I can update my situation with rattling of my beloved Panda, now a year old.

First some negative notes, but true:

I have never ever ver er r had a car , no matter how old or how modern or how stupid, that would make so many different unwanted noises, rattles, clicks, etc. I am still puzzled why Panda with this great quality reviews is so awful, the worst car in the world I can imagine.

On the other hand, having pushed the dealer and garage hard, I have achieved some good results.

Here is a list of rattles the mechanics got rid of:

something clicking in the roof (similar to rain drop sound) - took them
2 - yes, two months - they replaced the whole skydome panel to solve it

passenger air bag lid rattling - they used some foam or something to prevent the
plastic parts from banging into each other

front door locks clicking while driving - they used some tape to soften the metal parts

back seat rattling - they tightened something somewhere, after one month rattling came back - I use a pillow that I stuff between the seat and the rest part to stop the rattle

now the car would be super rattle free after a long struggle
but there is something left

and i want to ask you kindly what you think

i notice after 20 or 40 minutes of drive the soft upholstery of the ceiling
around the skydome - something starts clicking there and when you find the right spot and push it with your hand, it stops

i'd like to ask if you also feel the upholstery is somehow makeshift done, rather than firmly fitted, when you feel it in the car, around the ceiling, does it also feel so loose ? I am afraid this is some kind of new cheap technology and is something that easily makes such rattling sounds

you guys who don't have skydome, of course, you will not have this problem, it is connected to the skydome frame

But really, you've bought a budget supermini and all that's gone wrong are 4 rattles

HP. said:

But really, you've bought a budget supermini and all that's gone wrong are 4 rattles

Click to expand...

i know, the car is FANTASTIC and i love it and alwazs look for reasons to drive somewhere

it is just incredible how badly the interior is assembled = worse than old communist Skoda, Lada, just incredible, look at the list = maybe it is the way
small cars are assembled these days but I doubt that it is so expensive to make sure the interior is put together alright

like why should the lock make any sound? like tell me why? and the doblo i borrowed while my panda was serviced made the same clicking door sound
so Doblo is NOT a supermini, is it, so probably all Fiats are now assembled with this "who cares" attitude

I have only driven one car in my life that made MORE rattles. A 15 year old VW Jetta.

Just put this wonderful car together properly!

Please, note, this is not really a whining stuff. I am puzzled and curious if
the way Panda interior plus inside doors, roof etc. is design mistake or negligence of workers or standard technology of 2003 -. All of you Panda owners can feel with your fingers how the ceiling uphostery is fitted. Basically, it is NOT fitted, it is makeshift.

I would not replace my Panda with any car in the world, except maybe something like a supercar, and I would still miss it. The longer I drive it, the more I enjoy it. When driving normally on highways, at speed limit, you feel as if you were racing, not cruising. This is something only Panda can give you. Every single ride, including traffic jams, is fun.
And maybe something as light and playful. Plus you can fit four people and some bags. Or two people and a lot of bags.

I love the car. Now I only have to find how to get rid of the LAST rattle in the ceiling. You just have to find the right spot and push it or stick something in between somewhere. All the rattle s are really something incredibly primitive.

Unfortunately thats what you pay a minimum of six and a half grand for! Its a cheap budget town car that is bound to have things wrong with it at that price.

I think we all have rattles. I mean I do country lane driving and my exhaust rattles like its having an epileptic fit when I go over the tiniest ridge in the road, but that what I love.

I don't mean to be offensive but you could have problems a lost worse than a few rattles.

I think that the point is when FIAT have so nearly built a wonderful car it is a shame that it's let down by a rattling interior + bits dropping off in my case. They might ba able to get a bit more for them if they built them from better quality stuff.

JON

Better quality materials = more expense

More intensive testing and refining = more expense

Just doesn't make sense on a budget car being sold as a budget car. If it was a BMW Mini that was rattling, that would be a different matter.

Besides, I'm willing to bet a tank of fuel my Coupe rattles more than any Mk2 Panda in the UK...

You should drive a Cinquecento, that will show you what real rattles are

uno tub.....christ the drive from doncaster to london got very annoying after 30 mins......

i just can't buy the argument that it is a budget car

opel corsa is a budget car (i had 94 opel corsa) and no rattles, I had skoda favorit, about 8 years old, and no rattles - so how can you explain that

i am crazy about these rattles and clicks so i would remember very well such problems with my previous cars,

oh, 2000 Nissan Micra, absolutely NO rattles - so now your arguments dont work at all, it is exactly the same price range car


i would buy the argument that after 2000 all superminis are rattly, but the experience with Micra denies that clearly

you get good and bad cars though, I dare say some pandas on here have no rattles, some have many, my parents had a corsa on a 52 plate and that rattled like mad, rattles don't bother me so much now, it did take a peugeot on the bonnet to change my mind though, you could try that? lol

100hpJames said:

you get good and bad cars though, I dare say some pandas on here have no rattles, some have many, my parents had a corsa on a 52 plate and that rattled like mad, rattles don't bother me so much now, it did take a peugeot on the bonnet to change my mind though, you could try that? lol

Click to expand...

i am afraid that they assemble the interior or use such materials that
rub against each other or something - something that Nissan does not do in Micra

but yes, i am unlucky with this car, i borrowed a courtesy Panda 1.1 and there was no rattle - but it had no skydome, no passenger air bag, so already
much less opportunity to rattle

but common, back seats rattling after 15 000 km?

I know what you mean, our Grande Punto occasionally makes some odd clicks and groans and its really not good enough, my beloved Ford Sierras were like Victorian furniture in comparison.

Mine is way better in hot weather though its like a different car, but.....I got a rattle from my SkyDome too...I solved it by putting talcum powder on the rubber seal for the opening section, it was the glass rubbing the seal ever so slightly and this cured it, give it a try.

Just sums it up IMO, so close, yet still pretty far away...

auto_blanco said:

I know what you mean, our Grande Punto occasionally makes some odd clicks and groans and its really not good enough, my beloved Ford Sierras were like Victorian furniture in comparison.

Mine is way better in hot weather though its like a different car, but.....I got a rattle from my SkyDome too...I solved it by putting talcum powder on the rubber seal for the opening section, it was the glass rubbing the seal ever so slightly and this cured it, give it a try.

Just sums it up IMO, so close, yet still pretty far away...

Click to expand...

thanks, talcum powder, i will try

a bit of talc around the door rubbers can work wonders too.

hp_source said:

a bit of talc around the door rubbers can work wonders too.

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actually, as I am not a native English speaker, I am not sure what you mean by talc - I have found out it may have lots of forms, for example a cosmetic powder = so could you give me a tip as to what kind of specific commercial
product or type of product should I look for? like go to a chemist's and ask for a baby powder? or something in a DIY shop?

This is what you want http://www.auravita.com/products/aura/CUSS10070.asp?RefId=220&adid=CUSS10070

It'll be in the men's toiletries section

Chris

I had a 2003 Nissan Micra and tht rattled worse than anything, all the door trims and tailgate trims were very hard plastic and touched metal all over, never got rid of the rattles. My 2004 Panda was silent, just a very tiny click from the skydome catch.

ScoobyChris said:

This is what you want http://www.auravita.com/products/aura/CUSS10070.asp?RefId=220&adid=CUSS10070

It'll be in the men's toiletries section

Chris

Click to expand...

is there any alternative? i am not sure if i have seen that in our country

strange brand, like here it is all Gilette or Nivea or whatever, well, I will have a look

Your local supermarket should sell it most likely be amongst the baby products such as nappies and bottom wipes