Back seat rattle

[tmarsh]

I have a rattle in my back passenger seat, coming from the hinge area by the buckle. It is a constant rattling while driving, over every damn crack in the road.

 

Has anyone come across this?

I have a video of the noise, not sure how to post it.

[akirby]

It’s the tab. It gets turned sideways and rattles between the seat and the C pillar trim. Turn it 90 degrees.

[tmarsh]

Not sure what you mean by tab. Im not in front of it at the moment, but if its the seatbelt youre talking about I leave it buckled to prevent it from rattling, because it will.

[enigma-2]

Check the spare tire and screw jack.

[tmarsh]

Check the spare tire and screw jack.

Oops. Hitting wrong buttons.

 

But it is for sure coming from the seat itself, very light, and I mean light punching on the backrest of the seat will cause it to rattle. But punches anywhere else will not cause a rattle in that area. So bumps on the road is enough to move the seat and rattle it.

Edited December 29, 2017 by tmarsh

[enigma-2]

I would try folding the seat and then slamming it back in the upright position. Also try resetting the reclining position (just in case the locking mechanism is not locked properly. (I hate squeeks as well).

[tmarsh]

I do put them up and down quite a bit (especially the passenger side) for cargo. And that side never goes down all the way without me pushing it. It releases and moves slightly, but I have to push it down(I have the button in the back for auto fold). So maybe the spring is off and rattling? Thats kinda what it sounds like now that I think about it.

I cant stand rattles. The second I hear it I tear the panel off and put stuff behind it. But I cant pin this down.

Edited December 29, 2017 by tmarsh

[ben senise]

what i found in my case was that there's an electrical connector on each side under the seat. i think it's for the easy fold (electric release) seat backs. i took out my seat and saw that they were loose so i zip-tied them down and got rid of the rattle. well, at least one of the rattles in the most rattling car i have ever owned.

[tmarsh]

Ill have to take it out and apart then, is it easy to get out?

But I agree about the noise. For 55k the back end of this car is pretty noisy as far as rattles. I dont have issues with noise in the front at least.

[ben senise]

Ill have to take it out and apart then, is it easy to get out?

But I agree about the noise. For 55k the back end of this car is pretty noisy as far as rattles. I dont have issues with noise in the front at least.

 

there are two small levers on the front vertical part of the seat where it joins the floorpan. push those, lift the front of the seat, and push the seat to the rear. at the same time, lift the rear of the seat to disengage it from two hooks. not difficult once you get the feel for it.

putting the seat back is the reverse; put the seat in place, push to the back and push down on the rear to engage the hooks. then just press down on the front to latch the levers.

[tmarsh]

No tools necessary? Wow. Alright then. Ill post back when I find the culprit.

 

Thanks!

Edited December 29, 2017 by tmarsh

[omar302]

If it is coming from the rear seatbacks, try reclining them a bit to put some load on the springs. It works on mine (though it is a 2011).

[tmarsh]

Putting this on hold, as of this morning the Edge is at the dealer with a dead alternator. And of course with the new year, they're closed till wednesday.

Edited December 30, 2017 by tmarsh

[tmarsh]

Alright so It took me while to figure this out. The noise had gone away for awhile, then came back for good and tested my patience. Ive had to deal with it every day for the last 3 weeks, and today had a 3 hour drive and had to listen to it the entire time. It is so loud the speakers cannot completely drown it out. So I furiously tore apart the entire back half of the car today to find it.

 

Turns out, nothing was "rattling". When I unbolted the back seats, and lifted out the seat on the passenger side, the mounting plate was stuck to the floor. The previous owner must have spilled an entire can of soda in the crack of the seat. The soda worked its way underneath the seat mounting plate, dried, and became sticky. While driving, the ever so slight flexing and the road causing the seat to vibrate, was somehow making sticky sounds. Similar to your shoes on a sticky floor.

 

I took both backrests out of the car, cleaned the soda off the floor and underside of the seat plates that bolt to the floor, layed down some rubber sheets for the plates to sit on, put everything back together and the noise is gone.

 

Not at all what I expected to be causing such an obnoxious noise, but it was. So for anyone who has or will have this noise in the future, here you go.

Edited March 11, 2018 by tmarsh

[roots57]

Nothing worse than a constant rattle or noise in your car, drives me absolutely bonkers. I once had someone else drive while I roamed around inside the back of my Tahoe putting my ear to everything trying to track down a noise. I've even shot expanding foam into areas trying to get rid of noises, which actually works well, especially for loud music induced vibrations. You just need to be careful where the foam goes. Rubber washers between the license plate is another good trick to keep it from vibrating with heavier base.

[tmarsh]

The car had this noise when I test drove it at the dealership. After I bought it, I had my sister drive while I probed around. Drives me insane as well.

