How-to eliminate rattle from rear wing.

[Wrxified]

As I prepare for my audio install I've been listening for the most obvious rattles in an attempt to care for them before the sub makes everything sound like it's being shaken to bits. One major rattle I've had from the minute I took delivery was the rear spoiler. It was noticeable on bumpy roads, parking lots and sometimes even when the wind hit it just right.

At first I attempted to simply tighten each of the bolts that hold the wing to the rear hatch. This didn't help. You'll notice that if you look along the sides of the wing, in several spots there are small, 1/16" thick deadening material on the bottom side of the wing. It looks like 3m tape but it's not. It's just a thin strip of deadener with adhesive on only one side holding it to the underside of the wing. If your wing is like mine was, you can just lightly lift it from the back and notice that it doesn't really have contact with the body in several areas. This is what creates the rattle as you travel through town.

So here's what you do if your wing is rattling. Takes about 45 minutes. You'll need a deep reach 10mm socket, ratchet small flathead screw driver and butyl rubber rope. The rope can be purchased for less than $10 in most any automotive store. Ask for a window trim adhesive kit. 3M makes them, so does a company called Metro SuperSoft. For those of you not familiar with butyl rope, it's the same material used in some of the best sound deadeners. It's pliable, sticks to almost anything and can be used in myriad of applications, especially ones where you're trying to put a barrier between to materials that are prone to resonate when then come in contact with one another.

1. Open the rear hatch and remove the center interior trim piece directly under the wing. It's at the top of the window on the underside of the hatch. Just get your fingers underneath the sides and carefully pull it from the car starting on one side. There are two plastic clips and two metal clips holding it to the body.

2. Disconnect the brake light harness.

3. Remove the two grommets on the far left and far right side on the underside of the hatch. This is where I used the small flathead screw driver to get under one side of the grommets and lift them out. (There are 10mm bolts under them). Remove these with your long reach 10mm socket.

4. Remove the other two 10mm bolts holding the wing to the hatch. Don't worry, it's not going to fall off the car at this point as there are still plastic clips holding it to the hatch.

5. Shut the hatch. You'll notice the wing still feels like it doesn't want to go anywhere.

6. You need to pop the wing off carefully at this point. The only thing holding it to the car is four plastic body clips. It takes a bit of pressure to pop them and it's actually not a good idea to just lift the wing to pop the clips. What you need to do it while supporting the wing on one side with one of your hands, bump firmly on the underside of the wing with the palm of your other hand. Don't hit it like a girl. Really give it a good bump. Once that side pops free, repeat this on the other side.

7. Once you've successfully bumped each clip free you will easily be able lift the wing from the car. Be careful not the catch the harness on the body. I'd hate for you to drop the wing on the ground or worse yet, your car.

8. Now that the wing is removed from the car take it to a safe area away from the car to apply the butyl rope.

9. Notice that on the underside of the wing you can easily see all of the thin dampening material. What you want to do is add butyl rope to these areas. Most window trim kits, the rope is about 1/4". That's too thick to just add as is. If you do you most likely won't be able to reseat the wing, and/or the rope will be squeezing out the sides. What I did is just roll the rope between my hands to make it about half it's size. I just applied it over the stock deadener. I guess you could remove it but I didn't see the need as the butyl rope completely covers it anyway and forms a solid seal between the wing and body.

10. Once you've applied it to all of the stock areas re-install the wing.

Once I finished this i noticed immediately that it completely fixed the issue the moment I shut the rear hatch. Whenever I used to shut the hatch the wing made an awful rattle noise. It's now completely silent. Driving around town, same thing, the rattle is gone.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[redblur]

My wing rattles too and I brought it back to the dealer to fix.

Any reason why you just didn't get it covered under warranty?

[Wrxified]

Originally Posted by redblur My wing rattles too and I brought it back to the dealer to fix. Any reason why you just didn't get it covered under warranty?

