The dreaded rattles...do they come back?

[cmachado]

So, I've read lots of threads talking about the sunroof rattles and other mysterious rattles in the cabin. Unfortunately, I have them too. One is definitely from the sunroof. It goes away if I push the sunroof glass up and out. There's another one that is very subtle, coming from somewhere near my left ear when I drive. It's just loud enough to drive me crazy.

So, I called my service department. They told me they have a TSB that calls for more insulation/padding and that they've done it on one other truck. However, I'm wondering if the rattles come back for some of you who have fixed this. I live in New York City (Queens) and the roads here are bumpy and rough in many, many places. Sometimes I feel like the insides of the doors are all loose when I drive over some roads. Anyone had any problems after solving their rattle issues?

 

[ToolmanJohn]

So, I've read lots of threads talking about the sunroof rattles and other mysterious rattles in the cabin. Unfortunately, I have them too. One is definitely from the sunroof. It goes away if I push the sunroof glass up and out. There's another one that is very subtle, coming from somewhere near my left ear when I drive. It's just loud enough to drive me crazy.

So, I called my service department. They told me they have a TSB that calls for more insulation/padding and that they've done it on one other truck. However, I'm wondering if the rattles come back for some of you who have fixed this. I live in New York City (Queens) and the roads here are bumpy and rough in many, many places. Sometimes I feel like the insides of the doors are all loose when I drive over some roads. Anyone had any problems after solving their rattle issues?

1) there is a TSB for sunroof rattles. Others have reported good results, and I am having it done on my next service visit.

2) I bet I know what the rattle over your left ear is. I had the same for a month and found it to be the seatbelt height adjuster!! It squeaks/rattles ever so slightly and because the truck is generally so quite on smooth roads, it is an annoyance. I used some vinyl cleaner on the belt and slide mechanism where it enters the pillar, and it has stopped. Put some behind the plastic of the slide with a rag and a ruler too. Seems to have done the trick and has not come back for a couple weeks now.

 

[Guest]

I don't think I've ridden in a car that didn't rattle at least some as it got older. It's just a question of how many rattles, how loud they are, and how often/easily they are induced.

I test drove an '04 4Runner limited and already heard a couple of rattles over large bumps. One was coming from the rear center armrest cupholders, and one sounded like it was coming from the rear 'double decker' storage system. Upon closer inspection I found the 'cover' was not latched/locked into place.

But the cup-holder rattle seemed to be just the way it was designed until the dealer pushed it up inside the seat and it went away.

I don't think I've come across a car message board yet that didn't have people complaining about rattles, for every year make and model ever made. I think the least complaints I've seen to date was for the Lexus LS430. But even my 99 GS400 w/ 60k miles on it has some small rattles, as do many other owners on the GS section of CL. Most of them are very faint noises and honestly if I was driving a car that wasn't so quiet in the first place, I'd probably never hear them.

I figure the same issue is there with the 4Runner since it's pretty darned quiet, plus it's a truck.

I hope the '05 we have on order fixes the rear cup holder rattle issue... and we specifically ordered a limited with NO sunroof, so that may help out at least a few potential rattle issues.

 

[cmachado]

well, took the car to get the rattles fixed yesterday. They sent it to an upholstery where they did work on the headliner. The car is definitely quiter now, although there is still a rattle coming from the sunroof, but only when you hit hard bumps. I'm ok with this as there has to be a reasonable expectation of rattles/sounds when hitting hard bumps.

 

[silver4x419]

Just to let everyone know, that headliner scratches easy... Be very careful. :arrow:

 

[lin]

My 2003 ltd had the rattle in the headliner-- it seemed to be on the drivers side. The rattle seems have gone away after a six months of driving. I'm a little bit paranoid it may start again-- I'm debating about pushing for the fix in the tsb-- has anyone had the headliner rattle come and go on its own?

 

[EDGE]

I feel your pain I drove through Queens many times when my truck was still in the infancy stage and the freakin thing sounded like someone was moving a china cabinet, drove me crazy especially with friends in the car but after several miles, mostly 10k all the noises rattled themselves out, the only thing I actually had the dealer fix was the seat squeak/creak

I did not have the sunroof noise at 1st but it went away, their was a ton of other noises and I was very close to trading in for an X5 4.6is but Im glad I lived with the minor noises cause now in Queens it is dead silent.

I will say I've been in numerous vehicles, some over 100k and they all have noises, what do you expect from a machine with tons of moving parts, most just need time to settle, just like parts need to break in

Personally I would rather a minor noise them have the techs pull something apart and then realize later on it's still their:

 

[cmachado]

well, the sunroof noise is still there. There's a rattle somewhere and I don't think it has to do with the headliner at this point. Sounds more like a spring has too much give. The driver's side rattle is completely gone, and somehow after going through this dealer fix, the cabin seems quieter overall. Almost as if the headliner deadens outside noise even more.

To be honest, I can live with the sunroof rattle. It only happens on the roughest bumps and who knows, maybe it does go away eventually.

 

[Avian]

My vehicle has had multiple rattles. The sunroof and rear seat rattles were corrected. However there continues to be a rolling marble rattle sound coming from the driver's side front headliner/sun visor area as well as some kind of vibrating rattle sound coming from the driver's side door and dash. Several attempts have been made to correct the rolling marble sound (removal of headliner and reinsulation in different areas), and, although it has decreased and is inconsistent, it still occurs over certan kinds of roads or bumps. It has been very frustrating.

 

[eschak]

A friend of mine bought a 4R on my recommendation and research - tremendous help from this board too! The sunroof rattle appeared after 3 weeks - lived with it for a few months and started to drive him crazy. Rattled when open, over bumps and just anytime. He'd decided to get the TSB done and then I discovered the 'sticky' in the maintenance section of this board. Used the washer technique illustrated there and problem instantly fixed. Had difficulty finding the correct size washer - Home Depot and Lowes didn't have it, had to look through the local ACE hardware. Been sunroof rattle free for many months now.

But now there is a dash rattle - think there's a TSB out for that too.

Chuck