Rattle Noise On Passenger Door Latch Area

[SE6R]

I got my 4runner just about six month ago and I've encounter a rattle noise on the passenger front door latch area last month when I went over uneven road. I took my suv to the dealer in my area to diagnosis the problem. They acknowledge the problem, first they adjusted the door striker which pull the door inward and the door is no longer aligned with the body but the problem didn't not go away. Then I have to take it in for the second time because my door wasn't closing properly, I would have to slam the door to get it to close. The dealer then schedule with the body shop to realigned the door, I didn't see my suv for a whole week. I got a loaner car which was paid by the dealer. A week later, got a call from the dealer and said my suv is ready. I was happy to see my suv, door was aligned to factory specs. I test drove the my suv, the problem with the rattle is still there when I drive over uneven roads. Then I had to schedule an appointment with Toyota DSPM, he only come on Thursday between 8 and 12 pm. I have to drop off my suv on Wednesday night and got another loaner car. Thursday afternoon, got an phone call from dealer said the DSPM didn't duplicated the noise and my suv is ready for pick up. I went to the dealer and ask if the shop foreman would like to go with me for a test drive and the service manager said "If the Toyota DSPM didn't find the noise, I can't schedule you the test drive". I know this is a long message, its not as long as my frustration. Please help.

 

[ToolmanJohn]

It's unfortunate

That dealership sounds like it has no skilled consciensious technicians. Same problem at my stealership. I recently let them have my truck an entire day 7-4pm... They didn't even make an attempt to find the real problem causing my headliner rattle.

I found it myself in about 10 minutes in my garage. And I fixed it too. Sad commentary on the service departments out there.

I recommend you get the factory manuals and take the door panel off and find it yourself. In fact it could be the inner door panel needs to pulled slightly out and pushed back on. It worked on my driver side. The armrest would make noise whenever I rested my arm on it. Pulled the panel off at the rear of the door, popped it back in. No more noise. Weird.

 

[SE6R]

Thanks John, for the reply. I'm not sure if I should tackle the problem myself, what if it void my warranty? It sucks, today I got a called from customer relations manager and she told me the dealer can't issue a test drive because the DSPM from Toyota headquarter didn't find the noise. Now I'm stuck with a Toyota defect. Hey John, the manual might be the only way to go from here. This dealer is suppose to be the #1 in the world, maybe you might have heard of it, Longo Toyota in El Monte. They sure got my 1 out of 5 rating for customer satisfaction. Wish me luck. Thanks again.

 

[ToolmanJohn]

GOOD LUCK

Thanks John, for the reply. I'm not sure if I should tackle the problem myself, what if it void my warranty? It sucks, today I got a called from customer relations manager and she told me the dealer can't issue a test drive because the DSPM from Toyota headquarter didn't find the noise. Now I'm stuck with a Toyota defect. Hey John, the manual might be the only way to go from here. This dealer is suppose to be the #1 in the world, maybe you might have heard of it, Longo Toyota in El Monte. They sure got my 1 out of 5 rating for customer satisfaction. Wish me luck. Thanks again.

Take your time when disassembling things, and take pictures if you feel it's neccessary. For things that rattle that can't be tightened with a screw, get some sticky back foam weatherstripping (home depot) and air conditioner window seal foam (big cutable stuff) for stopping squeaks.

 

[SE6R]

Thanks again, John.