Maybe the rubber seal is dry and rubbing on the body. Try cleaning the sealing surface (body) and put a little silicone oil onto the rubber seal.

 

Thanks, but I checked the seals and they are all fine. I also checked the nuts and bolts to see if they were loose or too tight. That didnt help. I also sprayed WD-40 on the location of the hinges on top and the nuts and bolts I checked still no dice. :disappoin

heres a pic of the area, it isn't dirty so I dont think filth has anything to do with the noise.

[/IMG]

 

Looks like the picture didnt show up but heres 2 videos instead

Outside view

Inside View

Sorry about orientation!

 

Sounds like a bad strut to me. They dry up inside and the piston grabs the cylinder walls. I've also noticed it on my storm doors as they age. I'm no mechanic, but that's what I'd check first. Good luck!

 

Hmmm, what if I spray some Wd-40 on the smaller bar of the strut that goes in and out so that it will help lubricate the inside which is dried up? And close and open the lift gate a couple of times? I also noticed that it creaks only when I use the motor to close the gate. It doesn't creak when I close it by hand.

 

You might be able to see if it's one of the struts by grabbing the struts when the hatch is closing and see if you feel the strut bumping in your hand. Naturally, be careful doing it and just do one side at a time. But this doesn't account for the noise occurring when the car makes the turn since the strut should be fully collapsed. When you close the hatch by hand you're probably taking the load of the hatch off the struts, plus you're probably doing it quicker than the automatic function and that's why you're not hearing the noise.

 

Another good suggestion my friend, tried that and still no luck. All three struts (1 that connects with the motor) are all smooth. No vibrations or lag at all. I was able to pinpoint the sound now. Its closer to the top of the liftgate by the hinge closer to the driver side or its under or part of the spoiler assembly.

I am leaning toward the spoiler assembly because it would make sense when I drive the car it has a chance of rattling on a bumby road or turning into a driveway/parking lot. I also tried to tighten the 2 hinges that connect the liftgate to the roof of the car but they are super tight so I don't know if the hinges could be a problem.

 

Maybe try lowering the door manually and when it gets down so far grab either side and see if you can twist it or otherwise manhandle it to try and create the noise. Have someone inside the cargo area and maybe they can help pinpoint it too.

 

Another no go, I tried that. I had my brother sit in the trunk and from the inside it sounds like its coming from the motor assembly. But outside it now sounds like the noise is coming from where the strut attaches to the car. The flat piece piece of metal has two bolts which attaches the strut to the body. Also wiggling the struts didn't recreate the sound either. The noise only comes when I use the motor. I was also able to match the speed of closing the lift gate manually just like the motor does and I could't replicate the sound. :facepalm: :disappoin

:thanks: for your patience and help. Just don't want to take a trip to the dealer because the closest one is 60 miles away and my car doesn't have warranty any more.

 

I was going by memory how all this area looked so I went out and looked at ours. If you couldn't feel anything in any of the struts, that kind of rules them out. I looked at the spoiler on ours and although it has a little play, for the noise you're hearing, that thing would have to be really loose. And now that you're saying the noise is sort of on the drivers side, only happens when the door is closed automatically, I'm thinking the noise is coming from the lift motor. And since you hear it when the car flexes, I'm thinking the entire motor is loose from it's mounting and not from a missing tooth on one of the gears.

 

Yes I am going to check the motor assembly. Maybe the bolts holding the motor to the body are too tight or loose. But I also believe that the flat metal piece that attaches the strut to the body of the car maybe too tight or loose.

 

Any updates to this issue? I'm having the same problem and it's driving me nuts

 

try opening the trunk, find the 4 nuts to tighten the spoiler down. 2 are not covered and 2 need a round plug pried off. nuts might be loose. thats what happened to me. quiet ever since.

 

I literally just fixed this, lol I was gonna post this evening. Popped the rubber plugs, righted the nuts with a 10mm socket...PEACE at last ??

 

Another (obscure?) thing to check is what I discovered shortly after acquiring my '14 Venza- Near the bottom of the hatch on each corner, there's a rubber bumper that is purposefully squished when the hatch is pulled closed. Mine were both missing, and the hatch creaked until i installed new ones.