Every time you go over a bump, do you hear something in the front end?

[krewat]

Well, I did. For all the time I had my 2013, it made this "thud" or plastic "rattle" type of noise. I knew what it might have been, but never did anything about it. Now that I have my 2016, I finally did something about it.

The plastic "push pins?" they use to attach the bottom of the bumper cover to some other plastic thing just above it do not fully hold these two pieces together. They rub, and rattle together. The idea is, the front bumper cover is only marginally attached to the other structure above it - not sure what to call that. The push pins do not do anything to apply pressure to these two plastic pieces, so there is always some rub, and a small amount of space between them. Hit a bump, and they "rattle" (I call it a tupperware party).

So the plastic push pins, when they have a spacer under them, actually do apply pressure now, and no more rattle/thud/bump sounds from the front plastic area.

There are 6 of these push pins under there, I did this to them all, and the drive to work this morning was noise-free.

Putting a marine stainless steel "finishing washer" under the push pin worked out perfect. The extra spacer worked to keep the two "fingers" further apart applying more tension, and the sharp edge of the finishing washer serves to dig into the plastic, keeping it from rubbing.

I also attached the rear bumper more firmly using stainless steel screws and nylock nuts 2 years ago when I first got the 2016 (and I also that it to the 2013 after a year). Made the rear end not so "plasticy" sounding too.

I know this solution won't last forever, but I couldn't get my hand around the back to put actual screws/nuts, so this'll have to do for now. I had these pictures oriented correctly, but the thumbnails are all over the place. Not sure what's going to happen to them on viewing. We'll see

 

[SilverSH0]

If you wanted to change to screws then you can go to Lowes/Menards/Home Depot and buy sheet metal clips (I think the technical name is U-style spring nut). They are a clip that goes over a thin sheet (in this case it would be plastic) and the back side of that clip is threaded. They clip into place and then you only need a screw and don't have to get around back and hold a nut. If those ever wear out I recommend getting some clips.

 

[krewat]

Thanks SilverSHO - that's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm almost 99% sure I'm going to buy this 2016 at the end of the lease. The only things wrong with it at this point are a few very small dings on the hood from falling branches. My 2013 at this point had a dent on the roof (another BIG falling branch), a huge crease in the passenger side door (about 6 inches long, "huge" to me), and a few other parking-lot-related things.

And 2 years and a few months into it, on a 15K/year lease, I have 19K miles...

 

[Matt M PA]

If you wanted to change to screws then you can go to Lowes/Menards/Home Depot and buy sheet metal clips (I think the technical name is U-style spring nut). They are a clip that goes over a thin sheet (in this case it would be plastic) and the back side of that clip is threaded. They clip into place and then you only need a screw and don't have to get around back and hold a nut. If those ever wear out I recommend getting some clips.

Yes, U Nuts or Tinnerman Nuts. They actually make a tool for those...looks like a pair of pliers. Depending on how many you need, an auto body supply shop that sells Auveco or W&E can get them by the box...much cheaper than buying them one at a time from Lowes.