annoying rattle

[tonyosis7]

I have a '06 H.H.. After driving for maybe 30 minutes, I notice a rattle coming from behind the battery air vent under the rear passenger seat. It seems to get worse with a stiff cross wind. Almost sounds like a shield of some sort. It is especially annoying since this air vent is in direct ear shot of the driver. Any ideas??? Tony

[tonyosis7]

Well, I found out where the rattle came from. I mention this, no thanks to anyone else, for the benefit of those with a similar rattle. I can't believe that I'm the only one with this rattle. After a little investigation, I came to find that both "heat shields" that are mounted to the underside (above the exhaust pipe, directly under the rear passenger seat), rattled. These shields seem to be made of aluminum, and when I slightly bent a corner between my thumb and forefinger, the rattle magically became non-existant!!! I'm sure that with the heat of the exhaust, the rattle only became worse, radiating through the floor board and seemingly coming from the "battery vent". Tony

[EvDreamin]

I had a similar noise/rattle on mine. The dealer said there was nothing loose under the car, and did not fix anything.
I was under the car yesterday and found the above mentioned heat shields and I had to bend the one over the muffler to keep the exhaust pipe from hitting it. It is bad enough that the car is equal in strength to a beer can, but couldn't they spare some heavy gauge metal for these shields? While we are on the subject of rattles, is there any way to tighten the spare tire cover? The center section doesn't seem like it will stay on and the outside edge is loose where it is supposed to contact the tire.