11-12 Mustang Coupe, Back seat rattle/ticking sound on bumpy roads. Solution!!!!

[Stangrocka]

I like most of you guys want my car to be completely perfect, but one thing that has really bothered me for the past couple of weeks was a really really really annoying ticking rattle sound from the rear deck area or rear dash area. Well I have spent this whole last couple of days removing the back interior to try to pinpoint what exactly was causing this noise. Took the seats out, the side panels, the rear quarter window trim, rear deck carpeting and reinstalling them multiple times to try to narrow down the spots. The sound really only happened on slightly bumpy roads. Here is the location where the sound was coming from.

Yes this is a picture of the exterior but that is the location the sound was coming from. I even tried adding dynamat thinking that the ticking was from the plastics that surround all of these areas. I had my wife ride in the back seat while I drove down the slightly bumpy roads, and when she held the rear part of the quarter window trim, the sound stopped. Pulled all the pieces out and added the dynamat to the points of contact between metal and plastic.

This is where it got frustrating, We did another little ride before I reinstalled the interior pieces and the sound was still there. The X symbols mark the points where I would apply pressure and could hear a creaking sound, I first thought the glass wasn't sealed in good enough. If you thump the rear glass you could hear the ticking sound.:fm:

This is the actual spot (arrow) where the sound came from. The point where the rear decklid metal meets the inner part of the C-pillar, The two parts are welded to each other but there is a 3-4 inch area of the 2 sheets that just sit together, the weld joint is well below the area. When pressure was applied with hand it made a creaking sound, but you figure that while the car is in motion there is a lot faster and stronger amount of pressure creating this ticking sound. I took a putty knife type tool to really wedge that damn dynamat down in this little area. Problem solved.

Some guy on youtube posted a video of the sound, very annoying. Hope this helps many of you.

2011 mustang rear quarter rattle - YouTube2011 mustang rear quarter rattle - YouTube

 

[seank]

Awesome! I had the dealer chasing this and they couldn't do anything. Mine sounds more like the rear seat latch isn't tight but I'm going to try this. The rattle annoys the hell out of me. Is that rear panel a pain to remove?

 

[Stangrocka]

No, the rear panels all come out family easy, the trim around the rear quarter window was kinda tricky to get back in, there's a hook way back there you gotta hook in to reinstall, My car sounds so friggin quiet now, feels new. The rattle didn't start until one day i was washing the car and i folded down the rear seat, I thought the same thing you did, thought it was the latching point. I tried slamming the seat back and forth to shut it up. Pull out,back seat cushion, remove seat back, remove pull pins (3), the whole armrest panel can now slide out, unbolt seatbelt for front seat, remove coat hook, everything else pops out.

 

[Stangrocka]

Dude, I drove around with the whole rear out of the car, it's not the plastics or the seatback or anything, Its this damn joint that just squeaks or ticks when going over bumps. So friggin glad i found it.

 

[Chris_Red_V8]

(I posted the video) Interesting. On mine I believe it was the lower plastic rocker, but to be honest, I only drove 500 miles after discovering the rocker was making noise before the motor let go.

So I'll patch up the rocker, take it back out and see, and if it still makes it, I know where to go. Thanks!

I also took apart my whole interior, shocked that I couldn't find that. Good work!

 

[Stangrocka]

i thought it was the passenger rocker panel too, it was just loose and like flappy. but it wasn't it.

 

[viperakron]

Ever consider your track bar? mine made noise on odd bumps. It was the track bar mount.

 

[me32]

Nice write up.

 

[Stangrocka]

I have no noise or rattles at all now, it was this little point. If you climb in your back seat, push up on the glass near the rear defrost connector, you will hear a little creak. It's not the glass, its the part that holds the glass that connects to the rear dash panel.

 

[SLO5-0]

Had to join this forum simply because of this thread.

Thanks for this post. I had the rattle issue and couldn't figure it out. Did a google search, and this thread came up. Reduced/Minimized the rattle enough to where it is bearable. I was able to use the directions for the pwr qtr window product install to remove all the interior panels.

 

[Stangrocka]

Glad i could help, My rattle was completely eliminated. (riding in silence)

 

[Bluebolt]

I think I have this same problem. Is it a metal on metal type squeak? I thought it was originally something in my suspension. I haven't looked Into it to much yet.

 

[kingnut]

nice write up

 

[shadowstang03gt]

mine started doing this on vacation this year. at least i think it is this. Does it sound like its coming from the door?

 

[AZCobraCMDR]

Any ideas if I get the same exact sound on the front area of my drivers door at speeds over 65mph? And worse when it's windy.

 

[Chris_Red_V8]

Make sure your rockers aren't loose. That's my sound, I filled the area noted above and it made no change and now I have the noise on both sides to my dismay. At some point I will dismount the side splitters and rockers and remount it all with foam tape and new Xmas tree fasteners

 

[MikeLTDLX]

My car only rattles when I have a loud exhaust installed. It is stone cold quiet with stock mufflers. The louder the exhaust, the worse the vibration. I cannot find where it is. However, I was trying to find it this weekend and it seems to be related to the trunk being closed for some reason. Really annoying, since I have a couple of exhaust setups that sound amazing, but for the rattles.

Mike

 

[Dan12GT]

I just had my car in the dealer looking at this on top of a few other little things I was getting taken care of. The dealer basically had no knowledge of the problem and basically gave me the pitch it would cost me a boat load of money just to try and find it to eliminate the noise. Looks like I will be tearing things down myself as well to find the noise.