Weird sound over 60mph

[FRiSson]

When I drive on the highway over sixty I get this strange sound that seems like it is coming from the left rear wheel well. What it sounds most like is when you have a hard buckle or snap on a piece of clothing in the dryer. Every once in a while it makes a clonking sound as it hits the drum of the dryer. It is different from the hard clanging sound that a coin makes. Anyone else getting this? It happens very irregularly and kind of out of the blue.

[Ryeong86]

Did you install new suspension parts?

[whaap]

Our cars have been plaqued by a rattle/clunk that comes from the cross members under the package shelf in the back. It will occur with bumps in the road. Could that be it?

[Nitro]

I have something like this as well. I thought it was my plastic license plate frame bumping against the car, but I never really came up with an answer. Heard it for the first time yesterday during a long trip. The sound I had was different from the rear-deck pop (which I have also had).

[MattF]

I have a sound like this when the snap that holds the seat belt in place is not snapped on the passanger seat.

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[FRiSson]

The sound is not prompted by bumps, and the car does not have non-oem suspension parts. The sound is not from the seat belt. I was thinking that it might be flexing of the fender liners.

[roddy]

I had the rear fender liner rattle, and it sounded a little different than what you describe. That could be it though. If you want to find out, the fix is pretty easy. Go to your local hardware store or Home Depot, and grab a handful of neoprene (rubber) washers in 5/16" and 3/8" sizes. Pop out the clips (push pins) out one at a time, and slide a washer under the head of the pin, and pop it back in place. It's been a while since I did this, but I think there are around eight 5/16 and three 3/8 washers needed per side. If your fender liner is moving around, this will stop it, and the noise.

Edit: I just re-read your post, and like yours, bumps and such didn't affect mine either. It was highly irregular, but most noticeable on a windy day (cross winds), or when passing a large truck on the highway. Keep an eye on when this happens, if the circumstances are similar, I'd bet it is the fender liner causing the noise. In my case, it was the passenger side, and sounded like it was actually coming from the back of the rocker panel area.

[shiumai]

could be the rubber flap in front of the rear wheel well?

[CaptainSlow]

Could it just be rocks hitting inside the fenders? It is coming out of winter...maybe they are doing some localized repair work and a bit of asphalt is getting picked up by the tires? I know they are notorious for doing that around here...just drive around with a big trailer full of hot asphalt and just shovel it out into pot holes and expect cars to pack it down (which is the laziest possible way to do anything, really)

[Juanito08]

I have the same problem for a while now. This is a video I took while my girlfriend was driving and I was in the trunk on the highway. Dangerous? Yea I know ... as far as what's causing the sound, I still don't know.

http://static.photobucket.com/player...407_011637.mp4

[FRiSson]

Originally Posted by Juanito08

I have the same problem for a while now. This is a video I took while my girlfriend was driving and I was in the trunk on the highway. Dangerous? Yea I know ... as far as what's causing the sound, I still don't know.

http://static.photobucket.com/player...407_011637.mp4

Hmmm.. sounds somewhat similar, but mine is intermittent, not constant like yours. Thanks for posting.

Stones hitting the fender liner make a sharp, quick clang, not a drawn out groaning cronk.

[TMayes86]

Originally Posted by Juanito08

I have the same problem for a while now. This is a video I took while my girlfriend was driving and I was in the trunk on the highway. Dangerous? Yea I know ... as far as what's causing the sound, I still don't know.

http://static.photobucket.com/player...407_011637.mp4

Seems VERY similar to a sound that I'm getting. I don't really notice it under 60 though.

[roddy]

Originally Posted by Juanito08

I have the same problem for a while now. This is a video I took while my girlfriend was driving and I was in the trunk on the highway. Dangerous? Yea I know ... as far as what's causing the sound, I still don't know.

http://static.photobucket.com/player...407_011637.mp4

Mine sounded very similar to yours, but not as constant. This sounds like the fender liner to me. If you have the time and a few dollars in your pocket, try the fix I posted above.

[dsgerbc]

Another thread on this.
I had this exact noise, it was driving me insane. A lot more than chirping since the latter didn't come on during hwy cruising.

Here's what I did in general:
0) Secured emergency trunk release. The noise would be similar to this.
1) Take off removable parts of while bases for black clips that hold styrofoam pieces in the trunk. They were loose, so I stuck in some rubber washers in there. Put some more rubber washers under those clips too.
2) Pull the lining on the sides of the trunk to see if there were things that could rattle. On the passenger side there is a wire (going somewhere towards gas cap) that could be hitting the body, making a somewhat similar noise. I taped some cushioning to where it hits the body.
If you do this - make sure you pop the trim to the side of back seats back into the body, or it will rattle
3) Took off the rear shelf to see if my third brake light or wireless transmitter could be loose. Those were fine, but I ended up cushioning another wire just in case.
4) Checked is there was anything loose in the clips that hold airbags in the rear pillars (some thread here suggested there was some slop).
5) Removed OEM mud flaps that I had for winter and applied some extra rubber washers that hold the rear inner fender lining
6) Reposition the rear fender lining so that it overlays the fender a bit. This made it sit in place (around the rear of the fender opening) instead of flapping freely.

I also sprayed some silicone lubricant whenever I saw a pinch weld similar to the one that makes noises per TSB.

The noise seems gone for now. If I had to pick, I'd say 2) and 6) are what did it for me.

So I'd start with 0), then do 6). It takes just a minute and costs zero. Get to the edge of the liner just behind the rear of the wheel well and make sure it overlays the trim. No reason to do the entire length of the fender (and you can't) but you can easily do 10 inches of it and it will secure the liner. There are no plastic clips near it, so the solution by roddy won't help here.

Good luck.