Technical Dashboard rattle near passenger airbag

[Brian2707]

Afternoon, I have followed the posts pertaining to the airbag dash rattle, and this is my contribution…
My 2005 Panda Multijet was bought with the rattle already present,however sometimes very faint,othertimes almost a knocking sound.
I disconnected the battery,switched on lights to drain any residual charge and had a coffee.20 minutes later I started.
Removed glove box and literally explored behind by hand,found nothing loose.
I then took a flat screwdriver,gently seperated the plastig AIRBAG cover from the main dash at the top right corner where the soft rattle noise was coming from. (Very little seperation as it is a fixed unit).
Forced in some very thin double sided tape and pressed it together again for a few seconds. Trimmed off the excess tape….NO MORE NOISE…..at all.

Sure hope this may help someone.

 

[portland_bill]

Mine rattled too.
Bought mine early 2010.
A little more involved than your fix, after initially also stuffing something in the gap.
Disconnect battery.
Have a cup of tea, to give plenty of time for airbag capacitor to empty.
Remove glovebox. 4 torx head self-tappers, plus a central 5mm hex. The part with the hex bolt needs flexing downwards for removal. The airbag switch will fight, so needs easing out, gently. disconnecting the connector under the dash is difficult.
Once the glovebox is out, there are 4 screws holding the airbag in, plus of course the electrical connector.
With the airbag out, lying face down, clean the back face around the lip, and apply a small bead of silicone sealant, all around. Just a 2mm bead is enough. Leave to set completely, best overnight in a warm place. This creates a 'O-ring' seal, or gasket, between the airbag and fascia.
Refit, hold in tight as the screws are refitted.
No more rattles, even after 14 years.

 

[Mick F]

Ours rattled for yonks. I got tired of its rattling and knocking, so I did some research.
Found this YouTube movie .......... it's in Spanish, but there's English subtitles, but pictures are worth a thousand words.

Just put up with the ads, and skip if you can.

Having watched it a couple of times, I decided to remove the airbag and see what was wrong.
All came out easily enough, and I gave the 'bag unit a good looking-at ............................. and it suddenly occurred to me what the problem was.

The three bolts holding the 'bag in place are narrow but with big washer heads. The holes in the brackets are MUCH wider than the bolt threads.
I fitted the three bolts loosely, and then pushed the 'bag in hard and firmly whilst tightening the bolts.

Utter silence now, even on a bumpy road.

The whole job took me less than an hour.
Easy peasy with Torx and an Allen key.

Best wishes to you all, and sorry for not being on the forum for yonks.
Mick.

 

[The Panda Nut]

Silicon spray lube is a god send for this. Gently spray a little around the edge and wipe away the excess with a clean rag. It also helps (temporarily) with the 319 binnacle surround rattle that REALLY drives me nuts on my wifes car. Bits of plastic just rubbing and moving very slightly can make a row.