Rear Deck "popping/clicking/tapping/ticking" noise.

[86'ing]

the reason i incounter the "BUZZ" was due to my safety trunk release cord that was hanging and causing the buzing noise to persist. im kinda confident that was the issue for be due to the fact i didnt here the noise while i was driving at 131mph. and it would usually begin around 60-75 miles and at times 35-45mph

[WRXGuy1]

I'm still waiting for official word from Subaru, I hate the hassle of bringing my car to the dealer, wasting hours of my time, only for them to say they couldn't replicate the issue or they heard it but there is no fix yet.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by WRXGuy1

I'm still waiting for official word from Subaru, I hate the hassle of bringing my car to the dealer, wasting hours of my time, only for them to say they couldn't replicate the issue or they heard it but there is no fix yet.

I'm bringing mine to the dealer later this week for an oil change and a couple of issues. We'll see what comes out of it. The SA has been notified to take a ride with me before I drop it off, so that it doesn't come back with "could not replicate the noise".

[Sigh-on-Rice]

I wish there is a communication between Toyota/Subaru in U.S. and in Japan. The dealers in Japan were aware of this issue and the fix for it by August 3rd. On September 7th, this issue was brought up on the October issue of auto mechanic magazine over 2 pages. Yet, Scion/Subaru in U.S. are researching on their own trying to figure out how to fix this issue in their own way.

The description of the fix in Japan is to adjust the spacing between the welded metals. I can't get any more detail because the owners there simply bring their cars to the dealers and get them fixed right there. It doesn't make sense for an owner to go there, somehow pass the customer service, walk straight to the mechanic, and ask exactly how they adjust what metals.

Anyways, at this point, I'm guessing that the fix people are doing in U.S. is not the proper fix. It just happened that by hammering the metal (center punching the spot welds), it ended up adjusting the spacing between the metals.

My searching continues...

[Ravenlokk]

I've got the same problem, sounds like theres a marble rolling around in the back. I'll have to give the posted fix a shot this weekend. Hopefully i can get it gone!

[dsgerbc]

Well, went to a dealer today. Wrt to this noise, they did nothing "cause there's no TSB or anything". They called Subaru and were told that there's just one other case with the same noise reported to the dealer network. And there's no fix at this time. My dealer doesn't have a chassis ear so they couldn't even tell where the noise is coming from. And they lost a printout of the attempted solution by Scion tech that was posted here some time ago. Subaru asked them to record the noise and send it to them. I think they put a rep on top the folded rear seats and did this manually. Not sure what use is that info to Subaru. Well, at least I didn't get the "could not replicate" thing.
Started the case with SOA as well, haven't received a call back yet.

So, people, complain to the dealers. Not enough of us for SOA to bother.

[jeebus]

I spent all of 15 minutes last weekend with a hammer and punch. Popping noise = gone.

[CircuitJerk]

Ever since I saw this thread I've been keeping a sharp ear and since it's cooled down a little, I have been hearing random clicks like some jackass is in my back seat playing with his empty water bottle, but just one click or pop at a time.
It's not when I'm ripping around or on bumpy roads, its like what's been explained already.
Though not terrible, I will probably wait a while before I do anything about it.
After skimming this thread, and looking at pics, I think I may take a slightly different approach over a hammer.
Part of that involves finding out if something can be inserted between the mating pieces.
Some of you might remember an old (somewhat lame) magic trick using a piece of paper and a pencil. You can rub the paper against the side of a pencil with a good amount of pressure with one finger and it will click. Its the principle whereas if you have two surfaces touching and there's enough force applied along the mating surface and an opposing force on the other axis, surface tension will eventually give and create a clicking or popping noise.
I'm thinking what the impact method is doing is changing the shape of everything (obviously) and mitigating or stopping the problem. (Effective but perhaps a little heavy handed)
I would rather see if I can get a putty knife in there and slide some sort of material in there in between the spot welds.
If I get some time over the weekend I will let you know.
I may have missed something in here and I may be repeating what someone else has said. My apologies.
I have the attention span of a gnat...

[Sigh-on-Rice]

Originally Posted by CircuitJerk

If I get some time over the weekend I will let you know.
I may have missed something in here and I may be repeating what someone else has said. My apologies.
I have the attention span of a gnat...

CircuitJerk, that's exactly what I was talking about in my last post. And what you explain is exactly how I was thinking the cause of this noise is.

Right now, I came up with a solution that requires no hammering and no damage to the paint. I've been testing it out for a few weeks and it removed 95% of the noise, but it's not 100%. I did not want to post it here unless it's 100%.

I just got another solution that I want to try, but I did not want to try 2 things at once because then I wouldn't know which is the one that actually removed the noise. So, maybe you or someone else here could try. It just is to spray something like WD-40 into the 2 spots shown in the below picture. One of the owners in Japan found this and he said the noise went away the day after he sprayed. It might not be a permanent solution, but I think it's worth a try. And don't blame me if it doesn't work or causes another problem.

[CircuitJerk]

^^ The force is strong with you!
Haha while I was installing other parts tonight that crossed my mind as well.
But as you said it may not be permanent.
I must always fight the urge to throw more than one soution at a problem.
I often call that the "Sledgehammer" approach.
Ohhh the ironing....


P.S. I will update as time allows.

[dsgerbc]

If that works - I suspect applying some more durable grease there might be better.

[Sigh-on-Rice]

I applied WD-40 there and the noise is gone.
I was putting padding on many places and got rid of 95% of the noise before I tried WD-40.
I took out all padding and applied WD-40 and the noise is gone now.
It originally was making the noise 40 times in my 30 minutes commute.
With the padding, I got it down to 3-5 times over 30 minutes.
I drove for 1 1/2 hour after applying WD-40 and it didn't make the noise even once.
I have no idea how long the noise will be gone for, but at least I now know exactly where it's making the noise at.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by Sigh-on-Rice

I applied WD-40 there and the noise is gone.
I was putting padding on many places and got rid of 95% of the noise before I tried WD-40.
I took out all padding and applied WD-40 and the noise is gone now.
It originally was making the noise 40 times in my 30 minutes commute.
With the padding, I got it down to 3-5 times over 30 minutes.
I drove for 1 1/2 hour after applying WD-40 and it didn't make the noise even once.
I have no idea how long the noise will be gone for, but at least I now know exactly where it's making the noise at.

Nice, I may do that with some spray lithium grease. The center-punch trick has worked alreay, but adding another layer of protection against the sound coming back would be good.

[dsgerbc]

Sprayed some silicone grease and my ride to work was almost pop-free. We'll see how long it will last.
I wish I could spray something on top (not into the gas tank) of HPFP so that it would shut-up too.