Has anyone encountered a cold weather creaking noise coming from the interior cargo area? It sounds like a piece of plastic being twisted every time the body leans into corners or rolls over lumpy ground, and is quite noticeable given the otherwise quiet interior. I sprayed tire dressing on the hatch seals but no luck. Suggestions?

Whenever I was looking for a water leak in the trunk, I would put someone in the trunk and spray it with water. The same principle for a noise in the back. Drive with the same road conditions with a friend in the cargo area.
Good Luck
Gord

Is your spare tire secure under the car? I had a squeaky/creaky noise like you describe and it turned out the spare tire was hanging down a little and I just had to crank it back up with the lowering nut in the cargo floor under the plastic plug.

Thanks Gord, I had the same idea after posting this topic. I backed up and down the driveway with our kids squatting in the trunk (which is lots of fun by the way... especially when you tell your curious neighbour that this is the only way to deal with little brats who WON'T STOP KICKING THE SEAT).

Turns out the noise is coming from inside the driver's rear pillar, so this will take a bit more work...

Experienced an odd creaking noise in my Santa Fe as well. Took it to the dealer who sent it out to a body shop to weld some pieces that weren't done properly in the factory. Not sure on the specifics, but it took them a few days to do it (got a loaner from them in the meantime). It was a pain in the butt, but the noises are gone.

This post has been edited by cephas: Mar 30 2008, 07:36 PM

Well, I have eliminated the spare tire, tailgate and just about all other movable parts as possible causes. It's definitely inside the rear pillar, somewhere behind the left tail light, and it creaks like the doors on a '71 Oldsmobile.

Thank you to all who replied. I'll post an update as soon as I locate the problem.

I have been getting the same creaking noise for a few months now. My wife drives the SF most of the time and I have not yet found the culprit. I tried adjusting and lubricating the rear hatch but no success. I will stick my daughter in the back and do the driveway shuffle to see if she can find it ? I think it's in the rear pillar as well.
What is with the creaks and noises on the SF ? I might be a Little OCD but I sold my Chevy so I could have a nice quiet Hyundai !

On my '01 GLS I've recently started getting a rear passenger side squeak when she sways. Vertical movement is silent. Haven't found the source yet, but it's sure starting to annoy me.

Update: A few shots of lubricant into the area around the tail light seems to have eliminated the noise. Actually it took a few days of really warm weather (probably to help the lube creep into the offending area), and then things were quiet even on cold days.

It seems that bad spot welds are a common cause of body creaks on all sorts of vehicles, and I suspect this in my case. But as long as it's quiet I will leave well enough alone. Thanks for all your responses.

I'm still getting this same creak sound and it's starting to drive me crazy! I tried sitting in the cargo area while my wife rolled the SF up and down the driveway and sounds like it's in the lower rear side panel area but I can't get to it. I removed the tail light and trimed some flashing but no results.

Don67 where exactly did you spray the lube ?

Thanks

I sprayed the lube just about everywhere I could reach through the access panel on the inside of the cargo area. It helps to use an extension tube on the spray can, and make sure it's something that drips freely.

Thank You,
I'll give it a shot.

Vctr

Mystery solved. There is a new technical service bulletin for this problem. I will have mine fixed if the noise returns, although for now I am happy with the lubrication solution.

The lube worked for me as well ( about 1/4 can sprayed through the access panel did it ). I had the stealership look into it at my last state insp. and of course they didn't hear anything ??? The usual answer as expected. Better off they didn't tear it apart and hope the lube trick holds ground here.
I found shooting the spray lube as far left as possible into the access panel did the trick, just place a drip pan under the rear mud guard for excess run off.
Also greased the rear hatch latch that was making a tap tap sound when driving.

I think my old Chevy Caprice had less squeeks and noises than my SF ! :P :P

My creaking noise is gone now thanks to the lube trick, but I still have a snapping/popping sound coming from the right rear hatch area. It's intermittent and only seems to happen when the body flexes in a certain way over certain bumps - but it's extremely annoying. Has anyone else experienced this?

It seems the squeeks and rattles start to show up around the 15,000 mile mark on these things. Mine seemed fairly quiet up until that point.

I had this done last week by my local dealer. They were a bit confused that I was bringing them a TSB that apparently "doesn't show up in our system", but they did the work under warranty and the vehicle is now creak free.

The next mystery to solve is a rattle that seems to be coming from the rear passenger door pillar.

I don't have any of those squeek and creek problems, but I did have a drivers door with a rattle last winter. Something inside the door made a rattle every time we took a right turn. Power window was not effected and at a regular oil change I mentioned the rattle to the service tech. The mechanic found the problem pretty quickly and returned my wife's collapsible umbrella. She had placed it into the drivers door pocket and forgot it was there. I felt some stupid. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif)