Hyundai Sonata Rattles

effect18

Over the last month my 07 Sonata Ltd. has been experiencing dash rattle on the driver side. It was really cold a week or so, then I began hearing it. Whenever I go over a bump, or uneven pavement I can hear the dash rattle. Its quite noticable, anyone else have this issue and can I get the dealer to fix it... or will they say it doesnt affect performance?

My wife is also experiencing the same thing with her 07 Elantra..... any suggestions?

mort6

I have a 2008 Sonata with the same problem. Have not been to the dealer yet.

lmaxick

Well I don't know about you guys but I found mine in the sun visor above my head, it sounded like it was coming from the other side of the car, but I hads my son with me and his ears are fortunatley a hell of a lot better than mine. I'll be out there in the morning with screwdrivewr in hand, let me know how you make out.

sunsonshaan07

I have an '07 Limited and had my sun visors on both sides replaced. Reason: They became excessively tight/stuck and were hard to move. Apparently, you should not swing them too far in towards the windshield (sounds weird I know). And I discovered this one fine evening when I was removing my sun shade before starting up and driving back from work. (P.S. - I live in Dallas, TX. It's warm here more often than not... and sunny too) When I swung them back towards the ceiling back in place where they belong, I heard this god awful "cranking" sound. I immediately visited my dealer and came to know that the swivel joints were stripped. Long story short: they were replaced under warranty at no charge. But prior to this whole episode, yes I also had the sun visor rattle as well. Perhaps someone out on the board here knows of a method to lube these joints to prevent what I went through.

bhmr59

Try dark sunglasses. :shades:

sunsonshaan07

Thanks Sherlocke! However, I did one better, tinted the top part of my windshield with the 35% strip. Works like a charm! :shades:

macakava

Did you get the dash rattle fixed?

I have also noticed an intermittent rattle in my 07 Sonata - which is annoying. I am trying to locate/eliminate the rattle by placing rubber spacers between the dash and windshield - but no luck so far. SO it must be something loose inside the dash. Will probe later when I have more time.

The dash rattle does not affect car performance - just your ears. Other than that, the car is a joy to drive.

somanycars

I've got a 2007 Sonata which also has had ongoing rattle problems. Rattles and vibrations are symptoms of poor manufacturing which none of us should accept. After 12 months -- no warranty. This is pathetic. Mechanically, the car is fine. All my noises are on the front passenger side. They fixed the sunroof and dashboard/pillar noise, but now there is noise over the passenger door that Mungenast Hyundai (St. Louis) wants $90/hr to diagnose. Calling the 800 number did no good. I guess that 10-year warranty is meaningless. Shame on you, Hyundai, for not providing a quality interior. Now I know why the car was cheaper than Camry.

backy

I am not sure why you think a rattle in the dash would be covered under the 10-year powertrain warranty. Or does your car have the bumper-to-bumper warranty extended to 10 years?

Hyundai, as most car makers, cover "adjustments" for only the first year and 12k miles. Adjustments include rattles in the dash. However, I've found that some dealers are more lenient than others. I've had rattles corrected on my Hyundais for no charge after one year of ownership. You might try going to a different dealer. Also I've found it can help to ask them to check the rattle when bringing the car in for other service. It demonstrates you are a loyal customer, and makes it harder for them to say "no" when they are going to do other service on it.

noburgers

I had the same problem on my 2006 Sonata. I found this happened only when the temerature was less than 40 degrees F. I pressed down on the center section of the dash where it meets the windshield and that was it. I tried using the little felt circles you stick onto the bottom of stuff so you don't scuff your furniture but it wasn't enough. I ended up using the felt ones you put onto the ends of chair legs. Instead of shoving them all the way in I just put them in halfway so the windshield does not touch; not enough to put much pressure on the glass. The windshield is a replacement so it might have something to do with it; I presume the problem is that the dash design is the real issue.

noburgers

Yes, the Sonata is definitely cheaper than a Camry. And it doesn't accelerate for no reason. I checked the Camry forum and there are 60 comments about rattles in the past year, 200 in all. Looks like the 2007 Camry was bad. There's also a lot of complaints about interior fit and finish.

somanycars

backy, So what you're saying is that they should only cover major manufacturing defects as opposed to minor ones. So we as customers should just stand by and put up the little ones or pay for them ourselves. I don't think so. Look at how many noise complaints there are... and a lot of them are concentrated in the same areas eg visor, seat, glovebox.

