Rear Fusion Rattle

[Allegany]

Folks, My 2013 fusion hybrid with about 36000 miles on it has a bad rattle in the right rear. The dealer thinks the shock is bad so they ordered a new one. The shock came in but the parts to attach it are on backorder for more than two weeks. It seems when two people are in the car the rattle almost disappears, so it has been hard to track down. Anyone else having this issue?

[chajones]

A bad shock can cause a rattle, but it would be unusual for a shock to go bad after only a year and 36k miles of use. Why does the dealer suspect the shock? Di they see evidence of it leaking? I'm not too familiar with the rear suspension components but a bad bushing could also cause a rattle.

[GrySql]

This rear rattle is documented on this Forum at least once, by one of the Mod's here, acdii. Like yours, his rattle goes away with a load in the car, I don't think his Dealer has found a cause yet.

Maybe acdii will chime in here as this does not sound like a single car issue.

[acdii]

Mine appears to have been Ice buildup in the trailing arms. The thunk went away once temps were above 40*. The other weird noise I had was the air compressor bouncing in the trunk. Made it reverbrate through the car going over a hard bump. I have not had a single rattle or thunk in about 4 weeks. There was one time it made very unusual noise squeaking, thrumming, reverbrating when I was the only one in the car, made it all the way into the dealers lot, then the tech got in, and I went to show him what I did to have it make the noise. Nothing! Noise was gone. Thats when I discovered the air compressor causing some thunks over hard bumps. For all I know, taking it out and putting it back in solved the problem as I have not had one single instance of noise in the rear since.

[Allegany]

Well I was contacted by Ford service to help getting the parts apparently they were successful. I took the car in last Tuesday and they were supposed to replace the shock and bushings. I haven't had a chance to talk to the dealer as to what they actually finally found, but I no longer have a clunk. In the winter the car did seem to build up lots of ice, but I park the car in a heated basement at night so the ice would have melted off by morning. Don't know for sure what they fixed but for now no clunk in the rear. The car is back to its original smooth quiet ride.

[GrySql]

Glad to hear it no longer clunks!

They must have given you a Work Order or Receipt, what does it say they did? There should be parts and labor listed on it.

Edited May 4, 2014 by GrySql

[Riggo]

I'm hearing a rattle in the trunk area of my car when I go over bumps. I guess no one has found a definite answer to this problem. I also have a rattle in my right front door area. My 2013 had rattles as well, I guess it's just part of living with the Fusion.

I'll bring up the problem during my next oil change, I won't be surprised if they say they can't recreate the problem though. Maybe I'll insist on riding along with them. :headspin:

[jeffo65]

Make sure your rear license plate is tight as it causes a rattle over bumpy surfaces.

[Riggo]

Yep. The license plate is tight, it isn't that. :-/

[Texasota]

If you have not already, you might check for something loose in the spare tire wheel well. Just a thought.

[Riggo]

Yeah I actually just did that today. I noticed the center plastic "screw" holding the compressor spare tire mold (hopefully that makes sense) was loose, so I tightened it back up. Maybe that was it. I haven't really driven since I did that so I'll have to wait until my next bumpy road trip. If that was all it was then that's a relief.

 

Update: Well, that wasn't it. I guess I'll have to move to plan B.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Riggo

[hybridbear]

Our black FFH had numerous rattles since mile 1. I fixed one myself by swapping the sun visor clips between the driver & passenger side. Another was in the headliner and was fixed by the dealer. Except, they stained the headliner with a greasy handprint and never fixed that. The headliner rattle also returned. It also had a rattle from the trunk area and from somewhere on the side.

 

So far we have almost 8000 miles on the white FFH and it doesn't have any rattles yet.

[Allegany]

Mine was the bracket that holds the rear shock. They replaced the bracket no rattle on that side. Almost 44500 on the car 42.7 lifetime on the computer. Probably actual mileage a little less.

[Thomz Fusion]

I hear a clunking noise from the rear right when I do a sharp right turn and go up an incline - such as when I enter my driveway. I called it to the dealer's attention shortly after purchasing the vehicle in 2013 and they didn't find anything. It has persisted and about 4 months ago I took the vehicle in and had the service writer ride along with me. The noise was repeatable and the service group diagnosed an issue related to the right rear shock assembly.

 

The parts have been on order for months now - still awaiting them to schedule the work. I called a few weeks ago and the service writer said that they are having difficulty in obtaining the parts - not sure i understand that, since they should be common for all Fusions. I don't think there is anything unique with the shock assembly on a hybrid. The service writer states that the replacement part (the shock) has a different part number from the original - suggesting that it has been redesigned. She believes that there must have been an issue with the original shock design.

 

I plan on calling and escalating this issue next week - been waiting far too long for resolving this admittedly minor annoyance..

 

I would be interested in hearing if anyone else has had this issue.

[Texasota]

The parts have been on order for months now - still awaiting them to schedule the work. I called a few weeks ago and the service writer said that they are having difficulty in obtaining the parts - not sure i understand that, since they should be common for all Fusions. I don't think there is anything unique with the shock assembly on a hybrid. The service writer states that the replacement part (the shock) has a different part number from the original - suggesting that it has been redesigned.

