Yet another Rear RATTLE Fix
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,434
From: Westchester, NY
Yet another Rear RATTLE Fix
Ok, so this isn't a fix for the "hatch" per se, but i consider all of the sounds that go bump in the night to come from "back there." anything that isn't nailed down permanently seems to be a potential culprit.
Realized this one as i was washing and waxing today. So as i went to the back of the vehicle, i noticed the rear bumper had some give...about 1/4" on both the driver and pass sides. As i waxed and pressed into the bumper, it moved noticeably and when it bit some (presumably) plastic it made a decent thud.
To test & reproduce:
To reproduce, you can pop open your hatch and locate the black screw that holds the bumper to the rear frame and doubles as a bumper stop for the hatch. get a finger onto the bumper directly in front of the screw and press forward and see if it moves. Mine did at the bumper on both sides. As you push the bumper forward you'll notice the whole piece move under the screw housing...like it's not being held in place tightly.
This is a pic of the screw and the location.
The cause:
This is actually a very stupid design flaw. The metal screw with the black housing is expected to bite into an unthreaded plastic tube. The black housing is meant to pinch the bumper into submission and hold it to the frame. Unfortunately, once the screw has sufficiently tore into the plastic, it just keeps on a rippin' like Michael Jackson into Macaulay Culkin. If you want to test this, go get a phillips head screw driver and screw it tighter...now tighter, now tighter still. Notice that it never stops? Because that weak plastic isn't a match for the screw's teeth. It eventually rips it and bye-bye temporary threads. Or imagine just loosening that screw and trying to put it back in...sorry charlie that plastic thread is a one time only deal. The additional problem is that black housing around the screw, meant to hold your bumper to the frame has a gap of about a millimeter between it and the bumper, which allows the free movement." This should have been threaded metal...
Side note:
Your bumper may not move, and the screw may be tight..bully for you. Leave it that way. Mine 'may' be loose because i had the dealer install both the taillights and the spoiler. Why would they have removed the bumper? I have no idea. Just saying it's possible...At some point, and maybe on another thread we can see if certain rattles are limited not only to year/VIN, but dealer installed accessories.
The fix:
Back on track, now let's close the gap. I used an O-Ring. You'll see the package here from WalMart for 97 cents.
I didn't even have to spend the 97 cents. My wife purchased them last week because she thought i could use them to fix a leaky faucet. yeah right. i don't have time for faucets, i have rattles to tend to.
Anyway, jam that on and screw the bolt back in place. Two in the package actually fit quite nicely.
This is a pic of the screw with the housing and the o-ring installed.
The screw will never stop turning because it's lost its threads, but the o-ring holds the gap between the screw housing and the bumper. The bumper no longer moves, no more thud and you can't tell than anything has changed.
epilogue:
No i didn't take the car out for a test drive yet. But I know that I tightened up a design flaw. Let's face it, even if i did nail down rattle #9, there's other that would creep up. But i feel like i've accomplished something, one small battle won in the epic battle against the rattle. please don't take that away from me.
Realized this one as i was washing and waxing today. So as i went to the back of the vehicle, i noticed the rear bumper had some give...about 1/4" on both the driver and pass sides. As i waxed and pressed into the bumper, it moved noticeably and when it bit some (presumably) plastic it made a decent thud.
To test & reproduce:
To reproduce, you can pop open your hatch and locate the black screw that holds the bumper to the rear frame and doubles as a bumper stop for the hatch. get a finger onto the bumper directly in front of the screw and press forward and see if it moves. Mine did at the bumper on both sides. As you push the bumper forward you'll notice the whole piece move under the screw housing...like it's not being held in place tightly.
This is a pic of the screw and the location.
The cause:
This is actually a very stupid design flaw. The metal screw with the black housing is expected to bite into an unthreaded plastic tube. The black housing is meant to pinch the bumper into submission and hold it to the frame. Unfortunately, once the screw has sufficiently tore into the plastic, it just keeps on a rippin' like Michael Jackson into Macaulay Culkin. If you want to test this, go get a phillips head screw driver and screw it tighter...now tighter, now tighter still. Notice that it never stops? Because that weak plastic isn't a match for the screw's teeth. It eventually rips it and bye-bye temporary threads. Or imagine just loosening that screw and trying to put it back in...sorry charlie that plastic thread is a one time only deal. The additional problem is that black housing around the screw, meant to hold your bumper to the frame has a gap of about a millimeter between it and the bumper, which allows the free movement." This should have been threaded metal...
Side note:
Your bumper may not move, and the screw may be tight..bully for you. Leave it that way. Mine 'may' be loose because i had the dealer install both the taillights and the spoiler. Why would they have removed the bumper? I have no idea. Just saying it's possible...At some point, and maybe on another thread we can see if certain rattles are limited not only to year/VIN, but dealer installed accessories.
The fix:
Back on track, now let's close the gap. I used an O-Ring. You'll see the package here from WalMart for 97 cents.
I didn't even have to spend the 97 cents. My wife purchased them last week because she thought i could use them to fix a leaky faucet. yeah right. i don't have time for faucets, i have rattles to tend to.
Anyway, jam that on and screw the bolt back in place. Two in the package actually fit quite nicely.
This is a pic of the screw with the housing and the o-ring installed.
The screw will never stop turning because it's lost its threads, but the o-ring holds the gap between the screw housing and the bumper. The bumper no longer moves, no more thud and you can't tell than anything has changed.
epilogue:
No i didn't take the car out for a test drive yet. But I know that I tightened up a design flaw. Let's face it, even if i did nail down rattle #9, there's other that would creep up. But i feel like i've accomplished something, one small battle won in the epic battle against the rattle. please don't take that away from me.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,434
From: Westchester, NY
Well, here's an update.
No loud thuds on this AM's commute. I have a few different rattles, some sound like plastic hitting plastic (like little thuds) and some like plastic hitting hollow metal (click click).
Anyway, nothing majorly noticable on the same road today. I have the little creaks..but those are minor and are so minimal that they are drowned out by wind noise.
The only thing is that the car was in the garage all weekend and i know a good deal of this is climate sensitive. It was nice and cool when i started up and that could have been a contributing factor.
I'll update after my drive home tonight after the car has baked in the sun all day.
No loud thuds on this AM's commute. I have a few different rattles, some sound like plastic hitting plastic (like little thuds) and some like plastic hitting hollow metal (click click).
Anyway, nothing majorly noticable on the same road today. I have the little creaks..but those are minor and are so minimal that they are drowned out by wind noise.
The only thing is that the car was in the garage all weekend and i know a good deal of this is climate sensitive. It was nice and cool when i started up and that could have been a contributing factor.
I'll update after my drive home tonight after the car has baked in the sun all day.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,434
From: Westchester, NY
ok, i won't lie. this seems to be a big improvement. i could hear some sound, but the rattles that are left are small enough to be drowned out by low radio valume or wind. big nasties were not heard.
could also be because i washed and waxed this weekend (the car, that is). could have been tempermental earlier and po'd that i left her so dirty.
could also be because i washed and waxed this weekend (the car, that is). could have been tempermental earlier and po'd that i left her so dirty.
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,434
From: Westchester, NY
oh poop. now i know why that was loose. i had the dealer install the tyc taillights. they had to remove the screws for the bumper. it's right there on page 1!
because of the plastic nut, that's a one time deal. if any of you have had the tails installed, check the bumper fasters i have pictured above and see if they need this fix.
because of the plastic nut, that's a one time deal. if any of you have had the tails installed, check the bumper fasters i have pictured above and see if they need this fix.
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