Noises can be hard to pin down to a location sometimes. Do you have a sunroof? They seem to be prone to rattles. Also, have another person sit in the back seat while you are driving to help pinpoint the problem area. Perhaps it's comming from the right rear strut.

 

How about the middle seat belt in the rear where it retracts into the roof? The latch can bang into the plastic cover making a rattle sound.

 

Yea, That's a great suggestion. If your middle belt is retracted into the roof belt it into the seat and see if the noise goes away. I belive there is two attachment points in the roof.

 

Been driving around with my daughter and me in the back cargo area. The noise seems to be coming from behind the carpeted area on the passenger side of the back storage area near the passenger side wheel well. It is an internal noise and not something coming from the outside of the car. I tried to push stuff a little bit by squeezing my hand behind the felt material that covers the wheel well, but it would be helpful to be able to take the cover off and get back there. Does anyone know how to do that? I couldn't find a logical fastener point. Any other thoughts on this are really appreciated. Thanks.

 

FWIW, my rattle was the front seat passenger seat belt clip hitting the center door post. Moving it stopped the rattle. Don't know if if fits your situation, but it was mine.

 

+1. That was my first thought. It doesn't happen very often but it is really annoying.

 

Could be the rear gate (hatch). I had a noise that I was sure was from the right rear door area, but that's just the way sounds travel in the car. It was, instead, the rear gate -- the striker needed a small adjustment.

Place a piece of corrugated cardboard over the weatherstrip at the bottom of the rear gate (but not over the striker), and close the door. Then drive over the road surfaces that would normally cause the noise, and see what happens. If it's gone, then the striker position has to be adjusted. It might need to be moved no more tha 1/32-inch to stop the noise, while at the same time not making it so tight that fully latching the hatch becomes difficult.

 

My 2011 3.6r limited had some noise in the back so i lubed the hinges strut mounts and latch .It has not made .any noise since

 

So far, no luck. I have tried all of the suggestions listed by members responding to my post. I will take it to our local dealer and see if they can locate it. If anyone has any additional thoughts, then please continue to post. I have basically disassembled the entire interior of the cargo area and rear seat, but can't locate the rattle. It sounds like a plastic or metallic clicking noise---usually upon low speed acceleration/deceleration and wavy roads where the car flexes. I even considered whether it might be an electrical relay. Is there any sort of electrical relay that would be located near the seat belt mechanism on the passenger side of the rear seat?

 

Did you look at the underside of the car in that area? Maybe you have a rock sitting on the lipped edge of an exhaust heat shield or something.

I don't have an exhaust pipe on that side of the car with my 2.5i, but you do with your 3.6R. I'm not sure where it branches, but there may be an exhaust coupler around there that flexes in the conditions you describe.

I'd put on a pair of leather yard work gloves and tap around the underside of the car in that area with my knuckles to see if anything rattles.

Andrew

 

I had a similar rattle on my 2010 3.6R. I found the problem which was an underside plastic cover in front of the right rear wheel which did not have vibration damping. The bolts holding it on have 1/8" shoulders which appeared to require rubber washers to dampen vibration. I installed washers and problem solved. You can reproduce the vibration by just tapping on the cover to verify.

 

I had a similar rattle on my 2010 3.6R. I found the problem which was an underside plastic cover in front of the right rear wheel which did not have vibration damping. The bolts holding it on have 1/8" shoulders which appeared to require rubber washers to dampen vibration. I installed washers and problem solved. You can reproduce the vibration by just tapping on the cover to verify.

WILLCYCLE - Could you explain a little more about the exact location of hte plastic cover? Is this something that is inside the car? Or outside of the car underneat? Is it in the wheelwell, etc? Thanks.

 

My license plate rattled pretty bad. Until I mounted it with 4 screws, the dealer only used two.

 

It is outside the car.

 

I have this issue too. It is frustrating and I haven't had time to really try to diagnose it. For me, it seems to be coming from the driver side in the cargo area. It seemed to have started after it got a little colder. I can't reproduce it when the car is stopped and I rock the car around either. It seems to sound like a flexing creak, but it doesn't always happen when I expect it. It doesn't seem like its the breaks either but it does occur when the car is under very light load or deceleration or between 5-25 mph.

 

I sat in the back tonight and I think it is coming from the rear gate. But where?

 

Spare tire rubbing? The foam insert above or in the spare tire?

Andrew

 

I tried adjusting the foam insert. When sitting in the back, it definitely sounds like its actually coming from inside the gate. It also doesn't make the noise going over bumps like a squeaking insert might sound. It sounds more like creaking.

 

I had a bumpy road-caused noise in the rear hatch that stopped after I glued a 1"x1" by half-inch thick piece of foam pad (from a camping/hiking foam pad) to the back of the license plate. It stopped the vibration of the plate against either the plate's frame or/and the car. We had some horrendously bumpy roads this past week when a heavy wet snow froze up on the roads before the plows could get to them. It was a great rattle test.

