What I thought was the famous hatch rattle seems to be actually a problem with my muffler. There seems to be too much "play" in the muffler. When you grab the end of the muffler pipe, it moves too easily.
When I hit a bumpy road, the muffler exhaust pipe (I believe) is bouncing up and down and hitting the bottom of the car (fender area). At least I think that is causing my loud hollow sounding noise.
How much "play" should there be with the tC-05 muffler?. I checked my two other cars and those muffler/ pipes don't move much.

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Are all three rubber mounts securely attached?

It needs to flex a bit, to allow the exhaust to vibrate and flex a reasonable amount...

You could check your bolts at the axle, to ensure they are tight...

 

mine moves a bunch too. but mine is not hitting anything.

I think the play is pretty normal

 

I see all three mounts. The one near the rear axle near the exhaust pipe seems to move too easily. The muffler also might be hitting the heat shield when the car hits a bump which causes the muffler to bounce. I can't figure out how to tighten the bolts. The bolts have a cover on them which doesn't seem to come off especially since it is only 5 degrees outside now. I don't want to play with it too much. I guess I will bring it to the dealer and let him look at it.

 

yea my TRD exhaust bounces a lot too... i heard the same noise and when i was gassing up one day i pushed down on it and it popped back up and proceeded to bounce for a good 30 seconds... the guys at the dealership said it was quite normal and i shouldnt worry...

 

The reason why I am looking at this loose muffler is because I think that is what is causing this loud annoying hollow sound coming from the back of the car when I drive on bumpy roads. I thought it might be the famous hatch rattle but now I am thinking it is the muffler. Either way, the loud rattle is driving me nuts.

 

Sry to hijack but I noticed that when my car is idling (sp?), the muffler and tip are vibrating alot.

I didn't know if this was normal for tC's since my parents 05 camry doesnt do the same nor does my bro's 05 corolla.

everything's stock too and it's an auto.

 

Pretty Normal... The movement of the engine transfers down through the exhaust...

Our engine moves a pretty decent amount... especially when idleing with the a/c on...

 

I hear this banging noise only when I go over bumps. On smooth roads, no noise at all. When I hit a bump, there is a loud hollow sounding bang.

 

I bet it's just bumping the heat shield... My has done that before...

 

It probably is the muffler hitting the heat shield. This is my main suspect at this point. Yesterday, the car was full of snow and slush. There was slush on the heat shield. There was also NO NOISE. This is why I think it is the loose muffler. I need to fix this somehow. It is driving me nuts.