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Note: I took it in to try and have it resolved by the dealer - to no avail. In fact, they made it worse and said it was the best they could do.
I spent 30 minutes to resolve this on my own. There is NO more annoying vibration and bass distortion inside my vehicle. (there is minimal and I mean minimal vibration on the outside). I can play N.W.A. at volume level 35+ with the bass turned up and it's never sounded better!
I did Four (4) main things (i've included some pics):
(1) Handle removal. Use your finger nail or a flat head screw driver and gently pop out the cover plate. I used a Power Screw driver and then did the remainder of the unscrewing by hand. The screws screw into a bracket holder that snaps into the frame, so if it gets loose it gives the sensation of the screw locking up. Make sure you are screwing out straight while the entire panel is still clipped in, if the screw holders get cock-eyed a little it will feel like its tough to unscrew, but it will unscrew.
(2) The main culprit was the subwoofer and how/where it sits in the tailgate. It sends strong vibrations into the hollow tailgate area. The wires for speakers, windshield wipers etc are held down nicely with padded tape already, so I didn't even touch that. I removed the sub and placed a thick piece of foam (car sponge square) directly behind the subwoofer so it touches both the sub and the tailgate metal, dampening the vibration.
(3) Push pins were padded on one side only, so I easily slid the push pins out of there holder and added a piece of felt bumper to each push pin back where it touches plastic (sold at Lowes or Home Depot). Plastic on plastic will resonate vibration. Adding the felt bumpers made them fit snug and tight.
(4) Dynamat. Since Dynamat is a heavy material, I used this sparingly and only in key areas where the plastic was not molded well to other plastic pieces (see pics). I did not want to weigh the tailgate down and cause strain on the lift mechanism. I purchased a Dynamat Door Kit on Amazon and custom cut the pieces I needed. The plastic panel that was removed seems to have a two piece plastic mold that wasn't held together all that well. Tiny weld points that left it vulnerable to vibration kickback. Placing pieces on the seems in key spots fixed it.
Satisfied that nothing was rattling, I put everything back together. Turned on some music with bass and tested it out. It worked. I stood outside of the vehicle and noticed a small vibration noise from the silver trim piece that runs across the back above the license plate, I could barely notice it with the volume cranked. Easy fix later. License plate was NOT vibrating, but Dynmat does sell a license plate kit. I just use rubber washers on the screws that hold the plate.
I hope this helps someone. Its amazing to be able to play my music as loud as I want and not have the vibrating distortion. I apologize - I forgot to snap a pic of the foam. Using different thicknesses of foam will affect the deepness of the bass, it's a user preference. I'd recommend a dense sponge or egg carton foam doubled up.
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I spent 30 minutes to resolve this on my own. There is NO more annoying vibration and bass distortion inside my vehicle. (there is minimal and I mean minimal vibration on the outside). I can play N.W.A. at volume level 35+ with the bass turned up and it's never sounded better!
I did Four (4) main things (i've included some pics):
(1) Handle removal. Use your finger nail or a flat head screw driver and gently pop out the cover plate. I used a Power Screw driver and then did the remainder of the unscrewing by hand. The screws screw into a bracket holder that snaps into the frame, so if it gets loose it gives the sensation of the screw locking up. Make sure you are screwing out straight while the entire panel is still clipped in, if the screw holders get cock-eyed a little it will feel like its tough to unscrew, but it will unscrew.
(2) The main culprit was the subwoofer and how/where it sits in the tailgate. It sends strong vibrations into the hollow tailgate area. The wires for speakers, windshield wipers etc are held down nicely with padded tape already, so I didn't even touch that. I removed the sub and placed a thick piece of foam (car sponge square) directly behind the subwoofer so it touches both the sub and the tailgate metal, dampening the vibration.
(3) Push pins were padded on one side only, so I easily slid the push pins out of there holder and added a piece of felt bumper to each push pin back where it touches plastic (sold at Lowes or Home Depot). Plastic on plastic will resonate vibration. Adding the felt bumpers made them fit snug and tight.
(4) Dynamat. Since Dynamat is a heavy material, I used this sparingly and only in key areas where the plastic was not molded well to other plastic pieces (see pics). I did not want to weigh the tailgate down and cause strain on the lift mechanism. I purchased a Dynamat Door Kit on Amazon and custom cut the pieces I needed. The plastic panel that was removed seems to have a two piece plastic mold that wasn't held together all that well. Tiny weld points that left it vulnerable to vibration kickback. Placing pieces on the seems in key spots fixed it.
Satisfied that nothing was rattling, I put everything back together. Turned on some music with bass and tested it out. It worked. I stood outside of the vehicle and noticed a small vibration noise from the silver trim piece that runs across the back above the license plate, I could barely notice it with the volume cranked. Easy fix later. License plate was NOT vibrating, but Dynmat does sell a license plate kit. I just use rubber washers on the screws that hold the plate.
I hope this helps someone. Its amazing to be able to play my music as loud as I want and not have the vibrating distortion. I apologize - I forgot to snap a pic of the foam. Using different thicknesses of foam will affect the deepness of the bass, it's a user preference. I'd recommend a dense sponge or egg carton foam doubled up.
