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2013 OB Hatch Closing - Small Rattle

7K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  ckhbuy 
#1 ·
Hi,
wondering if other OB owners have noticed a rattle coming from the rear hatch when closing it. I thought it was the license plate, and padded it with weather stripping to absorb impact when hatch is closed, and that did not eliminate the rattle. I left the license plate off and opened/closed the hatch and heard that rattle. the thing that drives me crazy is that 1 out of 10 times the hatch will not rattle when shut closed. Anyone else have this problem in their 2013 OB? I'm wondering if it's the latch or strike plate, bc when close it gentley, so that latch barely engages, i still can hear it.
 
#2 ·
No rattle on mine.
 
#5 ·
If it really annoys you, remove the inside panel from that hatch/rear gate. There are quite a few items that can rattle there, including a misplaced or broken clip from the assembly line. If the car is out of warranty that would be the thing to do...
Nevertheless, Subarus are know for various squeeks and rattles... I had my share of them (that neither me nor dealer could fix...) with my previous 2 Subarus....
 
#8 ·
well, i took the car to dealership this morning, they wanted me to reproduce the problem, and it ends up being, not a rattle, but the latch engaging on rear hatch. seems a little too rattely to be latch action, but i guess i have nothing else i can go on, so it will do for now.
just annoying that the latch makes a louder noise than i'm accustomed to.
 
#9 ·
Have you tried to adjust the striker plate so that it sits closer to the rear of the car? I had to move mine a little bit to keep the "door ajar" light from coming on at times.

Just pull the plastic off that obscures the plate then loosen the two bolts. Move the plate and tighten the bolts back up. replace the plastic trim and remember to tuck the trim into the weather stripping instead of laying the trim on top of it.
 
#10 ·
rockthebeef,
which way to did you move the striker plate, towards the front or rear of the car?
i might have to try that. I did notice that the latch engaging sound isn't noticeable, if close the gate hard when it is almost closed (down by my crotch), instead of closing the hatch from eye level.
 
#12 ·
As stated, I moved it so that the plate sits closer to the rear of the car. That way there's more of a chance for the hatch to hit it when you close it. I think moving it toward the front of the car would have made my situation worse, but I didn't test it.
 
#13 ·
rattle in back

My Outback has a rattle emanating from behind the plastic rear gate trim. Each time I go over a bump alot of noise is produced behind the trim. I determined this by first tightening spare tire bolts, removing everything unnnecessary from car, and then my wife driving me around while I sat in the area behind the rear seat with a stethoscope device (Yeah, I'm like that. OCD.) Additional clue: the rear windshield wiper now makes a funny noise when I turn it on. So something is loose in the caboose. I'd like to tighten whatever is loose before it causes worse problems. For those here who have removed the hatchback trim (as defined in the document) to access this area, is it really hard to do so without damaging lots of press fit connectors? Should I order extra before doing so? If one were kind of clumsy (yours truly), is it better to let the dealer muck around in the rear gate trim?

Christopher

PS Double-confirmed that the hatch is VERY tight when it closes - no rattle there. The latch holds it down very nicely.

[Someone else uploaded a document concerning the hatchback trim, which I have copied here as well. Thanks!]
 

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