DIY: No More Trunk Rattle!
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From: North York, Ontario, Canada
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I did exactly as suggested - I unbolted the trunk latch, lowered it as far as it would go and re-tightened the 10mm bolts. It helped a bit, but I am still getting a god-aweful rattle that appears to be coming from underneath the car, on the driver's side. Anyone else have this problem? I'm taking out my sub box (2 JL Audio 12s), ripping out the carpet and dynamatting the entire trunk floor. Hopefully this will help! The DIY describes adjusting the rubber stoppers on the trunk lid. I have two long rectangular ones, that are clipped in - no real room for adjustment. Are these unique to the 1.7EL, or am I not reading the instructions right?
I have a suspicion that some of the rattling may be coming from the tail light assemblies - any fixes for that?
I worked meticulously on removing all the interior rattles - there are now NONE! I added dynamat (2 layers) to the bare-metal rear shelf, and also dyna-matted the front doors. Now I get loads of bass that is 100% rattle-free inside the car. BUT, it sound like **** outside the car!
I'll keep everyone posted - any info from people with similar situations would be much appreciated.
I have a suspicion that some of the rattling may be coming from the tail light assemblies - any fixes for that?
I worked meticulously on removing all the interior rattles - there are now NONE! I added dynamat (2 layers) to the bare-metal rear shelf, and also dyna-matted the front doors. Now I get loads of bass that is 100% rattle-free inside the car. BUT, it sound like **** outside the car!
I'll keep everyone posted - any info from people with similar situations would be much appreciated.
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Joined: May 2002
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From: , Michigan, US
Rep Power: 0 i know what u r talking about its the plastic air vent, that is in the back of the car on the driver side!, havent had time to figure out what to use to stop it, but i will one of these days
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From: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Rep Power: 0 Here is a picture that says it all, as easy it can be, just unscrew the two bolts, and watch out to not break the four locks that hold the plastic cover.
I moved the U lock down about 2mm and it stopped rattling. 135db resistant !
I moved the U lock down about 2mm and it stopped rattling. 135db resistant !
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From: midland, mi, Michigan, US
Rep Power: 0 want an idea of how to mount your subs? try my idea.....the DIY i made ages ago lol
this should help
this should help
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From: Kansas City/Lenexa/OverlandPar, Kansas, US
Rep Power: 0 yea that little plastic air vent i just ripped it out and that solved most of my rattle problem! i sealed the trunk with that diy that worked a lot and i also dynamated the lid,whole trunk area rear deck,headliner,both doors and both quaterpanels and it works great!!
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From: Tallahassee, Florida, US
Rep Power: 0 A SOCK IN YOUR THIRD BRAKE LIGHT!! how ghetto why not us a tree air freshner so your car will smell good too[IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]
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From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Quote
[hr]A SOCK IN YOUR THIRD BRAKE LIGHT!! how ghetto why not us a tree air freshner so your car will smell good too [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][hr]
[hr]A SOCK IN YOUR THIRD BRAKE LIGHT!! how ghetto why not us a tree air freshner so your car will smell good too [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][hr]
i put some dynamat under the 3rd brake light, but it still kept on rattling. but hey, i live in the getto, so it's all good. 
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From: Nutley, New Jersey, US
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What UP? I did everything as the DIY said and it worked UNBELIEVABLY!!! But I also have 2 other ways to kill sound coming from your trunk and your back deck (inside your car, and NO, its not a sock). If you would like me to write it up in the DIY section, please email me and let me know. I will take pictures, type it up, etc. just please provide feedback for me to know that someone else still has problems.C²
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From: bay area, california
Rep Power: 338 why keep it a secret? you should start by telling us at least what it is.
if its simple, people here will figure it out. if not, then it may require a DIY. noone here needs a DIY how to apply a carbon fiber or wood dash kit. but a clutch bypass? thats a little different......
you say youve found 2 other ways. why keep them to yourself? i dont want a DIY yet, i wanna hear the ideas!
if its simple, people here will figure it out. if not, then it may require a DIY. noone here needs a DIY how to apply a carbon fiber or wood dash kit. but a clutch bypass? thats a little different......
you say youve found 2 other ways. why keep them to yourself? i dont want a DIY yet, i wanna hear the ideas!
