Maybe, but I'm thinking sooner or later it will squeak again. The advantage of the fabric is it also increases the tension between the parts making movement less likely as well.

 

The tough part is figuring out what two parts are touching and producing the squeak.

Will Mayall

 

I decided to tackle the console squeak problem. It really gets irritating after a while! First I removed the Console fins and the shift ****. The fins pop off quite easily with a gentle, firm tug. Start at the bottom where the chrome strip is.



Next open the cup holder and raise up the inside edge of the cover, prying gently as it slips up. I don't have heated seats, so the rear most plastic clips are easily seen. I suspect these (red circles) are the cause of the squeak.



Here is the bottom view of the console cover after removal. The six clips I greased are circled with red and green. The red circles are where I think the noise comes from. To be safe, I lubed all six!



Here is a close up of one of the red circled clips after greasing. Just a little grease is all that is needed. I used CRC dielectric silicone grease. It's clear, and withstands temps to 400F. But any silicone grease should work.



Silence is golden!!!! I'll post a followup after a few weeks, but this definitely stopped the crickets dead!

Edit: well not quite dead, but much quieter I'll be placing some thin felt under the console as suggested by lovekills

 

Nice job! Thanks for the photos and details! I hope this works out. We will all be looking out for your followup.

 

nash,

thanks for the photos, I am not sure the tabs you have circled in red are the root cause, I think it is that entire egde that rubs against the bottom of the cubby. I put the fabric side of a strip of velcro on that lip along where the tab edge sits against the cubby.

 

Excellent pics and explanation Nasher, now when you do your next oil change...bring that camera and excellent explanative ability along.

(explanative?? hmm...maybe I just done made me up a word)

 

After reading all posts and being driven nuts by the squeaking coming from the center console I decided to get this fixed. The noise comes from the front side of the horizontal plate around the shifting stick that includes also the heated seats switches, although at first may seem to involve other areas being so loud after only lightly touching the console. I went to an ACE hardware store this evening and bought a can of silicone grease (as Nash suggested) and one pack of 3/4in adherent cloth pieces. I went outside to the car, removed the shift ****, removed the vertical fins, and gently lift the cover (make sure you don't harm the connectors for the heated seats if included). I did not use the silicone grease though, only three pieces of adhesive cloth just next to the insert holes for the plastic clips covered with yellow rubber (the one to the left and the two to the right, all in the part of the plate that has the heated seats switch). Put everything back together and the squeak is all GONE!!! So, my advice would be not to use the grease but only the three pieces of sticking felt, nothing else. The instructions provided here for removal of the parts (all very easy) are excellent BTW.

 

One more thing: It took only 5 minutes in the parking lot in front of the ACE hardware store, no tools required. Because it was dark I used a flashlight I carry in the glove box to be able to see the wiring for the heated seats underneath the cover plate. Everybody can easily do this. This was pretty much my only complain with the car in about a month of ownership. now I have nothing to complain of anymore, great car

 

Lovekills....

How thick was the fabric tape... Thicker than the cloth side of velcro or thin like felt or like cushions that go on the bottom of a chair....? Thanks!

 

Thanks for the comments lovekills. These noises are quite hard to track down. So far I'm squeak free with just the silicone grease. The squeaking was almost constant before working on the console cover. Temps are supposed to be in the mid 90s for the next few days, so I should know soon if I need to apply some adhesive cloth. It's also possible the cloth strips give the clips enough tension to stop them from squeaking. Regardless of the cause - I'm quite happy we both have silent TCHs now!