I have a 2016 Ford Escape. Recently it has started to make a rattling sound; not painfully loud but a clearly noticable and sounds. This only happens when it is in gear (Drive or Reverse) and does not occur in Park or Neutral. It does not appear to get louder with higher RPMs (e.g., as vehicle is moving). Not 100% sure on exact location, but when I pop the hood the noise stops, when I lean on the left side of the hood, it stops. It only makes the noise when it’s down and in either R or D. Any ideas on what this is likely to be? Really appreciate any support.
There should be rubber hood bumpers on each side of the engine compartment. Compare each side, one may be missing causing the rattle.
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If they are both there, what else do I need to look at?
Most of the ones I’ve seen are adjustable.
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Okay! I’ve tried adjusting both of them by turning them but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right. Would I adjust both sides or just the one that is rattling?
The hood might need some adjustment to actually touch the bumpers. There usially is some adjustment on the bumpers at the most forward corner.
You may need to tweak the hood a bit by grabbing and giving it a bit of a twist to get it to sit properly. Scary but they do that at the manufacturing plant to line things up.
Both sides
Okay thank you!
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One up, one down to make it fit correctly.
Yup!
Several times over the years, I took student groups for a tour of the GM assembly plant in Linden, NJ.
At the end of the assembly line, one of the last things that was done was the alignment of the hood of those Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles. They raised the “low” side of the misaligned hoods by repeatedly slamming the hood on a hammer handle. Craftsmanship at work!
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I saw similar at the Honda Accord plant in Ohio. The worker shut the hood, looked at the fit, popped it back open and gave the hood a twist from the front corners and shut it again. Passed a visual inspection and away it went.
Watched a worker us a 2x4 to align a door on a Firebird at the Norwood Ohio assembly plant. A little bit of that same “Craftmanship!”
And the one that gives me the biggest smile… the end-of-line transfer in Bowling Green KY of each Corvette being started and driven the the roller alignment and powertrain function check by a guy with a cigarette in his mouth. The shocked looks that OCD Corvette owners give me when I tell them their Corvette’s been smoked in… EVERY Corvette has been smoked in! 
My 2000 Blazer had a hood rattle. The rattle was coming from the hinges, over time the sides of the hinge bolt hole had worn and the bolt was no longer a tight fit. I diagnosed the rattle by shoving a piece of cardboard between the hood and fender at the hinge. A set of tapered washers fixed the rattle. Also if you have a roof rack, check that the side rails are tightened down properly.
Ed B.