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From: Nutley, New Jersey, US
Rep Power: 0 I am not keeping it a secret, it is just hard to explain. I requires a specific product purchase, which would be easier if i took a picture of the item. (They are only $2.99 a piece and they make a HELL [IMG]i/expressions/demon.gif[/IMG] of a difference). And the position of these products will definitely need photos. Itz not that easy to type up w/o visual aids. I am not calling you guyz stupid, I'm just saying that it's very specific, considering I stumbled upon this $6.00 fix that works like a $200 dynamat job!
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From: Nutley, New Jersey, US
Rep Power: 0 Ok, even though you AREN'T going to know what it is, It can be bought at home depot, it's Air Conditioning Foam Liner. You can buy it at ANY home depot. It is in a plastic bag, all spiralled up, it's 6' I think. It also has an adhesive side, so it self sticks to the place where it goes. It comes in black and white, and it's only $2.99. I recommend getting 2, because I used it on my trunk and back deck. As soon as I get more people requesting this fix, I will take pictures and make a DIY for it. It works PERFECT with this DIY about lowering your "U" lock and bringing down the rubber stoppers. When they co-exist, there is NO RATTLING what-so-ever. Please send me private messages if you are interested, or simply reply to this right here.!
C²
C²
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From: Southeast Michigan
Rep Power: 0 All you have to do to stop the licence plate from rattling is drill where the two lower mounting holes on the licence plate are and put in a couple of screws. The licence plate won't rattle at all, and it looks better.
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Rep Power: 0 I know I'm late for this, but it still applies for 2003 Civics:
I installed some nice 6x9s in my rear deck and I had the rattle noise from the rear tail light too. I was going to try to shove stuff in there too, but I brought it to get the windows tinted and when they replaced the rear deck, it doesn't rattle anymore! Even with a more powerful stereo installed and a lot of punch (for 6x9s).
Maybe your rear deck is a little loose?
I installed some nice 6x9s in my rear deck and I had the rattle noise from the rear tail light too. I was going to try to shove stuff in there too, but I brought it to get the windows tinted and when they replaced the rear deck, it doesn't rattle anymore! Even with a more powerful stereo installed and a lot of punch (for 6x9s).
Maybe your rear deck is a little loose?
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From: Colorado Springs, CO
Rep Power: 0 I read some of the posts in this thread about installation of dynamat. I've got some friends that work at the Soundshop in Colorado Springs and they do dynamat installs on cars, trucks, SUVs, whatever. Some of the people here posted that you just take a huge piece and plaster is in and then put another piece on it and smear it around. blah blah. NO. What you want to do is cut the dynamat into 4" x 4" squares and place the dynamat througout your trunk lid (or whatever is rattling...for me it's the lid), every 4 inches. That is, you'll have 4" x 4" dynamat with 4" x 4" open space like a checkerboard. This works and the reason it works is is because of the way the vibrations resonate on metal. Some dude explained it to me before. I forget...anyway the shiznit works. I've done it both ways. I smeared the crap all around on my 6th then and it still rattled like an SOB. Wasted 60 bux on the stuff. good luck to all 
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From: Mighigan
Rep Power: 0 My two 12'' MTX 8000’s make my trunk scream, so I was really interested to see it this quick fix would work. Simply pull off the plastic latch cover (not all the way out, just pull out the top 4 metal clips) and wedge some dish towels in between the frame and the plastic latch cover. This seemed to be easier than taking the whole thing off considering most of us have a large sub box in the trunk. This allowed enough room for me to loosen the 10mm bolts, and lower the latch. After a few tries and some tinkering for a good combination between the latch height and the rubber trunk stoppers IT WORKED. Got to give props. to OPGForce for the simple trunk fix, and I would suggest this to anyone that has subs! 
Last edited by sage_; Jan 13, 2004 at 06:22 PM.
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From: Mighigan
Rep Power: 0 One more thing for people who have subs in their trunk is that because this SWEET DIY creates a more air tight seal in the trunk, if you don’t have one of the rear seats folded down, then your 6x9’s in the rear speaker shelf are going to get pounded really hard. Ideally you would want to install the 6x9 in their own air space, but this is not always possible. Thus, fold down (the seat doesn’t have to come down all the way, it can rest on the front seat(s) head rest) the pass or driver’s side rear 60/40-split seats to allow that air pressure to escape to the main cabin. For some people, depending upon your subwoofer and box set up, opening a rear seat can allow for more “bass” in the car. (make em’ hit harder)
