2011 WRX sedan. Vibrating sound coming from rear windsheild/roof area

[2011REXRoyalBlu]

There is a weird vibration/odd sound coming from the rear windshield/ roof. It is annoying. 2011 wrx sedan. Seems like it is coming from maybe the rear windshield itself. Anyone know/have any information on/about this?

[kabob.master]

could be a lot of things....
-trunk hook (where the trunk latches closed)
-loose wiring inside pannels
-i've heard stories that some panels were not properly installed during assembly

one thing i do know is that many people are claiming warranty on it and taking it to dealer- although, all they do is open up some panels and put weather stripping or sound deadener all over the place

hope this helps

[IRONMANG]

Good Luck with that man cause I aleady brought it back to the dealership twice for that rattling issue. And i'm about to go for my third.

[kabob.master]

what have they already done to try to fix the rattling ironmang?

we should keep tabs of solutions to this rattling epidemic.....

[teflon_jones]

It's under warranty so what does the dealer say?

The rear windshield definitely isn't causing it. The glass is a solid piece surrounded by rubber. No possible rattles there.

Probably something loose in the suspension and/or trunk assembly, also possible the rear doors. Tough to say, rattles are always tough to find.

[IRONMANG]

For me it's definetly the rear deck. The plastic tray piece behind the headrests. If u fold down the backseats you can check it out a little better. The dealership did that n tighten **** up. Second time they did quote on quote adjustments to it. It sorta made it better, meaning it does it less but not fixed. We'll c in the future.

[willoc]

This fix is real easy - had the same problem on mine too. I took some small strips of batting (yes from the sewing dept at Walmart) - cut it to about 2"x6". Open trunk and look under the package shelf (that's what they used to call it!) you will see a hole cut in the sheet metal it's about 3" diameter. This hole has nothing in it, the other holes already have sound dampening material inside them. Stuff strips of batting, shop rags, newspaper, whatever the heck you want to use into that hole. It will fill the gap between sheet metal and package shelf. It doesn't take much, 4-5 strips of material should do the trick.

My other fix for the front door rattles when stereo cranked up is easy too. Remove door panel. Remove white plastic baffles and throw in trash. Install door panel. Rattle gone...

[mjboudreaux77]

This fix is real easy - had the same problem on mine too. I took some small strips of batting (yes from the sewing dept at Walmart) - cut it to about 2"x6". Open trunk and look under the package shelf (that's what they used to call it!) you will see a hole cut in the sheet metal it's about 3" diameter. This hole has nothing in it, the other holes already have sound dampening material inside them. Stuff strips of batting, shop rags, newspaper, whatever the heck you want to use into that hole. It will fill the gap between sheet metal and package shelf. It doesn't take much, 4-5 strips of material should do the trick.

My other fix for the front door rattles when stereo cranked up is easy too. Remove door panel. Remove white plastic baffles and throw in trash. Install door panel. Rattle gone...

funny.... I didn't notice the rattling on my back deck until I fixed my door rattles - because they were too loud! Now I hear the deck rattling, I will try your solution and see what I get.

Wow.. this forum is littered with people complaining about rattles, yet SOA tells me "no one has told us we are having rattle issues in the new 2011 models."

[economatic]

Good luck with it. This has been a problem with the 3g WRXs. My '09 started shortly after I bought my car and has only gotten worse with upgrades to the suspension, exhaust, and stereo. A few weeks ago I took the entire rear panel assembly apart and lined everything with insulation. It fixed the problem until the weather got cold. I think I'm going to accept defeat on this one for good.

[mjboudreaux77]

So the 3 inch whole in my rear deck already had insulation in it. I just had my wife drive me around while I sat (actually kneeling facing backward) in the rear listening from where it is coming from. I could make it better by pushing on the whole panel, but not make it completely go away.

Any one else have ideas/solutions? This seemed to get worse as the outside temperature dropped significantly (its been about 12-17 degrees lately).

$40K car, rattles come for free. Argh.

[MizzouDevil]

This fix is real easy - had the same problem on mine too. I took some small strips of batting (yes from the sewing dept at Walmart) - cut it to about 2"x6". Open trunk and look under the package shelf (that's what they used to call it!) you will see a hole cut in the sheet metal it's about 3" diameter. This hole has nothing in it, the other holes already have sound dampening material inside them. Stuff strips of batting, shop rags, newspaper, whatever the heck you want to use into that hole. It will fill the gap between sheet metal and package shelf. It doesn't take much, 4-5 strips of material should do the trick.

My other fix for the front door rattles when stereo cranked up is easy too. Remove door panel. Remove white plastic baffles and throw in trash. Install door panel. Rattle gone...

Awesome post about the rear rattle! I did exactly what you wrote and no more buzzing noise!!

Thanks!

[zx2assassin]

I had the same problem so I took a piece of foam and put it between the back of the rear panel and the rear windshield and have not had any issues since but my shifter trim does rattle on occasion.

[wrecks]

Subie designs the rattles in as part of the brands character!

[crosstip]

I've got the same issues in my '11 WRX. Dealer put foam between deck steel and plastic and replaced missing clip on one of the pillars. That stopped most of it, however, there's still some "flex" sound to the whole situation. I'll give the doors a try, but this is my first Subaru and I've had bad luck with taking off doors before. Any pictures? '11 pictures are hard to come by and I assume will be for a year or two. On a side note: I've also got an amp and sub I took out of my last car. I've been told the wiring for '11s w/ bluetooth and steering wheel controls is different. Any hints on that?

[mjboudreaux77]

Prior to '11, there was no bluetooth. Your bluetooth and steering controls won't work with an aftermarket stereo unless you buy the PAC unit from crutchfield - and your stock BT mic will not work no matter what. Since I have never had a car with steering controls before, it wasn't a big deal to me so I just live without them.