I just got my car back from the body shop (again) and when I turned it off when I got home I heard this funny little rattle sound at the very end of the engine turning off. I listened for it again when I turned it off at a friends house, heard it again. At the gas station - again.

Does anyone elses car make this noise? They shouldn't have done anything anywhere near the engine this time around (just replacing the trunk the vandals ruined) so what gives?

One more thing while I'm thinking about it. Is anyone else's clutch easier to hear spinning at idle without the clutch engaged (when the clutch is depressed its much quieter).

I'm trying not to stress, but between my overly sensitive hearing and the fact that this body shop couldn't do anything right the first time my brain is reeling trying to figure out what's going on. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Might sound weird but I had the same problem on my Legacy and it was my fan belt when I turned off my car. Or it might be brake sensors?

 

Ignore my second idea, I wasn't thinking.

 

there was a thread about the clutch spinning thing when not engaged during idle just yesterday lol, i cant find it but im sure its still new

 

the noise (after turning off) is a real fast an not very loud tick-tick-tick followed by what sounds like an extremely muffled tap on the horn. yeah, its hard to describe. i'll try and get an audio clip of it this weekend.

 

bump

 

Check everything in your trunk to make sure it is secure and in the right place. Ticking sounds like it might be a heat shield. A muffled horn sound, sounds like a exhaust, trans, engine mount. I am assuming you had driven it around before they fixed the trunk and you did not have this sound.

 

yeah, i never heard it before, and the sound is definitely coming from the engine bay. i don't hear anything else while i'm driving, and its riding perfect, just weirding me out.

 

I too was having a rattling problem with my car. I've only been able to notice it with the cold weather. I read on a recent thread here about other people having the same problem. Turns out that my after market 3inch (Helix) downpipe was rubbing up against one of the bars. When I took a closer look today, both the downpipe and the bar had a polished look becuase they were rubbing up against one another. I've had this downpipe for a while now and only till recently was i hearing this rattle. It probably has something to do with the cold starting and in turn rougher engine vibrations. Anywho, I took the advice from the thread and just added an extra washer to create more space between the bars(I forget the name of the bars, but they reduce chasis flex) and the downpipe. With that extra washer space, NO RATTLING!

I hope this is of use. Even if you have the stock exhaust, take a peak to see if the downpipe is rubbing up on anything. The hangars are rubber so their could be a chance that although you are rolling with the stock exhaust, that it could be rubbing up on any of those bars.

 

Most likely a heat shield is loose or to close to your pipes. You should do NVH Engineering like me. We love nit picking stuff like this. Clutch will most likely be quieter when engaged since the throwout bearing has some load on it.

 

i'd be so good at nvh it isn't funny. but as far as my noise is concerned... i really don't think its anything rubbing or a heat shield or anything like that. its too fast, too high pitched. to be honest, it sounds like almost like a squirrel going chich-chich-chich-chich.

either way, i love having my car back! man did i miss her!

 

this isnt ur coilpacks is it

 

I have the same noise on mine, and our cars are identical.(05 ww ssl) Not sure what it is, but car seems fine like you said before.

 

ok, i identified more closely WHERE the noise is coming from. its coming from directly behind the engine, and in fact it is clicking the entire time the engine is on. i can't hear it from inside the car while its running, just after shut down. its coming from near where the oil dipstick is. i never heard it before until after this good for nothing shop gave me an oil change (i gave them the mobil one oil and filter). i think i'm just going to have a mitsubishi dealer give it a listen when i take it in.

 

What does the good for nothing place usually touch? Check filter, dipstick bent and hitting something or not all the way down, drain plug. To much oil or not enough? Did they check trans level, diff levels, other fluids. See if A/C lines or other lines are still clipped to the firewall. Same with brake and fuel lines coming from the back to the front make sure they are clipped, from the trans all the way up the firewall. The accident may have hurt one of the clips and it finally broke???