kmcanney

Update: there are two screws at the top of part 2--above the speedometer at roughly 11 and 1 o'clock. After removing the screws, the squeak goes away. Not an elegant fix, but it isolated the noise. I want to remove that part of the dash so I can see what's behind it. I'm wondering if adding some foam-rubber weatherstripping strategically to the back will make the squeak go away. The problem is that I'm not sure how to remove that part. With the two screws removed, I can tip it forward, but I can't quite remove it. I'm just hesitant to force it in case there are additional screws I can't see--I don't want to fix the squeak by breaking the dash! Does anyone have any experience in disassembling the Forester's dash?

Brus Brother-- How far was the dash disassembled when you were out with the tech and were unable to reproduce the squeak? It seems to me that the dash is made up of two pieces: part 1 below 1 is the instrument cluster itself, and 2 is a trim overlay/bezel. Click here to see image if it's not displaying inline. I think what's happening is that part 2 is moving and squeaking against part 1. If part 2 was removed when you went out with your tech, it would make sense that the squeak went away. So far, I can't find any screws that would allow me to tighten part 2--not without taking apart trim panels, anyway. Grrr.

Try pushing on the bezel around and in front of the gauges. That's where I'm hearing it.

Cathie--did the dealer manage to fix this for you? I have a 2006 Forester that just started making the same noise. I'll dive under the dash tomorrow and look for screws I can tighten, but it's pretty annoying. For what it's worth, the dash squeaks like crazy when the car is cold: if I have the heat on full-bore for a while, it goes away.