"Creaking" from rear at low speeds - 03 Protege 5

For about 1 1/2 - 2 months now, i've been experiencing a "creaking" noise that seems to be coming from the rear (and maybe the rear driver side..) of my 2003 Mazda Protege 5.

It sounds like a sticky, slowly-moving door...creaking is the best word I can come up with to describe it. It seems to occur only when I apply the brakes and decelerate...and also when I begin to slowly accelerate from a stop. Coasting at speeds above approx. 10 mph I don't seem to hear anything (but i'm not sure if it is just drowned out by road noise).

I've brought it in to our mechanic twice...first trip it couldn't be recreated...second trip cost me a lot (sigh) to get brake work done...which needed to be done, but the mechanic also thought this would solve the creaking problem. Morning after getting the car back, it creaks as it had been as if nothing had been done.

All the "research" i've been able to do points to a lubrication issue...but I feel like i'm not describing the problem well enough to get it fixed (or maybe this is something I can do myself?).

Any ideas are greatly appreciated...thanks!
- Tim

 

My best guess would be a bushing somewhere in the rear suspension. Other possibility would be a noisy rear strut (shock).

If you rear seats fold down you might have someone sit back there and stick there head in the trunk to try to localize the sound. I would start listening near the strut towers.

Both accelerating and decelerating would tend to actuate the rear struts somewhat.

 

Belatedly, thank you for the reply, tow_guy! It turns out my "stabilizers" were shot, and had to be replaced (not, in my case, a DIY project). But with new stabilizers, the creaking is gone.

 

Stabilizer bushings, maybe? I think it would be hard for stabilizers themselves to wear out.