[JRRF]

I notice a rattling in both of my rear doors (brand new '17). It could also be in the rear quarter panel, but it's definitely on both sides. It's particularly evident every time you close them. Anyone else notice this? Any ideas what it might be?

 

[Jdl30]

I've noticed in my '17 as well. It started in the rear drivers side and now is showing up on the passenger side. I was cleaning the car this weekend and the act of wiping the interior door panel down was causing some rattle behind the panel, but I couldn't pinpoint the cause. I haven't had time to bring it in for inspection, but knowing they can't figure out my dash board vibration I have little faith they can find this either.

 

[sparks]

The painful reality of the Gen 2 is that GM seems to have followed through a bit too much on their promise to get the costs down. It turns out the Gen 2 drive train is superb, so obviously the costs had to come out of something else. And voila, look no further than the interior. You could mold a whole roomful of Fisher-Price toys from the cheap plastic used there. I've had the dealer chase down a very bad dash rattle near the defrosters, but they really don't like that kind of work and put up a lot of resistance. It means having to wait several days to get your car back. So I finally gave up, and my interior has so many rattles and buzzes, changing every day, that it sounds like I'm riding in a wicker basket. Instead of chasing the problems, I've gone back several decades in my musical appreciation and am now re-listening to Tool, Metallica, Chevelle, Dream Theater -- you get the idea -- whenever the Volt's entertainment system is willing to work with my iPod. Alas, this is my last Chevy. I can only hope that a more upmarket automaker decides to make a serious commitment to an EREV sometime before my 2016 reaches its end of life.

 

[JRRF]

I hear you guys on both accounts. Nothing worse than a buzz in your otherwise very quite vehicle.

The dealers can rarely find these issues. I'm not sure they really care. They chock it up to OCD owners. On the flip side, the more interior panels they take on and off, the worse these types of things can get.

As for the look, if you have the flat black I agree it looks very cheap. The two tone actually looks pretty upscale.

 

[Fyodor]

Don't knock it, Fisher Price plastic lasts forever. My grandchildren play with 35 year old stuff that their mother played with.

 

[Mister Dave]

Instead of chasing the problems, I've gone back several decades in my musical appreciation and am now re-listening to Tool, Metallica, Chevelle, Dream Theater -- you get the idea --

Bonus! If it gets really bad you could go the Pantera, Mudvayne, Drowning Pool, Slipknot route. Maybe a little Godsmack on the side.

 

[Nebula]

I too noticed a bad rattle in the rear driver side door a few months ago but as the temp go higher the rattle disappeared.

 

[sparks]

Bonus! If it gets really bad you could go the Pantera, Mudvayne, Drowning Pool, Slipknot route. Maybe a little Godsmack on the side.

Ha Ha!! Yes, exactly. Also Clutch, as they are heavy on the drums. The more cymbal hits the better when the rattles and buzzes get going!

 

[USe-car]

I too noticed a bad rattle in the rear driver side door a few months ago but as the temp go higher the rattle disappeared.

When the rattle first appeared in my car, I pulled hard on the seat belt retractor located above the rear door. I pulled HARD after the belt locked. That fixed the rattle for a few days. Then, the dealer replace the seat belt assembly for me on that side. The noise remains. My noise also quiets down in hot weather and gets very loud during the winter months.

 

[caskConditionedAle]

I too noticed a bad rattle in the rear driver side door a few months ago but as the temp go higher the rattle disappeared.

Me too! We're having a little heat wave in New England.

 

[JRRF]

I've continued to investigate this since it bugs me every time I close one of the rear doors. My latest hypothesis is that the plastic panel that covers the insides of the trunk area is a little flimsy and rattles every time you close one of the rear doors.

 

[kubel]

Be persistent. I had a rattle in the rear hatch area, dealer tried adjusting the rear hatch bumpers and that did nothing to fix it. Turns out the whole Styrofoam trunk pack and battery bracket was never installed from the factory. All the push pins and hardware were dropped into place but no one torqued them down or pushed them in. Fix was super easy, I did it myself.

I also had a whistle coming from the passenger side. Original dealer where I purchased it from (Bill Crispin Chevrolet) said it was "crosswind" and that there really was nothing they could do. I took it to another dealer (Matick Chevrolet) and they ordered new weatherstripping for the entire door. Brought the car in, and they found it was the wrong part. A little over a month later they got it fixed, no more whistle, though the install was amateur and kinked up at one point. I'm just glad the noise is gone.

I've also had creaking noises from the driver door when I lean on it, and a rattle from the dashboard behind the touchscreen. They attempted to fix both, only fixed the dashboard. Driver door still creaks.

This has been the worst car I've ever had when it comes to noises. I'm one fix away from lemon law on the brake pedal bracket issue (no cruise control), so I'm confident at this rate I'll lemon out the car- then I can find something that isn't more rattly than a used police car (I literally have a used police car that makes fewer rattles than this Volt).

I miss my LEAF.