strattao

Whenever I am drive over even the slightest bump, I can hear my trunk rattle. It is plain to see that it doesn't fit smoothly, and when I am stopped, I can push down on it and it will move back and forth. I took it to the dealership, and they said that they adjusted something, but I can't tell. Is there anything that I can do? Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Mike

DFWmax

maybe youre hearing the tension bars tapping each other.... if you look up under the parcel shelf, you will see two bars running across from one side to the other. in the middle should be a black plastic "stablizer" that clips the two bars and is connected to the bottom of the parcel shelf. i think it is supposed to keep the bars from tapping each other....

mines broken, right off the dealership floor. the post that connects it to the shelf is too weak to hold against the twisting/moving of the bars... not a biggie, but when i hit bumps, i can sometimes hear the metal rods banging against each other...

dfwmax

Enduro

I had the exact same problem as DFWmax with the tension bars hitting each other...but only at like ~80mph. This took me the longest time to figure out and right now I just put some newspaper between where the two bars touch and that solves the problem...probably gonna wrap some electrical tape around each bar in that area later on for better look. DFWmax I also noticed the black plastic piece that clips on the two bars but is it supposed to be connected to the bottom of the parcel shelf cause mine isn't and it doesn't look broken at all? Anyway I was glad to get rid of that annoying clatter in the trunk after months of investigating.

DFWmax

enduro:

if you look at the black connector piece, and underneath the parcel shelf where the connector is, i think you will see a little "keyhole" slot. and on my black plastic, there is stubby thing that would fit the keyhole slot.

i dont think its a major issue, but yeah, i hear the rattles too.. gonna try the electrical tape thing you suggested.....

Enduro

ok just got back from vacuuming the car and saw that keyhole slot you were talking about. I decided to crawl inside the trunk to put the plastic connector back in but found out it was broken. The part that got broken looks very flimsy especially to support the force that the tension bars gonna pull away from the key hole. I'd definitely not get a new part since it'll break away sooner or later.

strattao

I also just put electrical tape, and newspaper so the bars wouldn't hit together, but on closer inspection of my trunk, it appears like it doesn't sit tight. It closes and locks fine, but it sits up about 1/2 inch from the body of the car. Is there any way to adjust the trunk so that it lays nice and snug and doesn't rattle?

Enduro

hmm...after closing the trunk lid and it's locked can you move it up and down by any amount or are there any play in the lid if you use your hand to push it up and down? If not then it's probably not your trunk lid because the bottom edge of my trunk lid has a 1/2" clearance with the bumper also.
Another possible cause is your rear license plate...mine rattles but with a different tone and I solved that by cutting out a card board same size as the plate and put that in between the mounting surfaces. You'd need to screw in the bottom two holes of the plate to secure the cardboard cause I don't think it's there from factory. Also I wrapped some clear packaging tape all around the cardboard to protect it from rain.
Also any loose items in the trunk like the scissor jack or your spare tires? Make sure those are tighten down.
Last try moving the tail of the exhaust around vigorously to see if some of those components are loose. Good luck!

strattao

When the trunk lid is closed and locked, there is still some play (about 1/2 Inch) where I can push on it and it will move up and down. You know, it won't sit snugly. I don't know if there is some latch that I can adjust or something.
Everything else is down tight, liscence plate, spare tire, jack, everything.
When I push down on the trunk lid all the way, it fits nice and snug. I am just wondering if there is anything that can be adjusted in the trunk so that it will sit down flush.

