I have a rattle in the back that is beginning to cause a little irritation. I hear it only when driving over small, but rough disruptions in the road. It is not the read hatch rattle. I fixed that one already. I tried driving with the rear seats folded down. This did not fix it. Has anyone found any other sources of rattles in the back? Could it be the rear shelf?

Owen

 

Remove stuff a piece at a time to see when it goes away. my wife left a pair of sunglasses in a case in her door cubicle. The glasses came out partially and created a racket you would not believe. Also, I put a pennant style flag on the antenna....bad news! Sounded like a cement mixer running next to the car at 60+ mph. Bottom line is that the car is small and any little loose object can cause noise. I'd suggest checking the spare tire security and look at the tools. Open the rear side panels and check around for something loose......

 

Hi Owen, I have a mysterious rattle in the back too. I've tried adjusting the seats, boot cover, and other things but I haven't figured it out yet. Could it be the rear seatbelts hitting something!??

 

Check the doohickeys that attach the parcel shelf..boot cover thing. I f
not attached they RATTLE!!

 

>>Remove stuff a piece at a time to see when it goes away.

Good suggestion. I was doing this slowly and undeliberately. Looks like a little project for me tonight. I do have a lot of stuff in the rear side compartents. I did notice that the ropes on the rear shelf dangle, but they have huge rubber ***** on the ends. So, that seems like a dead end. I'll let you all know if I figure it out.

Owen

 

OMG...yes!!! :evil: Isn't it annoying? This was one of the things we wanted checked that the dealership "couldn't duplicate conditions" of. It's still there annoying the hell out of us.

If you have a sunroof, just wait until that starts up!



fabooj

 

Owen keep us posted...we need all the research we can get to chase those rattles!

_________________
'03 IB/W Cooper, chrome bumpers, cloth sport seats, leather steering wheel, silver holees

 

I have this very same rattle and it just started up yesterday. It seems to be coming from the right rear area and the rear shelf is attached. Any other suggestions??

 

Mine comes and goes. Sometimes I think I've found it and then... I think it's a weasel

 

I have the same issue. I think snoopy is leting them rip...

:smile:

 

Yeah, driving to work this morning, there was no rattle. Oh well...

 

I am convinced that my rattle which is coming from the back seat on the driver's side is either the seat belt tensioner for that belt or the latch for the seat back. When my 8 year old rides there is no rattle. The minute she is out the rattles come back. Not on big bumps though. Only small ones that shake the car side to side.

 

I know Owen checked this, but for the rest of you...(I did mention this some months back) my rattle came from the driver's side (US) rear seat latch...showed up especially on slightly bumpy side streets. I know this is no real fix, but I unlatched the seat...placed a 1" x 5" strip of black (of course) felt around the seat catch...and shoved the seat back onto the latch. End of rattle. Its been fixed for the past two months...someday I may do a more permanent repair...or MINI will find a fix...but I'm in no hurry. It worked so well I did both seats just in case.

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'03 IB/W Cooper, chrome bumpers, cloth sport seats, leather steering wheel, silver holees

 

Just an update for you all. I haven't had time to definitely troubleshoot this rattle, yet. Here's some stuff that I have tried, but I'm still not satisfied: removed all contents of rear side panels, removed rear shelf, buckled in rear seat belts, rested the passenger buckle on the side of the passenger seat.

It seems like removing the rear shelf helps a bit. This is puzzling though because the shelf is held in place pretty well. I'm going to fold down one of the rear seats, climb in the back seat, and see if I can get it to rattle by hand.

I plan to get my girlfriend to ride in the back while I drive up and down a street that always causes the rattles. Hopefully, I'll get some results...

Owen

 

JDS,
Sorry i missed your earlier post. Sure sound spot on. Thanks.

 

The source and fix for a couple potential rattles:

1. The rear shelf

The rear shelf sometimes rattles against the rear interior panel (where the rear wiper mech. is housed) or the shelf feet are rattling. To fix this by some black adhesive felt (about 1/8" thick) used on furniture feet. Cut two 1"x3/8" pieces and apply them to the rubber feet stapled to the left and right underside edges of the shelf.

2. The *****

The ***** on the cords sometimes hit the sides of the trunk and make an occassional "thunk" while turning. Simply unattach the cord from the hatch and tie a knot tight against the shelf. This will keep the ***** snug against the underside of the shelf.

3. Rear seats

Fold down your rear seats and see if the rattle goes away. If this is the case, wrap the connector with elecrical tape (just like the hatch rattle fix)

4. Rear seat belts

Keep them fastened.


Hope this helps you diagnose the problem.

 

>>I plan to get my girlfriend to ride in the back while I drive up and down a street that always causes the rattles. Hopefully, I'll get some results...
>>
You go, Owen!...you are so going to find that rattle!!! :smile: :smile: :smile:

 

Okay....Let me explain my story. I think it will help everyone out. I cannot stand rattles! Everytime I would go over a bump, no matter how small, I would hear this thumping (rattle) near the rear of the car. During one of my visits to the service department, I told them about this, and they placed some felt on the gas tank strap. Silly solution I thought, but it seemed to work. About 1 day later, I started hearing it again. So on my next trip, explained to them that I still heard it, they placed the felt on the other strap and Hallelujah! The rattle is gone!! The service tech told me that the straps come with felt, but many things will cause them to come loose and fall off. If you have this noise coming from your boot, have the service department check it out. The last noise I heard sounded like it was coming from the rear passenger side (as the first one did), but it was actually coming from the drivers side.

 

>>1. The rear shelf
>>
>>The rear shelf sometimes rattles against the rear interior panel (where the rear wiper mech. is housed) or the shelf feet are rattling. To fix this by some black adhesive felt (about 1/8" thick) used on furniture feet. Cut two 1"x3/8" pieces and apply them to the rubber feet stapled to the left and right underside edges of the shelf.

OK, I think it was the rear shelf! I mad this change, and the rattle is gone.

Thanks to 6f7 for this valuable info. My girlfriend thanks you too for sparing her from driving up and down the same road for 30 minutes listening to me say "Do you hear it?"

Owen

 

>>OK, I think it was the rear shelf! I mad this change, and the rattle is gone.
>>
>>Thanks to 6f7 for this valuable info. My girlfriend thanks you too for sparing her from driving up and down the same road for 30 minutes listening to me say "Do you hear it?"
>>
>>Owen

Glad it worked! My wife doesn't enjoy the "Do you hear it game" either!

Rob.