Gen 5 – Intermittent LOUD rattle 2015 OB 2.5i PHEZ with CVT, 70,000 miles/110,000kms – with Poll

Intermittently when Accelerating, braking, or coasting for the last ~1,000 mi (1,600 km). Seemingly less often at idle but can happen when idling. Usually happens for 10-30s at a time. It is LOUD, which leads me to believe that it is a heat shield issue, as any other problem being that loud for that amount of time would result in a failure or an error code of some sort; my gas mileage is unchanged. So what would you do? The underside wind cover is difficult to remove; I’m not certain that it is the ONLY way to do it, but Youtube videos show removing both front wheels and fender liners. Ugghhh

B. Where does the sound come from?
X Front – roughly the center of the car, just behind the two wheels if I had to guess

C. Does the sound vary with some condition?
X Damned if I know
_ Engine/transmission rpm dependent – NO
_ Wheel rpm dependent – kinda, limited to lower speeds (<35 mph/60kph), but does not consistently occur at a given speed.
_ Air speed/direction dependent – No rattle at higher speeds
_ Varies according to some other condition

D. Is there a vibration associated with the noise?
No, but it SOUNDS like something is vibrating

E. Does it affect drive-ability? how? (Essay question, 2500 words or less)
Doesn’t really impact drive ability, although a lot of people look at my car and try to look under it to see if I’m dragging my muffler.