4Runner Rattle Noise

[mrt6644]

Hello!

I have a 2019 TRD Off Road 4Runner with 750 miles on it. I have a clunk/rattle in the front end when going over sharp speed bumps, and ruts in the road (such as breaks in pavement, or going on/off of a bridge).

I have two recordings... One of my suspension HERE ( YouTube )

I have one of the outside, too HERE ( YouTube )

I have tried the following things:

Removed Front AND Transmission skidplates
Removed the mudflap in the wheel well
Removed the plastic wheel hubs on the TRD Off Road wheels
Checked the clips on the upper control arms and sealed them in place
They also torqued all suspension components to factory specs

They "insulated" my skid plate which was useless since I told them it happens without skid plate on it... HEH


Thanks

LOVE my 4Runner, HATE that it rattles already!

I have a new 2020 TRD Off Road Prem and every once in a while I notice a thin metal rattle. I only notice it when the window is open and Im idling or moving slowly. I dont know how often it is as I hardly ever have the window open in this humid heat. Usually when I'm in a drive through.
On my 2015 Trail I had that clunk issue that was never resolved. The dealers could never find it.

 

[fsaral77]

I think I have loose LCA bolts after an alignment. How can I torque these down without messing up my alignment?

 

[thekoopakid22]

I was experiencing a rattle as well and went searching for answers and stumbled upon this thread. After watching your videos it sounded exactly the same as mine. Only happens when going over bumps and windows have to be down to hear it. Though it was something with suspension for a while because it was only happening over bumps. I have a 2015 TRD Pro and just took it in for its 90k service. I was able to locate the source of the rattle for me. It was the "COVER ASSEMBLY, ENGINE UNDER, REAR". One of the bolts wasn't tightened down enough and was causing a rattle. .
https://i.imgur.com/Btpb2Rw.jpg[/IMG

I realize this is an old thread but this may help someone else out!

 

[Okusputokus]

Happy you found your clunk! I have aftermarket skids and have checked those many many times. I removed my front sway which has helped but when wheeling I do continue to hear the clunk. It may be in the rear! The front sway, in theory, is stiffening the rig enough to make the clunk more frequent with lateral movement(over rocks, off-camber, etc), so again removing it reduces the clunks but IT'S STILL THERE! Someday I'll find it lol.

I was experiencing a rattle as well and went searching for answers and stumbled upon this thread. After watching your videos it sounded exactly the same as mine. Only happens when going over bumps and windows have to be down to hear it. Though it was something with suspension for a while because it was only happening over bumps. I have a 2015 TRD Pro and just took it in for its 90k service. I was able to locate the source of the rattle for me. It was the "COVER ASSEMBLY, ENGINE UNDER, REAR". One of the bolts wasn't tightened down enough and was causing a rattle. .
https://i.imgur.com/Btpb2Rw.jpg[/IMG

I realize this is an old thread but this may help someone else out![/QUOTE]

 

[jgb21_98]

getting mine in a couple weeks, hope no ratttles either!

 

[BorotHex]

I have so many annoying rattles in my 2021 that I’m probably going to get rid of it. I’ve had 24 cars in my life. This is my first ever Toyota, and probably my last. I’ve spent at least an hour every day for 3 weeks trying every trick I know and I’m getting nowhere. I’m starting to hate the car.

Good luck to those fighting with this, but I have to say I have never been so stumped and I have always been able to fix any rattles myself. Not on this one. They just seem to be unfolding right and left. Pisses me off.

Edit - If you have a popping sound at the passenger a-pillar, believe it or not the fitment is so bad that it is actually bound on my car. I used an interior trim tool to shove a microfiber towel in between and for now that popping beast from hell is tamed. A 1985 Ford Escort had engineering sufficient to not have the dash popping on the a-pillar. Disappointed because these are engineering issues, not assembly. It’s just not designed to minimize NVH and I have to say it’s shocking to me. I always thought Toyota’s were boring, but all this stuff was perfect. Not true.

I have not even started on the moonroof. I have rattles while it’s closed, different rattles when it’s fully opened, and a horrifying metal on metal binding tear/pop sound when it’s tilted. I love moon roofs so this is very annoying.

 

[ChrisMo757]

My 2019 TRD OR Prem had several annoying rattles that really made me question the build quality of "newer" Toyotas. One was coming from the moonroof which turned out to be one of the little covers that expand on each side to hide the mechanical lifts. Also, one from the passenger side dash top speaker which required me to loosen the bolts that hold the speaker in place. I had one coming from the driver side striker plate which made the door creak/rattle. The fix was to barely loosen the bolt on the top and putting a piece of felt then tightening it back up. I also noticed a squeak coming from the non- KDSS front suspension on a mild off road trail. I sold it before I could get around to dealing with that one. Honestly my 4th Gen's feel better put together than the 5th gen.

 

[BorotHex]

I have been fighting rattles for months. Dealer replaced the sunroof rail and all kids of stuff. Took two days. The loud structural popping when tilted seems fixed, but now there is a much more constant rattle they created.

They did find the dash buzzing/rattling that I had complained about and taken it in 3 times was a wire harness going through the firewall rattling.

But I got the truck back, hitting bumps and listening to all the rattles, and decided I can’t do it anymore. Drove straight to Honda and picking up a Ridgeline tomorrow. I don’t need a truck anymore anyway since I’m moving.

