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Ongoing Front End Rattle

34K views 104 replies 36 participants last post by  3focuslater 
#1 ·
Mine was in the dealers for a week where they replaced the right front strut and bearing. They also checked everything with some audio equip. Bottom line..the annoying low speed rattle is still present.

Any suggestions out there? Getting very frustrated since there are no apparent answers. The dealer really doesn't know what to do?
 
#44 ·
If you follow the other thread a that is about 200 pages or more, you will see that it is pretty likely that the sound comes from the "bump stop"...

Some people have found grease inside the rubber bump stop insulates it enough to stop the sound. Grease did not quite kill my sound, but I seem to have had some luck with using a fabric liner (fuzzy velcro) inside the bump stop.
I actually believe it is the hard plastic ring inside the bump stop hitting the shock absorber shaft. I am going to make a felt washer to insulate it all the way around. My sound was 90% zapped by put a strip of velcro just on one side. All the way around should kill the sound.

I had been working on this for a year off and on. Ford did nothing.
 
#49 ·
Hmm. Mine is more of a door knock noise, but I'm still certain it's clutch-related.
 
#53 ·
Actually I had the mounts checked about a year ago, all good.
I'm pretty satisfied with the velcro inside the bumpstop and through the hard plastic ring inside the bumpstop. Now it only does the sound on the sharpest bumps, and very rarely. About five times this week. Compared to insane rattling and clunking down the street that is a big improvement.
I really think that if I put a felt washer all the way around the inside of the hard plastic ring, all will be fixed. I suspect that the grease fix will be temporary just becuase grease shifts and thins out etc.
I will have the dealer check the mounts again this week when I get the 40k service.
 
#54 ·
Can you post a picture of the part you're referring to? I have 2500 miles on my '13 and it just started Rattling up front a few days ago. It starts when pulling out of my subdivision onto a grated type road that is rougher but the front suspension rattles until I pick up speed or get to a smoother road. The sound is a definitely metal rattling. I'm going to mention it to the dealer but I know it's going to be hard to reproduce without similar conditions.
 
#58 ·
This sounds like the old Tsb that changed the springs and strut bearings. It does not work. It's for a totally different problem. That Tsb is for noises you get when when turning. The test they perform after the job is to find smooth pavement and do figure 8 turns. Totally unrelated to the slow speed clunk/rattle that ford does not address. This has been going on for a year and a half with no resolution.
 
#60 ·
I've had some temporary success from the dealership with lubrication of the sway bar bushing. The sway bar may not be moving freely as it should (I wonder what interconnected parts will suffer early demise as a result), and in some cases what is actually the creaking from the movement of the sway bar itself only SOUNDS like a rattle or clunk as the bushing moves back and forth over the same sticky spot over and over.

In any case, it appears that the motor mounts are problematic, as mine as developed a squeaky rattle that only occurs when the vehicle is in Drive and I let of the break or hit some bumps while lightly applying brake pressure.

I'm not regretting buying this car, but it certainly is a bit of a let down with all of the trips I have to take to the service center for problematic noises from the front end. I thought I was buying something better than this but now I feel duped.
 
#61 ·
In any case, it appears that the motor mounts are problematic, as mine as developed a squeaky rattle that only occurs when the vehicle is in Drive and I let of the break or hit some bumps while lightly applying brake pressure.
I think I need a new motor mount as well. Why else would they have beefed them up in job 2 builds?
 
#67 ·
I seem to have some sort of "bounce" noise when going over bumpy terrain at low speeds, kinda sounds like I have cargo in the trunk thats jumping around. For example, going into the parking garage at work, there's a little lip in the front. I notice it when I go over that at maybe 10-15mph.

I also have a weird constant low volume "tapping" noise when driving over smooth pavement, sounds like its coming from my front passenger wheel. I notice this only a stretch of road on my way home, so I'm usually going 50mph ish.

Also, today I started hearing a "click" inside my glove box when turning on and off my high beams...
 
#68 ·
Also, today I started hearing a "click" inside my glove box when turning on and off my high beams...
I have that too. I'm not worried about it - I think clicking relays are normal. I asked google.
 
#71 ·
When I got home and went to back into my parking spot, I also noticed the same click when putting the car in and out of reverse...
 
#77 ·
The new tsb is just a revision of the old suspension clunk one with new parts and specifies only the strut bearings and the bolts or something, unless there is still an issue with the struts and springs, it no longer replaces all the parts allegedly, but just the side that is showing an issue.
 
#79 ·
Yep and after they jack it up in the air and start monkeying around in there with the parts swap. It will seem fixed for a few days. Week tops. Then the noise will come back on ya..
 
#83 ·
So I brought the Focus into the shop yesterday to check out the clicking when turning on/off high beams, fog lights, and putting the car in and out of reverse, and also the clunking sound coming from the rear. They couldn't find anything wrong regarding the clicking noise, and they didn't see anything wrong with the suspension from the lift (they couldn't test drive because it was snowing out). They did replace some wiring harness for the active grill shutter recall (which I thought only came on the SFE version but I guess not?)

They said I could drop it off one day and have them go test drive it for those sounds.
 
#84 ·
So I brought the Focus into the shop yesterday to check out the clicking when turning on/off high beams, fog lights, and putting the car in and out of reverse, and also the clunking sound coming from the rear. They couldn't find anything wrong regarding the clicking noise, and they didn't see anything wrong with the suspension from the lift (they couldn't test drive because it was snowing out). They did replace some wiring harness for the active grill shutter recall (which I thought only came on the SFE version but I guess not?)

They said I could drop it off one day and have them go test drive it for those sounds.
No, the active grille shutter system was originally only advertised as a part of the SFE package, but was installed semi randomly (depending on region and features) across all Job 1 2012 Foci, and then by late job 1, and officially listed on the order guide as standard for pretty much all job 2 builds (cars built on or after 3/5/12).
 
#92 ·
As of right now it is clunk free; however, this is usually the case after it's in the shop. I'm going to give it a few weeks before I determine if it's "fixed" or not.
hope it stays clunk free!
was this the first time they applied the TSB? if they just changed your springs and bearings per the TSB do you find the car now little softer as you drive over same roads/potholes?
 
#103 ·
Yes, the thread is moved into a subforum. The link is whatever is at the top of your browser, and you can also see the location if you look near the title (I'm on Tapatalk and can't see the browser for a better description).

It's still in the Mk3 area, just a sub-section. Members that have more experience with problems will most likely be in here. That includes those whom have nothing positive to say and those whom can give advice...
 
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