Good question. If it was anything that was going to cost me something significant out of pocket I would make the dealer do the work but that's still a big hassle. Me at the dealer for anything minor almost always translates to "day long activity". This fix was $6 and 45 minutes vs. driving to/from the dealer (1.5 hours), another .5-.75 hours at the dealer, plus trying to set up a loaner. I'm on the the road everyday driving all over the state and can't afford to be sitting in the dealer waiting.

That's one reason but the big reason as I mentioned was this something I did as a first step in starting to isolate problem areas that are going to be really pronounced once I start installing my system this week. They could probably fix it to an acceptable level for normal driving but it would most likely rattle either way once I run my sub.

[MazSpd3Jase]

Originally Posted by Wrxified Good question. If it was anything that was going to cost me something significant out of pocket I would make the dealer do the work but that's still a big hassle. Me at the dealer for anything minor almost always translates to "day long activity". This fix was $6 and 45 minutes vs. driving to/from the dealer (1.5 hours), another .5-.75 hours at the dealer, plus trying to set up a loaner. I'm on the the road everyday driving all over the state and can't afford to be sitting in the dealer waiting. That's one reason but the big reason as I mentioned was this something I did as a first step in starting to isolate problem areas that are going to be really pronounced once I start installing my system this week. They could probably fix it to an acceptable level for normal driving but it would most likely rattle either way once I run my sub.

Great post WRXified! I had my wing off, but for other reasons (i did some customizing to it with paint on the inner wing...but now that i think about it, your fix with the buytl rope sounds awesome. I may have to do this myself. I only notice a rattle in mine though when i shut the hatch. i can see though adding a ton of base would definately set a rattlin off with it. Is buytl rope something i'd find at an automotive store like pepboys or kragan?

[Wrxified]

Originally Posted by MazSpd3Jase Great post WRXified! I had my wing off, but for other reasons (i did some customizing to it with paint on the inner wing...but now that i think about it, your fix with the buytl rope sounds awesome. I may have to do this myself. I only notice a rattle in mine though when i shut the hatch. i can see though adding a ton of base would definately set a rattlin off with it. Is buytl rope something i'd find at an automotive store like pepboys or kragan?

Both of those places should carry it. This stuff is my single favorite best material to fix rattles and squeaks. You can stick it about anywhere and make it into any shape.

Comes like this in a windshield kit.



Here's a picture of the rope rolled into a smaller piece.



3M offers it like this.

[tddvrrn]

this fix is freaking awesome. i installed a trz rmm and my car has been rumbling. the rumbling, though, has sparked numerous rattles (especially when i'm lazy with the accelerator in 1st). a symphony of rattles seems to come from the rear and i've been thinking it's the spoiler and trying to come up with a fix.. and now i don't have to. great idea, thanks for spreading it. are the clips holding the spoiler in place the same as hold the door panels in? i'm just wondering so i can gauge how much force i should pull/hit with.
nice write up, props!

[eppopipe]

Gonna have to do this before I put my system into this car. Any other major rattle spots that I should look into?

[tddvrrn]

most of my rattles are from installing a rmm.
however, the doors definitely rattled a bunch when i played the stock stereo loudly. if you don't plan on doing sound insulation you can try what i did: butyl rope or gaskets placed betwen the outer panel and the inner panel. i put some around the edges, but also between the inner panel and outer panel wherever they were close enough to touch. it has helped loads!
next i will attack the hatchback panel. it rattles when i start off in first!
oh, almost forgot. i had my car in a body shop and they had the rear bumper cover off, so i had them put butyl rope (love the stuff!) between the foam bumper core and the cover. it has quieted things down a bunch. you could do this yourself without taking off the cover by just reaching up and placing the butyl rope in from under the bumper.

again, most of my rattling is from a rmm, so your sub rattles may be different. good luck!

[ZipprSuitdSungod]

Question.......does the butyl rubber rope absorb/hold moisture? If so, not sure I'd want that against my metal body for an extended period. Just asking.

