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My rear seats rattle when driving over uneven surfaces. Without removing the seat and pulling off the carpet, I'd like to know if there is a fix available, or a part I need to purchase. The handles to raise/lower the seats are somewhat loose, and if I shake the seat it seems like the rattle is related to the handle linkage. Perhaps something has worn over time?
Can anyone provide a picture of the inside of the rear seats and mechanism? Thanks!
I couldn't find related posts or anything pointing to a typical worn or broken part. This link is all I could find, and doesn't help:
I had a rattle with the seat release handle. This was years ago, and if I remember correctly I had wrapped the handle's stalk with a carefully cut and fitted piece of black Gorilla duct tape (the good thick stuff). It took the play out of the handle stalk, and I haven't heard it since - the handle function was/is not impaired by this. Hope this is something for you.
Yes, it's the seat back. As you said, there's nothing in the bottom portion to rattle since it's just a cushion.
The rattle is something with the mechanism that allows the seat to fold up/down. The handle is a bit loose feeling. I was thinking some plastic piece had broken, or a screw holding things together has backed itself out, or something of that nature. Hoping someone could post pictures of that mechanism and point to potential failure modes.
Stick some cloth, tape or something in the seat release mechanisms to rule that out then go for a drive.
I used to use my daughter as a "rattle finder tool" as she would crawl all over the car as I drove to find out where the sounds were coming from. Sadly she is almost 19 now, in Utah (College) and I have to use other means to find the annoying sounds.
Yes, it's the seat back. As you said, there's nothing in the bottom portion to rattle since it's just a cushion.
The rattle is something with the mechanism that allows the seat to fold up/down. The handle is a bit loose feeling. I was thinking some plastic piece had broken, or a screw holding things together has backed itself out, or something of that nature. Hoping someone could post pictures of that mechanism and point to potential failure modes.
That's what I had - slight play in the up and down slider release thing. The stalk of the 'slider' would vibrate fore and aft against the plastic walls of the rosette. Had to have son drive with me in the opposite rear seat to localize it. Would only occur on 'high frequency' road vibration - could not reproduce it when not moving. The Gorilla tape thing I did mitigated the problem.
Mine are noisy once in a while, much moreso when the rear seatbacks are folded down though. I guess I need to try the Gorilla-tape trick. Sounds to me more like the actuator rod inside is making the noise, based on the pitch/ring it shares when it's down. While upright, the noise is completely different. [scratches head...]
Does anyone have access to the mechanism in the rear seat? I have half a mind to just tear it down and see what's loose. Would like to know what I'm up against before tackling it.
I've looked through the PET a few times... Can't find it. Can you share the page that includes the exploded view of the rear seat fold down mechanism? Maybe a screenshot?
Easy solution that seems to be working initially... MUCH less rattles over uneven surfaces. I pulled back the seat carpet and used zip ties to fill the loose fit/gap between the lever bar and linkage that was causing the rattle. No change in ability to articulate the seat up or down via side lever. I'd call this a success.
09-29-2015, 09:38 PM
Rear Seat Rattle
