[Dooq]

My BRZ recently developed this tapping/popping noise issue. Seeing that the member Coultergeist got his vehicle successfully fixed and provided some reference information, I took my car in and mentioned how his dealer approached the issue. As far as my dealership research went, they did not find any TSB or previous corporate communication on this issue for the BRZ. Perhaps there was on the Toyota side, but the information was not apparent to the Subaru network. Initially the technician couldn't replicate the noise, as it is fairly intermittent. So I rode with him for about 15 minutes to point it out. Folding the seats down helped identify the noise, and it eventually reappeared and he heard it clearly.

He took the all encompassing approach, by feeling and observing which panels/welds at the rear deck and at seat back seemed weak. Then he went ahead and center-punched them, similar to what Coultergeist's technician described in his fix and may be more. You can see the pix attached, where there are punch marks above the seat line and underneath the rear deck. He also insulated some hollow areas beneath the deck by inserting dense foam pieces. Happy to report, the noise is gone. I've driven about 30 miles since the fix, over rough roads and everything, no noise. It is also worth mentioning that the technician did not have to disassemble anything, for those who might be concerned with introducing more potential rattles.