DIY - Rear Deck Bass rattle
 

I couldn't really find a DIY on the forum for fixing the rear deck rattle, so decided to utilize my sunday afternoon and share it with you all. I did the same with my 2014 Accord EXL and the TLX was similar, with just an additional noise reduction shield in the trunk. It is a very simple and easy fix which literally took 20 mins. It is not a complete fix, but 95% reduction in rattle noise. Please ignore if I use the wrong words in describing the parts :tongue:.

First let me share the video I captured before and after the fix so that you all can decide how well the fix works. Same song, Volume at 20, Subwoofer level 6.

BEFORE


AFTER


THE FIX:

First remove the small black tabs found on the top part of the shield on the corners and by the trunk light. Be careful and use a thin headed screw driver and carefully apply force as the heads tend to break easily. ( I broke one slightly :ugh:)

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...2dee8b5928.jpg


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Next, you will notice these clip inserts which pull out of the body and from the rubber insulation on top


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...926ab11037.jpg




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https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...99f7ee0248.jpg


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Now notice these holes, 4 in total. 2 of these are towards each corner of the trunk (About 5-8 inches before the corner of the trunk) and two on each side of the trunk light.


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...1ffa357f61.jpg


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...a7a8d61083.jpg

While playing a song that you experience the hideous rattle insert your finger in these holes (use a friend to test all four spaces) and lift the rear deck above.... Notice any difference ??? :yum: That's where you need to insert a piece of clothing which you will have to squeeze in. It's a pain as the area is really small and tight. I used old wool socks :tomato: and they tend to do the job perfect :wish:

Pic of my old sock shared for illustration of the size of clothing.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...f59575433a.jpg



https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...a42a5c4900.jpg

When you try to insert your finger in the holes by the trunk light you should be able to feel these two tabs which have some sort of clothing handle on them. I am guessing these are clips which help in disassembling the rear deck which we will NOT be doing. When you lift these tabs just a tad bit you will notice the remaining rattle (after filling the other two holes). Carefully squeeze your piece of clothing in between that tab and the body that it is held to... This one is more tighter to get to.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...bff5b7388c.jpg


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...cdcbe5d5a3.jpg


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Now before you move on to putting back everything together again.... sound check for any areas that need more clothing... If you are content, carefully put everything back on.


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...97b99818c8.jpg



https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...d563a43ca4.jpg


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Hope this helps everyone. Again it is not a complete fix, and many will not be as satisfied. For those folks, go DYNAMAT ... but for someone like me who leases, this is a much better option. I also tested at volume 30 and full. I did not hear any rattle from the rear but anything above 30, my front doors start rattling. :ugh:

It is sad that people have to revert to such a process to fix something that should never happen in the first place but kudos to you for taking the time to try, but most importantly, document and share with all of us.

PS....Sorry to see that a nice pair of socks had to be sacraficed in the process of making this video *lol*

This read deck rattle has been around since the 3G, as far as I know

^^ I know, even my 2009 TSX had this issue. IIn fact, that was the only issue my TX ever had....that was a great car!

My '07 Accord had the same issue. At least the tried and true methods still work :D

LOL Thanks !

How much you want to do mine?!?! :thumbsup:

^^ I'll cut your socks for 50$!! That is what you meant right?!? ;)

LOL..... I would do them for free to be honest.

I had the very same issue, thanks for the posting. I used a couple pieces of DynoMat Tape, not the mat itself and taped over the clamp that was loose and rattling. 95% improvement. Acceptable. Again "Acceptable" should not be used in the same sentence as Acura, but it is what it is as they say.

I just did this yesterday, it really helps. At first I wanted to try some sound deadening stuff, but trying to get it in that small hole, as well as try to get it between the plastic thing and the metal, it was impossible. I ended up resorting to the sock method, it worked perfectly. I used a panel popper tool to wedge the sock deep in it, cause my bulky hands wouldn't allow for leverage. The panel popper tool worked perfect as well. The head of the tool is bent at 45 degree angle, as well as has a thin flat head for getting beneath panel clips. It worked to push the sock in all the way to the back of the plastic thingy.

This thread deserves a bump.

Mani you are da man! I've seen your post a while back but finally got around to this issue today. I used some soft foam material used for packaging (scrap pieces from work). Followed your steps and now I rarely hear any rattle unless my volume is above 30ish which is never the case.

:woot:

I'm glad this is helping you guys. I frequently get messages from other nissan and infiniti owners on the youtube page and makes me wonder that wow Acura/honda isn't the only one who turned a deaf ear to this issue.

Helped me a lot too. Thanks you !!!

your welcome

Just did this and it helped a lot! Used a sock as well. No more rattles.

I don t understand why acura didn t fixed this problem yet, it does exist for years, i had it on my 2007 TL, don t remember on my 2005.

There is so many little annoying things that exists even between the different models of TL for many years, that i think honda acura, is not anymore involved in constant quality improvement.

