when they are just sitting there and the car is in motion.

But as someone else pointed out, technically, none of those complaints the OP stated are actually rattles.Rattles have to be with the car itself and not something sitting in the car.

romanmar

Best way is to not let it bother you, I had the roof shaking above me but after awhile I got used to it, and it doesn't bother me anymore.

lightonthehill

That is disappointing. Call me hypersensitive, but I would not be able to tolerate a rattle. My car rides very tight and very quiet. If it didn't, I would be taking things apart to find out why.

I feel great sympathy for Smartie666. He should not be having to endure vibrations, especially with his psi at 34. I suspect there may be something wrong with his tires even beyond their being the underwhelming RS-As.

TBA

I hate rattles too. Like LoTH, most of the rattles in my Max have been from objects in the car. Change in a cup holder, sunglasses, etc.

The one rattle that was truly from the car was due to a cross-threaded bolt under the rear seat back. It made a soft, high-pitched squeak / rattle when going over a bump. It took the dealer a day of riding around the the trunk of find it, but find (and fix) it they did.

I have not found that my cup holder squeaks / rattled due to cups being in it. And I actually like that there is no rubber liner in the bottom, but instead a hard plastic. Rubber liners in my previous cars tended to get crudded up, curl, and degrade over time.

Schneid

I had a rattle in my 2011 Max and I was going to take it back to the dealer. It sounded like it was coming from the passenger side dashboard. Come to find out, it was my sunglasses rattling away in the overhead storage compartment. Can't wait until the Goodyears wear out so I can put on Michelins.

PopCulture

I turn the music down. It usually just ends up being my mind playing tricks on me....or the car next to me.

Compusmurf

Sunglasses in the overhead is way too common and like others, mine had that...

Wife suggested I stop at Joann's fabric and pick up some of the sticky back foam sheets she uses for children's crafts. Few pieces of that in strategic locations and that problem was solved. YES, it comes in black, tan, etc. You do NOT have to get bright pink.... Unless you really want to. Might be handy to line other areas with known rattles with the same stuff. Glovebox, center console, etc.

lightonthehill

Nice one. There are many 'tricks of the trade.' I used little felt tabs with sticky on the back (available almost anywhere) at the points where the doors and drawers in my home make contact when closing, so everything closes with a soft bump instead of a sharp clack.

I use little clear rubber round domes with sticky backs on the back of my license tag so it won't rattle when I close the trunk.