[H15A]

I have an annoying rattle coming from my passenger seat's headrest. At first I thought it was the seatback, but I have narrowed it down to the headrest - if you drive down bumpy road and hold down on the headrest, the sounds go away. Does anyone else have this problem??

Im wondering if there is any DIY fix to resolve this. Id hate to goto a dealer and deal with all this.

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

I haven't had that issue, though my rearview mirror does rattle, but only sometimes. It is really annoying when it decides to do it, so I feel your pain.

Is the headrest in the full down position or do you have the height/tilt adjusted in any way?

 

[Xtrekr]

Does it rattle in any position or just one? Curious if something came loose in the rails for the headrest.

 

[H15A]

I haven't had that issue, though my rearview mirror does rattle, but only sometimes. It is really annoying when it decides to do it, so I feel your pain.

Is the headrest in the full down position or do you have the height/tilt adjusted in any way?

Yes, its in the full down position. My gf is the one who sits in that seat. Since shes short, it would not be comfortable to put it higher. Funny enough though, the sounds seems to go away when I lift it one notch! wha...

 

[H15A]

Does it rattle in any position or just one? Curious if something came loose in the rails for the headrest.

only rattles when its on the way bottom position. if i lift it up one notch the noise goes away, but it would be uncomfortable for my gf to sit in that seat because it would be too high for her.

when you tap the seat, you can replicate the rattle.. its driving my crazy.. my driver seat is perfect. its only my passenger seat that has the problem.. could i somehow tighten this thing in any way??

 

[ClubCrosstrek]

Does it rattle in any position or just one? Curious if something came loose in the rails for the headrest.

only rattles when its on the way bottom position. if i lift it up one notch the noise goes away, but it would be uncomfortable for my gf to sit in that seat because it would be too high for her.

when you tap the seat, you can replicate the rattle.. its driving my crazy.. my driver seat is perfect. its only my passenger seat that has the problem.. could i somehow tighten this thing in any way??

I don't know about tightening it yourself, that's for someone more handy than me to say, but I believe Subaru would do it for you under warranty. I had a rattle in my Infinity G35 and they pulled the door frame apart and fixed it under warranty.

Hope you get it sorted out.

 

[Subir_roo]

Had it, and fixed it. I traced it down to the seat but only WITH a headrest in the seat. I.E. if you pull the drivers head rest and swap it to the passenger seat it still rattles. With no headrest the seat makes no noise. So with any headrest in there mine did it, tried 4 different headrests. All it ended up taking was removing the headrest and pulling the bars together a bit, just enough to make it fit a hair more snugly and the rattle is gone!

 

[H15A]

Had it, and fixed it. I traced it down to the seat but only WITH a headrest in the seat. I.E. if you pull the drivers head rest and swap it to the passenger seat it still rattles. With no headrest the seat makes no noise. So with any headrest in there mine did it, tried 4 different headrests. All it ended up taking was removing the headrest and pulling the bars together a bit, just enough to make it fit a hair more snugly and the rattle is gone!

Hmmm. that sounds like it could work. Any tips on how to remove the headrest? It definitely feels like the metal bars are just slightly off where it would rattle with tiny vibrations..

 

[Subir_roo]

Jut pull up until it hits the stops (a couple inches past the highest setting), then you have to squeeze the little tab to release it finally (same tab you use to lower it). You'll probably have to tilt the seat back a little to get it to clear the roof. I pulled them together until I had to pry them open a touch to get them back in the holes. Jut having that extra tension on there seemed to make the noise go away!

 

[H15A]

awesome. thanks for the tip. ill try that out when i get the chance.

 

[H15A]

took out the headrest and bent the metal rods closer together for a more snug fit. it did diminish the sound more at low speeds, but it still rattles when i go over bumps at high speeds. most notably when you drive over series of slightly bumpy roads..

im wondering if this is just a flaw of the headrest design. because its not completely locked in place at the lowest point, it has some room to jump up and down. maybe thats the reason it makes rubbing noises. maybe theres a way to put something in between so it wont have as much play. i was thinking something with rubber or silicone to soften the rubbing.

 

[Subir_roo]

Hmmm... That fixed mine but there could just be a different gap or even a different rattle going on with yours. Shimming it with something might not be a bad idea.

 

[Crossed Up in Wyoming]

Thanks for solving my rattle! It was the headrest too.

 

[Wingnut]

I to have an annoying noise from passenger seat area. It goes away when my wife isn't riding in the car though.