Phat_J

Hey everyone,

My 2002 A4 has the infamous VW rear rattle from the back seat area. It's driving me mad.
I have done some research online as to the cause, and there are mixed views on it:

Some have said its the seat latch dealy getting loose, or the rear speakers / amp coming loose, or the cargo net, or suspension problems.

The problem seems to get worse the colder it is outside, but usually 6 degrees C and above, the rattle is minimal. I tried a ghetto fix of wrapping hockey tape around the bolts that stick out that the rear seats latch on to, but it didn't work.

I'm not sure if everyone else's rattle noise is the same as mine. The noise is very prominent when the seats are down, so I recorded the noise with my phone stuck in the rear ashtray as I drove along.

You can hear it every time I hit a bump, but you can really hear it around 23 seconds in.

It does seem to be coming from the seat latch thing, cuz it sounds closer to me when the seats are down.

Is this the same noise anyone else has had? And any real fix ideas?

Thanks

a4rob

i can barley hear anything in that audio clip. Your going to have to provide something better to determine what the sound might be.

Many people have assumed its the rear seats when in facts its been other things.

Phat_J

Here's a better sound clip:

I'm referring to the higher pitched rattly noise, that follows right after the thump-thump of my tires.

Sly_North

Maybe this will help: VWVortex.com - Rear Right Seat Rattle Noise
It seems to come from the rear seat locking buckle most of the time. Some fixed the rattle adding tape on the buckle, replacing the buckle or the latch, or tuning up the lock:

Sly_North

Woot, fixed my rattle! \o/
It was either the rear right seat not locked properly (I folded it and put it back in place) or the jack moving (it wasn't put correctly back in place). Not sure which of this actions did the trick, but my rattle disappeared after that.

Phat_J

I did some troubleshooting today, and it looks like I found the source of mine too. It was the toolkit in the trunk, there were tools in there rattling around. Of all things I'm glad it was that simple

Thanks Sly_North for the reply

Phat_J

So another update ... The tool kit was only part of the rattle.
I checked the spare tire, it's snug and so is the jack. Also everything on the rear deck seems tight, so that leaves me to think it's the seat latch.
I bought a hex key set and I'm going to operate on it and update later!

Phat_J

So here I am months later still trying to solve the same problem.
Since the weather is getting colder, the noise is progressively getting louder and more irritating.

So here is what I have tried:
- removing the entire rear bench and driving around without it, noise still there
- oiling all the hinges for the fold down parts of the seat, no difference
- making sure all the hinges, bolts, and latches are tight, they are
- shoving cardboard between the seats in various areas to isolate it, no success
- I removed the plastic dealys that surround the seat belt plugger-in-to's, and coated them in felt tape to cushion any noise, didnt help
- put felt tape around the pins that the seats latch on to
- I took out this metal piece with a plastic clip that resides between the rear seats, which is accessable while they are folded down, and I coated it in felt tape, no help

I thought it might be something under the car, but putting the seats down without the rear bench, removes the noise entirely, so I am convinced it's those seats.

The only thing I can think of to do next is to remove the rear seats entirely, and put them back. Not entirely sure how to do that.

Unless anyone has any other suggestions??

Thanks again

seanf

check the storage drawer under the passenger seat, mine rattles bad, open it up and drive around and see if that helps, mine stops rattling when i open the drawer

Phat_J

seanf:
The noise is unmistakeably coming from the rear area, nothing to do with the front, but thanks.