Driving over bumps...rear noise

<div>OK... I took my Cayman into service last week b/c of a few concerns, but the only one they agreed w/me on was the loud sound fromthe hatch area. Every time I go over a small bump (which I avoid if all possible!) it sounds like a piece of luggage is loose and makes sound as if something is put together incorrectly back there – it’s a loud bang. The Porsche dealership said the paneling was not installed properly (fantastic!) – quoting, however, that theyre-secured the clips, remounted the panels, and the problem was fixed. Well, while driving it over the weekend, I thought it was fine... but when I drove over a minor road indentation, Iexperienced the same noise. I’m calling the service dept. regardless, but wanted to hear the Forums thoughts and/or comments.Thank you! [/quote]</div>

I get a loud suspension clunk driving over some speed bumps (the older tall skinny variety) with PASM on soft, but not on firm. Try changing PASM setting if you have it.

That's the sound - a clunk! I do not have PASM . So I gather this is normal? If it was a big bump, I'd understand, but minor road defects...hmmm.It's a little annoying.

Same here. We had a thread on this a while back. The car sounds like a van from the back over bumps - sounds loose. But I think we'll have to put up with it. The thing that is unacceptable is small rattles from the rear. Mines in again next week to have it fixed. The plastic is rubbing causing rattles - very very annoying

How about test driving another Cayman for comparison? I only get that clunk over the speed bumps at work. Not anywhere else, so your situation may be different.

Ah...I missed that thread. OK, glad I'm not alone and thanks for the feedback.So we all drivean expensive, clunky car - great! LOL. Porsche fixed my rattles... for now.

lcarr, There's been quite a few complaints from folks on here about the poorly installed hatchback inside panel... so on that you're not alone, although my car didn't have that problem. A few days ago, I went out and really took a good look at the hatch, and what I found is that the way it's engineered, it does have some built-in play that is soaked up by the rubber bumpers. A closer look reveals that the bumpers have little springs under them that keeps them tight when the hatch is closed, but when you go over a substantial bump, I think the springs compress and there's some natural movement of the hatch up and down - and thus, the clunk. My guess is, if it didn't have that play in it, after a few bumps, the window would probably fall out or or crack, or some other such malady, so it must need that little bit of play to absorb the shocks. I get the same sound from my hatchback'ed Honda Insight Hybrid car when going over bumps, and a close look at it revealed the same engineering. So, 'tis the nature of the (hatchback) beast, I guess... Also, I've been using the little metal rectangular latch to close the hatch, but has anyone noticed the built-in handle just up from it? You turn your hand around to face you, slide it into the handle and pull down the hatch. brad

Brad, handle; no I didn't notice it. Guess I have to go out to the garage and look. What do you do pull it down with just enough force to close it and then release it going down?

Thanks Brad! I appreciate the hatch analysis...saved me from tearing apart my car next weekend. I also get curious about the engineering of my cars. But this one is challenge...sometimes frustrating. The Cayman is completely different from my last car - everything is neatly tucked away. Isometimes missnot being able to look atthe engine. Oh well...but I do love my Cayman more - despite the clunks, rattles, etc. Anyway, what you wrote all makes a lot of sense, as I have never owned a hatchback. Perhaps I'll take scopacetics advice and test-drive another...just for comparison purposes. So funny, I was just reading my manual - b/c of my curiosity of how the hatch was configured (with no luck of course) - and I stumbled upon the diagram of the pull down for the hatch. Go figure! I'm sure we'll discover other little details down the road.

lcarr - you're welcome, especially if it kept you from tearing your car apart... the hatchback on this car is really large and must weigh quite a bit... trying to keep it from moving around under all circumstances had to be pretty impossible, I htink. Santa Fe - funny thing is I still hook my index finger in the metal rectangle - the few times I've tried to use the actual handle, I always feel that I'm not going to get my hand out of there fast enough - because the way the handle is positioned, one has their hand in there up past the wrist... that's a lot to move out of the way so quickly. brad

so what is the service bulletin re-bump stops as reported in a previous thread?,sorry i dont recall who said it but it was for just this problem . i have the same problem and are just trying to free up some time to take her into the opc for a fix ,but i must say i feel a little worried now that the answer i going to be'THATS NORMAL' well i have driven many cars with large hatches and i can assure you that i have never had this problem before ,so i suspect a defective batch of bump stops with springs which are too week . i hope ths can be sorted because the road in the uk have lot sof bumps . actually forgot to add that i have also a manual cayman to compare against and this car does not have the same problem so its not normal

