Rattle from Backseat Area

[Thomz Fusion]

I have a 2013 Fusion Hybrid with about 35,000 miles. Recently I began to experience a rattle when going over bumps that sounded like it was coming from the back seat area--almost like the seat belt buckles were clicking against each other. I performed a fairly exhaustive check in the backseat area, including the best tensioners, etc. Nothing I did remedied the issue.

 

I also had folks ride in the back while driving over noisy roads. They could all hear the noise, but couldn't pin-point it.

 

Then, recently I took my vehicle through a car wash and the noise disappeared--at least for a few miles. Which got me thinking the noise must be from the exterior. I also noticed that during significant rain events, the noise would disappear for awhile.

 

I spent some time (again) on the various forums and finally came across a post on the Fusion Energie forum that seems to be right on the mark. There is a rubber/plastic seal strip located at the bottom of the rear window, that seals the top of the trunk lid. The trunk lid moves around a bit as you drive over bumps, as you might imagine. That seal apparently becomes somewhat brittle with time and was causing the noise. I lubricated the seal and the noise has disappeared (at least for now--fingers crossed)

 

The photograph below (courtesy of a posting on the Fusion Energie forum, shows the area.

 

I hope this works for others; feel free to pass it along!

 

Thom

 

 

[mwr]

Thanks for posting that. I'll refer to it if I ever hear a noise like that.