[dr_banano]

i tried to pull the spoiler so hard that i wa afraid to break something so i left it and just inserted from underneath it it was

Originally Posted by Wrxified As I prepare for my audio install I've been listening for the most obvious rattles in an attempt to care for them before the sub makes everything sound like it's being shaken to bits. One major rattle I've had from the minute I took delivery was the rear spoiler. It was noticeable on bumpy roads, parking lots and sometimes even when the wind hit it just right. At first I attempted to simply tighten each of the bolts that hold the wing to the rear hatch. This didn't help. You'll notice that if you look along the sides of the wing, in several spots there are small, 1/16" thick deadening material on the bottom side of the wing. It looks like 3m tape but it's not. It's just a thin strip of deadener with adhesive on only one side holding it to the underside of the wing. If your wing is like mine was, you can just lightly lift it from the back and notice that it doesn't really have contact with the body in several areas. This is what creates the rattle as you travel through town. So here's what you do if your wing is rattling. Takes about 45 minutes. You'll need a deep reach 10mm socket, ratchet small flathead screw driver and butyl rubber rope. The rope can be purchased for less than $10 in most any automotive store. Ask for a window trim adhesive kit. 3M makes them, so does a company called Metro SuperSoft. For those of you not familiar with butyl rope, it's the same material used in some of the best sound deadeners. It's pliable, sticks to almost anything and can be used in myriad of applications, especially ones where you're trying to put a barrier between to materials that are prone to resonate when then come in contact with one another. 1. Open the rear hatch and remove the center interior trim piece directly under the wing. It's at the top of the window on the underside of the hatch. Just get your fingers underneath the sides and carefully pull it from the car starting on one side. There are two plastic clips and two metal clips holding it to the body. 2. Disconnect the brake light harness. 3. Remove the two grommets on the far left and far right side on the underside of the hatch. This is where I used the small flathead screw driver to get under one side of the grommets and lift them out. (There are 10mm bolts under them). Remove these with your long reach 10mm socket. 4. Remove the other two 10mm bolts holding the wing to the hatch. Don't worry, it's not going to fall off the car at this point as there are still plastic clips holding it to the hatch. 5. Shut the hatch. You'll notice the wing still feels like it doesn't want to go anywhere. 6. You need to pop the wing off carefully at this point. The only thing holding it to the car is four plastic body clips. It takes a bit of pressure to pop them and it's actually not a good idea to just lift the wing to pop the clips. What you need to do it while supporting the wing on one side with one of your hands, bump firmly on the underside of the wing with the palm of your other hand. Don't hit it like a girl. Really give it a good bump. Once that side pops free, repeat this on the other side. 7. Once you've successfully bumped each clip free you will easily be able lift the wing from the car. Be careful not the catch the harness on the body. I'd hate for you to drop the wing on the ground or worse yet, your car. 8. Now that the wing is removed from the car take it to a safe area away from the car to apply the butyl rope. 9. Notice that on the underside of the wing you can easily see all of the thin dampening material. What you want to do is add butyl rope to these areas. Most window trim kits, the rope is about 1/4". That's too thick to just add as is. If you do you most likely won't be able to reseat the wing, and/or the rope will be squeezing out the sides. What I did is just roll the rope between my hands to make it about half it's size. I just applied it over the stock deadener. I guess you could remove it but I didn't see the need as the butyl rope completely covers it anyway and forms a solid seal between the wing and body. 10. Once you've applied it to all of the stock areas re-install the wing. Once I finished this i noticed immediately that it completely fixed the issue the moment I shut the rear hatch. Whenever I used to shut the hatch the wing made an awful rattle noise. It's now completely silent. Driving around town, same thing, the rattle is gone. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

[tddvrrn]

Originally Posted by ZipprSuitdSungod Question.......does the butyl rubber rope absorb/hold moisture? If so, not sure I'd want that against my metal body for an extended period. Just asking.

sorry for the slow reply.. butyl rope is kind of a misleading name. it's nothing like rope except its shape. it will not hold water, it's what holds your windshield in place!

[triphop631]

i can't find this shit anywhere!!!!

[JS + MS3]

Thanks for the write up.

One question though, I don't think my wing doesn't rattling, but whenever I slam the trunk shut, it looks like its moving.

