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I recently experienced a rattling noise issue with my 2007 Mazda 3i. Whenever I drove, particularly on rugged roads, I would hear a rattling noise from the rear. At first, I thought it was something to do with the spare tire being loose. It is enclosed under the floor board in the trunk and would totally make a clunking sound if it were loose. So, I checked that and it was as tight and secure as Fort Knox. Next, I checked the jack that is secured in a small compartment on the driver side of the trunk. That, too, was very secure.
I was completely baffled as to what could be making this obnoxious rattling sound from the trunk area. Can anyone take a gander as to what it was?
I turned to the internet for some advice. I came across some dedicated Mazda 3 forums and some other owners were experiencing some similar rattling issues. Some of the things that were suggested were to check the rear suspension. So I went under my car and checked some things out on the rear suspension. Everything seemed to be good. Nothing was leaking around the shocks/struts. Everything was secure. Then I came across the sway bar. The driver side link where it is attached to the control arm was perfectly secure and immobile. On the other hand, the passenger side link was loose. I could wiggle it with my hand with little effort. And what do you know, it make a clunking sound when I did this. I verified with my brother, who is a mechanic's apprentice, and we agreed that I should have that checked out with a local mechanic (I live out of state).
I took it in to my local mechanic and explained to him what I was experiencing and what I thought might be the issue. So they took it out for a drive to listen for the sound and checked it out for me. Sure enough, it was the loose sway bar link that was causing all that ruckus. They were able to tighten it up for me and voila, the sound was gone!
I hope this will be helpful to those who may also be experiencing a similar rattling issue from the rear of their car. Even if you don't drive a Mazda 3i, this should apply to all platforms. Best of luck!
Here is a picture of the sway bar link that was loose.
I've been wondering where that noise in my '07 Mazda 3 was coming from! I'm going to look into the sway bar issue. Thank you so much!!
It's a fun little car, btw. I love mine. I've got the hatchback.
Glad to help, Eastern Roamer. Little noises like that irritate the heck out of me, so I did a lot of research on the issue and it seems like it's a relatively common issue. Fortunately, if it is the sway bar, it's not an expensive fix. You can do it yourself if you have the tools. I do not, so I took it in to my local shop and they charged me about $60 for the diagnostics and repair. Best of luck!
Glad you found it but you could have saved yourself $60 by just tightening it yourself since you knew it was loose. Invest in some tools, money well spent.
Glad you found it but you could have saved yourself $60 by just tightening it yourself since you knew it was loose. Invest in some tools, money well spent.
I have some basic tools, but the nut was rusted on to the bolt to a point that I did not have the ability to tighten it myself while lying down on the garage floor with a foot and a half of clearance. Trust me, I tried. Besides, I wanted to make sure that WAS the source of the noise and that it wasn't something more serious.
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