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Are today’s budget level hatchback cars still prone to developing body noises over a period of several years? I know those early hatchbacks of the 80s quickly developed those annoying noises more than sedans. I’m currently driving a rental 2017 hatchback with about 44,000 miles and we’re hearing a metallic rattle from the back seat area when hitting hard bumps in the road. I’m thinking it could be the metal parts of the folding rear seat bottoms (pull tab, lift seat bottom, and stand it vertically on the rear floor). Because it’s a rental I don’t have any of my personal items inside to be making noise.
Ha. I know what you're talking about. My first car was an 1989 Mazda 323DX hatchback. 4-speed manual, no tachometer, no power steering, no power brakes, no passenger side mirror, no stereo, no AC...your basic econobox with all the squeaks and creaks from the dash to the trunk.
But I also have a moderately modified 2001 VW Golf TDI GLS that does not have any of those noises after 300K miles, a 2007 Lexus Rx400h that makes a little noise where the headliner and C-pillar flexes over uneven bumps (when the left and right impacts aren't even), a 2013 Fiat 500e with no interior noise but a ridiculously short wheelbase, and a 2013 Tesla Model S with is incredibly quiet. I'd classify them all as hatchbacks since the only thing separating the trunk space from the cabin is a removable parcel shelf.
You have bad sway bar bushings.
Noise in the back is inherent to hatchbacks. You do not have physical partition between trunk and you and, tire wells are basically inside the shared space. Like it or not, tire noise WILL translate into that space quite well.
You have bad sway bar bushings.
Noise in the back is inherent to hatchbacks. You do not have physical partition between trunk and you and, tire wells are basically inside the shared space. Like it or not, tire noise WILL translate into that space quite well.
If this is the case then I’m not going to worry about it. It’s a loaner/rental 2017 Hyundai Elantra GT from the dealership while my car is being repaired. I’ll just add it to the short list of problems I’ve discovered while driving. The passenger side 12 volt socket is dead and the AM radio isn’t picking up any stations. I’m guessing a fuse for the socket and maybe the antenna isn’t connected to the AM. There are two local AM stations I sometimes listen to and they don’t come in at all even when setting the dial directly on their frequency.
...Noise in the back is inherent to hatchbacks. You do not have physical partition between trunk and you and, tire wells are basically inside the shared space. Like it or not, tire noise WILL translate into that space quite well.
This. I like hatchbacks for their convenience, but they're all a little noisy. I owned a couple Saab 9000 Turbos and loved both of them (1986 and 1988). Both were hatchbacks. They weren't cheap, retailing for $33-34K new, which would probably be somewhere in the $60-70K range today. Saab eventually quit making the hatchbacks (other than for the 900), going to the standard sedan with a trunk. A Saab dealer told me it was because for the price, buyers weren't happy with the road noise inherent with a hatchback. I never really noticed it much, and I could haul stuff like it was a fancy pickup.
My current Prius, also a hatchback, is noisy as heck.
I am more annoyed with the noise some side mirrors make.
Noise echoes more in a hatch because of the extra space, but the biggest difference is when you have stuff in the trunk vs the hatch, the sound of stuff rattling or rolling around is way louder in a hatch. But generally, I don't find them particularly noisy.
I love station wagons and owned few. Never had SUV. How is the noise in SUV? There is no partition either...
You have bad sway bar bushings.
Noise in the back is inherent to hatchbacks. You do not have physical partition between trunk and you and, tire wells are basically inside the shared space. Like it or not, tire noise WILL translate into that space quite well.
In my experience worn sway bar bushings usually make a clunk or thud sound. Essentially the sway bar gets torqued up and shifts when the play in the bushings hits that threshold. I guess every car is different, but I wonder if the bushings holding the exhaust system might be the culprit or maybe it's the flex pipe near the catalytic converter.
I have a Golf Alltrack and it creeks on speedbumps because the roof has a huge hole for the glass roof
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