My car has been having the usual rear end noises like the popping and squeaking which seemed relatively normal for a 4 year old car with 55k miles.
On Sunday I returned from a business trip in Germany, when I travel my wife drives my car, and I noted a worse than usual rattling.
I decided to finally remove the spoiler and find out the source of the problems.
Well, after removing the spoiler (more on that later) I noted that the loop where the trunk latches was very loose, I could move it with my hand, tightening it solved the recent rattle but the spoiler was already off so I decided to give it a nice cleaning and fixing.
If you want to remove the spoiler, you will break some clips and retainers, some of them seem to be designed as sacrificial. I would order them in advance as you will leave holes exposed that will get water into the interior if it rains.
I broke 5 out of 6 11588882 clips (ordered all 6) Spoiler retainers
I also broke 1 24405740 clips (ordered 15 in bulk) Interior trim clips
You will need to remove the interior trim of the trunk as seen in some YouTube videos, remove the two screws from the handle and pull.
There are 7 10mm nuts and two torx screws in the corners. After removing all, the spoiler won't budge when pulled, there are 6 plastic retainers holding down the spoiler which you will have to break (at least I did).
You then will need to remove the broken retainers from the spoiler and the trunk. Some pieces will fall in between the hatch sheet-metal and rattle. I remove them using compressed air and they quickly blew out.
There was dirt and leaves under that spoiler that could probably be traced back to day one of use. Be careful when cleaning as water will get in the holes, I just used some wet rags that were so bad after, I just threw them away.
On some spots where the spoiler rubbed the hatch, I could see the primer and bare metal. I decided to spray three coats of PlastiDip to protect the bare metal and help with the vibrations. The spoiler has some weather stripes that are no longer pliable, I will likely replace them with silicone ones for durability and flexibility.
I'm running the car without spoiler until I receive the retainers and am surprised to say that I have zero noises in the back of the car.
On Sunday I returned from a business trip in Germany, when I travel my wife drives my car, and I noted a worse than usual rattling.
I decided to finally remove the spoiler and find out the source of the problems.
Well, after removing the spoiler (more on that later) I noted that the loop where the trunk latches was very loose, I could move it with my hand, tightening it solved the recent rattle but the spoiler was already off so I decided to give it a nice cleaning and fixing.
If you want to remove the spoiler, you will break some clips and retainers, some of them seem to be designed as sacrificial. I would order them in advance as you will leave holes exposed that will get water into the interior if it rains.
I broke 5 out of 6 11588882 clips (ordered all 6) Spoiler retainers
I also broke 1 24405740 clips (ordered 15 in bulk) Interior trim clips
You will need to remove the interior trim of the trunk as seen in some YouTube videos, remove the two screws from the handle and pull.
There are 7 10mm nuts and two torx screws in the corners. After removing all, the spoiler won't budge when pulled, there are 6 plastic retainers holding down the spoiler which you will have to break (at least I did).
You then will need to remove the broken retainers from the spoiler and the trunk. Some pieces will fall in between the hatch sheet-metal and rattle. I remove them using compressed air and they quickly blew out.
There was dirt and leaves under that spoiler that could probably be traced back to day one of use. Be careful when cleaning as water will get in the holes, I just used some wet rags that were so bad after, I just threw them away.
On some spots where the spoiler rubbed the hatch, I could see the primer and bare metal. I decided to spray three coats of PlastiDip to protect the bare metal and help with the vibrations. The spoiler has some weather stripes that are no longer pliable, I will likely replace them with silicone ones for durability and flexibility.
I'm running the car without spoiler until I receive the retainers and am surprised to say that I have zero noises in the back of the car.