Rattle underneath '02 Corsa...paranoid

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Fri 22 Apr 2005 10:56
Rattle underneath '02 Corsa...paranoid - Baz100
My 52 plate 1.2 16v Corsa has had a really loose sounding rattle coming from underneath the car recently. It sounds like something hollow knocking into each other. It didnt happen when going over large bumps (ie speed bumps) but was very bad when driving over lots of small bumps, for example a road in bad condition. As its still under warranty I took it into the local dealership who had a mechanic come out with me, he said there was definately a rattle and to get it booked in ASAP, he even got me booked in ahead of the waiting list. Now, this may sound extremely paranoid and cynical, but, when I picked it up they said there was no rattle and the same mechanic couldnt find anything wrong what so ever.....but miraculously the rattle has been none existent since i collected my car. I'm now slightly woried that they may have done a bodge job on it knowing that my warranty runs out in 4 or 5 months and that there was something majorly wrong with it.....or am I just being stupidly paranoid. The problem is, I dont know anything about cars and dont know any mechanics myself!!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 22 Apr 2005 11:02
Rattle underneath '02 Corsa...paranoid - Crinkly Dave
It will be difficult for anyone, even one of the Vauxhall specialists, to identify the cause. Best advice is to make sure that you have this noise and the specific examination formally recorded on the relevant job sheet etc. That way, if it recurs later you can prove it started before the warranty ran out.
Also, it is entirely possible that during the examination the act of removing wheels, pulling on exhaust mounts etc could have caused the noise to go away without the mechanic realising.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 22 Apr 2005 14:58
Rattle underneath '02 Corsa...paranoid - holly1
Could it be the back box of the exhaust? I have suffered similar problems with both my 1995 and 1999 Corsa's & its turned out to be the top of the back box knocking somewhere underneath the car. However, if you take a look at the car everything appears to be OK - had my first one back to Vauxhalls three times and they couldnt diagnose the problem - but the tyre & exhaust place down the road had a good idea of what it was before they have even looked underneath.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 22 Apr 2005 15:28
Rattle underneath '02 Corsa...paranoid - Civic8
Or possibly even the heat shield on the cat vibrating??
--
Steve
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 22 Apr 2005 15:36
Rattle underneath '02 Corsa...paranoid - Altea Ego
"or am I just being stupidly paranoid"

There is a touch of that evident yes,
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 23 Apr 2005 13:46
Rattle underneath '02 Corsa...paranoid - Victorbox
If it helps your sanity our 3-door 2002 Corsa also occasionally has a knock from what seems like under the rear suspension. Usually when I reverse up the drive and over the pavement onto the road. Yes the pavement has been dropped, so the drop is only a couple of inches! It happens so little and seems to depend on the outside temperature I've never worried about it. It's been serviced by the local Vauxhall dealer and they've never found anything amiss. It also happens very occasionally over rough roads. Sometimes I think it sounds like a rattle from inside the rear side trims. I wouldn't lose sleep over it.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

10 warranty myths exposed

Here’s how to sort the fact from the fiction when it comes to car warranties.

Cheap Car Warranties

We give you the low down on how to save on insurance, little-known tricks and tips, what insurance groups mean and how to use insurance aggregators to beat insurers.

Insurance group finder and how to save on insurance