I have a 2004 WRX wagon and my driver side rear seat rattles from time to time. Like "click-click-click". It does go away for a while if I fold it down, then slam it reasonably hard back and "lock" it up. But the rattle comes back after a while... What part should I be looking at to tighten / get rid of this rattle? Anyone has the same problem? Thanks.

most wagon owners have the hatch noise. currently i'm investigating that one as it's come out with the cold weather. driver's side rear seat noise? could it be the rear seat belt male insert hitting the plastic cover it hangs next too? clip the belts up and see if it goes away. nothing is worse than the hatch noise though...

I hate the damn hatch noise. I hate it so much. I want to cut the back end of my car off. It didn't bother me for a while b/c the car is so fun to drive, but predictably, the noise caught up with me and now drives me INSANE. PLEASE let me know if you nail it down.

Does it sound like a window glass tapping/click?

-paK +13

I get the same clicking sound too sometimes. But I own a sedan. I'm almost positive it is coming from the rear seatbelt adjusters. If you play around it, it seems to make the same kind of sound like a tapping sound because it seems to have some excess play. . And I thought I was the only car that had this problem. It is more annoying than the front defroster trim rattle because I don't know where the sound is coming from.

Regarding the hatch noise, I've encountered something that may be related to this.

It happens in cold, and I've only seen it on wagons. Though lets not assume that sedans are out of the equation. Lucky (possibly) for you guys, these were on the Legacy wagons, MY00-MY04. I've yet to encounter one on an Impreza.

The sound resembled more of a ticking sound as I said earlier. I tried to pinpoint it by lightly hitting the trim pieces around that area.The area was around the middle seatbelt tensioner to the right rear window, I then took off the entire headliner and see anything else would shake for a few hours. Nothing.

I was then told the next day that it was likely a welding defect on the frame. Wasn't exactly sure how, but it was taken to a body shop and from the sounds of it, it's not anything horribly compromising of safety. I don't know the schematics, but I'll try to find out more next time at work.

-paK +4

I had a clicking or tapping noise coming from the rear seat area that turned out to be the male end of the seat belt buckles. There is a plastic rivet through the seat belt that holds the male end of the buckle in place when the rear seat belts are not being used. The buckle taps against this rivet and make an annoying noise.
The solution: Look at the back side of the buckle end. You will see a square flat spot that the rivet rests against. Take a piece of Velcro (only the 'soft' side), cut it to shape and stick it on this area of the buckle - tapping noise gone. I don't have any pictures, but this will make a lot more sense when you look at the rear buckles.
I hope this helps,
Jeff

I thought I was the only one!! I have an 04 Wagon and I have encountered the dreaded tapping. After dynomatting the entire car (roof and floor too!) the db inside the car was significantly reduced but the damned tapping sound was still there. I finally found it. On my car it the driver's side rear seat. When it locks into place it is not very tight. If you take the seat and move it back and forth it has a slight bit of play. Just enough to make that tapping sound (for me it's usually at low speed). I hooked an extra cargo net to the release posts and basically pulled it toward the back. Still not enough though. I suppose you could wedge a little piece of paper in there or something but I'm used to it now so I don't worry about it. In fact I rarely hear it as it's become part of the regular sound o the car...

hope this helps.

Wow... so many new replies to my old thread. My problem is the same as Boostmaster's. The rear driver side seat does not seem loose when I tried to move it back and forth though. But when I slammed it hard back to its position, the noise would always go away for a while. Sometimes a few days, sometimes a few weeks.

I suppose you could wedge a little piece of paper in there or something but I'm used to it now so I don't worry about it. In fact I rarely hear it as it's become part of the regular sound o the car...

My 'old' car was a 04 WRX wagon. I had the same exact problem with the rear seat latch rattle. I took a piece of 3/4" thick high density foam, about 3" by 3", cut a slot in the middle and put it over the male part of the seat latch. I had to slam the seats pretty hard to get them to latch properly, but it got rid of the noise. Another thing to try would be a little electrical tape on the latch.

Bump, i'm getting the same noise. Sounds like a marble bouncing around in a small glass or something... Took apart the rear seat, tightened all the bolts i could see, wrapped the hooks for the rear seat cushion with tape (it was a suggested cause), and still the sound is there. And for some reason, no amount of banging or pushing or prodding could replicate the sound unless i were to get out and drive the car a bit...

It really sounds like it's coming from the rear deck somewhere, but it's a little hard to drive while sitting in the back seat, and if i have someone in the backseat listening they don't know what they're listening for usually... [and i trust few people to drive my car] :lol: I'm going to keep looking this sunday after a road rally [and hopefully without any catastrophic failure]. :)

And like it was mentioned before, it's the most annoying sound since i have no idea where it's coming from... [i've figured every other sound except this...] :mad:

I have the same issues with my 02 wagon hatch clunk noise that is driving me crazy.I cant seem to pin point exact location or source of noise. did the body shop solve your problem,and if so what was the cure? thanks

My 'old' car was a 04 WRX wagon. I had the same exact problem with the rear seat latch rattle. I took a piece of 3/4" thick high density foam, about 3" by 3", cut a slot in the middle and put it over the male part of the seat latch. I had to slam the seats pretty hard to get them to latch properly, but it got rid of the noise. Another thing to try would be a little electrical tape on the latch.

BUMP....i also have the rear seat latch squeak/rattle in my wag. so far it seems like the foam idea is the only solution so far. anyone else have a different fix for the problem (out of curiosity)? TIA.

edit: and where can i find high-density foam??