ELEVENS

Got a new rattle from the center console. It would only make noise when hitting bumps in the road during the first 30 minutes (or so) of driving away from a cold start (40-60 degrees ambient temp). Once the car interior warmed up, the squeak/rattle/creak would go away.

To pinpoint the cause of any noise, what works for me is to be able to reproduce the noise when the car is parked. That way, you can get your ear down in the place where it's needed, while everything else is nice and quiet. In this instance, pushing sideways on the console from either side of the parking brake area would make the annoying noise. Upon removing a few parts for a better look inside the console, the sound went away. So it was apparent that I has stumbled onto something.

What was causing the noise was the cheap-a$$ plastic console distorting ever-so-slightly upon hitting a bump (when cold) and would move (rub) against the (1) long retangular plastic insert directly under the parking brake lever, and (2) the squre plastic piece that houses the accessory power plug. Applying some weatherstrip lubricant to the contact points made the car quiet as a vault once again. Theoretically, routine applications of interior cleaners and other sprays might have caused the plastic to start squeaking in the first place.

Nothing worse than a squeak or a rattle! Hope this helps others that might run into this problem.