Rattling noise on ceiling

[Borderfolle]

I used the nylon washer fix for my sunroof rattle and it worked great. Thanks WhiteSR5 for sharing your repair on this message board. It's what makes this such a good site!

 

[RXvedub]

Herman, I have a rattle coming from the same area you mentioned - on top on the ceiling but the sunglass holder. Sounds like it is coming from behind the sunglass holder and the two lights up there.

Mine rattles with sun roof open or shut. Any ideas?

How hard is it to take out that sunglass holder/light assembly so I can look underneath there?

Thanks. - yes, there is nothing in the sunglass holder.

Mine just developed this rattle

 

[a3fnqpjw]

WOW, i got my 05 in February, I got the sunroof on mine, but so far (9 mos.) and i havent had one problem with it. not one rattle, not one thing wrong with the sunroof, or with the vehicle. Maybe i just got lucky

 

[jmatlas]

I have '03 4runner limited V8 with the dreaded sunroof rattle, only when closed. Right behind driver's head. I've read the previous messages about possible fixes --- rubber or plastic tubing, or washers, or felt tape. But where/how do I put those? Thanks.

 

[toybox]

I have '03 4runner limited V8 with the dreaded sunroof rattle, only when closed. Right behind driver's head. I've read the previous messages about possible fixes --- rubber or plastic tubing, or washers, or felt tape. But where/how do I put those? Thanks.

I'm assuming you are out of warranty? Because it was a warrantable item.

Find out the fix kit part number from some one (I can look at my reciept if you would like) and order it from partznet and do it yourself. There is a TSB on this and it will give you a basic idea of how to fix and the parts and tools needed to fix it. Search for the '03 sunroof TSB.

 

[santana]

the subs in my trunk are rattling my cieling and sunroof. it was terrible and i couldnt take it anymore i had no idea what came lose or if my gain was set too high. i read about this fix and noticed that i didnt have the same type of sunroof.. but instead found two plastic covers on either side of the sunroof that were vibrating. all is well with the music off just the heavy bass has created annoying rattles.

i looked into it further today and hoped that this was the problem i was having but it wasnt. i dont know what i did but i open and closed my sunroof a couple times and the vibrating magically disapeared. i couldnt believe that doing nothing had fixed it. so i drove around for a while blasting my stereo and indeed it was gone. my cieling over the rear seats is still vibrating but not giving off any sound. mehh ill just have to put up with that.

 

[colo4runner]

Herman, I have a rattle coming from the same area you mentioned - on top on the ceiling but the sunglass holder. Sounds like it is coming from behind the sunglass holder and the two lights up there.

Mine rattles with sun roof open or shut. Any ideas?

How hard is it to take out that sunglass holder/light assembly so I can look underneath there?

Thanks. - yes, there is nothing in the sunglass holder.

Ok, I think I have narrowed it down.. Same rattle, but only does it when it is hot out (not sure yet if it does it when the A/C is on or not), but only noticable when it is hot outside. My 4runner is black, and this is driving me crazy... I have also replaced the overhead light with the homelink unit, so I know it is not the light unit. When I had the unit out, I felt around up there, nothing is lose, etc.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

 

[T4R06]

i thought the rattles came in right side of the front passenger seat at the dashboard. almost 2weeks finding where it came from. then i decided to flip the second row seats. it was the latch!!! put some electric tape and the rattles has gone.

 

[4RunnerRon]

i thought the rattles came in right side of the front passenger seat at the dashboard. almost 2weeks finding where it came from. then i decided to flip the second row seats. it was the latch!!! put some electric tape and the rattles has gone.

I had this same noise, it was more like a creaking every time I would make a right turn into my driveway. I tried the electrical tape fix, which I thought worked, but lately I've been hearing it again. I think the strikers are rubbing against the tape, causing a similar noise as before. So I took off the tape and will be having Toyota fix it per the TSB (striker adjustment).

 

[zchris]

Alternative Fix

;;;

 

[zchris]

Alternative Fix

I had the same problem with my wife's 03 4Runner. It was driving me nuts, and it sounded like it was coming from behind the sunroof on the drivers side. But what it ended up being was the sunroof track itself.

I will post some pictures when I get home tonight outlining exactly how to fix the problem.

Thanks for finding the problem and posting a fix. I tried a slightly different fix that people might want to consider. Instead of using a cut spacer I used electricians nylon tie wraps. (the ones they use to bundle wires) I used wraps about 1/16 in width. With a small screw driver I pulled the bar out far enough to slip the tie wrap behind it and thread it through the head. (If you pull hard enough the bar will pop out of its bracket. If this happens the bar is easy to snap back into place.) I tighten the wraps firmly and cut off the extra as close to the head as possible. I used three tie wraps on each side and spaced them evenly. They hold the bar firmly and allows it to move freely. This fixed the problem completely. An added advantage is that this appears to be a permanent fix. Don't think I will ever have to revisit the problem. Hope this helps someone out there with this annoying problem.

 

[ProMed]

my dealer recently told me that 'rattles' are warrantied for the first 20,000 miles. Is that correct? I thought it fell under the 3 yr 36 K. They said that if there was a defect that it would be covered by the warranty, but if something simply needed to be tightened down that they would charge me a fee to look and to fix it. Is this true?!

This is not true, they should be covered until 36k. My dealer did say that even w/ the Toyota Platinum Extended Warranty rattles were not covered after 36k. Not sure if that is true or not.

 

[Ed Rooney]

I fixed my sunroof rattle with the nylon spacer trick. Total time was about 3 minutes, including shaping the spacers on a grinding wheel.

 

[colo4runner]

Mine just developed this rattle

did you ever find a fix for yours. Mine only occurs when it is hot or in the sun. Every summer, I hate this rattle by the sunglass holder.

 

[achen]

I have this problem where i hear rattling noises at high speeds like 65 mph or higher. Some noise comes from behind the driver seat ceiling and some noises come from the front windshield. what is the reason to this? is it the sunroof rails? please advise. thank you!

 

[4dailyRunner]

Thanks

I asked the dealer about this and I was told "grease" was necessary to "fix" it.

Needless to say, I will try your method.

Thanks for your post.

4DR

:satan: DEALER :infidel:

 

[achen]

my rattling noises are getting very ignoring. The noises are coming from the driver's sun visor vicinity area and behind the driver seat ceiling roofline. are these noises really coming from the rails of the sunroof? please give any exact feedback of pinpoints. thank you!

 

[Carl Spackler]

Achen-

I would say that with the symptoms you described, the answer is YES, It is the moonroof deflector rods. Applying the little plastic ring fix described will correct your problem.

 

[Methodical]

Just to pitch in, I had an annoying rattle on the ceiling. the dome light was loose. I put some cardboard in it to get it taught.

 

[BCKGUY]

Wow, it's amazing that so many people have this problem. Mine comes and goes, but after reading this, it's definitely coming from that bar on the sunroof. I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread. As others on here, the rattling is driving me insane. I find myself cranking up the stereo just to drown it out! Anyhow, great fix and great thread. Thanks again....can't wait to hit up the hardware store in the morning.