Loud rattling and vibrating only while in reverse.

Hello! Long time member, first time poster.

2007 Mazda 5 GT, automatic transmission, approx 32,000 km.

We're on a bit of a mini-vacation and drove about 800km to our destination. That was yesterday and everything seemed to be fine, the trouble started happening today when we drove to a tourist spot and had to drive through a gravel road. The gravel was pretty soft and we seemed to bottom out a bit. I didn't notice the trouble until we got to the place we're staying and backed into the drive way. Once I put it into reverse I hear a loud rattle and a bit of vibration. I couldn't pin-point exactly where it came from it seems like it's coming from underneath the car. Park, neutral, and the 4 gears all act normally.

We're out of town so I couldn't drive it to our dealership to have a look. I'm probably going to have to settle with Canadian Tire or Walmart. Any ideas as to what it could be? Can I wait to have it checked out once we get back home?

Thanks everybody!

Assuming there is no engine or transmission problem. One way to cause the rattling and vibration is to transmit the engine vibration to the car's body. Defective engine mount or debris (stones, caked mud) that has gotten into and around engine mount makint it solid.

This happened to my daughter's mazda3 when it was cold winter and she went for a carwash before the oil change. Dealer said water had accumulated and got frozen around the engine mounts.

Thanks for the reply!

Since I'm away from home with no tools I took it to Canadian Tire to have it looked at. After an hour they couldn't figure it out. They then tried taking out the transmission mount and it stopped. Once they put the mount back in the noise was still gone. Hopefully it stays that way!

Thanks again!