General noise from passenger side

[tommus]

I picked up my car last week and have been getting this noise coming from,I think,either from the front or rear passenger seat.it happens when I go over a small bump or cats eye and when the road surface changes,sounds like something is loose and tapping against something else. I had a look under the passenger seat and only thing I could see that it might be is something that is tied to the rail,I think it's to do with the electrics or airbags or something.the noise is starting to bug me now,does anyone have this or had this and got it sorted?

Also how accurate is the trip computer as far as range as in how many miles are left to fill up? When I filled the tank it displayed the range was 325 miles left,then as I drove for a day or so it went up to 381! Has since gradually come down and I'm on half a tank now and is displaying 202 left,is this normal? Just seems a lot of miles from a small tank. Oh it's a 1.2 lounge.

 

[Lloyd71]

When I fill mine up it usually says 439 miles. It never does that figure, it usually drops fairly quickly but it can rise again if you start to drive more economically. I found this out while changing between hard driving and eco driving when I got bored on the motorway! It never went back up by that much though.

 

[chrome500]

Yes i've had this exactly the same from the passenger side. I've had the suspension bearings, steering rack, drop links, and anti roll bar and bushes replaced (nearly £800 worth of work in total) and its still doing it. Garage has given up now and Fiat customer services don't want to know. If you manage to sort it please let us know on here but i'm afraid to say you're probably stuck with it.

 

[tommus]

I'm gonna put some felt tape or foam tape around that thing that is attached to the bar under the seat and see if that helps,it deffo sounds like it's coming from inside the car,I'll call my dealer and see what they say. It may be that the seat needs tightening. I'm also gonna get someone to travel with me to see if it does it with someone sat in the seat. The 2 models I test drove didn't do this altho one had a horrendous rattle in the dash! I really hate rattles and noises in new cars!

 

[Melanabb]

Could it be the bit where 'the shelf' on passangers side meets the other type of plastic? (just above the passangers knees). I had a slight rattle, especially in cold weather, and put several bits of sticky back plastic between the plastics and it stopped it.

 

[Rigoletta]

It is also annoying for me when I hear noises. The other day some chirping was heard from the cockpit. Taking into consideration the extremely bad Hungarian roads I am afraid that the car will fall apart one day.

And an off topic question: does anybody opened the container under the passanger's seat? I was not able even to move the seat's parts. I know RTFM, but still having problems...

 

[Lloyd71]

The only sound I've heard from mine lately is the heater fan making a chirping noise. When I turn off the heaters it stops completely.

 

[Rigoletta]

The only sound I've heard from mine lately is the heater fan making a chirping noise. When I turn off the heaters it stops completely.

So my chirping chirpings might not be the cockpit just the heater fan. I will check it...

 

[grimwau]

it deffo sounds like it's coming from inside the car, It may be that the seat needs tightening.

I was going to suggest that you look in the underseat storage compartment to see if you had some towing eyes stached away in there and causing the noise but Rigoletta beat me to it.

And an off topic question: does anybody opened the container under the passanger's seat? I was not able even to move the seat's parts. I know RTFM, but still having problems...

Rigolletta, assuming you don't have leather seats or Interscope you put your hand under the front of the seat cushion and lift then the seat base moves up and forwards and you are able to put your hand behind the cushion and pivot it up and forwards to reveal the compartment.

 

[pearce_jj]

I'd be very surprised if the electrical connector (air bag & seat use sensor) was the cause of the rattle. Be very careful with that though - disconnect the battery for at least 20 mins before disconnecting to avoid the risk of the seat air bag releasing.

 

[tommus]

ok,i'll leave that plastic thing well alone!! Thanks for the info on that.
I have leather seats so dont have the under seat storage,could there be another place where they may have stored those towing eyes?

The noise def sounds like its coming from either under the back seat or the front seat and only happens when the car goes over small bumps or ripples in the road or like i said before when the road surface changes,its not there all the time. It doesnt sound like its coming from where the plastic trims touch each other under the glove box shelf,its definitely between the front and back passanger seats. Thought it may have been the seatbelt tapping the plastic trim but i plugged it in and still got the noise. Tis very annoying as the car is only a week old.:slayer:

 

[DraigFlag87]

I had a pound go down the seat in my Panda and it rattled away driving me mad! I had to take the whole seat out and tip it upside down (can't afford to loose a pound!) But you can't do that in the 500 because of the airbags etc. I did have some money fall down the hand brake gaiter too so get a torch and shine it down there (long screwdriver and big blob of blue tac helps get it out) Just a thought.

 

[Diesel Power]

I picked up my car last week and have been getting this noise coming from,I think,either from the front or rear passenger seat.it happens when I go over a small bump or cats eye and when the road surface changes,sounds like something is loose and tapping against something else. I had a look under the passenger seat and only thing I could see that it might be is something that is tied to the rail,I think it's to do with the electrics or airbags or something.the noise is starting to bug me now,does anyone have this or had this and got it sorted?

Also how accurate is the trip computer as far as range as in how many miles are left to fill up? When I filled the tank it displayed the range was 325 miles left,then as I drove for a day or so it went up to 381! Has since gradually come down and I'm on half a tank now and is displaying 202 left,is this normal? Just seems a lot of miles from a small tank. Oh it's a 1.2 lounge.

I'm sorry i can't help much but in my opinion most of the noise coming form the passenger seat is the missus and i agree it can be annoying at times!:devil:

 

[Chunter]

pound to a penny the "noise" is from the passenger seatbelt knocking on the pillar,if its not retracted fully or sitting flush it makes an annoying knocking noise,mine always does it after my nipper gets out.

 

[muttleysdad]

pound to a penny the "noise" is from the passenger seatbelt knocking on the pillar,if its not retracted fully or sitting flush it makes an annoying knocking noise,mine always does it after my nipper gets out.

Exactly what i was going to say - got used to reaching accross behind the passenger seat and pulling the seatbelt back behind the seat when i hear the tap tap tap .

 

[tommus]

its definitley not the seat belt knocking on the trim as i drove with it plugged in as if somone was travelling with me and the noise was still there. I'm wondering if something in the rear panel is loose near the speaker.

 

[muttleysdad]

its definitley not the seat belt knocking on the trim as i drove with it plugged in as if somone was travelling with me and the noise was still there. I'm wondering if something in the rear panel is loose near the speaker.

Have you tried unlocking the rear seat back and giving it a good slam back into place? - yet another source of rattles.

 

[pearce_jj]

The rear panel itself is just held on with pop-in clips. There should be a small but even gap between the top and the window all the way along. Behind it there's not much that could rattle other than the speaker mounting iself, which is a rivoted piece of ABS.

A loose rivot might cause it perhaps. Or perhaps something dropped in the bottom (my dad once had a rattle in the door of a Renault 18 which turned out to be an empty bottle of beer!).

 

[nottsfiat07]

The rear panel itself is just held on with pop-in clips. There should be a small but even gap between the top and the window all the way along. Behind it there's not much that could rattle other than the speaker mounting iself, which is a rivoted piece of ABS.

A loose rivot might cause it perhaps. Or perhaps something dropped in the bottom (my dad once had a rattle in the door of a Renault 18 which turned out to be an empty bottle of beer!).

that answers a lot of questions about renault build quality

 

[tommus]

Dont get me started on Renault! Had a 56 plate Clio and that was the worst car ever for rattles,got rid after 6 months!
Ok,ive slammed the back seat rests back,checked all over the car for anything loose,checked the spare wheel area and all seems ok but the noise is still there! Think I'll call the dealer tomorrow.