Windshield Area Rattle
 

Been hearing a rattle similar to a loose screw near the lower right passenger side windshield area. Some days it’s very noticeable, others it’s not. Dealer has it now for the 2nd time to try and resolve it. No rhyme or reason as to why it’s noticeable sometimes and then it’s quiet. Did it the entire ride to the dealer but upon arrival when they rode with me it quieted right down. They have heard it, problem is, it wasn’t a service tech. (Service manager & sales rep). Not sure if it’s inside or outside. Dealer has it now, a tech is going to drive it to try and get it to act up. Figured I’d put it out her just in case someone else may be experiencing something like this. No TSB found. Our new 21 Nightshade we’re trying to enjoy but this annoying issue is dampening it. Just hit 1000 on it and nearly a third of that is going back and forth to the dealer to resolve.

There is no 6th gen 4runner.

Post this in 5th gen, which is the current gen

HUH??? This is the 5th Gen forum. :shrug: I think. LOL!

There are several threads on this. One goes into disassembling the plastic that surrounds your wiper on the outside.

My experience is there are 2 things that happen.

1) If dirt or debris collects around the lower corner of the front window (where the pillar meets the hood) right where the window meets the black plastic, it can result in clicking sounds when the body flexes. Cleaning it solves the problem. I get that a lot when driving around offroad when it's dusty / sandy.

2) Temperature change. I assume the plastic/metal/glass expands and contracts at different rates and you get some zones where there is noise as a result.

But lots of ideas if you read the old threads. Most of those people are no longer here, so you can only get their experience by searching.

That's what I had in my '07 Tundra. When they pulled it apart to fix the rodent problem, it was gone.

Rubber sheet inside the wheel well, between the wheel and engine.

Glove box contents?

could be:
1. engine splash guards in wheel well area. the plastic clips that hold them rattle. wiggle them to recreate sound. you can put new clips or something around the clips so they dont rattle. double sided tape, silicone, etc.
2. plastic trim pieces on bottom of windshield. could be either corner piece or the big middle piece. they squeak usually. push down on them to recreate the noise. you can clean the area and then there are usually clips under these pieces that squeak and rattle so look at the above suggestion.
3. my glove box lid is now rattling too. guess it's time for some foam tape haha

Could be....

Remove the cowl cover and verify if the wire harness came off the mounting point.

Step two would be to secure it with a method of your desire.

This:

Rubber sheet inside the wheel well, between the wheel and engine.

as other posters said, it could be one of several things:
1. plastic/rubber corners between lower corners of the windshield and the plastic windshield wiper cowl being somewhat loosened by a temp change. this will happen if you've had a windshield replacement. just buy a couple of replacements, theyre cheap
2. the entire windshield wiper cowl getting a bit loose and rattling on metal touch points (3m tape fixes this)
3. wheel well liners, specifically the attachment points; rad rubber designs replacements are the go to
4. a plastic piece that attaches in the lower left passenger footwell just under the dash--mine will sometimes rattle in the cold when at a stop, etc.

Another place to check is up under the dash in the passenger footwell above the removable black plastic footguard piece is a thick bundle of wires that goes through a plastic circular clip. On mine (and several others that I've read about) the clip itself rattles a little. You can test by undoing the circular clip around the bundle. The bundle still rests on the bottom of the clip, you just unclip the top part. Mine went away. I put a small piece of foam in the clip to make it tighter which solved the rattle (it was really more of a constant tick tick tick tick).

That's what I suspect mine is. Gets worse after driving down rough roads or wheeling and then quiet down after a day. Probably just loose clips that hold those rubber mud guards on.

So I have the same sound in the lower drivers corner of the windshield. I read somewhere this is called windshield cream and is caused by off-roading. The windshield seal is creaking. I plan to take it to the dealer and try to get a new windshield