Creak in Right Rear and Dash Rattle on '04 4X4

I have 1,800 miles on my '04 now and have a creak that comes from the right rear of the vehicle when I turn over uneven surfaces such as a sloped driveway. The creak is getting worse. This cannot be a normal noise can it be? Has anyone experienced any similar problems?

Also, I have a rattle in the nav unit. It happens at highway speeds on slightly rough roads. If I apply pressure to the plastic rim above the radio unit, the rattle stops. Anyone have this rattle?

These are warranty issues aren't they?

Hawk

Hawk said:

I have 1,800 miles on my '04 now and have a creak that comes from the right rear of the vehicle when I turn over uneven surfaces such as a sloped driveway. The creak is getting worse. This cannot be a normal noise can it be? Has anyone experienced any similar problems?

Click to expand...

I have this problem on my '03, i dont know what it is...i have chalked it up as a normal noise among others. I mentioned it to the dealer and they said there was nothing wrong...so who knows...let me know if you get a different answer if you mention it

When severely flexing the suspension off-road, I have noticed a creaking noise from the left rear. Sounds like a bushing in the rear suspension. Never hear it in on-road situations, so I have not checked into it.

I had a similar noise on my '97 F-150 and it turned out that the body mount bushings needed to be torqued to spec.

Check your rear tailgates people...

I had a creak coming from the rear cargo area everytime I drove up anything at an angle (like a sloped driveway as already mentioned). After endless nights playing with all of the plastic trim in the back, I focused my attention on the rear tailgate. I suspected that it wasn't being "held in" tightly enough, and that body flex when driving on angled surfaces caused the hatch to squeak.

Here is how I found the source:

I drove around the neighborhood one night looking for road features (dips, bumps, driveways) that would reproduceably cause the squeak. Obstacle course in place, I then opened the tail gate and placed a thin towel over the rubber stops on both sides of the back of the truck (next to the rear brake/blinker/tail light housing) and closed the tailgate again. If you look at the sides of the tailgate itself, you will notice two plastic bumpers that press against the rubber stops by the tail light housing when the hatch is closed. Since I suspected that the tailgate wasn't being sandwiched tightly enough when closed, I placed a thin towel in between the rubber stop and plastic bumper before closing the tailgate. With the towel in place, I was able to drive over all of the sloping surfaces with no squeak at all. It was completely gone.

And this is how I fixed it:

I removed the rear tail light housing and attempted to adjust the two rubber stops towards the middle of the vehicle (for a tighter sandwiching effect). Unfortunately, they were already adjusted in as far as they could go. So, I decided that the next best thing was to add a thin shim under the plastic bumper stops on the tailgate. I cut two thin pieces of plastic from a clear plastic carpet protector (rolled vinal) and installed them under the plastic stops. I drove around again and smiled from ear to ear as the squeak was no more.

That was 8 or 9 months ago and still no squeak.

It is also possible that fine tuning the latch receptacle and/or the tail gate hinges might also eliminate the squeak, but I am not that courageous.

Maybe this is your problem too?

I am going to have it looked at for the first service at the dealer. The creak is getting worse. It now creaks at times while driving straight down the highway.

My brake pedal is also clicking everytime I apply it. This didn't happen when the truck was new either. The click is pretty faint, but it is really annoying. Anyone have this going on?

So far, I am slightly unimpressed with the build quality. I have rattles and a squeaky sunroof. I am sure all of this will be covered under warranty and I am trying to keep an open mind.

Besides these problems, I think this is about the best car that I have ever owned.

Hawk

The pulsation that you feel in the brake pedal is the hydraulic brake booster. It (really) is normal...

Click Creek

Clicking brake pedal every application is not normal booster function. Maybe every few times it's pressed, but not every time. My clicky/pulsation brake sysmptoms were very annoying at first but I don't even notice it anymore after 5K miles because it's more faint and less frequent than before. Overall, brakes are great.

Regarding the right rear creek, put the back seats down and see if it still does it. If it does, PHIL is on to something regarding tailgate. If not, it's probably the rear seat latch. I've had both rear seat latches cause sounds that you would never think were coming from there. Solution is piece of tape around front of metal hoop that latch clamps onto.

i will try these things tonight, but i am almost certain that the sound is coming from somewhere in the suspension or suspension mounting points. the sound is getting even worse. not it creaks as i drive.

does anyone know if toyota has loaner cars at their dealers? i don't think i should have to pay for a rental when my car is less than one month old.

hawk

For what it's worth, when my left rear seat latch was causing noise, I was absolutely certain it was coming from outside the vehicle, in the rear, and suspension related.

are you talking about the 2nd row seats? i have to do some driving today so i will try it with the seats down. i'll let you know.

hawk

I only have 2 rows. If you have 3 rows, you may have different issue altogether? Keep us updated on the result of your drive with seats down.

Hawk said:

Also, I have a rattle in the nav unit. It happens at highway speeds on slightly rough roads. If I apply pressure to the plastic rim above the radio unit, the rattle stops. Anyone have this rattle?
Hawk

Click to expand...

I've got the exact problem you're describing down to a T. Have been ignoring it so far. I'm afraid that if they disassemble the dash to fix this rattle, other stuff will creak/clunk/rattle.

Like others, I'm very disappointed in the '04 4Runner LTD build quality.

yeah, i think the build quality is a bit low. especially considering that the toyotas built in japan are supposed to have higher build quality than the ones built here.

oh yeah and is it too much to ask for a $43K automobile should run perfectly when new, as well as for a long time afterward? the only time this answer should be yes is when it applies to american cars.

hawk

Hawk, did you drive with the seats down?

What bothers me even more is that the Lexus equivalent is getting all their problems like the drive-train clunking and the drone noise resolved via TSB's. What do we Toyota owners get? Diddly squat!

what drone noise are you talking about?

i have a noise when i make sharp turns at slow speeds, but i imagine that is because of the 4 wheel drive binding slightly at the differentials.

hawk

The droning noise described in this thread.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2410

sorry to hear that you all hear that droning. i have almost 3,000 miles and don't hear it. but i live in a warm climate. someone in an earlier post suggested the cold weather has something to do with it. good luck in finding a cure... and hopefully avoiding the cannot duplicate.

i owned a ford as my last car and got that response all of the time.

hawk

Oscar,

I drove with the seats down and don't think the noise was there. After a couple days of that, I put the seats back up and the noise was still minimal or gone.

Two weeks later now, the noise is back. I am going to have the dealer look at it.

Thanks for the tip.

Hawk

Elevate the issues and go to arbitration if necessary. I had a Toyota Corp. rep in KC tell me there was "no fix" for the driveline vibration and drone and that I had to live with it. I said BS and we're in the middle of arbitration and if I get my way, Toyota USA will be buying back my 4-runner. I suggest that all dissatisfied customers post their complaints on the governments website for defects investigations at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.