Dash Noise, Rattles, Sounds.

Noises and rattles are the toughest thing to control on any vehicle - some happen right away, some happen years down the road. Especially when they have to take something apart to get to the noise source, the process many times will not fix the problem or create additional noises. Sometimes it is from a manufacturing defect - either restricted to your car, a handful of cars, or the entire lineup. You did everything correctly - you basically ran through the whole spiel of addressing this with the dealership. The dealership actually worked the situation in the correct manner as well, aside from not being able to fix the original problem.

I ran into a very similar problem with a brand new Dodge Truck - but there, the noise was in the drivetrain. My truck was in the shop in and out oh the shop probably a good 8-9 months solid the 1st year of ownership (put on about 2400 miles the first year - mostly from test drives to sort out the noise issue). Needless to say - the dealership did everything they could short of replacing the whole truck - which is where arbitration comes in and your state's "lemon law" procedure starts to happen. Took about a two weeks of lets try this and that - keep the vehicle + get some compensation, trade it into another vehicle, etc. Ended up having them replace the whole truck with another + gold level warranty, ie. a$$ kissing extended warranty (sad part was - this one started to do the same thing, just louder and at a different frequency) - truck also had major issues - entire drivetrain replaced twice, interior completely gutted and replaced 3 times, and engine replaced twice - all do to some goofed up design issue. Needless to say, a nightmare. This was a cash purchase as well - so it kind of hurt a bit. Oh why didn't Toyota make a V8 truck at that time to pull a 8000lb trailer (1997).

It is possible that the rattle can be addressed - or it could be one of those rares cases of manufacture defect in your vehicle. Stuff like this does happen, that's why there is arbitration. Read through the vehicle documentation to see your rights and the limitations of arbitration. Sort of sucks, but this is the next logical step. At this point, it is eat the car, go arbitration, or take it to court. Dealership has already tried to fix it more than once unsuccessfully (this happens), that's why they popped the "live with it" or "arbitration" route.

Good Luck.

Yes, I did go through arbitration - the two weeks was the amount of time spent in arbitration until an exceptable resolution was reached. Should be able to recoup much of the depreciation from the 3rd party arbiter, if you choose to go the arbitration route. Also keep in mind - that arbitration supposed to be fair to both parties involved, I found that they tend to favor the dealership instead of the consumer - but others have found otherwise.

I would highly recommend reading up on your state's "lemon law" qualification - usually it takes one unsuccessful major/critical repair or three unsuccessful minor repairs before you qualify. Having a new car complicates things - since potential parts that could fix the issue are being tied up for production of other new cars. I had to wait for six months for a new differential - since none were apparently available to be a replacement for my vehicle. We lucked out there - we bought the extended service plan, so loaners were free - got to drive a new Dodge vehicle every month until they got the part.

Lots of sites take about lemon law and arbitration also tend to pound in these points (quoted from http://www.lemonlaw.com/kit.html):

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NEVER LEAVE THE REPAIR FACILITY

without a copy of the work orders. A complete record of the vehicle history is very important, especially with repeated problems. Although not absolutely necessary to prove your claim at a later date, copies of the records prevent the dealer from writing several repair visits as one, a common practice.

ASK ABOUT TSBs

TSB(Technical Service Bulletins) are instructions from the manufacturer that alert dealerships about defects or repairs in certain models. However, dealerships do not generally tell the customer about TSBs unless asked! So speak up. Ask the dealership to write your TSB request on the repair order even if told no TSBs exist for the concerns you are experiencing.

DEMAND RESPECT

You paid a lot for your vehicle...so don't be afraid to go over anyone's head if your vehicle isn't repaired properly. Part of the price of the car is the warranty service for which repairs are being made. You paid for it, you should get your moneys worth.

ARBITRATION

At present, the Federal Trade Commission has determined that no manufacturer has in place an "arbitration program" which complies with Federal minimum standards. What this means is that the FTC finds these programs to be unfair to consumers.

DON'T BE MISLED

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In some situations, the dealership may claim that the consumer is causing the problem. This is a common tactic when the dealership cannot fix the problem or the manufacturer has no repair to correct the condition. Ask about the TSBs as stated above and stick to your guns. Your situation is not as unique as the dealership represents.

When we went through our arbitration process - I covered all these and brought in my own arbiter to work with the factory arbiter to make sure things were fair. Not going to sugar coat this - it will be a nightmare - dealership doesn't want to get stuck with a car they cannot potentially resell and you definitely do not want to put up with faulty product.

Good Luck.