Subaru TSB 12-140-12 for Rear Deck Popping
 

:w00t:

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide a repair procedure to address a customer concern of a "clack" or "popping" sound from the trunk and / or rear package shelf area. The sound may occur over bumps or when a twisting motion is introduced into the vehicle chassis at low speeds.

Thanks. So, basically, spray grease until it's out of warranty.
Not that I was hoping for anything better...

This seems like a ghetto fix for this problem. I wonder what they are doing different at the factory?

I liked that the dealers get a whole 4 DOLLARS to cover costs. Like they don't have a hammer and grease laying around.

This actually seems like a pretty reasonable fix to me. The less the dealer has to do to my car the happier I am. I sure don't want some newbie car tech going in my car with welding equipment!

The joy of having a post VIN range car.

I didn't expect the TSB would be just to spray lube. But at least we know the exact spots to spray now. Thanks for the post!

Would welding that seam stop that? Just asking cause I have no idea... mine just started. Greasing it seems like a preventative measure until it goes out of warranty. I shouldn't have to drive something that does that. No one buys a pizza with spoiled meat and the fix is to just sprinkle season on it till it cant be tasted... it still has bad meat on it... sorry for the shitty analogy.

What is the vin range of the affected cars?

Per the TSB:

COUNTERMEASURE IN PRODUCTION
A countermeasure was incorporated into production in July, 2012 starting with VIN number
D*602788.

The noise is probably coming from the two plates rubbing against each other so the grease idea makes sense. At the factory, they probably either apply the grease on it or changed the weld pattern to allow for less movement or make the movement quiet. This isn't something I would be worried about.

On the other hand, if the TSB was about sludge and said "just change the oil when customer complains", I would be very worried.

I'm trying to get Toyota to fix mine right now - printed the Subaru TSB and gave to the service adviser, who looked bewildered. My FRS VIN is 12XX, manuf in March 2012.

Well now I REALLY don't feel bad about fixing this issue myself months ago by spraying lube into those same areas. I felt somewhat ghetto doing this until now...

Maybe Subaru engineers copied you! :o

I lubed mine at around 5-8k miles, havent heard the noise since and im around 16k now

Nice! Did you lube both spots? One inside of the trunk and one underneath the rear deck panel?

FYI my rear desk still pops, even with both parts of the TSB having been performed. I'm in active contact with SoA to try to resolve it.

Cliffs: This is NOT a guaranteed fix.

I think mine started doing this, very high pitch popping ticking from the area, more obvious with the seats down.

I spoke to Scion about this a few weeks ago and the reaction I got was they had never heard of this before which I find hard to believe.

Today I called my nearby Subaru dealer (even though I have a FR-S) asking what it would cost me to have my car serviced per their TSB 12-140-12. I figured it couldn't be very much and this would be a short-cut to my problem. I decided not to go that route when they told me approximately $200.00.

I printed out the five page TSB of Subaru's and will take that to my Scion dealership tomorrow, leave my car, give them the copy of Subaru's TSB and tell them I want the problem fixed.

It will be intersting to see what results. I will post the outcome here.
:burnrubber:

Well my dealer did this TbS on my car a couple of weeks ago and the rattles and noises are still very present! It didn't changed anything. They also did a new TBS they said! I will try to look for it on the work order if the actual number is there but I know it is not listed in the issue section of the forum.

4-9-13 follow-up. I went to the service department and talked to the service manager. I showed him the TSB from Subaru. He told me he could not do anything on some one else's TSB. I asked him if I came in with a warranty problem and if he knew how to fix it, would he. He said yes. I said here's the fix. I could tell he had been put on the spot. He promised me he would contact Toyota (Scion) to see if they would allow him to perform this fix. He said he would be in touch with me this week. Time will tell!

LOL! Isn't it nice to have the same car under a different brand and one place has a fix and the other tries to say they don't know what you are talking about.

Fuck dealers man, I understand it's a business but lying to your face and trying to maximize profit off ignorant consumers infuriates me to no end.

Joint ventures - when something works well they jump out in front of each other to take the credit. When something is screwed up it's always the other guy's problem. Hope this gets resolved on both twins...

I just poured a bottle of extra virgin olive oil on the rear deck and then tapped the deck with my palm while wearing a white glove. This seemed to tidy up the issue while leaving a delightful fragrance.

I have have the same problem! They already applied this TSB to my car and the noise/rattles are still very present. I don't want them anymore to spray just to spray. I am asking for a more significant solution to this problem. Because they are likely to spray until my warranty is out. They dealer have absolutely no idea! I also have some rattles problem in the driver door and in the entire dash!

4-11-13

Follow up. I just got a call from the service manager. He spoke with Toyota and he found out Toyota has a fix (probably the same as Subaru) but it just hasn't come out as a TSB. I can bring it in and they will service it. Now I just have to hope that the fix works!!

Necro. So is it necessary to use the screwdriver to pry open the spot before spraying lubricant or can I just spray lubricant everywhere?

I would just like to add that my BRZ has developed this problem and it is a Feb. 2013 build.

So much for their 2012 production line fix...

Yeah, my buddy also has a 2/13 build FR-S with similar popping. I took off my rear deck and ordered that Castle lube to DIY this (managed to spray lube in the crevices without bending/hammering the panels). It didn't eliminate the sound. Also found a black electronic box to the right of the third brake light fixture. Gently pressing that reproduces a similar sound, even with the deck cover installed on top of it. My buddy's 2/13 FR-S made the same sound when I pressed his deck cover.

The plastic black box is bolted down via a flimsy mount. Flimsy meaning I could easily snap the box from its mount if I yank on it. The mount is bolted down and when I press down on that hex bolt head, I hear a creak. I've come to accept it as normal and it doesn't bother me anymore lol.

Seems like that TSB was made just to make it look as if Subaru did something about it. BS :thumbdown:

My car's a Jan 13 build and I also had the problem about 3 months ago. Sprayed lube (tool-in-a-can) liberally, and was disappointed because there was no immediate improvement. However, a few days later, the sound disappeared, and I've never heard it since. I guess that I didn't quite hit the right spot, and a bit of riding spread the lube to where it was needed.

Usually these types of body creaks occur because there are minor defects between the panels due to welding splatter or overspray from the painting process. If you don't separate the panels, the lubricant won't be able to get where it needs to be. Also, often separating the panels is what fixes the noise, lubricant is simply for extra insurance.

Great info on this thread - I think we'll try to give this a shot to fix it, or hope for the best, ourselves. I am not sure production date, but got mine 4/13 and the popping started to get obnoxious not soon after I got the fuel pump issue fixed and that took the dealer 1.5 days to do as they needed to verify and hmmmhaaaa about it, so don't feel like going through another "I got this Subaru TSB Fix, but my FR-S is doing the same thing, can you fix this same problem" and they are like wuuuuutttttt and keep my car for 1.5 days to "make sure". -_- NOPE - so thanks for all the info and "fingers crossed". If not then I'll plead my case to my husband that this girl NEEDS the O+ audio system ASAP =D hmmm maybe I shouldn't fix this popping >:3