Rattling from under car

[mucerinochris]

I have a 2008 Hatch. About 2 months ago I was at a friends property, I was leaving, and something under my car nailed a small tree stump, I believe it was the muffler or exhaust. Since then I have had an intermittent rattle when I am idling. It happens at stop lights and when parked, it seems to worsen when the A/C is on. It has been getting increasingly more frequent. It used to just be when it was cold, now it is most the time. I went out today to listen to it as I thought it may have been the radiator fan, but it isn't coming from under the hood. I hear it loudly inside the car, and stuck my head under the car and it appears to be coming from the area of the catalytic converter. Would a damaged converter be causing this problem? Any other suggestions to what it may be?

Thanks,
-Chris

[pimpernell]

Could be the converter, or some other part of the exhaust system. I would suggest that you get the car up on a lift and take a look at the exhaust system joints, hangers and clamps to make sure they are all intact. If everything is ok, the noise could be coming from the inside of the converter or muffler. There is usually some type of baffle system inside of them, and if you hit either the muffler or converter hard enough, you could have dislodged one of the inside baffles which could be causing the noise. Good luck

[DeadxEye]

you might want to get the converter looked at. if it is damaged bad enough it could cause a fire.

[08versailles]

i ran over something a while ago and dislodged a heat shield. if your rattle noise sounds tinny, this might be it.
i just secured it with a large zip tie, still good today

[mucerinochris]

Where is the heat shield located? I've only owned this car a few months so I'm not totally familiar with it yet.

[08versailles]

there are a few, around the muffler, catalytic converter, resonator, maybe another one or two.
i'm not a tech, i just stuck my nose under there to see what i could see.
i'm used to seeing the catalytic converter with heat shield attached directly to it, so i didn't recognize the versa's bare cat with heat shield attached to the car instead

[AJVersa]

While the engine is COLD. Shake the tailpipe. Reach under the drivers door and shake the exhaust pipe. You'll be able to tell if it's loose. If a heat shield is loose, you should hear it. Go to the front of the car and look underneath. Look for a loose or sagging plastic shroud. You'll be able to find the source of your noise, if you're not afraid of getting a little dirty.