Would this be eliminated if I do the OP's fix? Thanks!

[zatara]

yea, it would. I put on the Butyl tape for two reasons: because it rattled when I closed the hatch, and also because it moved. Putting it in all the locations of the stock deadener really helped.

[tddvrrn]

funny thing: inoticed a new rattle recently. i disassembled all my inner hatch panels, only to find out the whole hatch was loose when it was closed. thankfully i only had to move the latch on the body down a bit. 2 12 mm bolts hold it in place. now the hatch sounds solid when i shut it.
it used to sound all wiggly and cheap. now it's all 'thunk' like a well made car where they do this shit at the factory..

[triphop631]

Originally Posted by tddvrrn funny thing: inoticed a new rattle recently. i disassembled all my inner hatch panels, only to find out the whole hatch was loose when it was closed. thankfully i only had to move the latch on the body down a bit. 2 12 mm bolts hold it in place. now the hatch sounds solid when i shut it. it used to sound all wiggly and cheap. now it's all 'thunk' like a well made car where they do this shit at the factory..

Mine does the same thing. Thanks for posting this so I don't have to go to the dealer. I didn't even think of checking the latch.

[Eric28243]

Originally Posted by triphop631 Mine does the same thing. Thanks for posting this so I don't have to go to the dealer. I didn't even think of checking the latch.

Me either... My cars whole ass end rattles like I've got a phalanx of guinea pigs with drumsticks in there. I have to take it to the dealership for a smokin' turbo issue. I'll just go ahead and load them down with problems to take care of since I HATE going to the damn dealership. Especially mazda (greensboro, winson salem, AND chapel hill.) They won't fix a damn thing. I took it by there the other week to get them to investigate a stock map afr-induced stall (Winston Salem Mazda-Hyundai). I asked them about the rattles, wrote my mileage down, and left the car for 24+ hours. I got back, they said they test drove the vehicle and extensively tested for rattles. Before I left the house for the shop, I stuck a little piece of paper inside the groove in the hatch and tested it to make sure it would fall out upon opening the hatch. My mileage was EXACTLY the same, and that peice of paper was still in the groove just as I had left it. Fucking liars didn't do anything to my car but let it sit outside in the hot sun all day long and tell me they looked really hard but found nothing. I am starting to lose patience. I will drive a really long way (2 hours to raleigh for equal disappointment) to find a dealership that will take me seriously. So far, I'm 0-for-3 in dealerships that even attempt to convince me that they care.

[surebOOst]

Originally Posted by Eric28243 Me either... My cars whole ass end rattles like I've got a phalanx of guinea pigs with drumsticks in there. I have to take it to the dealership for a smokin' turbo issue. I'll just go ahead and load them down with problems to take care of since I HATE going to the damn dealership. Especially mazda (greensboro, winson salem, AND chapel hill.) They won't fix a damn thing. I took it by there the other week to get them to investigate a stock map afr-induced stall (Winston Salem Mazda-Hyundai). I asked them about the rattles, wrote my mileage down, and left the car for 24+ hours. I got back, they said they test drove the vehicle and extensively tested for rattles. Before I left the house for the shop, I stuck a little piece of paper inside the groove in the hatch and tested it to make sure it would fall out upon opening the hatch. My mileage was EXACTLY the same, and that peice of paper was still in the groove just as I had left it. Fucking liars didn't do anything to my car but let it sit outside in the hot sun all day long and tell me they looked really hard but found nothing. I am starting to lose patience. I will drive a really long way (2 hours to raleigh for equal disappointment) to find a dealership that will take me seriously. So far, I'm 0-for-3 in dealerships that even attempt to convince me that they care.

Do this for better service. Place a piece of paper like you did before except make a video of it before you take it in and after you get it back. Show the video the the manager of the dealership and I guarantee your car will be fixed very quickly!

[Eric28243]

I don't know why I didn't think of that... I did have a hell of a time with the WS dealership last time I went there for a warranty issue. There is one guy I met there that was a service representative who I found to be a great insulator against me strangling tthe tech. He was extremely nice and easy to get along with too. I am positive I'll have better luck this time around. Anyway, thanks a lot!

