2011 WRX Sedan - Rattles

[fsjay]

I got my 2011 WRX hatch back in march and started to hear a few little rattles but more annoying was the highway noise and speeds great than 70...I mean it wasnt really bad, but noticeable if your trying to talk to someone...

So I bit the bullet and got dynamat for all the doors and hatch and although its not lexus quiet, its much better...

[MagnumXL]

I went in my for free oil change and they spent a long time working on the door and rear deck rattles. I don't hear any deck rattles or door rattles in normal driving so far now. Loud bass can still rattle the doors a bit here and there, though. I'm thinking dynamat/pad would still be a good idea.

[rockman15]

I dynomatted the whole interior. Works really well.

[C-Dunc]

I dynomatted the whole interior. Works really well.

I would love to do that! Just costs so much money... I finally got my deck and subs put in, and man that rear deck is driving me nuts. I just got the car about 3-4 months ago (2011 WRX Sedan), and previously had an 08 Lancer GTS. Had the same subs with no rear deck rattles at all. This things rattles so much I can't stand it! Even if it's up loud the rattles still overpower the subs .

I was thinking of getting some of the spray in expanding foam, but I have seen people really F up panels by using too much so I am a little afraid to try it. I know not many people put a giant box with a pair of subs in their WRX's due to weight issues, but I don't race mine AT ALL, and the factory speakers were beyond terrible. Has anyone with a 2011 Sedan found any cures for the rear rattles due to subs? I don't even think Dynomat would help there... Any help would be appreciated (and no, taking the subs out is not an option for me ).

[MagnumXL]

My rear deck has started rattling like crazy since the weather got a little cooler. The dealer apparently addressed the door panels (well the stereo doesn't cause problems anymore, but the overall frame still makes some light noises and the rear deck buzzes quite a lot now at times.) I'm thinking dynamat (or equiv) is probably the best option.

[MagnumXL]

Anyone else get a "clunk" or "rattle" right as the clutch fully engages? It sounds like my drive train has a rattle or something to it, but I can't tell exactly where it comes from, but mostly sounds like right front and rear tire wells or somewhere in that vicinity, either one or the other or both). It's almost like having a loose piece of something in the trunk and it moves around right as the car suddenly starts moving, but I can't replicate the sound by breaking or going over railroad tracks or bumps or even suddenly slamming on the gas while already moving and I don't hear it between any of the other gears, just when engaging first gear from a stop.

Now that the door panels have mostly been dealt with, I only get that odd noise and the rear deck rattling at times (just tried jamming a newspaper between the mid seat and lip to see what effect it has. Once I isolate the spot, I'll find a better fix or at least point Subaru straight to it). The rear deck definitely seems to rattle more in colder weather than hot.

[Annihilator817]

If it helps anyone, I've narrowed down the rattle on mine to the GAS FILLER FLAP.

Go up to your gas flap and tap on it, it rattles. It seems to rattle in the wind at highway speeds more than anything. And unfortunately the stereo blows in this car so I can't jsut turn the music up and forget about it.

Haven't figured out what I'm going to do to fix it yet because if I start bending the lock tabs to get a tighter fit while closed, I may get it stuck closed and don't want to have to pry at it.

I will update this when I figure out a solution.

[sportsman]

Wow! If what I'm stating is obvious, why are you so mad about it? Your search will reveal that the rattles come back, it's a Subaru, I've owned them since 1997 and they all rattle at some point, there's nothing you can do except deal with what you bought (a $17k car with a beefed up engine, but still a $17k car)

i would like to know where these 17k dollar 2011 wrx's are. everything in my surrounding area were 30k so i just dummied up and bought the STI.
mine has rattles it does bother me i just dumped over 30k on a car but i just keep chasing them and stopping them this car will not beat me LOL.
i have the hatchback so i think they tend to rattle worse than the sedan from what i read.

good luck keep chasing them down you will win in the end.

[MagnumXL]

Ok, I decided to try some things I've read on here and elsewhere before taking the car back to Subaru again for the rear deck rattles (which based on the last visit would mean me sitting there for a couple of hours and only finding that they didn't fix them all when I get the car back).

The first thing I did was put black electrical tape on the "U" strikers for the four doors and two rear folding seats. I read these cause a LOT of the noise coming from the rear deck area (seatbacks) and rear passenger doors (door strikers). I put them on the front door strikers for good measure as well (3 strips each around each direction. I left the diagonal corners alone since the tape didn't like to stick well there).

