Odd rattle on driver's side - can't tell where it's from.

[Rbaz]

I have a TH with about 1500 miles on it and it has just started a faint rattle somewhere on the driver's side. It sort of sounds like it comes from the base of the window screen, but could also be behind the dash, in the engine bay, or part of the suspension. It is most noticable at low speeds and when accelerating. It pretty much disappears when coasting or at highway speeds. It sounds like low level tapping of plastic on either metal or glass.

Any ideas? I'm taking it to the dealer on Friday but will poke around myself a bit before then.

Edit:

After playing around I have gotten a bit more specific with the symptoms:
- The rattle is not present first thing in the morning, it takes about 5 minutes of driving before you start to hear it. Seems like it has something to do with the car warming up.
- The raffle is highly present under acceleration but only at low RPMs, if I accelerate hard it disappears, it does not rattle at idle.
- there is no rattle when I'm coasting, which makes me think it's not the suspension because I went and coasted over some rough road and it was not present. There is also no rattle under braking
- it's tough to distinguish but I think it is a rattle rather than a squeak, and it seems to be coming from the driver's side engine bay. I did poke around a bit and there seems to be squeaking and rattling coming from the area in the picture below. I don't know enough about engines to know what it is but it's the black tubes that are just above the dipstick, and the rest of the pipes and tubes attached to it. I can't tell exactly from where within that assembly the rattle is coming from, but if I tap it, it rattles.

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[fabtonic]

Did you ever figure this out? Having same issue in my OR Hybrid

 

[AdFour]

Are you certain its from the engine bay? These rattles can be deceiving. It may sound like its from the A pillar or engine bay.

In this case it came from the door plastic piece. Toward the front most area where the hinge is. Lightly press on it it will make nose. When the door is shut you cant get fingers there. Put some foam in between the plastic and door (12-16inches long up and down the trim piece), drive around.

 

[TrdProGirl84]

I hope you figured it out. I honestly thought it might be the door panel.

 

[watchbuzz]

I had a similar experience recently and it was the fender lining. It is held together by a mix of clips, screws and fender liner grommets. Many of the grommets were quite loose. I tightened them all by hand and that resolved the issue.

 

[WallaceMI]

I have a TH with about 1500 miles on it and it has just started a faint rattle somewhere on the driver's side. It sort of sounds like it comes from the base of the window screen, but could also be behind the dash, in the engine bay, or part of the suspension. It is most noticable at low speeds and when accelerating. It pretty much disappears when coasting or at highway speeds. It sounds like low level tapping of plastic on either metal or glass.

Any ideas? I'm taking it to the dealer on Friday but will poke around myself a bit before then.

Edit:

After playing around I have gotten a bit more specific with the symptoms:
- The rattle is not present first thing in the morning, it takes about 5 minutes of driving before you start to hear it. Seems like it has something to do with the car warming up.
- The raffle is highly present under acceleration but only at low RPMs, if I accelerate hard it disappears, it does not rattle at idle.
- there is no rattle when I'm coasting, which makes me think it's not the suspension because I went and coasted over some rough road and it was not present. There is also no rattle under braking
- it's tough to distinguish but I think it is a rattle rather than a squeak, and it seems to be coming from the driver's side engine bay. I did poke around a bit and there seems to be squeaking and rattling coming from the area in the picture below. I don't know enough about engines to know what it is but it's the black tubes that are just above the dipstick, and the rest of the pipes and tubes attached to it. I can't tell exactly from where within that assembly the rattle is coming from, but if I tap it, it rattles.

Any updates on this one? I have the exact same issue when accelerating. I tried the fender thing but this didn't work. it's sound like from below the dashboard but could also be from the A-Pillar or front of driver side door.

 

[mcnuggs]

Any updates on this one? I have the exact same issue when accelerating. I tried the fender thing but this didn't work. it's sound like from below the dashboard but could also be from the A-Pillar or front of driver side door.

Had a similar issue and I believe it’s the windshield washer hose clattering against the hood. It sneaks under the hood heat shield on the drivers side but my heat shield was missing a few clips which created enough play that it would rattle under load.

 

[JD013]

Mine has a rattle in the drivers side door. That might be what your hearing. My 25 Tacoma had the same thing. Its the window rattling back and forth in the track. Mine usually only happens when the window is cracked or open. I've seen a fix for it using a piece of foam but I haven't addressed it yet on mine.

 

[WallaceMI]

Had a similar issue and I believe it’s the windshield washer hose clattering against the hood. It sneaks under the hood heat shield on the drivers side but my heat shield was missing a few clips which created enough play that it would rattle under load.

That's worth to check out for sure! Do you know where the hose is located (I will check in a few myself). Thanks for the hint.

 

[WallaceMI]

Mine has a rattle in the drivers side door. That might be what your hearing. My 25 Tacoma had the same thing. Its the window rattling back and forth in the track. Mine usually only happens when the window is cracked or open. I've seen a fix for it using a piece of foam but I haven't addressed it yet on mine.

I'm dreading to take of the door panel off but I rather do it vs the dealer. But it's quite possible that the rattle is actually coming from the door and not the dash (even if it sounds like it comes from the front).

 

[JD013]

I'm dreading to take of the door panel off but I rather do it vs the dealer. But it's quite possible that the rattle is actually coming from the door and not the dash (even if it sounds like it comes from the front).

The fix is even easier than that. The door panel dosen't need to be removed. It's the triangle piece of plastic that's part of the side view mirror assembly.

Someone on one of the Tacoma forums posted a fix where you pop that off, add some foam strips and put it back together. Here's a screenshot from the post for the fix that I had saved on my phone. Day 1 my 4runner already has the rattle in the window so I'll be doing this when I have some time.

 

[mcnuggs]

That's worth to check out for sure! Do you know where the hose is located (I will check in a few myself). Thanks for the hint.

No prob! Atleast on the TRD PROs, the hose is located on the drivers side closest to the windshield (circled red). The way I knew this was the sound was by manually rattling the hose. It sounded exactly like the rattle I hear inside. Also makes sense with how much that hood moves in general.

 

[WallaceMI]

The fix is even easier than that. The door panel dosen't need to be removed. It's the triangle piece of plastic that's part of the side view mirror assembly.

Someone on one of the Tacoma forums posted a fix where you pop that off, add some foam strips and put it back together. Here's a screenshot from the post for the fix that I had saved on my phone. Day 1 my 4runner already has the rattle in the window so I'll be doing this when I have some time.

Interesting. Do you have link to the thread by chance?

 

[WallaceMI]

No prob! Atleast on the TRD PROs, the hose is located on the drivers side closest to the windshield (circled red). The way I knew this was the sound was by manually rattling the hose. It sounded exactly like the rattle I hear inside. Also makes sense with how much that hood moves in general.

My acoustic hood liner makes a lot of noise. So could be related. I'm thinking to remove the liner to see if it makes a difference or not. Just have to be carful not to break the clips.

 

[JD013]

Interesting. Do you have link to the thread by chance?

https://www.tacoma4g.com/forum/threads/window-crack-rattle-fix.8674/

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