I have just bought my wife 1 year old Focus 1.6 Zetec and am generally very happy with the car all round.
The only niggling problem I have is a rattle coming from the rear end when driving at moderate speeds on country lanes.
I have tried to troubleshoot this by removing everything from the boot, including the spare and jack from the wheel-well, as well as the parcel shelf. But this intermittent rattle is still present and seems to be coming from the underside rear of the car.
I have checked to see if the exhaust is clear of any bodywork which it is, so does anyone have any ideas as to what this could be ?
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A rattle from the back can be caused by a badly adjusted rear seat catch - I believe this is a common fault on Mk6 Fiestas and may equally apply to Focuses.
Test drive with the rear seat back lowered as well as everything removed from the boot. Or just shake the seat back to see if there is any noticeable play in the catch.
Ian
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It may be the boot rattling, my new fiesta had a bit of a rattle, so i moved the boot catch in a tad (couple of mm), and no more rattle.
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Rattly tailgates are very common problem on the Focus.
The offical Ford fix (and I'm not joking) is to wrap some black insulation tape around the striker pin that the latch hooks onto. Apparently the amount of movement is so slight thats all it needs, its just the cheapo tinny tailgate makes the noise reverberate and sound much worse.
If that doesn't work, then there is a Ford bulletin with some other suggestions:
TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN No.016/2000
Car and Light/Medium Commercial 17.02.2000
Section: 41 (501-03)
Model: Focus 3-/5-door and wagon, built up to 09.99 (build code XJ) inclusive
Markets: All
Subject: Rattling, cracking or knocking noises from the tailgate when driving on uneven road surfaces
Summary
Should a customer express concern about rattling, cracking or knocking noises from the tailgate when driving on uneven road surfaces are a concern, the cause may be contact between the various components in the tailgate area or insufficient noise damping material, depending on vehicle variant, To resolve the concern, the tailgate adjustment must be checked and various measures carried out in order to reduce noise.
Production Action
Various measures have been carried out in production since 10.99 (build code XU) in order to reduce tailgate noise.
Service Instructions
See Summary.
All vehicles
1. Check the position of the foam pads on the rear number plate holder.
l Detach the rear number plate holder and correct the position of the foam pads as necessary.
l If no foam pads are present, apply new foam pads (see Parts Required) on the rear number plate holder.
l If there is no rear number plate holder, apply the foam pads (see Parts Required) directly to the number plate.
µ 2. Check the rubber cover on the tailgate striker.
l If the rubber cover is damaged, install a new tailgate striker (see Parts Required).
l Adjust the alignment of the tailgate using the striker plate and check the fit of the tailgate in relation to the bodywork.
3/5 doors only
µ 3. Check whether the tailgate hinge is touching the tailgate sealant bead:
l If the tailgate hinge is touching the sealant bead, spray the affected area with multi-purpose spray (see Parts Required).
l Perform a road test and check the concern.
l If the concern is no longer present, excess material must be carefully scraped away from the sealant bead in the affected area using a scraper, until the tailgate hinge no longer touches the sealant bead. Blend in the sealant bead. No further action is required.
l If the concern is still present, go to next step.
µ 4. Check the position of the production film at the tailgate contact point.
Note:
Clean the adhesive contact area.
Install new film if it is missing or has slipped (see Parts Required).
5. Check whether there is enough contact pressure between the bodywork and the adjustable rubber tailgate stop.
l Clamp a piece of paper between the bodywork and the rubber tailgate stop.
l If the piece of paper cannot be pulled out, there is enough contact pressure.
Note:
If the tailgate has already been adjusted at the striker plate in step 2, do not repeat it.
l If the paper can be pulled out, there is not enough contact pressure between the bodywork and the rubber tailgate stop. Adjust the alignment of the tailgate using the striker plate and the adjustable rubber stops. Check the fit of the tailgate in relation to the bodywork.
Wagon only
6. Detach the tailgate trim (two bolts, ten clips).
µ 7. Apply two additional felt pieces, cut from the large felt piece (see Parts Required), over the two projecting plastic edges at the inside top of the tailgate trim.
µ 8. Check the routing of the wiring harness in the tailgate. Wrap extra felt pieces, cut from the large felt piece (see Parts Required), around the wiring harness where it contacts the tailgate.
µ 9. Check the routing of the door latch release cable in the tailgate. Wrap extra felt pieces, cut from the large felt piece (see Parts Required), around the release cable where it contacts the tailgate.
10. Install the components in reverse order.
11. Check whether there is enough contact pressure between the tailgate and the D-pillar rubber striker wedge.
l Clamp a piece of paper between the tailgate and the D-pillar rubber striker wedge.
l If the piece of paper cannot be pulled out, there is enough contact pressure.
l If the paper can be pulled out, there is not enough contact pressure. Adjust the alignment of the tailgate using the striker plate. Check the fit of the tailgate in relation to the bodywork.
µ 12. If the concern is not resolved after carrying out the steps above, spray the D-pillar rubber trim strip with multi-purpose spray (see Parts Required) where it makes contact with the tailgate.
l Perform a road test and check the concern.
Note:
Clean the adhesive contact area.
l If the concern is no longer present, install a new D-pillar rubber trim strip (see Parts Required).
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Many thnks to Quinny100 for these details, it seemed that it was the tailgate latch pin that was in need of adjustment which I have now adjusted.
I noticed when the tailgate was closed it was being pulled slightly sideways, so I have now centralised it which seems to have fixed the rattle.
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