The next thing I did was put Pledge on the surfaces between the leather rear seats and the rear deck plastic (suggestion online was to use Armor All, but after reading about how it can dry things out, I decided Pledge was the better option and have started using it on all plastics. I even put it on the leather seats this time (bottle says it's great for leather now on the new all surface kind). It certainly gave the car a nice lemon scent, if nothing else. I know it works great at on plexiglass windows at work on the industrial machines there (removes all the cloudiness they get over time on the machines and repels dust as well). I also attempted to wipe in-between the rear deck and window where I could get the rag up through (most if it it seems). Supposedly, this lubrication/film keeps the surfaces from sticking and then vibrating together.

The next step would be to line the rear deck between the window and plastic back with foam tape or felt or something, but I decided to see how much difference this stuff made, if any.

I took it for a drive out in 50 something degree rainy weather (normally makes something in the rear deck area vibrate/rattle like mad at those temperatures). NO REAR DECK RATTLES! I'm not saying it will last, but my god what an improvement! Some other sounds that appeared to come from the rear passenger doors also disappeared (I assume that was the strikers there vibrating to the SPT exhaust and/or road surfaces). The ONLY thing I could hear other than the exhaust, engine and street noise (mind you the former is loud, but not annoying per se), was a very very slight rattle coming from what sounded like the front passenger seat seatbelt hanger thing on the door frame. I'm not sure if that's what it is, but that's where it seemed to come from. The door panels aren't 100% silent with music playing even after Subaru supposedly 'fixed' the rattles so it's hard to be sure, but it's barely audible and hardly worth mentioning.

All this took maybe 30 minutes to do and that included wiping down all the leather and plastic surfaces with Pledge. I also used Turtle Wax ICE detailer on the front inside window (cleaned it off well and didn't fog up with just the vent running whereas the side windows which I didn't treat were starting to). Unlike Rain-X, it doesn't leave a cloudy film and easily wipes clean (I've been using on the outside half the summer). Franky, it left far less streaking issues (almost none) compared to Windex so I think I'll be using it from now on. It also cleaned up my dimming mirror very well, which looked like it was getting some odd shaped marks (possibly from the auto-dim mech, since I could see the outline of a rectangle within a rectangle on it).

I'm hoping that this will hold up, but I'm imagining Pledge will eventually wear down and some of the sounds might return and I'm not convinced the rear window edge against the rear deck might rattle as it gets colder still or something, but it's a huge improvement for the moment at least. I don't know which surface was making the most noise since it's hard to tell exactly, but the tape might have helped more than anything for all I know. All I know is the interior is almost as quiet as my '04 was now and I have yet to use any Dynamat or Dynapad on it.

[jd92677]

i would like to know where these 17k dollar 2011 wrx's are. everything in my surrounding area were 30k so i just dummied up and bought the STI.

I was just making the point that all a WRX is is an Impreza ($17k car) beefed up, not that the WRX is a $17k car. A $17k chasis and body is going to rattle, they don't use top quality materials to build them but if you go in expecting that, the rattles don't bother you quite as much. Stereo and exhaust miraculously fixed all my rattles

[MagnumXL]

Well, as soon as I went over a set of railroad tracks, the rear deck buzz against the glass sound returned in full force, but all the other rattles and vibrations are more or less gone. I'm going to have to line the rear deck with felt or foam or something (or better yet let Subaru do it).

[MagnumXL]

I had Subaru put foam tape on the rear deck lid between the glass today. So far, no more rear deck rattles even with the SPT exhaust putting out over 100dB of bass noise when the car is warming up. The car isn't dead quiet (still an odd sound here and there), but it's a huge improvement over how it behaved from the factory.

[rage-wrx]

I dynamat-ed the car.Strategically placed weather stripping & not a squeak out of the car.

[AmateurX]

I dynamat-ed the car.Strategically placed weather stripping & not a squeak out of the car.

Not even the dashboard? My dash is starting to squeak now that the temperatures are dropping.

[economatic]

The next step would be to line the rear deck between the window and plastic back with foam tape or felt or something, but I decided to see how much difference this stuff made, if any.

I battled the rattles in my '09 sedan since the first month I bought it. The worst were in the rear deck. First tried strategically inserting foam back there...fail. A year later I took all the panels apart and lined everything synthetic batting...minor improvement but still a fail. Last month I Fatmat'd the doors, rear deck, and backs of the rear seats and while I had everything apart around the rear deck I lined all places where panels touched with foam weatherstripping.

No more rattles.