Second Row Seat Rattle

[Lovemy2020ExplorerST]

Let me start by saying I love my 2020 ST Explorer. We bought it for towing capacity, engine and transmission characteristics, and living in Minnesota we need 4WD.

With the WFM pandemic easing, my wife is driving our beloved Explorer every day and on top of the rush hour traffic and reckless driver epidemic, she has started becoming annoyed by a rattling noise in the back. To be honest I noticed it on the ride home from the dealer in Ames Iowa...best dealer ever......but I felt like twin turbo 400 HP would help me overlook things like rattling in the back seat. I was wrong.....according to the love of my life.

So my issue is that I have visibly observed the second row seats vibrating laterally every time we hit a bump at any speed, and the rattling is CLEARLY coming from the seat itself. Maybe a shim in the slide rails, maybe a bunjee cord around the collapsed seat....whatever it takes, cuz we aren't getting rid of the new addition to the family, and rattling is an unacceptable noise for a high performance SUV......Didn't we buy a high performance SUV? ( according to the Michcigan state Interceptor vehicle performance tests, yes, we bought a high performance SUV)

I agree with my wife by the way, I just play my music louder and am partially deaf from so many years as a range NCO in the US ARMY.

Please help......3d printer options for shims that fix this problem are valid answers.........

 

[Lovemy2020ExplorerST]

This is not the same as the "Driver seat rattle" thread.

 

[Lovemy2020ExplorerST]

No, this is a rear bucket seat problem.

 

[anthonylee337]

No, this is a rear bucket seat problem.

I have the same issue with my 2022 ST and was wondering if you were able to get it resolved. I looked all over and can't seem to find where the rattle is coming from!

 

[jmcneil]

My 2022 has a rattle that is coming from the rear passenger side bucket seats armrest. If you lower the armrest and drop it, you can hear metal on metal. Plan to pull it apart and put something in there to stop it. If I put the armrest up the rattle goes away.

 

[butt_yodel]

My 2nd row rattles like crazy. I can get it to go away for a few days (sometimes weeks) by collapsing the chairs, pulling them forward, and then firmly putting them back up and sliding them back hard. If you kinda slam them back, they stop making noise.

 

[anthonylee337]

My 2nd row rattles like crazy. I can get it to go away for a few days (sometimes weeks) by collapsing the chairs, pulling them forward, and then firmly putting them back up and sliding them back hard. If you kinda slam them back, they stop making noise.

Thanks so much I will be giving this a try!

 

[anthonylee337]

My 2nd row rattles like crazy. I can get it to go away for a few days (sometimes weeks) by collapsing the chairs, pulling them forward, and then firmly putting them back up and sliding them back hard. If you kinda slam them back, they stop making noise.

I wanted to thank you for your post because it worked! bless you!!!

 

[tfratzke]

My 2nd row rattles like crazy. I can get it to go away for a few days (sometimes weeks) by collapsing the chairs, pulling them forward, and then firmly putting them back up and sliding them back hard. If you kinda slam them back, they stop making noise.

Tried this with no luck. Will try again. My passenger side rattles like crazy once i hit about 40 mph. I have had someone else drive while i ride in the bnack and for the life of me I can't figure out where it is. I THOUGHT i fixed it as i discovered the felt cover on the under carriage below the rear passenger door was missing a shield nut and was flapping in the wind. I secured that, but still have the rattle. So annoying.

 

[butt_yodel]

Tried this with no luck. Will try again. My passenger side rattles like crazy once i hit about 40 mph. I have had someone else drive while i ride in the bnack and for the life of me I can't figure out where it is. I THOUGHT i fixed it as i discovered the felt cover on the under carriage below the rear passenger door was missing a shield nut and was flapping in the wind. I secured that, but still have the rattle. So annoying.

I'm missing the same felt shield bolt lol. My 2022 is barely assembled. Loose interior and exterior panels, missing screws, ABS sensor not fully seated, seat trim pieces missing hardware, liftgate rattling because it wasn't fully assembled... Having a hell of a time with her

 

[tfratzke]

I'm missing the same felt shield bolt lol. My 2022 is barely assembled. Loose interior and exterior panels, missing screws, ABS sensor not fully seated, seat trim pieces missing hardware, liftgate rattling because it wasn't fully assembled... Having a hell of a time with her

Wow! That is ridiculous.

 

[skiteton]

+1 for our 2022.

The rattle seems to be getting worse! It sounds like a metal snap that isn't fastened. Most trips are spent finding the source or destroying our hearing because the radio is turned up to drown out the rattle!

 

[tfratzke]

Tried this with no luck. Will try again. My passenger side rattles like crazy once i hit about 40 mph. I have had someone else drive while i ride in the bnack and for the life of me I can't figure out where it is. I THOUGHT i fixed it as i discovered the felt cover on the under carriage below the rear passenger door was missing a shield nut and was flapping in the wind. I secured that, but still have the rattle. So annoying.

Update on this. I after driving about 30 miles i checked the nut on the felt shield and it was already loose! This time put a lock nut on it and the rattle is gone again. So for me, it's not the seat. Might be worth checking yours.

 

[skiteton]

Thanks for the felt shield idea! I just checked mine and it was tight. I think I’ve found either THE seat rattle or a NEW rattle.

When I open the rear driver side door and shake it, I can hear what sounds like a wire slapping the body about even with the door handle. I pulled a bit of the trim back to see if I could feel it but it almost seems like it’s in the hollow c-pillar cavity?

 

[butt_yodel]

Thanks for the felt shield idea! I just checked mine and it was tight. I think I’ve found either THE seat rattle or a NEW rattle.

When I open the rear driver side door and shake it, I can hear what sounds like a wire slapping the body about even with the door handle. I pulled a bit of the trim back to see if I could feel it but it almost seems like it’s in the hollow c-pillar cavity?

Wouldn't surprise me either. My liftgate plastic panel wasn't even snapped in fully, I can hear a cable vibrating in there when I go over bumps.

 

[EcoJet]

Just picked up a 22' a few months ago and had the same issue, it was driving me nuts. After some poking around I realized it was the 2nd row headrests for me. I took them off and the rattle went away at all speeds.

 

[BNaCl]

My 2022 has a rattle that is coming from the rear passenger side bucket seats armrest. If you lower the armrest and drop it, you can hear metal on metal. Plan to pull it apart and put something in there to stop it. If I put the armrest up the rattle goes away.

I know this is an older thread, but wanted to thank you for this! I just bought a used 2020 ST (low mileage and excellent condition), but the rear rattle has been driving me absolutely crazy. It definitely sounded like it was coming from the 2nd or 3rd seats, but I couldn't find it and the armrests never entered my mind. After finding this, I flipped them up and that was the problem! Did you find a fix for when they are down? Would rather not have to constantly be flipping them back up after having passengers back there.

 

[KANSAS]

My 2022 developed a slight rattle after two years of quiet since new. I thought it was from the right rear passenger seat, but turned out to be the seat belt retractor. If I leave the seat belt pulled out and buckled it is quiet. May look into it further someday but for now just leaving it buckled has kept it quiet.