Help! rear click sound on 2013 Outback

[subiesailor]

License plate rattling? I had this on my old Subaru for a few years nearly drove me bonkers then my wife got me a new plate frame - I installed the new plate frame and what do you know that **** rattle was gone! The Freaking license plate was the cause.

[CKK]

Originally Posted by subiesailor

License plate rattling? I had this on my old Subaru for a few years nearly drove me bonkers then my wife got me a new plate frame - I installed the new plate frame and what do you know that **** rattle was gone! The Freaking license plate was the cause.

Shouldn't be my case. I already checked and applied four screws. They are tight

[iainb]

Originally Posted by subiesailor

License plate rattling? I had this on my old Subaru for a few years nearly drove me bonkers then my wife got me a new plate frame - I installed the new plate frame and what do you know that **** rattle was gone! The Freaking license plate was the cause.

I had our sales guy get 2 more screws for the rear plate before we drove off the lot- I didn't want the plate banging into the trunk when we closed the hatch like it did on my Saturn.

[PHBMD]

Originally Posted by CKK

Hear the sound occasionally when making turns. Happens more when turning uphill/downhill with little bumps. Sounds like metal over plastic from the rear right. It's light but annoying on a new car. Not the safety belt buckle or cargo cover. Did anyone notice this on the 13's? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Sounds kinda familiar. Perhaps what I'm dealing with and what is described in the linked thread....

2011 3.6R Back Seat or Door Rattle / Click Sound

[CKK]

Originally Posted by PHBMD

Sounds kinda familiar. Perhaps what I'm dealing with and what is described in the linked thread....

2011 3.6R Back Seat or Door Rattle / Click Sound

likely.Are you still having this sound now?

[carven]

Originally Posted by CKK

Hear the sound occasionally when making turns. Happens more when turning uphill/downhill with little bumps. Sounds like metal over plastic from the rear right. It's light but annoying on a new car. Not the safety belt buckle or cargo cover. Did anyone notice this on the 13's? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Is the noise coming from top or bottom rear area?
Hopefully an adjustment to the tail gate will fix the issue.
Subaru now acknowleged that their Outback and Legacy wagons might have a spot weld failure during the manufacturing process. Check this out!
http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea...re-132510.html
Subaru issued a repair procedure to their dealers to carry out additional spot welds. However this procedure is a piece of crap.

This kind of weld failure also occurs from the rear roof area. A number of vehicles have be recalled to rectify this same problem and sadly in some cases, noises still evident after re-welding.

[CKK]

Originally Posted by carven

Is the noise coming from top or bottom rear area?
Hopefully an adjustment to the tail gate will fix the issue.
Subaru now acknowleged that their Outback and Legacy wagons might have a spot weld failure during the manufacturing process. Check this out!
http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea...re-132510.html
Subaru issued a repair procedure to their dealers to carry out additional spot welds. However this procedure is a piece of crap.

This kind of weld failure also occurs from the rear roof area. A number of vehicles have be recalled to rectify this same problem and sadly in some cases, noises still evident after re-welding.

Thanks for the information! Looks like it should be this issue. To me, It's more likely from the bottom rear, on the passenger side. It's not the tailgate.

[485]

I had a clicking sound on my 13 outback premium. But the noise is from front passenger glove box and dash area. The noise was there when I drive on uneven road surface. After few hundreds miles, I can hear it almost on all speed and surface. It sounds like some thing lose under the dash. Local dealer kept my car for 10 days (including weekend) to Pin point the noise and they removed literally everything they can behind the glove box including a/c blower motor. They cannot pin point the noise. Subaru sent their regional service engineering to look at my car at 10 days mark. They found out it was a defective shock. After they replaced the shock, the noise is done. Just shared my story and hopefully it may help u

[mcaurilio]

Count me down for this as well. This is exactly the area where the clicking sound I hear is coming from. It happens on and off, usually on bumps or other cracks in the road, especially while turning..seems to be more likely to happen when I turn right rather than left. (?)

I took the car half apart and had my wife drive around with me in the cargo area with my ear down on the sheet metal to figure out where it was coming from. I was thinking it was a bad shock or something with the noise coming up through that spot, but this answer seems much more likely.

Anyone taken their car in to have it looked at yet?

Mine is loud enough for me to hear over the radio and while my car is an '11, I still consider it new and the noise really bugs the crap out of me!!

[PHBMD]

Originally Posted by CKK

likely.Are you still having this sound now?

I am still having this sound now.

CARVEN's fix in post #16 of your thread seems pretty on target...at least that's where I'd guess the sound comes from. I tried to reach ctplake (post #24 of the thread I linked), but didn't get a reply.

This click sound is different than the rear gate rattle. If you have the click...you know it (sounds like CKK and mcaurilio do too). Chasing a noise might be a nuisance for the dealer, but a bad weld means compromised structural integrity which reduces vehicle safety in a collision.

My dealer did a thorough job of trying to stop the rear gate from rattling....much was replaced and now the gate closes with a nice from thud and is much quieter. As good as it's gonna get I figure. Not as good as other vehicles I am familiar with. >>