Rear License Plate/Frame Rattle

8) cha95sim,

Go to any hobby store and look for clear rubber pads. They come in all different sizes and shapes. This should solve your problem.

Ben

 

Thank you for bringing this problem up.

I've been going crazy over the last month trying to figure out what's causing a rattle in the back of my car every time I go over a sharp bump, like a seam in a concrete road. I've removed every thing from the back of my car that could possibly being bouncing around, but to no avail.

The rattle has a "ringing" quality to it, meaning that it doesn't just clunk, but ocillates for about a 1/3 of a second. It only started recently, actually after my wife drove the car down to South Carolina for a week.

I bet it's the license plate. I could certainly see how a bouncing/vibrating license plate against the sheet metal could produce a loud rattle inside the car with the "ringing" quality I've been hearing.

 

I just used two strips of self-stick velcro (soft side) on the back of the license plate; one on the top and the other on the bottom. Screws went right through the fabric into the holes.

 

I put some soft foam weatherstripping on the back of my license plate and my license plate holder and it works like a charm. I wish I had done it earlier, b/c the license plate holder actually left some scratches on my Prius that the weatherstripping would have prevented.

 

A good license plate fram will have tabs that wrap around the bottom edge of the plate to hold the plate's bottom edge in the frame. I had some plate rattle on my vehicle when it was new. I discovered that it was the frame rattling against the plate, which was securely fastened. I removed the plate and fram, and put the bottom tabs of the frame around the plate and reinstalled. No more rattle.

 

I just put my back license plate on my new Prius.
Question:
I noticed that when I installed the plate it looks like it might rub against the metal of the tail gate. Was there suppose to be some standoffs or a frame or any other hardware beside the two nylon screws?

I see some people used Velcro or rubber ‘feet’. Any ‘best’ method?
Thanks,
-Lee

 

Dynamat makes a kit for damping license plates... probably overpriced but should work fine:

http://www.dynamat.com/car_license_plate_kits.htm