vibration / buzzing / rattle from the rear deck of an 03 sedan

[jas340]

There is a vibration coming from the rear deck on the the used 03 Protege LS sedan that I purchased last Sunday. What amazes me is that it is the exact same rattle that my wifes 96 protege exhibited. For both cars it is the only rattle the car has. It drove me crazy back in 96 and it is driving me crazy now. I believe it may actually be the rear speakers themselves but am not sure. It seems to be related to the resonant frequency of the tires/pavement. Taking it in for a warrenty repair will surely be a total waste of time. Just wondering if anyone else with a sedan has this same vibration/ buzzing from the rear deck and if they have had it fixed

[therizzzo]

It might be coming from the shoulder seat belt assembly. I noticed a rattle coming from the middle one when I changed my rear deck speakers. Remove your rear deck and tap the assembly, see if thats it.

[jas340]

Thanks for the reply. I think I need to remove the rear deck and hunt it down. I just don't want to do it. I'm afraid I will break something. One thing I noticed about the Protege is that it is very fragile. Nothing is any thicker or stronger than it absolutely needs to be.

[mazdaholic]

my 01 has a rattle from the back. But when I checked it out, it was the liscence plate that rattled inside of the plastic frame.

[therizzzo]

Originally posted by jas340
Thanks for the reply. I think I need to remove the rear deck and hunt it down. I just don't want to do it. I'm afraid I will break something. One thing I noticed about the Protege is that it is very fragile. Nothing is any thicker or stronger than it absolutely needs to be.

It's actually quite easy to remove the rear deck. Here's how.

1. fold down both seats

2. remove the 5 clips holding the rear deck on. It helps to have longer fingernails to do this. no screws to undo

3. slowly pull the rear deck back and up at the same time.

4. Shazzam, the deck has been removed. To completely remove it, you have to unbolt the seat belt hard points and feed the ends thru the holes. But for

I was very nervous at first about removing any of the fascia parts in the car like the door panels, rear deck, side sills, etc. but it's really very easy after you've done it once.

This website has been invaluable for how-to's on Protege mods and tips.

[jas340]

After removing the rear deck as per the instructions given above(thanks) I was able to ascertain where the annoying buzzing was emanating from. There is an L shaped gold colored bracket that holds the reciever for the keyless entry bolted to the rear deck. It's by the speaker on the passenger side. Little taps on the rear deck caused this thing to resonate something fierce. I removed the bracket and wrapped it completely with some rubber tape that I have. Noise eliminated.
Putting the rear deck back on was a little harder than taking it apart but not too bad.(I kept accidentaly rubbing against the rear window getting sweat and oil on the window right where the rear brake light would go).(burnout)