Here's the story, and thank God for these forums or I would have driven my 4R off a cliff...

We bought a '17 SR5 Premium and about 2k miles later it developed an awful creak/tick from the dash area. It first started after driving on some washboard Forest Service roads up here in the PNW. It went away at first but the more we drove and the more bumpy roads we drove on it seemed to come back more and more frequently. Sometimes it seemed like it was from the passenger side and other times from the drivers side. After a while it just became pretty common. I still don't know if cold brought it on, when the rig was dirty, or maybe a full moon, but those damn bumpy roads, dirt/dust, long drives to/from hiking trails pretty much always did the trick.

Heres a couple videos for sound reference:
https://youtu.be/ffeybjTArQ0
https://youtu.be/RzcxDWdgSgA

SO, as I said before, I was one squeek away from driving off the nearest cliff but I decided I should check the trusty forums first. Here are the threads that helped me.

Windshield ticks, creaks, noises
Dash Click/Rattle
A squeaking/crackling noise resolved
Squeaking noise solved on my 2011 Trail Edition

After doing the research I started on my list:

1. Pulled the windshield wiper cowl, zip-tied some loose pieces, greased everything in sight. (didn't fix it for me)

2. Fender Liners, remove tabs, put 2 sided tape on, replace.

3. Go interior and start looking for loose wiring etc. (didn't make it this far thankfully)


After completing #1 I still had the issue.
BUT! Step #2 The fender liner trick solved the problem!

Here are a few more pictures, you can see where the paint has actually been worn off by the flaps rubbing and the sound was easily reproduced.

Spots where the flap rubbed through.

Two sided tape, removed the red and poked a hole through.

All done, I did both sides for good measure.

I'm still a little confused how the sound can travel so clear into the cab while driving with the radio on and everything but whatever. I hope this helps anyone dealing with the same issue. Even if my particular fix doesn't solve the issue, there's a chance maybe one of the other fixes mentioned in the threads above does. I know any idiot like me that can search the forums could come to the same conclusion eventually but my goal writing this was to help expedite that fix and diagnose with the videos/sound added.

Fix away compadres,

God bless you, Sir! When I listened to your video, my blood pressure shot up. I’ve been chasing that noise for a while. I’ve had my suspicions about those flaps since I move them a lot, greasing my UCA’s, but now I’m breaking out the 3M.

I've seen this "fix" posted on this forum several times, but could never figure out what could be so bad about the noise. I listened to your audio clips and still can't figure it out.

All I could think of was the radio, turn it up man!

I had the same issue with my 2016 SR5 Premium. I fixed it by using electrical tape, this is a much better solution, will complete this MOD tomorrow!

I had the same noise from Mar - Oct and it was driving me up the wall. The two sided tape fix solved it for me, but now I've got a really faint rattle... argh!

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I have the exact same noise. It starts happening after I drive on a bumpy road and will last for a day or two and then just disappear. It sounds like it's coming from the driver's side visor area, so I don't know how the fender liner could be causing it, but I'll give it a shot.

Nice find!

I had the same noise in my 16 Pro. Drove me nuts.

Complained about it at the dealership when I had the oil changed. Tech drove it, and recognized it immediately. Wrapped some tape around the fastener to tighten the "gap". Noise gone.

He said that he has seen it in several 4Runners and even brought it up the chain to see if it would get resolved at some higher level.

It is nice when that sound goes away.

Oh man, I recently developed this noise and it was driving me nuts! Replaced my UCAs a few months ago and had to pull those skirts off to do it. I'm pretty confident this is the source of noise. Thanks OP!

Man, you have it right about driving it off a cliff.

I was SERIOUSLY close to selling the damn thing because of this noise- it's maddening!

I discovered the culprit after about a month of dealing with it- same thing, I just ran a zip-tie through the hole and all has been good.

^^^This.

I did this and it is gone. 8 months of it was driving me bonkers. Now my ride is quiet again...

...until I do something else.

I literally just popped in here to search this. My rattling has been driving me crazy!

Glad it's helping some of you guys!

You might want to try the fix in this thread Dash Click/Rattle It's under the wiper cowl and clipped on to the air inlet box. Mine was loose and seemed like it would be making noise.

When mine first started it sounded like it was the passenger visor area like the headliner or windshield was loose or something. I was very doubtful too that it could be something down in the fender but somehow it fixed it for me. It's perplexing but sound travels in weird ways I suppose...

No way is this the reason why I hear the obnoxious squeaking.... Thats crazy! I thought it was for sure a dash problem or windshield problem. I will need to try this when I get home!

Thanks for sharing man!

This post is pure gold. I've been listening to this squeak for about 10,000 miles. No more!

Good lord, I almost lost my mind when this happened to mine. Less than 3000 miles and had spent a couple days on trail roads...for some reason, taking it to the car wash solved it for me and it hasn't done it since.