Last week I mentioned a rattle was coming from the right side, either from the hatch or above the right passenger shoulder, it happened first time with my son (only 50Kg). I was closed to discuss with the dealer when I discovered that this nasty noise coming time to time over humps or bumpy roads or with the passenger (to who you want to show how nice is your car....) was the result or temporary and very light contact between the headrest and the roof garniture. I have moved the seat in all directions, leaned more or less the back of the seatto confirm. Since I made the good setting, no noise at all. At least one way to investigate for those having rattle complaints. Tro

I agree...it's unacceptable for an expensive care. That being said, the Porsche Service Foreman would like to takeride w/me on Monday morning to hear the 'clunk' sound I describe. Perhaps it'sa defect, week springs (nice!), but let's get to the bottom of it... I rather be there and hear what they sayin person, then get a call that it's fine and ready to get picked up. This is why I've always been weary about buyingthe first model...usually good to wait a year for all the kinks to be resolved. I still love it, just want it to be near perfect. Of course I'll report back after I get the diagnosis.

Well, I think we are all talking about the same noise; and this is what happened today... Getting annoyed about it enough, I did little investigating myself. Not finding anythis examining the hatch, I looked inside the car with that closed. The small private curtain thingy is the culprit in my car. It has black metal pieces on it that makes contact with the silverish band that is part of the oil/coolant opening. I removed that curtain and no more clunks /fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/regular_smile.gif

I heard the same noise coming from the rear of my car as well. Took it to the dealer and they informed me there is a Porsche Cayman vehicle work order (W615) that addresses the problem. The issue for me at least was the rubber buffers on the rear hatch. According to the work order, a total of 1,375 U.S. and Canadian vehicles fall within the scope of the work order. The vin ranges are: WP0AB29896U780066 to WP0AB29896U781542 - 2006 U.S. Cayman WP0AB29876U780065 to WP0AB29806U781493 - 2006 Canada Cayman [/quote]This fixed my rear noise problem, and might fix yours as well. However, parts took a week or so to get here from Germany.

Thank you so much for the for the information! Hopefully this is the root of the problem - I take my car in Monday morning and at least I can inform them of the vehicle work order #. This should save time. My vin does not fall exactly within the range, so they may have to expand therange. I'll report back. Thanks again!

I dropped my car off, again,this morning at the Porsche Service dept.- this time the shop foreman went for a drive with me so I could point out the noise. He did agree it was significant (as he squinted to figure out what it could be) and said would do his best to fix that 'clunk' sound coming from the hatch area. Though my VIN # did not fall in the range, he would figure it out...assuring me that they had all the model parts to basically rebuild the hatch area. [/quote]Also, they read many of the Porsche Forums and were aware that this has been a concern among quitea few Cayman owners (clearly!).<o ></o >[/quote] The service rep called me this afternoon to inform me that they did replace a few of the ' rubber bumpers' soI'll have a smoother ride; however, it's not 100% so my car has to stay another day./fckeditor/editor/images/smiley/MWPX/sad_smile.gifI also called my sales consultant [/quote]- who's fantastic - and he said he would stop by to see what work they have done andupdate me in the morning. I wish I was a fly on the wall so I can see exactly what they're replacing. I'm so annoyed...that hatch issuch a mystery! Anyway, I'm driving up to Montreal in a couple of weeks, so it's bestI get it fixed now. [/quote]More to come…[/quote] [/quote]

I am starting to wonder if the sound I am hearing is the privacy flap on the inside of the hatch. I keep forgetting to see if I can secure that.

I kept hearing a loud noise when I went over bumps, especially fast, and in sport mode. Came from the right side of the car. Turned out to be my wife. J

J Too funny..... take her in for service? Swamp

Funny guy...though not my problem.<o ></o >[/quote] Service called to say my car was ready to be picked up – assuring me that all my rattles and clunks are gone. They did look into my VIN # (after reading about the hatch noise complaints on various forums) - and though my car did not make the range, it did have 'weak' rubber bump stops (lovely!). [/quote]So in summary: [/quote]they replaced the rubber stoppers and also noticed that my latch in the rear was not right - which was another culprit to the noise. Well, I pick it up after work…I hope it's perfect now, the way it should be! It's still just a baby.[/quote][/quote] <o ></o >[/quote]

lcarr, Thanks for the update - let us know if that really fixed the problem. Btw, that's a darn nice looking Cayman S you have there... brad

