Rear end rattles - not the dampers......apparently

[andygou]

Has anyone else experienced an intermittent rattle, apparently from the back of the car, which is something other than the rear shock absorbers? My late 2013 build GTI has been back to the dealers a couple of times to resolve an at times loud rattle which is still not resolved despite shock absorber and mount changes?

TBH I should have asked the dealer to investigate sooner but in truth the rattle sounds for all the world like some of the clutter some of us fill our boots with clattering around and it was only by an increasingly ruthless process of ripping out all those bits & bobs, followed successively by the parcels shelf, the boot floor and even the plastic thingies that go either side of the boot floor that we finally confirmed that the noise indeed emanates from the car not its occupants rubbish!

The next stage is for the dealer to start swapping assorted bits from a new car onto mine to try to make the noise disappear, a Heath-Robinsonish (remember him?) process I'm not too happy with, however the dealer insists that this is the next step in VW's escalation procedure.

Notwithstanding that, the dealer has been very good, I have to say, after a bit of prodding waiving the cost of a courtesy car whilst the investigation is ongoing, and unexpectedly providing a level of financial support, even though I didn't buy the car from them.

Any thoughts would be appreciated to steer the investigation in the right direction.........

[mcmaddy]

Not sure what else you want them to do? If you don't know what the rattle is and they can't find it then the only way is to change bits one at a time to test. To be honest I'm amazed they are wasting time doing that as usually they don't. Have you tried adjusting the boot lid stops as that sometimes sounds like a rattle.

[monkeyhanger]

I feel sorry for the would-be owner of the new car who's unwittingly part of a donation/transplant operation. 

The dealership seem to be bending over backwards for you here to try and resolve the fault. I think that's pretty decent of them considering some would just fob you off by saying it is a characteristic of the car.

Does sound like it could be the bump stops, happened on my 2 Sciroccos. An easy DIY fix (if it is that) - put a small allen key (it's either 1.5mm or 2mm - can't remember) through the central hole in the boot stop rubber bumper, slacken off, pull or push the bumper in/out a click or 2 and tighten the allen key. You might be able to see just from looking at the bump stop side on whether one side is out further than the other (count the ridges of the ribbed plastic axle the bumper sits in).

[p3asa]

Have you tried driving with the rear seats folded down to see if the noise is still there or not.
The MK6 suffered from rear seat rattles. Its possible the same could happen on the Mk7
http://www.my-gti.com/2337/rear-seat-noise-rattling-clicking-and-squeaking-in-volkswagen-golf

Its maybe not the safest thing to do but can you get someone to drive the car while you have the seats down listening out for the noise?

[monkeyhanger]

p3asa: In my Scirocco also - there's a small clip that keeps the two halves of the split rear seat back hinged together, it can be a bit rattly on its pin.

[phil_790]

Hi,

I had issues with rattles coming from the rear, it was the dampers but also the little rubber stoppers on the inside of the bootlid weren't correctly adjusted, after making these slightly longer its all sorted

Cheers,
Phil

[GrahamFR]

Have you tried driving with the rear seats folded down to see if the noise is still there or not.
The MK6 suffered from rear seat rattles. Its possible the same could happen on the Mk7
http://www.my-gti.com/2337/rear-seat-noise-rattling-clicking-and-squeaking-in-volkswagen-golf

Its maybe not the safest thing to do but can you get someone to drive the car while you have the seats down listening out for the noise?

I had rear seat rattles in my leon, 3 years of going mad and covering stuff in foam and I still never got to the bottom of it!!

[JamesR27]

Sounds like my car which was a late 2013 built Car.

Mine has been back as the boot needed re aligning as it started rubbing on the bumper.

Then it went back for a loose heat shield and something to do with the way the space saver was secured.

It's rattling again now but so far I can't track it down as yet. Just need some warmer weather to get out and have a proper look.

[andygou]

Appreciate all your thoughts everyone. The tailgate has been checked out by both the dealer & myself, the rattle is still there with the seat down, but we still can't locate the flippin' noise! The loose heat shield is an interesting one, JamesR27, I'll probe that a bit, and quiz the dealer about any changes to the spacesaver mount.......although the rattle is still there with the spacesaver removed. Ditto Monkeyhanger, I will investigate the split seat pin.

I'll post an update following the swap-out exercise.

Still a great car for all that!

Thanks again

[kenny.c]

I have the same sort of rattle.....have you tried the plastic panel which covers the rear lights and has the grab handle on it you use to shut the boot....on mine its coming from the removable panel area you remove to access the light cluster on the boot itself.....Jamming various bits of paper in between the panel and the metal work seems to get rid of the rattle....

Ive not quite figured out the exact cause yet.....but im getting close....

Also I found the boot floor thingy you can adjust can cause rattles aswell.

Ken