Please help...for the last 3 months or so my 2002 Sti Impreza has a intermittant tapping noise coming from the rear parcel shelf / window area...

I have taken the parcel shelf out about 10 times now along with the c pillar trims, seats etc to get the actual shelf out... I have put rubber washers between the clips and shelf parts incase it was the clips chattering when the car is moving - that didn't work,I purchased another complete parcel shelf, no difference... I placed tape on all components that are under the shelf to see if anything moved - didnt help.. I really at am my last straw !

It even goes to say that the tapping noise comes and goes according to the temperature outside!,

I was told that my Subaru garage could investigate at £65 +vat per hour! but who know how long it will take when the noise comes and goes so I dont really want to go that route...

They mentioned that the rear window might need re-sealing?? anyone heard of this? - I dont get any leaks in the back of the car...

thanks

Andy

 

It may be a long shot, but I have a tapping noise sometimes in the rear and I found it was the thin bit of ply that sits over the spare wheel, when something is in the boot it does not do it. Also I had a rattle once when the jack handle was not properly clipped to the board. I know it may not be the answer, but worth checking.

 

Hi mate,

I did as you suggested but as I reversed off my drive the tapping noise was still there :-( I'm pulling my hair out with this damn noise!

Andy

 

I had this in my old MY02, I had some work done and it vanished. It might not be the same thing but I had new speakers and put a new rear seat in.
It could have been something behind the seat or maybe the speaker wire was tapping. Hopefully it will be the same on yours, If not have a look at the rear suspension turrets, mine used to knock before I got them fixed.

 

If you have feed-through rear seats, get someone to lie with her head in the boot, then drive a short distance and they touch stuff until it stops.


It's how I found a squeak which I THOUGHT was coming from my boot area, but turned out to be from where the rear doorcard clips on at the top

Every time I think I've FINALLY cured it, it's back in 6 weeks or so.

 

I had one of the vertical strengthening bars come loose in the seat back section of the boot !

HTH

dunx

 

UPDATE.......

On Saturday I removed rear seats - c pillar plastic trims, parcel shelf etc and fitted new plastic clips to the entire parcel shelf and c pillar plastic parts.. looked for anything out of the normal and found nothing....

put all parts back and went for a drive - silent, went for another drive Monday - just the occasional noise but this morning going to work at 6.30am with cooler temperatures the noise was definately back!

Anyone suggest something that can move with different temperatures in the back?, cold temps give me the tapping noise, hot is almost silent????

confused.com !

Andy

 

cool temperatures and a noise when cold usually point toward something that expands and then tightens up when warm and then stops the rattle..

can I ask is it speed dependent ?? or parking dependent.. i.e. if parked in garage does it do it, or if parked outside and subject to morning sun temperatures etc.. etc..

might sound daft but I'm a service manager in the motor trade (formerly jaguar and mercedes-benz and soon to be subaru) and get this sort of annoying stuff all the time.. its a nightmare for us to sort out at the dealership as we never get enough time with the car but it can usually be sorted with enough patience..

trick is to remove single parts at a time otherwise if you strip everything you wont know what cured it !!

have had similar probs before turned out to be a rattling boot spoiler and also another one was with a spot weld on two metal skins below rear window (on a saloon) that wasnt exactly perfect and the 2 skins would expand with heat and then quieten.. that was a weird one and did take about 2 weeks to get to the bottom of after stripping the complete interior from the car pretty much..

 

Thanks for the reply,

There is no noise from the car when parked, it is totally silent no creaks taps etc, from the morning when I get the car out the garage, reverse the car off the drive onto the road it will then tap, just 1 tap then At various times on the way to work, it really is annoying and would pay to get it quiet again, just not Subaru £100 an hour !

Like I say when the temp outside is hot it's silent???? Cooler temp something goes tap/ flapping plastic somewhere in the rear of the car

Andy

 

If it wasnt annoying you so much this would be fun trying to work out what the noise is. Ok this is my new thoughts, Boot rubbers, exhaust rubbers, brake line clips. They all have parts that could be altered by heat.

 

Its the rear screen, locating pegs in the top corners and one in the middle, thats 100% thats where the noise is do a search for the cure. Jay

 

Thank you Jay.......

I found this link......
https://www.scoobynet.com/search.php?searchid=2597416

will give it a go

fingers crossed....

Andy

 

Did it work?

 

Many thanks to Jay......

He was correct in helping me sort the noise

it was indeed the pegs and plastic parts that are stuck on the window that was making the noise...

Apparently Subaru have a TSB on the rear window rattle but nobody told me when I spoke to my local dealer...

the answer was. remove rear seats, remove c pillar plastic parts where the rear seat belts go through, remove clips from head lining and carefully look at the top 2 corners of the rear screen.. with a stanley knife cut the nipple off the piece of plastic then with fine nose pliers pull the sticky part from the back window.. reasemble the c pillar trims,headlining,seats and job done...

The plastic clips are only there for the robots at the assembly line to align the rear screen, after a while they rattle, its fine to remove them..

some threads I found on this are here..

https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...+locating+pegs
https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...+locating+pegs
https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...+locating+pegs
https://www.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-...+locating+pegs



Thanks again for a quiet car now!

Andy

 

Pleased its all sorted for you Andy, mine took a while to find. Jay