What we have here is a failure of some design/manufacturing process at Hyundai -- plain and simple. I expect any manufacturer to stand behind a clear flaw in their product and Hyundai is failing to do so. They just don't want to be responsible because they used low quality parts and/or had poor manufacturing processes for the interiors -- simple as that -- and we the consumer are screwed. Hyundai Corp even screwed over the dealer I took it to. They refused to pay warranty for one of my issues. Dealers don't do warranty work for free, they file for reimbursement from Hyundai corp.

backy

What I am saying is that the warranty is clear on what is covered and not covered. Did you read it? Anything (other than abuse) is covered in the first year or 12k miles. That includes rattles, squeaks etc. After that, everything but "normal wear and tear" and adjustments (and abuse of course) is covered under the 5-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. Years 6-10 are for powertrain components only (check the warranty to see what is covered). Is your dealer or HMA refusing to uphold the warranty? If so, I would complain like heck, to the dealership management and HMA.

I have a 3-year-old Sonata with 38k miles. It has no rattles or squeaks except when it's very cold (like 0 F or below) and then I can hear a faint creak from the instrument panel over big bumps. It goes away when the car or weather warms up. Most cars I've owned have done the same thing.

As I said, I have been successful in getting rattles taken care of under warranty beyond the first year on other Hyundais I've owned. Maybe my dealer was more accommodating than others. When I did it, the car was in for other service and I was very polite with the service writer. I've found honey works pretty well in getting service writers to go the extra mile for me. They can be a great advocate for you. Treat them well. If they're unreasonable, find another dealership or complain to the management or HMA--you might try writing a letter to John Krafcik, CEO of HMA, to give your opinion on their warranty practices. It could help, or at least make you feel better.

lplne

The car has less then 4000 km on it and I've had this thud noise all the time when going over light bumps and moderately uneven pavement. It is quite annoying, and uncomfortable. I think the suspension system has not been designed well and Hyundai does not have a fix. I've had cars and vans for over 50 years (age give-away) and have not experienced anything like it. The service people are relunctant to give any reasonable explanation. Also, I feel the gas pedal is too sensitive which results in a jerky fast start which results in taking great care when maneuvering into parking spaces. The "fly-by wire" hook-up between the pedal and engine is not refined. Another thing is a noisy cold engine with a tinny mechanical noise above 1500 rpm. It becomes quiet in a few minutes as the engine warms up and oil flows to all the mechanical parts. Lastly, the steering is a little too mushy and can use more self-centering affect. Reducing tire pressure to reduce the thud noise in the suspension does not work! The irritating noise is still there and less air in the tires reduces steering self-centering more, reduces gas milage and increases tire wear.

ualamt

Thanks for info on warranty, I thought my 2007sonata with 53000 miles would be under warranty, now I should not even bother the dealer for $$$ service. The air grill on passenger side rattles with A/C on. When I press down on air grill below windshield, it stops. Anyone know how air grill comes out, pry out with plastic wedges? Picture manual would be terrific?

Thanks if you can help.

nosyguy

I have a 2010 Sonata that developed this annoying rattle that initially sounded like it was coming from the inside passenger side dashboard. I tried a couple of things from other forums without much improvement, but then noticed that it tended to go away on rainy days. There was also a TSB out on eliminating noise from the windshield by applying lubricant to the seal, so I tried using the armor-all (the milky liquid for conditioning rubber and plastic) by squirting it liberally around the perimeter of the windshield (from the outside, not inside) and letting it soak into the seal between the windshield and the frame. That was 6 months ago, and any rattle I hear nowadays is minor and from other sources like the headrest. If anyone is still suffering from the rattles, hope this helps.

somanycars

Keeping my fingers crossed, but I seem to have solved the rattle/vibration in the moonroof/map light 'console' on my 2007. When it first started to vibrate a while back, I tried pulling it out and putting foam rubber and foam tape in between the console and the metal body parts. That worked for a while but it had come back. This time, I took out the console and examined it more closely. There is a black plastic piece that covers the light bulbs and has the switches in it. It is held on by five screws. I took it apart and placed 2 layers of electrical tape around the edges where the black plastic mates with the light cutouts. It looked like the front corners were free to vibrate. Since then, no vibration problem there.

Of course there's still that annoying passenger side dashboard vibration/rattle that a lot of people seem to have.