Tailgate rattle/clunk

[matija1974]

Hi!

Although I've tried several times I never succeded to get rid from the boot rattle - I put the dampers out for about 8mm but it didn't help. My mechanic told me that he will try to adjust the tailgate lock, I hope this will help.

Is it possible that the real reason is not in the tailgate but maybe in the shock absorbers or is the noise coming from the rear suspension? Could anyone here recognize the difference between the rattle from the suspension in comparison to the rattle from the boot area?

However, if I drive (reaaally slowly) with the tailgate fully opened it seems to me that the rattle disappears. If so, it must be the damn tailgate.

I also checked some german sites and many rocco drivers in Germany experienced this boot rattle issue - in case someone here speaks german:
http://www.motor-talk.de/forum/poltern- ... tml?page=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some guy wrote that "his" boot rattle dissappeared if he put someone sitting behind the passenger seat ; the funny thing is that it happened the same to me once: my brother was driving and I was sitting behind the passenger seat, but at the same time I also put some felt rubber material between the plastic interior of the tailgate and the metal part so I'm not sure what the real reason was. It happened only once and since then I've never succeded to "fix" the rattle again.

Any piece of advice?

[thebeast1234]

I have my Roc in for its first service today, when I booked it in they said it will also be checked for a Recall, something about the boot catch, maybe they have eventually found an issue and a resolution.
I'll let you know.....

[Spiney]

Here's how I did mine....

1. Loosen allen bolt and pull stops almost all the way out
2. Very gently close boot, don't slam you are trying to get the boot to push the stops back in to roughly the right place.
3. Open boot and pull stops out by 2-3 clicks, then tighten allen bolts.
4. Go for a drive to test and readjust if necessary.

Mine are well extended which does make the boot harder to close but mercifully silent on the road...

[thebeast1234]

Well the Roc is back from service, the recall was to replace the tailgate hinges, apparently they are prone to rusting, so nothing to do with the rattling, looks like I'll have to try the adjusting of the dampers.

[matija1974]

Well the Roc is back from service, the recall was to replace the tailgate hinges, apparently they are prone to rusting, so nothing to do with the rattling, looks like I'll have to try the adjusting of the dampers.

thanks anyway

[matija1974]

Here's how I did mine....

1. Loosen allen bolt and pull stops almost all the way out
2. Very gently close boot, don't slam you are trying to get the boot to push the stops back in to roughly the right place.
3. Open boot and pull stops out by 2-3 clicks, then tighten allen bolts.
4. Go for a drive to test and readjust if necessary.

Mine are well extended which does make the boot harder to close but mercifully silent on the road...

I'll try although I've almost lost all hopes...

[Geoff Hibbert]

I did this and it cured my rattle completely.
A brilliant suggestion, many thanks guys. :-)

[vee]

Im gonna try this as well - took mine to the dealer and it still rattles at slow speed - sounds like I have a few pigeons in the boot
Hopefully this sorts it out - will let you guys know

[maddogdave]

I have the same problem and was going to empty the boot as thought it was something inside. After reading this forum have realised it is the alignment of the 'bump' stops. Drivers side of tailgate can be pushed slightly when closed and gives a slight knocking sound. Passenger side appears fine, so guess it's a small adjustment on the drivers side. Job for the weekend I think. Would rather spend an hour having a go than taking it to a dealer who probably wouldn't know what or how to fix the problem and end up without the car for a day. Maybe we should have a section on the forum for top 10 faults and cures? Looks like this forum is building up a good knowledge database among owners.

[RW1]

Fortunately I have no rattles at the moment after putting velcro felt side pads into the hinge sockets of the parcel shelf and adding anti-squeak tape discs to the hatch bump stops on the bodywork by the tail lights.

Took some "jig measurements" the other day on mine seeing as this seems a frequent problem as a future reference. It may help some to know the factory standard (new car). Finding reference points for the measures wasn't good but here are the best I found.

1. On the centre top of the rear boot wall push the little flap fully down into the cavity and hold. Measure the gap from the base of the "U" to the locks metal holding pin. It should be about 5mm. I've assumed here that the plastic trim is consistant on the Sciroccos, not much else to reference for the plates position (which can move around in its location before tightening).

Also pick two identical point on the rear car bodywork, left and right sides, and check the metal holding pin is in a central position.

If not this, then there are two screw head bolt holding the holding pin plate in place. (You will need an impact driver to undo these from experience and they need to re-tightened strongly to withstand the hatch slams etc.).

2. Open the boot hatch and close it so that it just rests on its stops. The best reference point I could find with a tape measure was the base of the shiney black plastic trim. The bottom is fairly straight, so align your tape measure with the bottom edge (red line) and measure the gap across to the main bodywork. This should be about 13mm.