[tddvrrn]

Originally Posted by babypetit where exactly is the latch?

it's the big U-shaped piece of metal right in front of your cock when you open the hatch. snap up the plastic and there are bolts that hold it in place. loosen, move, reverse process.
profit.

[Eric28243]

OMG tddvrrn! I just did that and every rattle I thought came from various places disappeared. You are the man!

[SmoothVanilla]

I have this rattle too i think. when u say move the latch down, you mean further back towards the rear of the car? or is it something u can actually move down in depth? thanks

[Eric28243]

Originally Posted by SmoothVanilla I have this rattle too i think. when u say move the latch down, you mean further back towards the rear of the car? or is it something u can actually move down in depth? thanks

Move it towards the rear of the car. Once you pull off that plastic panel, there are two bolts securing the U-bracked. Loosen them and pull the latch towards the rear of the car, try to close the latch. If it doesn't work, move them slightly forward again and repeat until the latch closes.

[SmoothVanilla]

thanks alot. I am doing sound deadening now so I will give it a shot.

[motherfnmonsta]

Nice wright up, I actually have a customer coming in this sat at the dealership for me to do the tsb on the seat noise and he is complaining of the spoiler rattle, and I looked on mazda technical sight and no tsb for the spoiler rattle. But the pictures are dead on this thread any way to bring them back.

[BAT-man]

How soon do rattles usually start? I've been noticing something in the rear when I drive with music off, and the car ('12 MS3) barely has 500 miles on it.

[12Zooms3]

My 12 does it too, I'm going to attempt this fix over the weekend.

[BeyonceSpeed3]

This is a great How To. I followed it this weekend to fix my spoiler after a slight rattle & squeak turned into what sounded like a heard of mice combined with nails on a chalkboard started coming from the left side of my spoiler .

The window trim kit I used was made by 3M, was $25 at Advance Auto Parts and I have enough left over for 10 spoilers haha. I flattened it with my fingers and stretched it but I cant get those plastic clips to "click" back in, but I'm not worried. All 4 10mm nuts are tight and the butyl rope holds and seals like a dream. Spoiler is solid and is not going anywhere. I will dread to take this spoiler off if I ever have to again lol

One thing with my car, it was completely missing the left 10mm nut that is behind the grommet. I realize now that nut is what is stuck in my hatch and slides up and down inside the hatch whenever I open and close it. One day I'll get around to removing my hatch completely and trying to get that nut out.

thanks for this awesome write up! Hardest part is breaking it loose from those clips. My clips wont snap back in probably because I used too much butyl rope throughout the whole spoiler even though I stretched and flattened it. What I learned is that you really don't need to use a lot of that stuff.

Paul B

[slixx]

Originally Posted by BeyonceSpeed3 This is a great How To. I followed it this weekend to fix my spoiler after a slight rattle & squeak turned into what sounded like a heard of mice combined with nails on a chalkboard started coming from the left side of my spoiler . The window trim kit I used was made by 3M, was $25 at Advance Auto Parts and I have enough left over for 10 spoilers haha. I flattened it with my fingers and stretched it but I cant get those plastic clips to "click" back in, but I'm not worried. All 4 10mm nuts are tight and the butyl rope holds and seals like a dream. Spoiler is solid and is not going anywhere. I will dread to take this spoiler off if I ever have to again lol One thing with my car, it was completely missing the left 10mm nut that is behind the grommet. I realize now that nut is what is stuck in my hatch and slides up and down inside the hatch whenever I open and close it. One day I'll get around to removing my hatch completely and trying to get that nut out. thanks for this awesome write up! Hardest part is breaking it loose from those clips. My clips wont snap back in probably because I used too much butyl rope throughout the whole spoiler even though I stretched and flattened it. What I learned is that you really don't need to use a lot of that stuff. Paul B

I had the same problem with my left hand wing nut. Brought it to my local Mazda Dealer and they retrieve it with a extendable magnet

They replace the nut and put loctite on it

I have to do this fix to my wing to secure it, so advice would be to loctite those nuts when fixing the wing back on


Peter "SLIXX"

[BeyonceSpeed3]

Yes I'm definitely going to loctite them.

