Quick Update: Went in for an alignment and asked the mechanic to go for a ride with me. He found a noise in the exhaust. It's actually coming from inside the catalytic converter. He believes that the honey comb is breaking apart and causing a rattle - makes sense. The car is running perfectly otherwise.

p.s.: They were a bit concerned by how tight the clearances are on my front and rear Whiteline swaybars, haha. Luckily, there are no issues from them.

 

I have the same noise, but only when i am driving the car (5-40ish mph), not while the car is fully stopped.

Is it the same thing?

 

Another update: replacing the catalytic converter did not solve the problem. The rattle persists. I believe it's the strut mounts.

 

Final Update: I have found the source of my troubles! It was the front hood latch, all this time!



Ghetto, but it works. Not really sure how to permanently fix it. I can't believe that after spending so much time and money, the problem was literally right in front of me. Oh well, lesson learnt.

Some history about the car: The previous owner hit a deer, which destroyed the driver side headlight. I think that maybe the hood got misaligned due to the impact.

 

Quick little update: The noise came back, and I feared that I misdiagnosed the problem. Turns out that the zip ties have stretched and were letting the hood have the same amount of play as when I didn't have them. I removed the zip ties and found a more permanent fix. Adjusting the rubber bumpers has eliminated the rattle.

 

Hey,

Glad you put that puppy to bed! Nice to hear that someone resolved an issue that was haunting them for some time. Thanks for the updates/follow through.

 

Thank you. I saw a thread on here of somebody selling their ES because of a similar issue that drove them insane, and I didn't want to be that guy. I hope it will help out others, who might be having the same problem.

I think the biggest issue is that when you think of a front end noise, you immediately think that it has to be coming from the suspension. That's why I wasted so much time looking at everything, but the hood itself. And I have to admit that I did notice the issue with the hood latch, when I first recorded that sound clip, I just thought nothing of it, because my mind was focused on other areas.

 

Hi,

My front end noise is really bugging me, made me want to sell the car.

I believe my noise situation is similar (MAYBE) to yours.
Becuz i got an accident before, I replaced the hood with an OEM one, and the 53205 part, see below)




I kinda adjust the rubber bumpers, but seems like its not helping much, not sure if I adjusted it correctly or its not that problem at all. **(I don't have the cover on the 53205 part, only 2 rubber bumpers)

When I drive on the freeway, i can see the hood vibrating (looks like the hood is not firmly locked), not sure if yours is like that before you adjust the rubber bumpers.

Sorry for the poor English!