Chirp from suspension

Every time I go over a bump I hear a chirp coming from the front end. Any ideas or similar experiences before I bring it to the dealership and they tell me it’s normal or pretend they can’t replicate the issue? 2023 4K miles

 

no rocks caught in the protective shields? lug nuts tight?

 

Yes. Is it more of a chirp, or a squawk? If it's the latter, It could be your hood latch. I learned about this from @McSpazatron

 

Very good point @Thatbassguy. I def hear my hood latch squeaking when off road. Is the fix just turning those rubber grommets for that one?

@TRD Ted, another thing that came to mind.. was the hydraulic break peddle squeak when pressing the break? Just making sure, that one is there to stay I think

 

Brand new car. 100% it’s the splash guards on your inner fender liner to the engine. Take them out and get Ark splash guards instead. There’s a bunch of threads on this topic and that’s what most confirm is the issue. Exact same issue I had in 21’ on a new 4R. Hope this helps.

 

5k on mine and I definitely hear the stock suspension squeak/squawk at me going over a bigger bump or hole on the trails. Not sure if that’s what you’re hearing, but it’s my best guess

 

It’s very unlikely a stock (undamaged) suspension is making noise. This suspension is supremely isolated by all the soft rubber bushings it has.

If it squawks, put a thin coat of lithium or bearing grease on all the contact points of the hood latch and catch mechanism. Drive for a while….I can alkost guarantee the noise will be gone.

If it’s more like a squeak, it’s probably the splash guards in the wheel wells. Push the pins in all the way, or just tape them to see if the noise goes away: if it does, then you can zip tie them in, get better pins; or replace with the ark shields.

It’s one of those two things…almost sure of it!

 

On my then brand new '19 it was the hood latch. After adjusting the stops and spraying some silicone on the latch the squeak went away.

 

+1, also clean the two hood rubber bumpers. It’s become part of my post off road cleaning routine.

 

I have had the parking brake cable chirp where it runs through the mount/guide near the rear of the truck.

 

Be careful using petroleum based grease on rubber components, overtime they'll melt the rubber, use dielectric grease instead. One more thing to check, make sure all your control arm bolts are tightened down especially the lower arms. Front ones are 22mm and rear 19mm (tighten only from the bolt side, the nut side have anti slip grooves). I use a 2 foot 1/2" ratchet, use EXTREME CAUTION not to strip the bolt. You have to feel it when the bolt gives you indication that it's at its limit (all mine went 1/8 - 1/4 turn and stop when I start to feel resistance from the bolts).

 

this is a brand new 4R. I really doubt it’s the lca bolts. Best for him to not even touch those at this point.

 

Good info! I’ll check it out. Thank you

 

I’ll make sure to check those out! Things are getting dusty so that may be contributing for sure

 

I'd be surprised if it wasn't the front brake rock/splash guards.

 

To clarify, the hood latch and catch are the metal parts in the center of hood. I use thin coats of grease to avoid buildup, since greasing this spot will become regular maintainance. You’ll see shiny spots on the latch where the metal rubs together. Just grease those points. I always hear it squawk after a day of off-roading.

Regarding LCA bolts, I wouldn’t touch them on a new stock 4runner. If they are loose, you would have other noises and hard clunking. Tightening them is a bit tricky, as it has to be done with “weight on wheels”. And using long torque wrench those bolts while on the vehicle is on ground can be difficult, especially at the very high torque specs for LCAs.

The hood latch and splash shields are the most common noises you hear about with 5th gens. Both super easy to verify and solve. No need to suspect anything until these are ruled out as the source.

 

Kind of sounds like a tire chirp

 

In addition to making sure all the suspension bushing bolts are tight, make sure the radiator support bushings bolts are tight.

 

ive had this issue and it was diagnosed as the spring compressing and decompressing

 

Agreed, using lithium grease on metal components. But just be careful anything that is close to plastic or rubber use dielectric (silicon based) grease.

The reason I mentioned LCA bolts is my 23' made a squawking noise from the underside every time I exit the truck. Then I found out one of the rear lower control arm bolt just a "tinny bit" loose. After tightening 1/8 turn the noise is never heard again. I went through all my LCA bolts, although they're tightened to spec, I found most of them needing that 1/8 - 1/4 turn to hold the crush tube "just right".

To OP: Absolutely DO NOT turn the bolts more than 1/4 turn or there will be problems (stripped bolt, deformed crush tube, frame damage, etc). Also, as I mentioned in my previous post, tighten from the Bolt only as the nut has anti-slip notches.