<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Thank you Brad! However, it's not exactly fixed.[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I really dislike that I’m on the “complaint’ section, I rather brag about the glories of owning the car and telling stories like passing a Bentley Continental GT the other day. [/quote]But I digress…<o ></o >[/quote] <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I don’t know, perhaps I’m becoming paranoid and nit picky about every unusual new sound. [/quote]But this hatch dilemma is making me crazy. [/quote]Anyway, I picked my car up, after it spent 2 days in service. [/quote] I think it gets the “break-in” mileage from just being there! [/quote]Is it the norm to get you car back with an extra 60 miles? [/quote]I asked the shop foreman, and they claim they had taken extensive test drives to make sure the hatch is quieter. [/quote]Well…it’s not much better! [/quote]The noise is slightly buffered, but for 2 days work, not great. [/quote]It still feels like something is not right. [/quote]I’ve never owned a hatchback – however for $70K +, this can’t be normal<o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> Here’s the summary:<o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> “Checked undercarriage, checked sway bar fasteners- re-torqued. Road tested, heard noise from rear hatch area. Adjusted latch and bumpers – no change. [/quote]Found rubbing blocks misshapen – replaced blocks. [/quote]Noise still present. [/quote]Removed hatch liner, found damper plate would contact lid while going over bumps. [/quote]Isolated plate. [/quote]Re-assembled and test drove – OK.” <o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Not OK…the clunk is still there. [/quote]It’s not the hatch liner (I checked that myself). You’d think it would be fixed after 2 days, right? [/quote]I rather them say, “your car is a mystery, here’s $15K back for your troubles.” [/quote]I do NOT want to take it back to service.[/quote]I’m definitely going to call & talk to the foreman, again, and my original sales person for some insight. [/quote]I would like to go back to the dealership and test drive one of their demo [/quote]– I need a comparison. [/quote]I don’t know anyone in the NYC or NJ area with a Cayman S. [/quote]<o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o ></o >[/quote] <p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I was hoping my car would be fit for Formula 1 weekend. [/quote]Well see. [/quote]Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions are greatly appreciated. [/quote]I’m starting to miss my M5 – no hatch there. [/quote]I do love my car and it pains me that this is so bothersome.[/quote][/quote][/quote]

Icarr Hey, I'm in Huntington, NY and have the same problem. I have not brought it back to the dealer yet as I have not had a chance and want to look at it first. It has become more noticable lately. My car only has 800 miles on it. I want to check the privacy thingamagigi before I raise hell. Jeff

lcarr, You're welcome - please post some stuff in some of the other forums about the stuff you do like about the car - I for one would love to read about you sucking the doors off a Bentley Continental GT... When you call the service manager again, propose that you drive a demo over a nice bumpy route, then have the two of you drive the same route in your car to compare. Depending on what that turns up, you'll at least have a comparison - if the demo car reacts differently, have them take it to the shop and see what the heck is different about it. Also point out during your ride in your car what you still feel is wrong with it. I don't use my car as a daily driver out here in Vegas, but I'm headed up to the SF Bay Area for an autocross event this weekend - about 1200 miles round trip on many different surfaces, and I'll try to pay attention to hatch noises and see how my car compares. So far (I've made the trip twice now) I've not heard any hatch noises, and have found the complaints I've read a little puzzling, but I'm also playing the Bose system pretty loud while I blast through the desert and over the Tahachapis. Just loud enough, that is, so I can still hear the Valentine 1... brad

I have been experiencing the same thumping noise since I bought the vehicle. mine only occurs over small repetitious bumps at a certain speed. the local dealer in <st1 lace w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">austin</st1:city></st1 lace> was able to duplicate the noise on mine as well as couple of other cars on their lot but have not found a solution yet, including the service order fix of the rubber stops on the hatch. [/quote] After taken apart the rear hatch, the service foreman noticed a 6-8 pound metal bar/or weight attached to rear hatch was making contact marks toits surrounding hatch area. weare trying to see if adding shims and felt liner will stop the noise until Porsche comes up with a permanent fix.<o ></o > I will leteveryone knowif its works...this is an extremely annoying problem due to poor design.<o ></o >