Creeking noise while driving on bumpy roads

[luckatheirish]

Can anyone help me with a noise I have in my 2010 4Runner Limited. I have a noise that I hear as I drive on bumpy or rough roads. It sounds like a creek or a squeak coming from under the vehicle. I can't tell if it's in the front or back because it doesn't happen all the time. The sound seems to be louder after the vehicle has been driven for awhile. I just had both rear stabilizer bushings replaced but still have the noise. Almost sounds like the noise you get with a bad strut. Any thoughts on what it could be? Thanks so much.

 

[harper7]

Can anyone help me with a noise I have in my 2010 4Runner Limited. I have a noise that I hear as I drive on bumpy or rough roads. It sounds like a creek or a squeak coming from under the vehicle. I can't tell if it's in the front or back because it doesn't happen all the time. The sound seems to be louder after the vehicle has been driven for awhile. I just had both rear stabilizer bushings replaced but still have the noise. Almost sounds like the noise you get with a bad strut. Any thoughts on what it could be? Thanks so much.

Check your spare tire or maybe it is a shock.The spare will make a squeaking noise as the rubber rubs on the metal body underneath as mine had that squeak one time .Spare loses pressure in winter.See if you can move it by hand or just let it down a little and then re-position it and crank it back up.

 

[kaloman]

Can you hear it with the windows up? Harper makes a great point regarding the spare tire.

To throw it out there, I have an interior squeak that is at the lower pivot location of the rear seats, where the 60/40 split meets. It sounds like the leather rubbing up against something and it squeaks at every bump. To make it go away, I completely fold down the rear and reposition to the normal. Basically making sure that any kinks in the "leather" are undone, if that makes sense. The noise will eventually return after a few weeks or so. It doesn't bother me unless I have the stereo volume down.

Good luck.

 

[kowski49]

Similar experience here. I hear a creak/squeak over almost every bump with the windows down at < 35 mph. I've kinda assumed it was a shock but haven't searched the forum yet regarding how to lube a shock. I had hoped it would resolve after my 30k service when the dealer was supposed to lube stuff but no dice.
Interesting idea about the spare harper, I'll check that out tomorrow.

 

[limamike]

To my ears there is a distinct difference between a creak and a squeak. I hear squeaks from the plastic in my dash that rubs together in ways it wasn't intended to because I took it apart. I get creaks from my suspension because bushings are worn in my upper control arms.

Squeaks are higher pitch and shorter duration, but much more rapid (like chattering). Creaks are lower pitch, slightly longer duration and have a distinctive metal sound to them that are distinctively responsive to road input.

Which sound do you have?

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

My whole truck squeaks, rattles, makes horrible pops, etc. HAHA I quickly got over tracking down these noises as it was completely worthless… track one down, another one pops up….

One thing to check, though, is your rear hatch. That is one squeak that I couldn't live with. One of two things can be making noise back there. Try this… clean off those rubber bumps on both the rear hatch door and their counterpart on the body. Sometimes those squeak. The other thing is the stupid rear hatch catch assembly can squeak too. Try wrapping a round or two of electrical tape around the "catch" for the rear hatch latch (wow…. catch, hatch, latch….) you will see some shiny spots on it, wrap the tape there and see if that helps. It does wonders for my truck, I re-do the tape every 10k miles or so to keep the noise from coming back.

Hope that helps!:yo:

 

[BigredTEX]

I've had a creak (not a squeak) from the upper control arm bushings. Off-roading gunk got in there. Bushing lube from the local auto parts store could be an easy fix.

 

[macntatsch]

Got Sliders?

I've had a creak since I installed my Rocky Road Sliders. I think it is the slider rubbing agianst some of the plastic trim or mud flaps. Or it might just be I didn't get all the bolts torqed enough.

 

[kowski49]

Which sound do you have?

Based on your definition I'm gonna say creak. Hopefully tomorrow I can try some of the suggestions offered.

 

[psiems]

My whole truck squeaks, rattles, makes horrible pops, etc. HAHA I quickly got over tracking down these noises as it was completely worthless… track one down, another one pops up….

One thing to check, though, is your rear hatch. That is one squeak that I couldn't live with. One of two things can be making noise back there. Try this… clean off those rubber bumps on both the rear hatch door and their counterpart on the body. Sometimes those squeak. The other thing is the stupid rear hatch catch assembly can squeak too. Try wrapping a round or two of electrical tape around the "catch" for the rear hatch latch (wow…. catch, hatch, latch….) you will see some shiny spots on it, wrap the tape there and see if that helps. It does wonders for my truck, I re-do the tape every 10k miles or so to keep the noise from coming back.

Hope that helps!:yo:

This is where I found my squeak! The rear latch. I sprayed a little bit of lithium grease and no more squeak. Thanks!

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

This is where I found my squeak! The rear latch. I sprayed a little bit of lithium grease and no more squeak. Thanks!

It seems like 8 times out of 10 this is what it is. My buddy's truck is the same way.

 

[kowski49]

Is it thread jacking if I've posted more than the OP? Sorry, I'm not sorry.
I just ruled out the spare tire and the rear hatch latch catch:doh:; they are non-creakers. The sound definitely comes from the rear of the vehicle on the driver's side.
I think its this guy:

and by "this guy" I mean this guy:

Here's where I really get to showcase my ignorance...
Is that the rear upper control arm? If so, sounds like what BigRedTex mentioned in his post and I guess I'm off in search of bushing lube. It was hard, but I fought the urge to just spray "Fabulous Blaster Garage Door Lube" all over the place. That stuff is awesome.
Also never posted images before, so let's see what this post looks like...

 

[SOcalTRAIL]

Is it thread jacking if I've posted more than the OP? Sorry, I'm not sorry.
I just ruled out the spare tire and the rear hatch latch catch:doh:; they are non-creakers. The sound definitely comes from the rear of the vehicle on the driver's side.
I think its this guy:
View attachment 85183
and by "this guy" I mean this guy:
View attachment 85182
Here's where I really get to showcase my ignorance...
Is that the rear upper control arm? If so, sounds like what BigRedTex mentioned in his post and I guess I'm off in search of bushing lube. It was hard, but I fought the urge to just spray "Fabulous Blaster Garage Door Lube" all over the place. That stuff is awesome.
Also never posted images before, so let's see what this post looks like...

What you circled in the pic is your rear KDSS sway bar end link. That is a teflon lined bearing in there, while it is possible it could be the cuplrit, I would doubt it.

 

[eddiebx]

What you circled in the pic is your rear KDSS sway bar end link. That is a teflon lined bearing in there, while it is possible it could be the cuplrit, I would doubt it.

Since we are thread jacking here, is there any recommend maintenance on these teflon lined bearings? And would you know off the top of your head where else in our suspension Toyota uses these bearings from the factory?