That seems to indicate that you are not the only FFH owner that has experienced and reported this problem. It is likely the parts are on backorder or there is some other kind of problem with providing adequate supply. Rattles and squeaks drive me crazy in a car and my ranting then drives my wife crazy.

 

Hope you get your replacement parts soon. On the positive side, it does not appear to be a safety or drivability issue.

[Thomz Fusion]

re: Rattles and squeaks drive me crazy

 

I feel the same way. I'm always trying to find the source of any rattle or other noise. I find the Fusion to be incredibly quiet and solid feeling - which makes that clunk all the more noticeable, even though it seldom occurs.

[acdii]

That seems to indicate that you are not the only FFH owner that has experienced and reported this problem. It is likely the parts are on backorder or there is some other kind of problem with providing adequate supply. Rattles and squeaks drive me crazy in a car and my ranting then drives my wife crazy.

 

Hope you get your replacement parts soon. On the positive side, it does not appear to be a safety or drivability issue.

Bet you would go crazy in my MKT then! Especially when the dash starts to buzz.

[Texasota]

Bet you would go crazy in my MKT then! Especially when the dash starts to buzz.

My 2012 Focus was infested with rattles and it drove me crazy! Second worst car I ever owned and very glad it is no longer owned by me.

Edited January 12, 2015 by Texasota

[BoomerGer]

Texasota, did your '12 Focus ever feel as if the windows were not all the way up and wind was coming in from somewhere? I don't mean the feeling of cold, I just mean the sound. It seems the Focus is not very soundproofed. That's one of the reasons why I want to get a Fusion or CMax. Sure would hate to give up the instant acceleration that the Focus has! Maybe the Fusion or CMax has the same thing.

[Texasota]

Texasota, did your '12 Focus ever feel as if the windows were not all the way up and wind was coming in from somewhere? I don't mean the feeling of cold, I just mean the sound. It seems the Focus is not very soundproofed. That's one of the reasons why I want to get a Fusion or CMax. Sure would hate to give up the instant acceleration that the Focus has! Maybe the Fusion or CMax has the same thing.

I did not experience the feeling of the windows being part way down. For a compact car it felt quieter, to me, than a lot of the competition but it was way noiser than my FFH. It would be very difficult for me to move back to a compact now. On my 2012 Focus the Powershift transmission made the entire time I owned it a miserable experience.

[thavil]

Just like others have posted here, I just developed what I call a creaking noise coming from the passenger side rear. It started a few weeks ago and progressively got worse. At first, I only heard it going slowly in reverse but now I hear it going slowly forwards and over bumps. My first attempt to take it in produced the famous "can't reproduce customer's concern". A few days later, I realized why, it was raining that day and the suspension was lubed from the street water. Now I can reproduce the noise by pushing down on the rear of the car when it's dry outside.

 

I took the car back in yesterday morning with a better description on how to re-create the noise. A few minutes ago, the SA called for me to pickup my car. They replaced both sway bar bushings and they say they can't hear the creaking now. We'll see in a few hours when I pick the vehicle up. Of course this happened just past the 36,000 bumper to bumper warranty but luckily I purchased the 84 month, 125,000 mile ESP from my dealer at Flood Fords price.

Edited April 16, 2015 by thavil

[hybridbear]

Just like others have posted here, I just developed what I call a creaking noise coming from the passenger side rear. It started a few weeks ago and progressively got worse. At first, I only heard it going slowly in reverse but now I hear it going slowly forwards and over bumps. My first attempt to take it in produced the famous "can't reproduce customer's concern". A few days later, I realized why, it was raining that day and the suspension was lubed from the street water. Now I can reproduce the noise by pushing down on the rear of the car when it's dry outside.

 

I took the car back in yesterday morning with a better description on how to re-create the noise. A few minutes ago, the SA called for me to pickup my car. They replaced the strut bushings on both sides and they say they can't hear the creaking now. We'll see in a few hours when I pick the vehicle up. Of course this happened just past the 36,000 bumper to bumper warranty but luckily I purchased the 84 month, 125,000 mile ESP from my dealer at Flood Fords price.

Do you know what the cost would have been without the ESP?

[thavil]

Do you know what the cost would have been without the ESP?

Sorry I don't know what the cost would have been, my paperwork didn't say. Also, I just edited my post to say both sway bar bushings instead of strut bushings. During my ride home, no creaking at all.

[klatoo]

my 2013 FFH TI has a rattle as well, on any road, sitting still, driving, parked etc etc. I have it narrowed down to static from a speaker I think..after vacation I'll take it in.

 

Power on in the car, sitting the garage, sounds like two small metal sticks hitting each other, louder with seats down. Power off, no sound at all. Has to be rear speakers or amp...can't think of anything else that would be making noise back there with power on while sitting still. I can drown out the noise with radio turned up however.

[murphy]

Verify that the rubber tube on the torsion bars that support the trunk lid are centered so the bars can't touch each other or the underside of the rear shelf.