Dochorahan

Hello, I have a 2019 SHAWD Advance RDX at 65k miles. Recently, starting sometime this winter I started hearing a weird squeaking/crackling noise in the trunk area of the vehicle. It sounds like it’s coming from inside.

It sounded so squeaky that I swore I must have left a new pack of water bottles in the trunk after a grocery trip. However to my surprise I had nothing in the trunk, nothing in the storage bin except for an electric tire pump that’s in a cloth bag and has always been there, and nothing in the passenger seats or in the door cubbies. My car is practically empty and the source of this noise is driving me nuts. It is especially noticeable over potholes or bumps.

I’ve heard people having issues with pano roof frame. Could this be a pano roof issue? Is this a faulty trunk door? Or plastic trim in the trunk is rubbing? I’m really disappointed how passing the 60k mile mark on a well taken vehicle has suddenly started rattling more than every beater car I had in the last 25 years…

Midwestuser1

My guess is it’s something in the suspension area, like control arm bushings, that are making that noise. That’s where I’d focus the efforts especially if going over bumps & potholes triggers the noise!

Dochorahan

Thanks. It could be. Although it sounds like it’s very much coming from the inside. Possibly a loose plastic panel? It really did sound like I had a 24 pack of water bottles in the back and my wife agreed. Sometimes it sounds like crinkling plastic.

anoop

I had a problem with my 2019 making a noise when going over speed bumps, also coming from the rear. Turned out to be a leaking shock.

Jason60121

How many miles when shock started leaking?

anoop

the car had around 46k miles at the time of service. I started to hear the sound probably within 2000 miles of that.

Robs252

With mine, the spare tire underneath was loose. If you have the optional spare, check it.

Dochorahan

Good call! I do have a spare tire underneath. I'll check mine. Thanks,

knakane

Since I lowered my '19 and hitting about 62k miles, I had noticed a rather annoying clicking when any sort of small or large bump in the road is encountered. I finally was able to pinpoint the noise as originating from under the rear seat, where it attaches to the vehicle. Put a tiny tiny touch of lube and problem solved. Yours sounds a bit different but if you're convinced it's coming from the interior, maybe take a look at the rear seat.

I had a buddy drive the car while I kneeled on the floor in the rear. I was able to locate the general vicinity of the clicking when I shoved my hand between the seat and the floor of the car. Hope this helps!

John from PA

I’m aware of an instance where the “donut” didn't have anywhere the proper pressure and was causing a noise because the insufficient pressure allowed it to move around.

Optical Toxin

Any luck? Mine sounds exactly the same way you describe. Like there's a case of water bottles in the back squeaking around when I drive. Can't figure it out either but after reading this thread I'm going to go out and tighten the spare just to rule out something simple. FWIW, 51k miles on mine.

Robs252

Just grab the spare with your hand underneath the vehicle and try to move it. You’ll know right away if that’s the culprit.

Optical Toxin

My spare felt tight when grabbing from underneath but I still tightened it from inside to be sure. It turned about 3/4 of a turn before I couldn't turn it anymore. No rattles today but it's also hot, so this may be a seasonal thing I have to verify when it gets cold again.

Optical Toxin

Well, the rattle is there still. My new theory is that it's tied to moisture somewhere. I didn't notice the sound for the past week or so, but we have been going through a dry spell. It rained last night and when I drove the car this morning, it was back. I'm going to keep this in mind for a while and see if there's any correlation.

RDX-Rick

Although it hasn't happened on my RDX, I have experienced this noise on previous SUVs.

The rear hatch moves slightly as the body flexes while driving on uneven terrain. I found that spraying the rubber weatherstripping with silicone, and putting a thin coating of grease on the hard rubber bumpers/stoppers, eliminated the noise completely. This possibility is supported by your theory of the noise being moisture related

I suppose that if you can reliably reproduce the sound, you could simply leave the hatch ajar to see if that helps.

Ktothea

I had the squeaky water bottle sound as well. Take off the sub-trunk cover, 4 cargo hooks (use a pick to open the plastic cover to access the phillips screws), and take out the 3 compartment trunk tub. Look under the driver’s side storage bin and you’ll see two feet that rest on the metal. There’s thin felt tape underneath them from the factory but obviously isn’t sufficient. I used some chair sliders to prevent the plastic to metal contact. Hope this helps.

attofarad

Before you fixed it, could you wiggle/push on the bin and replicate the noise?

Ktothea

jmhumr

This reminds me of the time the weird noise in the back of a used car I just purchased turned out to be a girl's cell phone case that was wedged at the bottom of a deep storage cubby in the cargo area and went unnoticed because it felt flat when you reached in. I asked the dealer try to replicate it every time I had an oil change, but then accidentally made the discovery myself and literally LOLed.

DaIll1

Reminds me of the noise I got from the front passenger seat that no-one could replicate. I got a divorce and the noise went away.