I've had this annoying rear deck vibration for a while with/without the radio on. Here is the fix.

1. First, you need to open the trunk and remove the upper foam cover (black piece that covers the speakers, etc) . You will have to remove about 4 plastic clips to do so.



2. Then, bang your hand against the the bottom of the subwoofer. If you hear the same vibration you always hear, you can go ahead and do the below procedure.



3. Next, identify several openings (on the metal frame) where you can stick your fingers into so that you can touch underneath the plastic grill where it meets the bottom of the rear windshield. Nothing is connected to the grill (i.e., no air will blow through the grill). I stuffed small pieces of foam (you can use adhesive backed weatherstrip-make about 0.5 inch thick rolls) right under the plastic grill at three different locations.




4. This will require some patience and thin fingers! The foam pieces will lift the rear deck just enough to prevent it from touching the subwoofer that generates annoying vibration.

This method works for sure and will prevent those careless techs destroying your car!

I hope my instruction is clear enough.

Good luck!

 

wow, well documented. Thanks!

 

You're welcome. I always wanted to make a small contribution to the forum. It sounds like so many of us have this problem.

 

IF you dont mind , ill post these pics and directions on my dyi page for acuras. just waitin for your ok. thx

 

No problem! Go ahead and let others know how to fix this problem.

 

so you can actually somewhat get to the rear deck without taking the back seats out?

 

Yes! But, the access to the rear deck area is limited only near the plastic grill area.

 

Sweet job!! I'll do this when I get my TL.

 

I did something similar but i used weather proofing as a source of dynomate for my subs (aftermarket). Worked great. Either way, thanks for th posting, points for you!

 

DUDE!!! You are the man!!!

I don't know if this will help me but I'll give it a try. I'm just glad someone thought of something to try. I was losing hope with the damn rattle.

If possible, could you explain in more detail about what kind of foam and maybe post a pic of what it looks like?

Thanks a mil!!!

 

I don't think it really matters what you use. But, probably the best thing to use is adhesive backed weatherstrip foam (you can get that at any hardware store). Just make a small roll and try to shove it underneath the plastic grill. If you try to lift it with your finger, you will be able to feel the gap-that's where you want to put your foam stuff. I bet you can even break a pencil into small pieces and use those instead of foam. As long as the rear end of the deck is lifted even 1/8", this method will work for you. I am 99% sure that the rear deck vibration is caused by lack of insulation between the subwoofer and the rear deck. I hope this helps.

 

Yeah I get a chirp type of sound when there is heavy thumping bass. When I hold the rear deck down with my hands the chirp somewhat stops. I figured that it was the whole rear deck jumping up and down on the woofer.

I'll give this a try this weekend.

How do you remove the clips btw?

 

You can use a flat screw driver or any flat metal piece to remove them.

 

J Ride

Did you use Ice and water shield??? I always wondered about using that instaed of the expensive Dynomat. Did you notice a huge improvement?

One time I stuffed my old beater car's interior spaces with house insulation !! haha! It worked to keep the road noise out, but I'm not sure about the long term side affects.

I would love to strip the whole interior of my car and Dynomat EVERYTHING! It would probably add 50 lbs. to the car, but at least it might be lot quieter.

-Chad

 

Great post! Thanks.

 

I just tried to use this method and it seems as though my vehicle already has some type of insulation or foam piece that slightly pops up this plastic grill right at the center point. Not sure why, but maybe they started to address this in later models... my VIN is 70xxx.

Through trial and error (putting on a heavy bass CD and adjusting the plastic grill area with my fingers), I actually found that it rattled more if I lifted it beyond what appears to be a factory pre-lifted point. So I left it as is. Then I discovered my TRUE CULPRIT -- THE THIRD BRAKE LIGHT HOUSING above. When I pressed it closer against the rear glass, the vibration stopped. When I released it and held my ear to it, the thing vibrated worse than a swarm of bees. Since I had no effective way of keeping pressure against it, I carefully inserted small black rubber disc pads between its housing and the rear glass. TADA! Problem fixed!!! Hope this helps someone else.

(note: be careful not to insert the rubber discs in too far because they may go completely into the third brake light housing and need to be fished out with a pair of long model-car-kit tweezers. yep -- that's DEFINITELY from experience)

 

I had a ratttle from third light brake as well, it was bangin against the window, i took it in under warrenty and they put some foam tape or something and its fine now...

 

no more pictures...?

 

I had a similar problem with my 04. Mine would rattle when idling without the music on. I hated it. I discovered it was the middle seat belt retractor. Accessing it through the trunk, and removing the liner, I was able to tether the retractor to the stable framing without compromising the functioning of the belt. I used duct tape (rolled into a rope sort of) rather than using rope as the adhesive made it very easy to tighten. When the retractor is pulled back far enough (towards the rear of the car) the rattling will end! I worked for me.
Good luck.