ozziegt

At around 90k my Macan has developed an annoying rattle. It starts at about 30 mph and doesn't go away as the speed goes up. Doesn't seem to be affected by the smoothness or bumpiness of the road. It seems like it's speed related, so I think it's something outside the vehicle that is vibrating in the wind. I've pretty much eliminated all sources of rattles in the vehicle. The kids in the back say it sounds like it's coming from under the drivers seat near the center console. I haven't been able to localize it myself while driving, except that it does seem like it's coming from the left side of the vehicle, possibly the front left.

I'm at my wits end on this, I've checked just about everything which looks like it could be loose in the engine bay and the underpanels all seem to be tight. At this point I'm thinking about taking off the underbody panels and seeing if there is something else which is loose underneath.

Any tips or tricks that mechanics use to isolate and identify these kinds of issues?

wwahl

On this site the biggest rattle producer appears to be when a connection between the two tail pipes breaks, but that is at the back of the car. Check anyway.

Petza914

Get a set of chassis ears from Amazon, place them around under the vehicle and start narrowing down the source location.

Coolwnc

Hey Pete, What chassis ears do you recommend from Amazon? Looks like many options.

Petza914

I have this set, but truth be told, I haven't used it yet. Need to put it on our belt acquired 944 S2 as it has a rattle around 4k rpm, but I think it's in the exhaust and I'm replacing that anyway.

Chassis Ear Automotive Engine...

Coolwnc

Thank you very much!

ozziegt

Huh, interesting, never heard of these before. I'll look into it. Thanks

Coolwnc

Back in the day, we used a stethoscope. I never got a MD degree....but I looked like one!

wwahl

Back in my day (dating myself seriously) we used a long screwdriver with the handle on the ear and the blade on the suspected area.

drcollie

It’s very difficult to isolate a rattle while driving. I always get a car buddy to crawl around while I drive to source it.

ozziegt

I have one of those stethescope / stick things, but it's really hard to use when the vehicle is moving, especially if the sound may be coming from the driver's area.

I am going to have someone else drive while I crawl around, I have asked my brother to help isolate but he doesn't seem to have the patience for it. If that fails I may end up buying something electronic...

Alex K.

I hope your buddy will be crawling inside the car while trying to figure where it's coming from.

Does the sound change when you take wide turns at the speed above 30mph? I

ozziegt

I don't think so, but I'll have to pay more attention and see.

ozziegt

I found the culprit....a heatshield nut is missing. Now I just need to find a part #

smichael

As others said also check the mid pipe exhaust brackets. There is one on top and the other on the bottom. Both rust away and the two pipes then rattle at certain RPM’s only.

ent ago
I too had this intermittent rattle and Porsche wanted to replace the whole exhaust system out of warranty for thousands. A local muffler shop (Cosmos in Boynton Beach FLA for anyone around here) welded a replacement bracket/bar where the old rusted out one was for $100. No more rattles!!