1.4 act FR - dull rattle

servicepoint · Jul 11, 2016

My car has now covered about 2500 miles and on the whole I have to say I like it, the DSG is great and the engine is smooth and fairly economical.

Now for the bad bit, the car has progressively developed a dull rattle from somewhere around the rear door / parcel shelf / fuel tank area ( drivers side) and it's driving me up the wall so to speak. I'm normally good at locating and curing rattles etc but this has got me beat. I've been under the rear seat, in the boot, tried everything. Has anyone experience similar and can point me in the right direction?
It's not a metallic rattle.

ched60 · Jul 12, 2016

1.4 tsi - dull rattle

I have this same problem, it is very frustrating. If I push against the back seats and parcel shelf area it has stopped, I've literally stopped to refuel and it started again. It is something I'll mention when I have a service, but I'll be interested to see how many others have the same issue.

Dr.Dash · Jul 12, 2016

servicepoint said:
...I've been under the rear seat, in the boot, tried everything. Has anyone experience similar and can point me in the right direction?
It's not a metallic rattle.

A few possibles to try:
1. Give the (cold!) exhaust a wiggle, tail pipes first and then centre section. If a mounting rubber has gone missing the exhaust can move, if it contacts an undersealed area you can get a dull knocking.

2. Rear shocks debris shield. Look over the top of the rear wheels, there's a plastic tube which covers the exposed shaft of the shock, it locates into an aluminium fitting at the upper mounting point. The plastic can separate from the ally fitting and again gives a dull rattle/knock.

3. Rear seat catches. There needs to be a reasonable amount of "pre-load" on the seat retaining latch, if not you can get movement and... knocking. Try driving with the rear seats folded flat to diagnose. As a temporary measure wrap some insulating tape around the metal loop of the latch, this should increase the pre-load whilst stopping direct contact of the 2 parts responsible for any noise.

4. Still no joy? Rear hatch rattle similar to the seat issue above, try the same "tape fix" as above to aid diagnosis.

ched60 said:
... If I push against the back seats and parcel shelf area it has stopped...

Try 3 above, as you seem to have isolated your noise to the seat mech.

Brady93 · Jul 12, 2016

Is the rattle you speak of similar to a squeaking sound? I have a squeaky type sound that comes from the place you mention, sounds similar to seat fabric or leathers rubbing against each other.

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niggle · Jul 12, 2016

Several reports here of rear shock top mounts being replaced under warranty. I have asked for the suspension to be checked over by the dealer network twice now to no avail.

psychobob · Jul 12, 2016

I've recently had the top mounts replaced. Made 100% difference for the better

servicepoint · Jul 12, 2016

Dr.Dash said:
A few possibles to try:
1. Give the (cold!) exhaust a wiggle, tail pipes first and then centre section. If a mounting rubber has gone missing the exhaust can move, if it contacts an undersealed area you can get a dull knocking.

2. Rear shocks debris shield. Look over the top of the rear wheels, there's a plastic tube which covers the exposed shaft of the shock, it locates into an aluminium fitting at the upper mounting point. The plastic can separate from the ally fitting and again gives a dull rattle/knock.

3. Rear seat catches. There needs to be a reasonable amount of "pre-load" on the seat retaining latch, if not you can get movement and... knocking. Try driving with the rear seats folded flat to diagnose. As a temporary measure wrap some insulating tape around the metal loop of the latch, this should increase the pre-load whilst stopping direct contact of the 2 parts responsible for any noise.

4. Still no joy? Rear hatch rattle similar to the seat issue above, try the same "tape fix" as above to aid diagnosis.

Try 3 above, as you seem to have isolated your noise to the seat mech.

Dr Dash, thanks for such a full response... I dropped the rear seat ( side of the noise), made a short journey and all was quiet. I've quickly taped eound the U fixings and put the seat back into position so hopefully this solves the rattle. Will update once I've had the car back out tomorrow.

servicepoint · Jul 12, 2016

Brady93 said:
Is the rattle you speak of similar to a squeaking sound? I have a squeaky type sound that comes from the place you mention, sounds similar to seat fabric or leathers rubbing against each other.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

No not squeaky, a dull chatter / rattle. I was even thinking it might be something to do with the fuel tank but hopefully just the rear seat fixing.

Brady93 · Jul 13, 2016

Interesting, I'll try what you've done too, see if that helps. I never knew we had clips to push the seat belt into until I was poking about in the back yesterday! It's always the little things eh.

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servicepoint · Jul 13, 2016

Taping the U fixings has done the trick, no more rattle. I put quite a bit of tape around them, enough to make the seat fixing tight that I had to push the seat back into the lock position.

ched60 · Jul 13, 2016

That raises some concerns about the suspension mounts. I haven't even taken it off road yet.
I've just taped my U fixing with electrical tape, I'll test it on my way to and from work tomorrow and update.

ched60 · Jul 18, 2016

The knocking has stopped, I wrapped some electrical tape round it and it works like a charm.

Dr.Dash · Jul 19, 2016

servicepoint said:
Taping the U fixings has done the trick, no more rattle...

ched60 said:
The knocking has stopped, I wrapped some electrical tape round it and it works like a charm.

Result! Glad you've both identified the source. Once you've heard a rattle it's impossible to ignore.
I had the rear seat rattle on my Mk4 Golf, drove me nuts.

My Leon's developed a slight rpm related buzz from the instrument binnacle, which I think may require a dealer visit as I don't fancy taking the dash out myself. :duck:

Luke_bank · Mar 4, 2018

Anyone have any more suggestions on this please?

I’ve got a two week old Leon FR and I’ve got an annoying rattle from the rear. So far I’ve:

- Put the back seats down to eliminate the seat catch issue mention above
- Removed the parcel shelf
- Moved everything that was in the back to the front
- Cleaned all the door seals
- Gone around feeling everything bit of plastic/trim for play

It’s still there....

The only noise I picked up was a slightly squeak when the passenger side rear door is fully open and you rock it slightly.

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KON LAZOGIANNIS · Sep 2, 2020

My all new Leon ST (5F) on the 3rd day started to show a knock at the rear right side...If the cause of this knocking is the rear seat catches that would be very bad...I had the exact same cause of noise in my old Leon 1M 17 years ago!

Yern · Sep 2, 2020

Dr.Dash said:
My Leon's developed a slight rpm related buzz from the instrument binnacle, which I think may require a dealer visit as I don't fancy taking the dash out myself.

My previous car (not Seat) developed a buzz from N/S dash top but I resisted having the dealer remove the dash to cure it as it would have meant more rattles than before!

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1.4 act FR - dull rattle

servicepoint

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ched60

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Dr.Dash

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Brady93

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niggle

Rollin' on 17s, baby!

psychobob

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servicepoint

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servicepoint

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Brady93

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servicepoint

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ched60

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ched60

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Dr.Dash

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KON LAZOGIANNIS

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Yern

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