Other than the subwoofer area, the Edge is pretty quiet thankfully. I tried to quiet down the back quarter panel covering the sub by putting felt in between- it made it better in some areas but worse in others. Can't come up with a fix for it. Any ideas? Its too big of a void back there for expanding foam, which I have used in the past as well and does work great.

Edited March 13, 2018 by tmarsh

[roots57]

the hardest part is actually finding the source of the noise. once you do its fairly easy to figure out a way to get rid of it. I've also used plastic shims to shove in between things, then glue or tape them in place so they don't back out. Another trick is using cyanoacrylate (which is basically super glue). I use all different viscosities of it for work and model making and the low viscosity stuff wicks in between things really well.

[frandy]

My backseat rattle was the rear seat headrest. Try moving it up or down a little. That fixed the noise.

[goatee]

I actually put myself in a kneeling position on the floor while my daughter drove it over all kinds of surfaces. It seemed like the rattle came from a bolt that held the seat to the floor. I brought it in to the dealer, they found a soda can wedged between the seats that had exploded and said the rattle was caused by this. Long story short, the rattle persisted and I just learned to live with it. 2011 Edge Ltd awd.

[enigma-2]

It's probaby Dean Winters hiding under there. Insure you car with Allstate and it will go away.

[Ben Hur]

There is a good chance the horrible rattling noise is the shock absorber.  The top of the shaft is a little loose.  You can see the top of the shock absorber shaft behind and just above the rear tire.  I did not need to jack the car or remove the tire but I did because I wanted to see what the heck was going and it gave more room.   The 15 mm nut on the threaded top of the shaft needed to be tightened.  First I removed the plastic protective cover over the 15mm nut----it popped off no problem.   I was  able to reach the top of the 15mm nut with a box end wrench.   I held the stem in place from rotating with a 6 mm wrench (or pliers).   Mine was loose about a half a turn.  Fixed, no more noise.  I did not remove the shock or remove the mounting bracket.    It is was really hard to believe that little bit of play caused that rattle but, it is gone now.  72,000km on the car.   It has been rattling for a long time.   I found a video on youtub that was for a Fusion----same kind of complaint, same set up on the Fusion.

 

I thought my rear passenger seat was loose or the bolts had fallen out but no, it was that loose shaft.

[sneary71]

I have the same problem.  I get a 'creaking' noise from the passenger rear seat area.  I have noticed that if I reach back and stick my hand, or an object, between the seats, the noise goes away.  Even though this trick works, it's not optimal, and I haven't been able to isolate the noise.  Any ideas?  Is the seat easy to remove for inspection?  Thanks

Edited December 28, 2021 by sneary71

[Ben Hur]

Mine was not the seat itself or the bolts holding the seat brackets in place.  Mine was a little bit of play at the top of the rear shock absorbers.  The nut for the shocks is accessible from the exterior above the back tires. 

 

I don't recall exactly but i think there is a tab strap two of them at the seat where the upper and bench meet--- where you would lose your coin change.  Pull upwards and towards the front of the car.  Rotate up and it will unclip from front pins.  

[Rival]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kbxlqUH6eX-_uQFhb3UdxcwoWNMS7kxb/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q-TQRoPU7cLZA2uF0T9tC2K5VF18a06l/view?usp=drivesdk

Im not sure if anyone still views this specific thread but I’ve read everyone’s posts and I have a feeling I may have similar creaking noises. At first, I didn’t notice any rattling/noises but over the last couple month it’s been getting louder. I removed the rear seats but I can’t pinpoint where the noise is coming from since I have to be the one driving lol. I’ve tried loosing the bolts that hold the rear seat backs to the floor but still the same. From being in the car and looking back to try a bear it better it almost sounds as if the coming from the white part with all the line in top(not sure what it is)  I’ve attached videos to try and show the noise to other members. Anyone able to help a bit further?

Edited November 16, 2023 by Rival

[Waypoint]

On 11/15/2023 at 8:18 PM, Rival said:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kbxlqUH6eX-_uQFhb3UdxcwoWNMS7kxb/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q-TQRoPU7cLZA2uF0T9tC2K5VF18a06l/view?usp=drivesdk

Im not sure if anyone still views this specific thread but I’ve read everyone’s posts and I have a feeling I may have similar creaking noises. At first, I didn’t notice any rattling/noises but over the last couple month it’s been getting louder. I removed the rear seats but I can’t pinpoint where the noise is coming from since I have to be the one driving lol. I’ve tried loosing the bolts that hold the rear seat backs to the floor but still the same. From being in the car and looking back to try a bear it better it almost sounds as if the coming from the white part with all the line in top(not sure what it is)  I’ve attached videos to try and show the noise to other members. Anyone able to help a bit further?

Rival, 

I have the exact same rattle and have had no luck figuring out where its coming from and fixing it. Did you ever resolve your problem. What was it and how did you fix it? Please share.