I don't know about everyone else, but the map light rattle was KILLING me. Whenever I turn my stereo up and the bass hits correctly all I hear is something rattling like crazy, it was driving me NUTS.

Then, just when I was about to end it all, a lonely Audiworld lurker (non-poster who shall stay anonymous) e-mails me out of the blue with how he fixed his rattle!

So naturally, I repeated the steps and took pictures along the way! The following is directions as provided from said anonymous lurker, intermixed with my comments and my pics :)

Let me know if you get stuck on any step. This is a SUPER EASY "mod" of sorts and fixes a REALLY annoying problem!

The rattle is caused by 2 main things:

1) The map light sockets, (not the overhead) that houses the lights is where I believe the problem lies.. see if you check the regular light bulbs have a clever little suspension type deal so they bounce around, and don't "rattle" however, the map light sockets are like regular bulbs.. and they can't be tightened.. like a regular light bulb can (screw in).. if you jiggle it around a little bit.. you'll see that its loose, and you hear a bit of what can be a rattle if it had some vibration.. what I did was pulled out both light bulbs, and then tightened the "socket" (with a small pair of pinch-nose pliers) so when I put the light bulb back in, I almost had to jam it to get it into place.. if you try this however, notice that the bulb has little circles.. you have to put the light bulb in, then turn it in order for it to be in correctly, just like removing.. turn a little and pull.

2) There are two areas on the sunroof control (both pieces black) and a little white piece that could also be causing the rattle.. all I did was put 3 strips of electrical tape and taped them down so they don't rattle as much.

I put everything back together, and put it in the car.. then I cranked the stereo and no more rattles! Some people apparently have this problem while driving too, but I haven't had too much of an issue with that.

Also, you don't need any "special" tools.. my tools included:

1) Butter knife with electrical tape around it
2) Phillips screw driver
3) Electrical tape

This is stuff you could find around the house.. when you look at the dome light.. you see two notches where the "special" tool would be put.. however, if you just go in from the side, where the plastic cover meets the carpeting I guess you could say.. just pop it off with a butter knife covered in 1 layer of electrical tape to avoid scratches.

Once you remove that.. what you do is you stick whatever you use into the lower section.. that also pops off.. you just gotta loosen it up in a few places, and work your way around.. after that, take the phillips, unscrew the TWO screws.. and the whole thing pops off..

I didn't even have to unplug any of the wiring harnesses. I just taped down the 3 rattles on the back and tightened the two bulb sockets while the entire console was just hanging there.

Here's some pics:

1) The console with 2 covers removed:

2) The back of the console, with 3 arrows pointing to the 3 things that I think rattle on the back

3) The back of the console with electrical tape over the 3 things (with arrows)

4) The 2 light sockets that need to be tightened (these are the things that noticeably rattle the most mind you!)