The dealer shuttle is a Sienna and I was shocked at the sliding doors knocking and popping. My loaner past two days was a Yaris and it rattled even far worse than my 4Runner. Having owned many, many new cars, 24 now in total, I can say that by far the worst interior quality is Toyota. No other maker comes close, and I even owned a 2019 Chevy Trailboss and multiple F150s and Mustangs. Closest is Honda, but that’s always been 1-2 rattles I easily fixed. These Toyotas have very serious interior problems. I don’t understand what is going on at Toyota. My mom had a 1993 Camry that never once rattled or popped, ever. I guess Toyota gave up.

First Toyota. Last Toyota.

 

[Relentlesskaizen]

I have been fighting rattles for months. Dealer replaced the sunroof rail and all kids of stuff. Took two days. The loud structural popping when tilted seems fixed, but now there is a much more constant rattle they created.

They did find the dash buzzing/rattling that I had complained about and taken it in 3 times was a wire harness going through the firewall rattling.

But I got the truck back, hitting bumps and listening to all the rattles, and decided I can’t do it anymore. Drove straight to Honda and picking up a Ridgeline tomorrow. I don’t need a truck anymore anyway since I’m moving.

The dealer shuttle is a Sienna and I was shocked at the sliding doors knocking and popping. My loaner past two days was a Yaris and it rattled even far worse than my 4Runner. Having owned many, many new cars, 24 now in total, I can say that by far the worst interior quality is Toyota. No other maker comes close, and I even owned a 2019 Chevy Trailboss and multiple F150s and Mustangs. Closest is Honda, but that’s always been 1-2 rattles I easily fixed. These Toyotas have very serious interior problems. I don’t understand what is going on at Toyota. My mom had a 1993 Camry that never once rattled or popped, ever. I guess Toyota gave up.

First Toyota. Last Toyota.

Must be yours. Mine had one rattle that has since went away. I will take some rattles in stride knowing I bought a car to last. Either way I hope your Honda serves you well, I had a couple high mileage ones in my early 20’s and they took me everywhere with out trouble.


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[4runrr]

Hello!

I have a 2019 TRD Off Road 4Runner with 750 miles on it. I have a clunk/rattle in the front end when going over sharp speed bumps, and ruts in the road (such as breaks in pavement, or going on/off of a bridge).

I have two recordings... One of my suspension HERE ( YouTube )

I have one of the outside, too HERE ( YouTube )


Thanks

LOVE my 4Runner, HATE that it rattles already!

Did I see on your youtube comments that the rattle was from your brake pads?

 

[BorotHex]

Must be yours. Mine had one rattle that has since went away. I will take some rattles in stride knowing I bought a car to last. Either way I hope your Honda serves you well, I had a couple high mileage ones in my early 20’s and they took me everywhere with out trouble.


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I wondered if it was just mine and considered trading on a Tacoma, but listening to the dealer’s shuttle van and my loaner car told me to run. I do love how indestructible the drivetrain is, and off-road it has preformed very, very well.

You may not have heard an earlier comment, but I also have two mystery noises coming from the suspension. One is a chirp in the front that sounds like a dry bushing, that the dealer had the nerve to say is fluid transferring in the shocks. Yeah. LOL! The other is a bad rattling from the front on washboard roads. Keep in mind the suspension noises were there at 5,000 miles.

What I see as a senior engineer and a person who’s had 20+ new cars, switched out engines, rebuilt automatic transmissions, and done everything else you can do to cars for 30+ years, is that assembly is correct. It’s the engineering and manufacturing that is off. And honestly manufacturing issues that pass inspection are Toyota engineering issues, too.

I blame Toyota engineering for poor mechanical and industrial engineering practices, and I stand by that. I don’t blame assembly regardless of factory location. Proper engineering makes assembly the same regardless of where it is. I also don’t blame parts manufacturers. Proper engineering and observation from Toyota removes that issue.

Based on the three Toyotas I’ve recently driven or been riding in, something is very, very wrong with the computer design and simulations being performed during the design phase on these cars. Noise, vibration, and harshness have for some reason taken a back seat. It’s probably cost and Toyota riding on it’s reputation. There’s no way engineering would allow it without it coming down from the top.

 

[GiantsOrangeTRDPRO]

I have the exact same rattle in my 2015 TRD Pro. It's maddening! Any luck finding where it's coming from?

 

[silverstar]

5th Gen 4Runner rattle fix!

I bought a 2020 Off Road 3 months ago and I love it. It is rock solid except when I go on asphalt roads with those abrupt expansion cracks. The sound is EXACTLY what the OP posted in that Youtube video. I thought it was in the driver side wheel area. I looked at that flap with the plastic keepers behind the driver side wheel, that many owners have already mentioned. Yes, the paint was being rubbed off and yes, it made a rattle when I wiggled it. I replaced one of the keepers with a bolt to keep it from moving, but the rattle was still present.

Then, yesterday, I happened to be drying off my hood. I was surprised at the up and down "play" in the hood and it also made a mechanical rattle rather than the more subdued sound you would expect from a loose hood. My light bulb went off. I opened the hood and found the two rubber "bumpers" that support the hood. They adjust simply by turning them. I raised mine so that the hood requires more of a "slam" to get it to latch. But the trade off is that there is no more up-down play and the ANNOYING RATTLE IS GONE.

 

[gmerlino304]

In the world of Rattles - this thread has saved me. I had one i would have bet a million dollars it was from driver side wheel well or suspension.
ripped off all of the shitty mud flaps and ridiculous plastic.. still there.
It ended up being the hood rattle. the latch has way too much play, even after adjusting the rubber stops under the hood. I wrapped the hood connection ‘C’ bar with Gaff Tape, and voila , noise gone. Still thinking of a more permanent fix, as the tape will wear through, but happy to know its not something more serious.
Thanks Silverstar!!!!!!