Rear strut rattle 2005 Q45

[Docbru]

I've done a search for this with no definitive answers. I just bought a 2005 Q, just 60,000 km on it. It's in great shape but, as soon as I start driving, unless it's an absolutely smooth road, there is an annoying rattle that seems to be coming from the area just over your right shoulder if you were sitting in the right rear seat. At first I thought it was the rear deck or speakers but it's not. It seems to be in the area of the upper strut mount. We had the wheel off and from the outside everything was tight and we couldn't reproduce the rattle. Is there a bushing or spacer in the upper strut mount that may be loose or worn? If there is a part that commonly fails I would like to have it on hand before removing the rear reclining seat to get at it. Thanks.

[Docbru]

Problem solved. Loose nuts at the top of the shock tower. Of course, they are only accessible by removing the rear seats and the parcel shelf...handy. Seems an access panel on the rear deck would make sense. Oh well. Rattle is gone, I'm happy.

[Qship-Dom]

I had the same issue in my 03. Only the actual bolt the nut went on BROKE OFF! I'm sure you could imagine the racket this was causing, even on smooth roads. I had to remove the rear seat and parcel deck to access it. Luckily my dad has a welding shop so I quickly welded a new bolt onto the old strut and viola! the dealer said it would be about 1500 dollars, haha. and the warranty didn't cover strut assembly, go figure.

[O5Q45]

I have the same exact noise in my 2005 Q. It's sounds like a rattle/worn out creeping noise when flexing up or down over roadway. How do I access these bolts to check? Can I simply tighten them? Temperature doesn't matter but happens more often when cool or first couple miles..