What a relief!! I had a very small headliner rattle/squeak over my left ear. SUPER annoying! It started a couple weeks ago, so I arranged to have the Toyota "service" dept look at it. I did not have great expectations of them fixing it, but some small hope lingered.

They had the truck Friday from 7am, and I called at 12 to see if it was fixed. I had taped a sign right on the spot where I heard the rattle/squeak. The "service" advisor said the technician couldn't find/hear any problem, and the technician had taken it out on two test drives and could hear nothing. So I was peeved (pissed actually, but I was still containing my emotions talking to the non-technical advisor).

I asked to speak to the service dept manager, but I was put on hold, and instead they put the technician who had test driven my truck on. He said he couldn't hear anything. I should go on a test ride with a technician. I don't have the time to blow off work to help them diagnose problems!! I told him to fix it or hand it to another technician until it was fixed or I would run this problem right up the foodchain of the dealership. So he ended up putting some foam strips into the headliner near the sunroof. I picked up the truck at 5:30pm, service dept closes at 4pm.

Was it fixed???

You guessed right if you think it did NOTHING for the problem. He didn't even try. So after doing some Christmas shopping today, and hearing that f&$%ing rattle over my ear, I parked in my garage and did my own looking. Only took 5 minutes to actually find a loose piece of headline support plastic!!! It was the exact place I told them the rattle was coming from!! Lazy A$$ technician!!

All I had to do was pull down the window weatherstrip, move the actual headliner down. and there was a plastic support which clips into the roof. It was the only piece (there are a few) which was obviously loose. In fact when I flicked it, the exact rattle was there!!! SOB!! I pulled a couple of the pieces of foam out of the headliner where the tech had stuffed it, and folded it and stuffed it next to the trim piece between the headliner. Pushed the weather strip back on and the squeak/rattle is banished!!!

Lazy, lazy, lazy!!! 5 hours and the technician did not THINK, or INVESTIGATE. " I didn't hear it, so it must not be a problem." I had to get a ride from the dealership from my brother the night before when dropping it off, a ride to work extra early Friday morning, and a ride from him again to pick the truck up. Major inconvenience for my brother and myself.

This little episode has FINALLY convinced me that I NEED the Toyota Factory Manual set. I need to know how to take things apart and put them back together without damaging anything. The ONLY work I will take it to the dealer for from now on is absolute electrical/mechanical failures that are obviously warrantable. Holy c$#p that service dept stinks.

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From the insdie where the rattle was.

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The weatherstrip pulled down, really easy to take off and press back on. The loose plastic clip is between the headliner and the roof

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Nice work on chasing it down!

now you should follow it up with the dealership. Let them know that YOU fixed it and that the time you brought it in was a COMPLETE waste of time. maybe you'll get something out of it.. or at least make the tech look dumb and lazy.

Keep checking Ebay for those manuals. I wanted a printed set and found them on Ebay. I can look up the seller name if you like.

You need to write a letter to the General Manager of the dealership. I promise he will speak to the service mgr, then the tech. I love doing stuff like this.

Getting tired of the run-around, especially from the front desk service advisors. They think their job is to make excuses for the service departments inability to correct problems.

Their policy is to do NOTHING if they can't duplicate/observe the problem the customer has explained to them. Why would I be wasting MY time taking my vehicle in for service for a problem that I feel needs to be corrected?? This is not the first time, which is why I can't stand them.

First it was the intermittent radio shutdown that they HAD to see before they would replace the headunit. Took 2 months!! I got lucky, I was close when it did it and drove it there.

When does it end? And the endless excuses..... BAH...

i think i may have the same squeak, will try out your TSB (ToolmanJohn's Service Bulletin!)

ToolmanJohn--

great string and photos. I've got a little rattle in the exact same place as your photo shows a squeak. However, I've got the side air-bag curtains right there and do not want to do anything that might interfere with their deployment. Do you or any other members of this forum have any ideas?

You should at least be able to pull the window seal off the door frame and take a look. Is it that different from a vehicle that doesn't have the airbag curtains?

Yeah, it is different--here's some pics. Ironically, after I peeled the window seal off the first time to take a look and then replaced the the rattle seemed to disappear on its own (so I must have moved something just enough). Now, as long as I didn't undo what I had done before while taking these pics it should still be okay--I guess we will see...

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Thanks for the photos and such. I got the same problem over my head when I am driving. I thought it was part of the sunroof and I saw a thread on here for a fix involving that, but it didn't solve the noise. It was something with using a plastic washer. you cut a third of it away and then pop it on to a rod in the sunroof. Seemed to make sense, but the nosie was still there.

Question...and I know it sounds silly but...is it more of a rattle or a squeak? Mine is definitely a rattle. And it is only noticeable at low speeds over bumps. once i am on the highway, I don't notice it.
thanks again.

It is possible that your noise is coming from the seatbelt retractor area. I also had a low speed rattle in that area. As it turned out, it was indeed a plastic clip that secures the gray seabelt guide. It a red trim clip and it is suppoed to hold the plastic tight to the frame. Mine was broken.


f I remember correctly, this was a while ago, you must remove the lower trim piece off the B pillar (snaps of with ridge clips), then remove two bolts from the upper plastic piece (they are in the middle of the B pillar).

Once the bolts are removed, the entire upper trim piece is raised/lowered (Sorry can't remember which direction, but it does come off). I also installed some adhesive foam weatherstripping on the inside edges before reinstalling that piece with a new clip. No noise from there since!!