rattling from front passenger seat?

[PowerStroke]

I posted this the other day in the quirks thread but i think it will get buried there.

I've noticed a rattling noise coming from the front passenger seat or front passenger side door. Doesn't seem to correspond with how fast i'm going or if music is playing (ie, not just heavy bass). happens with totally quiet cabin.

I *think* it might be coming from the seat belt receiver, but i can't tell for sure as I can only hear it when I'm driving and alone in the car, so it's hard to say. It doesn't happen when someone is seated in the passenger seat.

Here's a video of it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gg5nr67cs1..._1721.m4v?dl=0

Anyone experienced this? it's driving me nuts!

[CW98]

Funny, I do get this occasionally, very similar to your sound. Briefly adjusting the seat recline knob usually fixes it for me.

[Burningcoals]

Funny, I do get this occasionally, very similar to your sound. Briefly adjusting the seat recline knob usually fixes it for me.

I noticed messing with the seat can affect it also. Some people have removed the seat I wonder if there is something underneath that is moving around. I also noticed if I move it to the rear position it helps.

I also have rattles up near the dash on both sides of the car near windows. Everything from the panels seems solid, so I am guessing its behind the panels somewhere.

[PowerStroke]

still trying to find a fix for this. anyone out there figured it out? it's driving me nuts

It seems to be coming from the passenger seatbelt receiver arm on the passenger front seat. If the noise is going, and i jam my hand down between the seat and the metal arm and push that arm either towards the center console or towards the seat itself, the rattling stops. I've checked the car while stopped and cannot reproduce the rattle by looking under the seat. I guess i can just wedge something rigid in between the console/metal arm or the metal arm/seat to simulate me doing what i do with my hand while driving.

[ahyeah]

Is the metal arm touching the side of the console? I've had previous cars (hell, maybe the RS3 has this I haven't looked) that have a strip of felt attached to the side of the receiver arm. My guess is to keep it from making contact with the console plastic.

[Wusty]

I have this exact same rattle in mine! My cars at the dealer as I type this, they're trying to fix this.

[Micronaught]

Mine made a similar noise , turns out in my case it was the roof trim that met the door pillar above the adjustable seatbelt mechanism.
The service guys secured the hell out of the roof area and the noise stopped.

[PowerStroke]

Is the metal arm touching the side of the console? I've had previous cars (hell, maybe the RS3 has this I haven't looked) that have a strip of felt attached to the side of the receiver arm. My guess is to keep it from making contact with the console plastic.

No it doesn't seem that simple. All Audis seem to have this felt on the actual seat belt buckle receiver. What i'm experiencing that when i really pull on that entire metal arm (which, at the top of is the seatbelt buckle receiver) towards my center console (by actually holding the metal part of that assembly, which is below the seatbelt buckle receiver) then the noise goes away. It seems to be something about applying torque/stress to the attachment point of the seatbelt buckle receiver assembly to the bottom of the passenger seat that fixes it. But when i crawl under the seat to look, i cannot shake anything down there that reproduces the rattle. I tried tightening the torx bolt that is at that attachment, but it was already super tight and i could not make it any tighter.

I have this exact same rattle in mine! My cars at the dealer as I type this, they're trying to fix this.

Please keep me in the loop!!

Mine made a similar noise , turns out in my case it was the roof trim that met the door pillar above the adjustable seatbelt mechanism.
The service guys secured the hell out of the roof area and the noise stopped.

I think we are talking about different rattles. Yours sounds like it was coming from the passenger door-side, right? Mine is more central. Does yours go away if you pull the seatbelt buckle receiver hard against the center console?

[Micronaught]

Yes, pulling on the seatbelt stopped the noise, that lead me to find the culprit . So when you mentioned the adjuster I immediately thought it was the same , but yes my noise seemed to come from the entire side more than central.

[PowerStroke]

Yes, pulling on the seatbelt stopped the noise, that lead me to find the culprit . So when you mentioned the adjuster I immediately thought it was the same , but yes my noise seemed to come from the entire side more than central.

I will pay closer attention to this area next time i'm driving.

[Morbo]

No it doesn't seem that simple. All Audis seem to have this felt on the actual seat belt buckle receiver. What i'm experiencing that when i really pull on that entire metal arm (which, at the top of is the seatbelt buckle receiver) towards my center console (by actually holding the metal part of that assembly, which is below the seatbelt buckle receiver) then the noise goes away. It seems to be something about applying torque/stress to the attachment point of the seatbelt buckle receiver assembly to the bottom of the passenger seat that fixes it. But when i crawl under the seat to look, i cannot shake anything down there that reproduces the rattle. I tried tightening the torx bolt that is at that attachment, but it was already super tight and i could not make it any tighter.

My driver side seatbelt buckle/receiver started doing this a couple weeks ago. It only happens on cold start, like a certain vibration/resonance from the engine/transmission is radiating up into something inside the seatbelt buckle/receiver assembly. Like you, i can make it stop if i grab the bottom metal arm part.

Once the car warms up, it goes away for me though ...

[Lati222]

I posted this the other day in the quirks thread but i think it will get buried there.

I've noticed a rattling noise coming from the front passenger seat or front passenger side door. Doesn't seem to correspond with how fast i'm going or if music is playing (ie, not just heavy bass). happens with totally quiet cabin.

I *think* it might be coming from the seat belt receiver, but i can't tell for sure as I can only hear it when I'm driving and alone in the car, so it's hard to say. It doesn't happen when someone is seated in the passenger seat.

Here's a video of it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gg5nr67cs1..._1721.m4v?dl=0

Anyone experienced this? it's driving me nuts!

Hi,

have you resolved you issue with rattling seat? I watched your video and i have the same rattling sound in my car.

thx tomas

[PowerStroke]

It was definitely from that seat belt receiver for the front passenger seat. It wasn't the clip hitting the seat or center console, but rather some vibration that caused the whole lower arm of that assembly to vibrate and rattle. After about 30k miles it completely stopped for reasons unclear to me. Sorry i can't be of more help.

[westcoastj]

I have the exact same-sounding issue in my 2019 RS3, but can't quite pinpoint where it is. I've tried holding the seatbelt receiver to see if it gets rid of the rattle but didn't help. Ignoring for now as it rains a lot in Vancouver and don't notice it when it's raining. I also have headliner rattle when it's cold (which goes away if I press on the headliner).

[noswalz]

Main rattle i have is just the where the two cockpit plastic pieces meet at the top when the cabin is warm enough. See pic for reference. If i pinch them together it stops, pretty annoying not sure what to do about it. Otherwise nothing besides an awful creak/cracking sound from headliner/sunroof anytime i go over uneven pavement like in and out of a driveway etc. Seems like this one is pretty normal tho from what I've read.20181106_133754_HDR~3.jpg

[Iwacemaker]

I came across this thread trying to figure out what causes the rattle on my A4, I finally figured it out, it was the side adjustment panel (movement, massage etc). I removed it and add padding to the metal plate that accepts the plastic cover and that did the trick.