I forgot to mention I swapped the 4 10mm nuts with different ones that have a bit more locking power to them, almost like a lock nut. I'll use loctite for sure though.

Thanks for the idea about the magnet. I'll fish it out myself that way lol

[StayBroke]

@Nefarion;

sent to you from me

[slixx]

Originally Posted by BeyonceSpeed3 Yes I'm definitely going to loctite them. I forgot to mention I swapped the 4 10mm nuts with different ones that have a bit more locking power to them, almost like a lock nut. I'll use loctite for sure though. Thanks for the idea about the magnet. I'll fish it out myself that way lol

Peter "SLIXX"

[BeyonceSpeed3]

Originally Posted by slixx Peter "SLIXX"

Yup that was the tool I was thinking of. Ill need a trip to harbor freight lol

I was thinking of one that was a bit more "snake-ish" to get in there real deep like

[Captainobvious]

Awesome write up, thanks for sharing.

For people not able to find the butyl rope locally, you can also buy it from Don at Sound Deadener Showdown.
Welcome to Sound Deadener Showdown | Sound Deadener Showdown

I bought some different damping materials from him (including the butyl rope) and the this stuff is great. It's harder to compress when cool, so if you're having a hard time getting the wing back on, use your heat gun to lightly heat the butyl before putting the wing back on. It will allow the butyl to compress more and give you that extra bit of clearance.

[12Zooms3]

Originally Posted by BeyonceSpeed3 Yup that was the tool I was thinking of. Ill need a trip to harbor freight lol I was thinking of one that was a bit more "snake-ish" to get in there real deep like

I have a magnet like this and its too large to fit in the hatch.....Any other ideas ?

[Lexx3D]

I didn't have any rattle issues, but I decided to DIP my top wing ( plastidip ) and had to take it off. To my great surprise, when I pulled the plastic hatch cover, one of the nuts was completely loose and thankfully, just well into my hands.
Once done painting, I used blue loctite before I had to go fishing for nuts through my back door with a magnet!

To conclude - even if you aren't doing any painting or fixing, do yourself a favor and check those 4 nuts before they get loose and fall off.

[AndyW716]

Decided I had been procrastinating enough and made this my morning/early afternoon project.

Upon removing the interior plastic panel, I discovered that only ONE OF THE NUTS was holding the wing on still!!!

2 were completely missing, and one fell into my hand when I removed the plastic panel...I'm in complete awe at the fact that the spoiler didn't come flying off previously at highway speeds!



TWO THINGS I DID DIFFERENTLY:

1 - I noticed the butyl didn't seal/stick firmly when I tried applying it over the factory thin strips of foam, it kept sticking to my fingers and pulling off. So, I coated the factory insulation with mineral spirits, then using my finger nails was able to scrape it all away right down to the paint. Rinsed the spirits off with a wet rag, and the butyl stuck right to the wing like nobody's business.




2 - Since the factory nuts are clearly VERY prone to rattling loose and working their way off, I bought locknuts (I think that's what they're called...the ones that have plastic inside at the point where the thread ends, so once you tighten them past that point...they're on snug and it takes a bit more effort to turn the nut). Hopefully, this keeps them from loosening and falling off again. I bought spares, just in case...


Put everything back together, and it's PERFECT!

Sure it may nearly double the task completion time by completely removing all factory foam tape, but I'm glad I spent the extra time and now I don't have to worry about anything not remaining sealed together.

[AshFromCan]

Plastidipped my wing too and did this mod at the same time. Works well and makes everything firm and tight. My nuts were loose too.
That all sounded very sexual..

Sent from my fingers using wizardry.

[Jzen16]

pics ?

[hiroshi]

thanks Lads, I figured I wasn't the only one with a flapping wing. appreciate the how to instructions