I'm lovin the SRT! This car continues to please on a daily basis, however, I have hit the 6,000 mile mark and am beginning to notice an annoying "stress" rattle from somewhere in the back "hatch" area. I have checked all of the most likely candidates, i.e; Flat Tire gear and wrench under the trunk area and those items appear to be secure and do not move. I do not have any loose items back there. I am wondering if anyone else with a coupe has had this problem and discovered the cause, or if anyone may have any ideas as to what this could be? This happens whenever a small road bump or hick-up is driven over and when turning in either direction. Thinking back, I remember hearing just a little bit of this on rare occasions when I first bought the car and figured that it was nominal and was the trade off for the stiff suspension. It appears to be progressing as though some nuts or bolts are getting loose. Does anyone know what and where any nuts or bolts may be hidden back there that can be looked for and if loose, can be tightened? I am sure I could "try" and explain this to the dealer, but you know how that could go with them either not hearing the "rattle" problem or unable to determine the problem after having the car for several days! Anyway, just though I would ask if anyone has had this problem since this forum has been so helpful with information!

 

There is a TSB on here in another thread regarding a 'hatch rattle.' If you do a search on it, it should pop up.

 

I've experienced the "hatch rattle", and I really don't think it is the hatch.
My rear hatch is very tightly coupled to the body when closed. I can get
no budge from it, no matter how hard I lift against it. So, I really can't
imagine a bit of wind coming in the window would make it rattle.

However, I have heard something about some small vents at the back
of the car, which I've read have their outlet under the taillights. I understand these are vane'd, which vanes open to release pressure when
the hatch is being closed (when all other openings are closed) as a result
of the increase in volumetric pressure.

So, I'm wondering if what I'm hearing as a "rattle" is really the fast
opening and closing of these vanes when the wind blows into the window
with extra force. I.e. window down at 75 does not produce the effect.
But, if a crosswind blows into the open window while driving at 75 I
hear the rattle. Sudden increases in pressure, not bouncing on road
bumps is what seems to produce the noise. At least, in my case.

Coyote

 

no trust me, it's the hatch. and it drives me CRAZY !!! everytime i go over a substantial bump, it rattles. and my hatch is very secure as well. it is the result of the very stiff suspension we have in our cars.

 

Agreed; I have the same issue even though the hatch is as tight as a drum and there is nothing loose in the trunk area. Drives me nuts too.

 

I guess I've been lucky so far with my SRT-6 (knocking on wood now) that I haven't heard this rattle yet after 6,500 miles.

I do know exactly what rattle you guys are talking about though...
my wife had a regular Crossfire for a company car a while back and it had the rattle from day one with less then 100 miles on the car.
I never did figure out what it was, before she had to turn it in for a different car.

So...all this time I've been thinking and hoping it was just something to do with the active spoiler rattling in or on the hatch, since my SRT-6 hasn't had the problem yet after 6,500 miles, but I guess not.

 

Hmmm...THE SPOILER EH...Thanks for the idea!

I went out and removed the panel inside the hatch that exposes the section where the spoiler is attached (panel just snaps out after removing one screw inside the "hand-grab" area) and there is a plate that is attached instead of were the "pop-up" spoiler section would go for attaching the SRT spoiler... Lots of nut and bolt assemblage here to secure both the plate section and then the fixed spoiler. With the hatch closed, I can flex the spoiler from the side and get a little movement and similar sound at a (lower level of course). This may be the source of the problem. I do not have a "metric" set of wrenches, however, it will be something I will pick up at the store very soon. I believe that the "metal-to-metal" contact in this area may be the cause of our now famous rattle (as it appears from the several other posts with this problem) and when I can, I am going to fashion some sort of rubber or felt "gasket" to fit between the metal contact and see if this will solve the problem. If it does, I will let you know!

 

Sounds crazy, but if it is a light rattle, you may check your license plate & frame - We would get a rattle when the wind condition (crosswind) was just right, and it was because we had only 2 bolts in our plate/frame, and the wind would get behind it and cause it to rattle - I put a couple small rubber bumpers under the plate and all is quiet...

 

That's not crazy at all. In fact, that was my first rattle. I fixed it, but now have another rattle with a totally different and less metallic sound. Maybe tijmo is on to something here with the spoiler assembly...

 

i'll tell you what: our cars may have engines that are hand built, AMG made works of art. But our interiors are 100% good old fashioned Detroit garbage (industrial grade plastic)! The little annoying rattles were bad enough in my $25k mustangs and Z28 camaros, but they are downright frustrating in a $45K car!

 

I hear ya on that one, it basically is sometimes the hatch and the hard plastic surrounding the speakers on each door that makes the rattling sound over bumps etc.

 

My rear hatch has been rattling since I got the car. Adjusting the bumpers would end the noise for maybe 10 minutes, then the hatch would start banging away again. Finally tonight after work I decided to take care of the hatch permanently and also address other areas that could cause noise.

I stuck felt between the rear license plate and body, stuck another felt piece between the third brake light cover and window, and stuck foam where the hatch bumpers come in contact with the body. I also wrapped the car jack in rags. Success! No more rattling sounds.

Incidently, the TSB for the hatch rattle calls for tightening down the bumper torx screws to 88 in-lbs (that's 10 Nm for you metric types). Now 88 in-lbs is actually quite a bit of force and you really can't get it using a handheld driver - you really need to use a wrench for leverage. Part of the problem I was having was not getting the bumpers torqued down enough with a handheld driver to withstand the stiffer suspension of the SRT-6. The bumpers would get jarred out of position.

Brent

 

Thanks everyone . . . I did get the metric set and torx set. Went over all of the areas that were brought to attention here and used the rubber weather stripping (for automotive and marine use) and sealed up around the license plate, brake light area, adjusted the bumper on one side (trial and error), place rubber weather strip strips where bumpers hit body. . . and still had the "rattle".

I looked at the whole thing and found one more place that needed to be secured on my hatch. . . the hatch release handle! This little plastic piece moves freely side-to-side and forward and aft in the relaxed position. After moving it with my hands, there it was. . . the rattle sound that was driving me crazy. I placed some weather stripping tape at one side to force it over to the right and another piece behind the top, between the handle and the hatch. Not only did this give the release lever a taught feel, it actually feels nicer to use with a more solid connection and operation. Walahhh . . . NO MORE RATTLES AT Any speed! Thanks again for getting my creative juices flowing from your input!