Rattle in rear hatch when opened and closed

[JCSTEW]

Does anyone else have a rattle in their rear hatch when they open and close the hatch? Sounds like a marble rolling around inside the hatch. I had the same sound on my 2002 Sequoia hatch. Does Toyota put a desiccant ball in there to absorb moisture? The rattle came to 2002 Sequoia after I had the rear latch handle replaced at the dealer and my 2009 4Runner has an electric latch not sure that makes any difference.

 

[riceandpho]

close the tailgate window again.

 

[JCSTEW]

I opened and closed the rear window and it did not make any difference. You only hear this rattle noise when you are in the process of opening and closing the rear hatch. Sounds like a screw, nut, or a ball bearing / marble rolling around inside the lower edge of the hatch as the hatch is going up or down.

 

[UteRunner]

I've got the same thing. Figured it was a clip that broke off at some point. Haven't tried to remedy it.

 

[zerowkul98]

I got one of those in my 03's rear door. I was putting my new plate on and the little plastic end of the previous pin that held it on busted off. Relatively easy to open the rear panel and fish it out.

 

[JCSTEW]

Thanks, I will take a look when I get a chance. I just was not sure if it was normal or just kind of a typical thing. Thanks again.

 

[TTurner]

I know there are a few nuts that hold the badging that houses the switch on the outside and they are located on the inside of the door you may have loss one of them. I believe they are like a 10 mm so they are pretty small so I could see it being one of those. When i replaced the switch on the back hatch of my 06 T4R none of the ones holding it were tight, they all broke really easy so one may have worked its way off.

 

[riceandpho]

check the bolts on the spoiler if equiped, also do you guys slam the tailgate? i thought it auto close after you get it to latch in place. i always close it lightly and it auto close the rest of the way.

 

[ryangab]

I have the same thing in mine. It drives me nuts but only for the split second I hear it. Other than that I don't even think about it. I'm not going to mess with it until it warms up a bit. As far a the rear hatch, it is self closing so all you have to do is lower it and the latch will catch it an close it slowly. But when other I was at a hotel the bellhop came to get the bags out of the back then slammed the door shut as I cringed. Unless you know it shuts on its own people will just slam it shut.

 

[UteRunner]

I always close mine lightly. The lady I bought it from told me she always closed it slowly as they can break if you are hard on them. I want to cry when someone else closes the hatch roughly.

 

[TexasPJ]

Hi.. I saw your reply.. I have a 2012 and this is driving me crazy.. How easy is it to open the rear panel?

 

[JayFlo0800]

10mm nut got loose in my rear door panel

I have a 2016 4Runner and when I got home from the car wash and opened the rear door I heard a rattle. At the bottom of the door are a set of handles that are meant to be used to open and close the door. I pulled the drivers side plastic handle out with a set of automotive interior tools. I shook the rear door a few times and out fell a 10mm nut.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any plans of taking the entire back panel off of the rear door. That sounds like a job for the dealership.

 

[Marfy]

Have you ever had your rear window break? Some kid smashed mine and I had it replaced at Toyota. Afterwards I had to pull it apart and clean bits of glass out of the inner door.

 

[08TxRunner]

I've got an '08 and here's what I found - there is some kind of thick tar-like paper that is applied from the factory to the inside skin of the tailgate (I'm guessing sound deadener). As time goes on it deteriorates and starts falling off, landing at the bottom of the inside of the tailgate. I used a paint scraper to remove the rest and used a shop vac to get it all out. No more noise.

 

[504Wil]

Something is loose in my 4Runner rear hatch

Just fixed this problem. Every time I opened my rear hatch, something rolled around inside. In my ‘01 I just chalked it up as being a double hand-me-down vehicle and dealt with it. I just recently bought a 2016, and boom, same rattle upon opening and closing the rear door.

I did not hear the rattle when driving. Only when opening and closing the door.

10 minute fix. YouTube “4Runner rear hatch panel removal”. I did this, then shook the door to hear where the object was. Reached inside the door and found a small nut. I could not place where it came from. Some on this post say it’s originally from the license plate screws, but I only found one. And there wasn’t a second on the LP screws. Hope this helps someone.

 

[Trendari]

I had some noise in the back hatch awhile ago, dealer re-torqued the bolts and it went away so just another thing to check.