 

at first I though it was the rear seat head rest,,in fact I was very sure that's it...until I took my car to the automated car wash... When the fan blow (to dry the car), at first rattle sound come from the front, (wiper blade), then as the car move forward, my rear wiper blade vibrate like crazy, (but slightly diff rattle sound) just when I thought it was the rear wiper (arm), Then I heard the familiar rattle sound...it was my license plate, Took a look after the car wash, and yes, only 2 bolts.... SO at least for now, it is coming from the rear license plate (with only 2 bolts holding it up)...

 

I take my car in on 1/10/12 for the sunroof recall and what sounds like the very same mystery rattle from the rear gate area. I am supposed to drive a technician around some so he can hear it too - might just work.

Any good results from other owners yet?

I have looked around, driven with the spare and foam storage removed, taken out the right rear cargo area cover (exposing the subwoofer) and couldn't find the cause. I put some foam rubber onto the right rear gate strut and thought that made a difference....so I'll mention it to then dealer. All this effort because I'd rather tell the dealer what needs to be fixed/replaced then to hear that they couldn't find it.

 

I have an 11 Outback 2.5 with the same issue. I'm convinced it has something to do with the right rear strut, and I've noticed that every Gen 4 Outback I've been in has the same issue to some degree. It seems to almost go away with a heavy enough person sitting in the right rear. I have a relative with the same car w/o a sunroof and it does it. Even the loaner 11 Outback the dealer gave for a day while they explored the issue had it. I have about 16,500 on mine, and it's constant now with every little bump.

 

Mystery is solved! I am the originator of this thread, and I can tell by the postings that many of you have the exact same problem as me. The noise sounds lick a "click" or "pop"---metal on plastic or plastic on plastic type of noise. It comes from the right rear seat area, and to me it sounded like it was coming from the mechanism that raises and lowers the seat. The dealer has solved this problem for me. They call it a "weld pop" and was coming from a weld either under the back seat (right side) or near the right rear wheel well. It is key to drive the car with the dealer's trim technician. He identified the sound right away. The cure is to locate the weld that is the source of the noise. Basically, it will be where two sheets of metal come together and create a lip. They they take a screwdriver and apply a little pressure---just enough to bend it slightly and relieve the pressure in the weld. Once this was done, then the noise was gone. He was 100% certain this was the source of it. I also agree with one poster that said many of this generation have this problem. In fact, the dealer drove me back to my office in a 2012 Outback, and IT MADE THE SAME NOISE FROM THE SAME LOCATION. Good luck to those of you with this problem, and I hope this suggestion helps. The dealer seemed to be very familiar with this problem, i.e., the "weld pop" issue---not this particular location on the car---but I got the impression this was an ongoing issue with Subarus.

 

Makes sense! Maybe I will have this taken care of some day. But for me, it honestly sounds like it's coming from the rear gate, but my ears may be deceiving me.

 

I'll have to ask about that next time I'm in. I still have the same problem. The dealer adjusted the strike plate which made it much easier to close the liftgate, but I noticed the creak came back. Usually happens first thing in the morning when going over bumps asymmetrically, but doesn't occur too much after the car has been on the road.

 

Rattle in back seat area or back door

We purchased a 2010 3.6R and had a plastic sounding vibration which sounded like it was coming from the back seat or door area. We tried everything mentioned in this forum. Under the car under the rear seat area are plastic panels on both sides. Push on these panels. If they move up and down that is your problem. Air gets inbetween the panels and the under carriage causing the vibration. I took each retaining bolt out individually(not all at the same time to prevent the panel from coming off) and put a lock washer on each bolt and reinstalled and the rattle went away. I contacted Subaru customer service and they basically blew me off. So I contacted the local dealer and told them in case someone came in with the same problem. Hope this helps.

 

Ditto...I'm pretty sure that rattle is from the rear gate or something is loose. But it is very inconsistent and hard to pinpoint. One of those things on the backburner to do list.

 

I had that noise, annoying. I used some rubber washers and re-attached the license plate-fixed. The washers may have been from a garden hose faucet. Good luck.

 

I had the same issue ... 2011 2.5 OB.

I started by taking everything out of the back .. foam under hatch etc... Didn't fix the problem.

Isolated the issue by noticing that the noise was not there when I drove with the rear hatch open. ( I have a long driveway for testing)

I applied lithium grease to the latch as well as a tiny amount on those side "guide" blocks. Not sure what they are called, they are black and have a little slant.

So far so good.. almost a year later.

My first recommendation would be to see if anything changes with the hatch open.

 

Bingo, this was my exact problem. I all of a sudden got the annoying rattle and squeak that was better as thymes went up so I suspected those tabs right away. I actually used a towel I had and put it around each tab and closed the hatch. Noise gone! I am going to see if I can find some sort of maybe a felt stick on I can put on there rather than the grease but if that doesn't work, glad to hear the grease works also. Thanks for sharing everyone.