The only positiv point is that you can find a fix easily on internet, even using somme old honda accord fixes for your TL

Another tip: find a signal generator app for your mobile phone (there are many, both paid and free for Android and iOS) and connect to car via either Bluetooth or direct connect audio. Make sure audio levels are low to moderate at first, then play a low frequency sine wave at around 40hz. Boost volume to be moderate to loud. Slowly raise generated frequency until you hear a rattle - this will be the resonant frequency of your back dash. Use your method of choice to damp rattle (sock, foam, etc.) while tone plays, until rattle is gone. Continue to adjust frequency to check for other resonating sources and address. When done, all of your rattles will be taken care of, for all possible frequencies.

Not sure if anyone having this problem, my rattling is coming from the back roof hitting the plastic break light inside the car. Sounds like a poppy noise, I even had Acura replace the back speakers and it still making that annoying rattling sound.

Thanks for that- I just started noticing a rattle yesterday.

I think it *is* odd that Honda/Acura has the same problem over so many generations of their cars.

I could see if it was unique to some new configurations of parts and materials (problems like this aren't unique to Honda/Acura after all), but they've had a TSB for rear brake light and rear deck rattles for over a decade (they fixed the same problem in my 05 TL).

Why would they not incorporate all TSBs into the QC process (or during assembly if it's a problem that doesn't show up initially)?

Maybe it's expecting too much.

I actually solved the rattle on my 3G in two ways, and I expect I will have to do the same thing when I take delivery of my TLX in December:


Method 1: Simply fold up a glasses cleaning cloth tight, and jam it between the rear deck and the back window. Problem solved. It keeps the rear deck tightly pressed to whatever is underneath, and by placing it in the middle, the normal mode for the rear deck is halved (half the wavelength) if you did ever get a rattle you'd barely hear it.

This is because the amplitudes of the low frequencies are almost always higher than those of high frequencies due to attenuation. The higher frequencies are not only less common in typical music, but they're lower amplitude. A spectra analysis of a typical song sound file will tell you this (just do a Fourier transform on the entire file which is in the time&amplitude domain and it will convert to the frequency&amplitude domain). If you're still getting rattles, jam 3 little cloths at 1/3 intervals.

Only problem with the little cloths is they can sometimes become dislodged. That brings us to method 2.

Method 2: Same as above except this is the more permanent fix I went to. All I did was take some dense foam (doesn't compress all that much) and cut it into strips. I firmly jammed those strips behind the rear deck along the rear window. Rattling totally eliminated and it looks good too. You can't see them at all (I used grey so they're the same colour as the rear deck, and they aren't very large).

One thing I really wonder is why Elliot Scheiner didn't hear that when he was doing the sound design on the prototype of the car. Either that or they did something between the prototype and production model that would have him upset that his nicely designed system has a bass rattle.

Thank you Mani. I did this fix the other day. Stuffed some old rags in 2 out of the 4 smaller holes--the 2 outer ones. Rattle is all but gone. Between this fix and disconnecting the ANC module I feel like I have a new stereo in my car! Before these 2 fixes I would say my '13 TL had a better stereo, but after, the TLX definitely does.

Worked great....Thanks for the writeup!:D

This worked great! Thank you! I did use a blue cleaning cloth and insert it up where there is a white cloth from factory. This was enough to make it good. This tool is very handy in those situations

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Breaking news. Just took my 2015 TLX Tech in for a software update they said wasn't a recall but still wanted to do. I was getting rattling from certain low frequencies from the rear subwoofer. They fixed that in a way similar to what's described in this thread.

THE NEWS - the service manager said that a "bulletin" was issued about this. What that means is that you should let Acura do the work provided you are under warranty. I'd assume so with a 2015 unless you are an Uber driver! ;-}

Would you know the TSB number?

I don't. He didn't say - just a side comment.

My TLX is at the dealership for this right now. They are waiting on a part to come in. They told me the rear deck rattle is a known issue and they have a fix for it. I will post my invoice once I get my TLX back.

It is also getting the driver door repositioned so the door doesn't catch on the weather stripping and pop.

Finally, getting a new center armrest / console lid because mine has a broken or loose part that rattles.

Hopefully I will have her back soon next week!

I almost wonder now if on my RL that I'm just having a rattling issue instead of a blown Bose sub...

anyone in canada have the bulletin corrected at their dealership? just called mine and they said they are not aware of any bulletins regarding this issue

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...99aa8d72bd.jpg

dealer did a fix under warranty, was not aware of any present bulletins in Canada. Quality Engineering department was interested, apparently are using my vehicle as an example for future fixes of this nature. rattling is gone

I did this DIY over the weekend but used felt tape instead of socks and I can confirm that it works! I haven't heard the rattle since :thumbsup:

I just did this DIY, but I used the following instead and no more rattle.

Attachment 46184

Where exactly did you put this? :-) Thanks!

I put it in the four spots mentioned in this diy. It was something I already had.

I took my car to the dealership four or five times. They replaced speakers, put in more insulation (they say) and the problem was never solved. I even sent them a copy of this thread and photos above, but no luck (don't think they did it). I tried the fix this weekend (right before the football games) and it works perfectly. Didn't take long and was super simple. Through with my dealership and looking for another to do servicing.

For those black covers on the top of the trunk, do you have to unscrew them or just pull them off?

you can just cut come foam that you may get from some packaging and cut it into cubes and just jam it between the rear glass and the deck lid and get a similar effect