Third row rattle

[Macnerd]

Hi guys,

I have a 3 week old 2016 Explorer XLT 202A with about 1,500 miles on it. I spent most of the first couple weeks with the third row folded half over (Meaning the setbacks were flat but I was using the storage cubby to prevent some stuff from sliding around the back)

Once I took the stuff out of the back and folded the third row completely flat I noticed that it rattled quite a bit when going over bumps or slightly rough pavement, it was bad enough that I thought something was wrong in the back end of the car but noticed it went away when I put the seats back up.

Has anyone else noticed this? Other than this extremely small annoyance, loving the Ex so far

 

[NEO_EXSport]

Ironically, I just got my 2016 back from the dealer with the same issue. Anytime the left rear seat was in the stowed position, it would rattle pretty annoyingly.

Sadly though, the dealer told me there was nothing they could do to fix the issue. Their recommendation was to not fold the seat or keep something on top of the forward portion of the seat to keep it from rattling. Neither of these "solutions" are very acceptable in my opinion.

I did find a temporary solution though. What i found was that the left hand "seat cover" that is immediately behind the 2nd row seat has a ECM module attached to the underside of it that exaggerates any sharp bumps, and if there is any extra slop in the mechanism the seat cover will rattle.

To fix this, you can unhook the seat cover from it's support, by reaching under the seat cover and pushing the support backwards to unhook it from the cover. To remove the rattle, I wrapped the two rods the seat cover hooks onto with a wrap or two of electrical tape. This removed the excessive slop in the connection and should not put undo stress on the folding motor.

If I was going to using the folding feature a lot, this may not be the best solution do to the extra resistance, but since I will have the seats stowed 95% of the time, this will make a decent solution. As i do not think i'm going to get any traction with the dealer to "fix" this issue.

While this rattle is not the end of the world, I find it disappointing in a 40k+ vehicle with less the 2k mile on it. This is only one a over a half dozen poor quality / fit and finish issues I've found with this vehicle...

Hope this helps.

 

[Professorfingers]

I picked mine up in October, have a little under 4K miles, and so far no rattles. I did find my spare tire bolt/nut a little loose when I first got it and tightened it up.
Have you checked this?

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

16 Limited - Mine has been up (in use) once and other than looking/checking the spare and stashing stuff... I have since laid them down flat with the cargo floor protector and i am not hearing any rattles that I know of.

 

[Macnerd]

Ironically, I just got my 2016 back from the dealer with the same issue. Anytime the left rear seat was in the stowed position, it would rattle pretty annoyingly.

Sadly though, the dealer told me there was nothing they could do to fix the issue. Their recommendation was to not fold the seat or keep something on top of the forward portion of the seat to keep it from rattling. Neither of these "solutions" are very acceptable in my opinion.

I did find a temporary solution though. What i found was that the left hand "seat cover" that is immediately behind the 2nd row seat has a ECM module attached to the underside of it that exaggerates any sharp bumps, and if there is any extra slop in the mechanism the seat cover will rattle.

To fix this, you can unhook the seat cover from it's support, by reaching under the seat cover and pushing the support backwards to unhook it from the cover. To remove the rattle, I wrapped the two rods the seat cover hooks onto with a wrap or two of electrical tape. This removed the excessive slop in the connection and should not put undo stress on the folding motor.

If I was going to using the folding feature a lot, this may not be the best solution do to the extra resistance, but since I will have the seats stowed 95% of the time, this will make a decent solution. As i do not think i'm going to get any traction with the dealer to "fix" this issue.

While this rattle is not the end of the world, I find it disappointing in a 40k+ vehicle with less the 2k mile on it. This is only one a over a half dozen poor quality / fit and finish issues I've found with this vehicle...

Hope this helps.

I will give this a try. And I agree, very disappointing. My car has a few rattles and the transmission really does not like it when I try to pass quickly on the highway. It's a huge amount better than my 2012 Fusion SE with 70k on it that I traded in, but still disappointing for a 45k MSRP vehicle.

 

[Macnerd]

16 Limited - Mine has been up (in use) once and other than looking/checking the spare and stashing stuff... I have since laid them down flat with the cargo floor protector and i am not hearing any rattles that I know of.

I wonder if the power mechanism has anything to do with this versus the manual folding mechanism in my XLT?

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I had the manual in my 13 XLT and didn't have any rattles that I can recall.

 

[nordy-que]

I've got a rattle when the 3rd row is stowed as well. The panel that makes the floor on the passenger side has some play in it, when I tap it I hear the same noise. I haven't had a chance to get it back to the dealer. If anyone else has traced their rattle to the same location I would be interested to hear if you were able to fix it.
I have the power fold 3rd row, if that makes a difference.

 

[peterk9]

I've got a rattle when the 3rd row is stowed as well. The panel that makes the floor on the passenger side has some play in it, when I tap it I hear the same noise. I haven't had a chance to get it back to the dealer. If anyone else has traced their rattle to the same location I would be interested to hear if you were able to fix it.
I have the power fold 3rd row, if that makes a difference.

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
It be very helpful if you added the 'trim' level (Base, XLT, etc) of your Explorer to your profile so it shows in the margin when you post. That could help determine the replies you get to some issues since they have different features. It just shows 2016 right now. Thanks.

Peter

 

[nordy-que]

Done. Thanks Peter!