So quick and simple yet magical... eliminated all the rattle / crackling from the A-Pillar. (That sound you hear that seems to come from the windshield area on both driver and passenger sides.)
Procedure is the same for Driver and Passenger Side
Time: 15-20min Tools Needed -Flathead or Nylon Pry Bar (leaves less marks on plastic) -Phillips head or 10mm socket wrench -Foam Tape (some people use felt tape)
WARNING!!
DO WHEN TEMPERATURE IS WARM (50+degreesF). plastic is brittle when cold.
Note: I did it when it was 32F out, but warmed the car and put the heat on the pillars to be safe.
Foam Tape I used. A little too thick, but Its what I had laying around.
1. Use flat head to remove the Pillar Cap. (once you popped the bottom off enough, you can just use your hands.)
2. Unscrew using Phillips or 10mm socket. Pull towards middle of car to remove hidden clip in center of pillar.
3. Slide out the A-Pillar.
4. Remove the cheap tape that subaru puts on the tabs so you can put your own tape.
5.Cut up some of your foam tape and apply it to the tabs. Use whole pieces that wrap around the tabs *preferable* (picture shows small cut up pieces *not-preferable*)
Note: I used really thick foam tape because I had it laying around
Posting to say that I did this a while ago and it really really is worth the time. I had some rolls of Velcro hanging around and just used the "soft" side with adhesive backing.
Did this today with some foam tape that was similar to what you used. No rattles on my test drive but it was 60ish degrees outside, so I will know for sure if it worked if I don't get rattles on the way to work tomorrow morning. BTW that phillips head screw was really tight on my car and I couldn't get it to turn with a screwdriver. Using a 10mm socket will work too for those who have the same problem.
Just did the 1/8" thick x 1/4" wide closed cell foam to a-pillar trim trick on 2011 wrx. Easy to do. 15 minutes per pillar and one $3 roll of foam was plenty. Did tabs at base of trim as well as where trim contacts dash and window. Also did a few wraps on wires running up next to metal. No more rattle corner dash rattle in cold weather.
ahhhh I hope this is the rattle I have. I keep hearing a rattle in the windshield area but I couldn't isolate where exactly. I'll be driving along and randomly attempting to put pressure on various panels to see if I can make it stop temporarily.. driving me nuts. worth the time and effort to see!
Great permant fix. As a temporary fix I had a piece of Velcro lying around and wedged it into the groove between the bottom of the A pillar and the dash. Seems to be working thus far for me. Downside is you can see the top of the Velcro slightly.
I did this partially last winter (myself, didn't notice your thread), but it hasn't held up. I used some thin foam tape and only put it on in certain places. I need to go whole-hog and just wrap the dang thing like crazy... creaks like nuts when it's below -15 C.
this mod is MONEY. i ice rallycross and due to the ruts/uneveness of the ice its safe to say that only folks that stage rally bang up their cars more than I do. I have NO creaks/rattles from the A pillars after doing this mod. It's been about a year now too.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this! This got rid of the very annoying plastic creaking I was getting from around my dash over bumps and on the freeway. Very simple to do and a big improvement to my morning commute quality of life on my 2013.
I (and my lady) thank you so much for this. I don't know what was more annoying, the rattling or her telling me how annoying it is. At least I could drown the rattle out with music.
And I thank YOU for posting and bumping up this awesome write up. My A-pillars started to rattle about a year ago and always wanted to fix it. But know that I have a clear illustration, will do this immediately.
So quick and simple yet magical... eliminated all the rattle / crackling from the A-Pillar. (That sound you hear that seems to come from the windshield area on both driver and passenger sides.)
Procedure is the same for Driver and Passenger Side
Time: 15-20min Tools Needed -Flathead or Nylon Pry Bar (leaves less marks on plastic) -Phillips head or 10mm socket wrench -Foam Tape (some people use felt tape)
WARNING!!
DO WHEN TEMPERATURE IS WARM (50+degreesF). plastic is brittle when cold.
Note: I did it when it was 32F out, but warmed the car and put the heat on the pillars to be safe.
Foam Tape I used. A little too thick, but Its what I had laying around. Image Link
1. Use flat head to remove the Pillar Cap. (once you popped the bottom off enough, you can just use your hands.) Image Link
2. Unscrew using Phillips or 10mm socket. Pull towards middle of car to remove hidden clip in center of pillar. Image Link
4. Remove the cheap tape that subaru puts on the tabs so you can put your own tape. Image Link
5.Cut up some of your foam tape and apply it to the tabs. Use whole pieces that wrap around the tabs *preferable* (picture shows small cut up pieces *not-preferable*)
Note: I used really thick foam tape because I had it laying around Image Link
i dont remember if i put any foam around there; i might have, but the trim around the radio (black and silver with vent parts) litteraly pops right off and the head unit come out pretty easy, just be sure not to forget to replug the cables you unplug from the headunit (i think like 3 or 4, depending on your headunit)
use your fingers to pull the trim off starting at the top. start at either right or left side on the top. Its only held by plastic clips and comes off fairly easily. take the radio out, and go felt/foam tape crazy.
----
i've also taken apart my rear deck and felted a lot there, thats a little more annoying to do, but not terribly difficult.
----------------- however;
another pretty easy rattle fix is in your trunk/spare tire area. the Styrofoam makes a lot of squeaks. felt/foam tape the crap out of the contact areas.
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also,
fold down your rear seats and look where your seats contacts the plastic rear deck, that rattles sometimes too.
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