3. Now shut the hatch. Take the same measurement distance as in 2. The should be about 5mm.

If the measurement differ,

then some adjustment of the stops to acheive 13mm open is via the hatch's stops.

To acheive 5mm closed it will be necessary to adjust the position of the holding pin plate. The dimension measured in 1. will tell you if this is way out and also act as a datum starting point to get your adjustment right.

C.

[matija1974]

Also pick two identical point on the rear car bodywork, left and right sides, and check the metal holding pin is in a central position.

If not this, then there are two screw head bolt holding the holding pin plate in place. (You will need an impact driver to undo these from experience and they need to re-tightened strongly to withstand the hatch slams etc.).

I've checked the position of the metal holding pin and I found out that it's not in a central position (3cm from the left and 3,5 cm from the right side). I also have noticed that the little plastic flap isn't tightened enough - it can be moved left and right for cca 0.5cm. Thanks, RW1, for your useful tips.

Well, I'm sure now that my rattle doesn't come from the boot stops (in my case their adjustment improves the situation only a bit) and that it is probably caused by unproperly adjusted lock. I'll take the car to the dealer and leave it there until they fix the rattle (2th. km still to the first service interval).

RW1, Again I apologize on my "wooden" english.

[RW1]

matija1974 and your english is a better than "wooden" mate.

" I also have noticed that the little plastic flap isn't tightened enough - it can be moved left and right for cca 0.5cm." That is normal, nothing wrong there with your Scirocco.

Try putting some felt pads (eg. Velcro fur pads) in the parcel shelf sockets near the top of the rear seats so the shelf hinges sit on them.

Also, may be worth checking the little plastic balls located on the underside of the parcel shelf which hang on the two shelf lifting strings are not a cause.

C.

[matija1974]

matija1974 and your english is a better than "wooden" mate.

" I also have noticed that the little plastic flap isn't tightened enough - it can be moved left and right for cca 0.5cm." That is normal, nothing wrong there with your Scirocco.

Try putting some felt pads (eg. Velcro fur pads) in the parcel shelf sockets near the top of the rear seats so the shelf hinges sit on them.

Also, may be worth checking the little plastic balls located on the underside of the parcel shelf which hang on the two shelf lifting strings are not a cause.

C.

Hi,

I've already done the "anti-rattle test" without a parcel shelf on and it wasn't the cause .

It sounds like my rattle is coming out from a "lower boot area" (somewhere from the bottom tailgate level/line). During driving through rough roads It rattles on the left and the right side and also in the middle of the boot, depending on with which side of the back (with which wheel) I hit a slope or a pothole. And slower I drive more audible it is.

If I press on a tailgate from the outside strongly and quickly, directly on the VW sign, I can hear a mild clunk that is similar to the rattle during driving. Therefore I was hoping to solve this problem with an adjustement or even replacement of the tailgate locking system (maybe a possible wrong position of the metal holding pin is the reason?!).

[ayc1985]

I bought my car in september and it has the same problem. I've been too lazy to sort it out but have booked it in tomorrow to get it checked. Thanks for your information guys, I know what to tell them pretty much. Will report back with my findings!

[matija1974]

I bought my car in september and it has the same problem. I've been too lazy to sort it out but have booked it in tomorrow to get it checked. Thanks for your information guys, I know what to tell them pretty much. Will report back with my findings!

Hi!
How's your rattle doing?

[richio]

i did mine and it worked....need to play around a little more to get the gap right,,,,but when its warmer i think

[Shewie]

I've had a knock from the back end on my mkV Gti for the last two years

It's been into the dealers at least half a dozen times for it but they never managed to resolve it.

[matija1974]

i did mine and it worked....need to play around a little more to get the gap right,,,,but when its warmer i think

Did you follow the instructions that RW1 wrote and it stopped rattling in the rear end or I understood you wrong?
Which gap did you mean?

[ayc1985]

I bought my car in september and it has the same problem. I've been too lazy to sort it out but have booked it in tomorrow to get it checked. Thanks for your information guys, I know what to tell them pretty much. Will report back with my findings!

Hi!
How's your rattle doing?

Hi Matija,

Unfortunately due to the snow and bad weather we have had over the past weeks I have had to re-book the car in for the 28th January. I will report back when I can!

Stupid snow!

[RW1]

Well my bump stops got frost bite with it being -12'C to -15'C middle of last week. Opened the boot today and both rubber stops went flying.
:roll: :roll: :roll: ...... :shock: ......

Somehow the plastic inside has been broken by the ice. The spring inside each stop was strong enough to tear the last bit of holding plastic. Thought the rubber boots did look to be at a funny angle, then "ping" they were gone, 3 feet back of the Scirocco! They did freeze up in the compressed position for 4 days.

Going to have fun in the dealers tomorrow. Not like me to be -->
I just couldn't get wound up this afternoon.

Just as well I did those measurements.............

C.