Exhaust Rattle - Cold Start

[swoop1156]

FIXED! they replaced the muffler and tailpipe assembly.

Thanks for this picture. Gonna add it to the list of things to bring to my service guy when I go in for routine service.

Ford has released a new TSB for this concern; 23-2341. It applies to 2021-2023 Raptor. It includes a PCM update and replacement of the actuators or springs depending on build date.

Do you think the update can be over the air?

No, it requires hardware replacement.

This is wild, as I never had the exhaust rattle and then with the latest Ford PowerUp OTA update, I no longer start permanently in "quiet mode" and I can change (and hear the differences) in idle with Quiet, Normal, Sport, and Baja. Never had the ability to change prior to the update, regardless of what mode I was in. When I was at idle, it'd be in "quiet mode".

But now I have the rattle, go figure.

After 13 months and 5 different visits to the local Ford dealership, I finally got my exhaust rattle fixed. I started out getting the actuators replaced, which reduced the noise on cold starts for a small period of time but eventually returned. Ford refused to help me, every now and again I'd get someone to verbally commit to helping me, but they'd always come back and suggest it's a normal operating sound. At one point they even provided some documentation from Ford.

The other day I went in for an oil change and noticed they had a new service manager, so I tried again. She came back and said it was normal and there was nothing they could do.. there I was again, going at it with the Ford service dept. I was about to give up, then I remembered this thread.

I referenced maxr's screen shot (post #63) and the service manager immediately changed her tone with me. She got on the phone, then came out and said there was a "hot case" and was able to order a new muffler and pipe assembly, under warranty. Low and behold it fixed the problem completely. Big shout out to @maxr ! Thank you, my friend!

 

[RaptorFan1988]

Thought I'd add in my experiences as for now this issue is resolved on my truck.

My truck's exhaust has rattled since winter of 2021 and has progressively gotten worse over the years. It only seemed to not be an issue in BAJA mode which was fortunate because I do really like the sound of the truck.

Fast forward to 2024 it started to really become noticeable so I brought the truck in for TSB 23-2341. As others have mentioned this is a hardware swap as well as a software update. Upon receiving my truck back I remote started it and heard no rattles (in normal mode) and began my drive home (live about 40 minutes from my service center). By the time I got home and put the truck into reverse I heard it rattle slightly. I then decided to give it another try in the morning when the exhaust was cold as that was when it was typically at its worst. When I remote started it the following morning the rattle was so pronounced it was almost louder than the exhaust itself. It effectively made the problem 10x worse.

I brought the truck back to the dealer and they asked that I leave it overnight as it wasn't as pronounced after a 40 minute long drive and had warmed up. I had to go back home with the truck that day and come back again to drop it off as I was needing to have the truck on me for a few days coming up. After bringing it back they decided to replace the entire exhaust assembly ($3200 covered under warranty).

Their theory was that since my exhaust went so long with the original springs it wore out the space where the new springs sat causing them to rattle still - not sure how true that is, just reiterating what they told me. Happy to report the truck sounds great and is rattle free at this point. Still my favorite vehicle I've ever owned, rattles and all!

 

[swoop1156]

This is wild, as I never had the exhaust rattle and then with the latest Ford PowerUp OTA update, I no longer start permanently in "quiet mode" and I can change (and hear the differences) in idle with Quiet, Normal, Sport, and Baja. Never had the ability to change prior to the update, regardless of what mode I was in. When I was at idle, it'd be in "quiet mode".

But now I have the rattle, go figure.

Alright everyone, I really need to put some heads together on this one.

In brief:

When I bought the truck, it never had a rattle and would only ever start-up in quiet mode, as I've said before. Once I received whatever Ford PowerUp OTA update whenever I received it, I was able to start the truck and it would be in normal mode. I could change it to any other mode I wanted in idle and hear the change. In any other mode but normal, it didn't rattle. So then, I had the dreaded idle rattle.

Fast forward to last week, I take my truck up to the dealer, and they fixed the rattle by flashing to the latest PCM version, as well as replacing the exhaust springs.

Now my truck appears to operate exactly the same as it did prior to receiving the OTA update that enabled me to change exhaust modes in idle. I looked at the infotainment and the latest update was just a "connectivity update" and says nothing about that latest OTA. Did they simply revert my truck? Something akin to Ford acknowledging that one of their updates caused the issue, so they updated to a new version, which just acts like the pre-OTA? That's really what it seems like.

To those that have the exhaust rattle and haven't fixed it - can you change the exhaust modes at idle and hear a difference?

To those that have had the exhaust rattle and have fixed it - can you change the exhaust modes at idle and hear a difference?

I'm thankful to not have the rattle, but I hate that I can't buzz around in Baja without it switching back and forth in a parking lot while driving slowly. It's pretty dumb/annoying going from quiet to baja all the time depending on if I am doing 2mph or 3mph.

 

[maxr]

had the exhaust fixed (see my comments).
I can change the exhaust at any time while driving and it does not revert

 

[goalieThreeOne]

Wants to share my experience and “fix”. Mine is a 6/22 build date. I went it two weeks ago to get TSB 22-2388 performed. Fortunately they got me in the “quick fix” line at the dealer on a Saturday instead of waiting a few weeks for a full appointment. They did the work but the rattle was even worse! Saw over on Facebook that someone suggested that they check that the new spring assembly was installed in the correct orientation. You can find a reference for this in the TSB document itself. So I pulled off both heat shield with a 10mm socket and 11mm wrench. Make sure you use that wrench otherwise you can warp the shield. Checked the valves and both were installed properly and the service notes showed they did the software update. So I cold started it one more time and crawled under just to check and see if I could see or hear anything that might help. I noticed that as I pressed on the driver side valve away from the bolt I could make it go away. The actuator is attached by one stud bolt with a rubber isolator to the mounting base on the exhaust tube. So, out of curiosity I I figured I’d loosen and retighten it. First step is to remove the plastic stress relief for the valance harness from the stud. I backed off the stud bolt till it was loose and finger tightened it. I used a 1/4” click wrench to torque it to 89 in-lbs per the spec in the TSB and lo and behold the rattle was gone on the next start up.

I’ll do some more testing over the coming days just to make sure it truly goes away on a real cold startup but if you haven’t tried checking this, it may be worth doing.