Thanks

MarkP

if you haven't found the noise source yet is the grey sheetmetal panel found after removing the rear seat back. The screws that hold this panel on the 4th gen Maxima are known to loosen allowing the panel to flex, sounding like a rattle in the trunk. Tightening the screws fixed mine.
-Mark

Enduro

I just checked and there are 4 black rubber stubs attached on the inside surfice of the trunk lid. These rubber pieces make contact to the metal surface of the car body when closed and are responsible for the snug closure. These pieces do come off easy enough with a twist but are non adjustible, unlike the ones for the front hood. Check to see if you have all 4 pieces and they're atleast 1/2" in height. Also check that the point where they'll come in contact with when closed are not concave. You can use a glue/filler type of compound that stays rubber like flexible and add it to these rubber stubs or the metal surface on the car body where they contact so the lid have something to sit on so it wouldn't bounce around. Let me knwo if this solves your problem.

strattao

Yeah, I have all of the rubber pieces. I inspected the trunk today, and I can't find out what is wrong with it. Everything seems to be in place. It has got me totally baffled. It seems to me that the latch needs some adjustment or something. Like it is not holding the door down properly.
I don't know.

buss95max

i had the same problem with my trunk...well sorta..
i was experiencing squeaks..not so much rattles..
what i did was spray some wd40 like a crazy ****.
and so far 3 weeks and counting with no problems..
and NO F^%%@ing noise...

Daniel B. Martin

Get a trusted assistant to drive. Equip yourself with a flashlight, climb into the trunk, and close the lid. Have your assitant drive over bumps. You will be closer to the sound and probably pinpoint the source.

Enduro

When you mentioned that there were about 1/2" of play on the trunk when pushed on it, did the top edge of the trunk lined up with side of the car when you pushed down on it? What I'm trying to find out is if the problem is your latch or the rubber stops. If you push down on the trunk holding it there and the top of the trunk is lower than side of the car then it's your bump stops. You can do a test by putting some chalk on bottom of the bump stops and close the trunk til it locks, open it and see if there are any chalk on the points where the bump stops supposed to touch. If you pull up on the trunk lid while it's latched/locked and it's above the side of the car then it's gotta be your latch. I just checked my latch and there doesn't seem to be any adjustment to it...try and compare it to another maxima's latch to see if there's any differences between the two.

ZuMBLe

iTrader: (1)

CHECK THE LATCH! Open the trunk. Now look down at the latching/locking mechanism. It should be mounted with 2 10mm bolts. Check if they are loose. If they are, or even if they aren't. Loosen them some more and push the latch down. Then tighten like crazy. Give that a try. Worked great for me.

ZuM

Demo

So thats what that rattle is....its been slowing driving me carazy over the past three months.
You guys have just made my week....that was the one out of two problems my Max has and definately the most annoying (definately not the most severe tho)
thank-u thank-u thank-u thank-u thank-u thank-u thank-u thank-u

strattao

Enduro... Yes, when i push down on my trunk, the top edge of the trunk lines up with side of the car perfectly. It seems to me that there is a latch issue...

ZuMBLe
However, there just wasn't enough play in the latch to make a big enough adjustment. Maybe 1/16 of an inch if that. There were just holes that the bolts screwed into, not really something that I could adjust.

Maybe I am missing something here?

ZuMBLe

iTrader: (1)

Thats strange. For my latch on my 97. The screws are in slots. So you can adjust the latch up and down the slots. Double check and make sure. I just loosened the screws and pushed the latch all the way down.

ZuM

strattao

Definitely not slots. I am just baffled.

strattao

I talked to the dealer, and apparently they have 2 models of their trunk latch. 1 for 1995-1996 and one for 1996-1999. I am guessing that I got one of the wrong ones in my car. I'm going to take a look at both of them if I can and try the other one.

I'll let you know if this works or not.

Mike

Daniel B. Martin

Maybe there has been some confusion arising from terminology. Let's distinguish between the latch and the striker. The latch is part of the trunk lid; the striker is part of the vehicle body. According to the '99 Maxima factory service manual there are two types of striker, and both are adjustable... side-to-side, and up-and-down. Loosen the two bolts, reposition the striker, tighten the two bolts.

strattao

You are correct. The striker however, has even less play than the latch on my 96 Maxima. I hope that getting this other latch will fix my problem.