Poll-Your Opinion

Hey all,

As a general consensus, have or would you ever trade a vehicle in including your 4Runner, if it developed a few bad interior rattles in the first few thousand miles? Let’s assume everything else is good and mechanically sound.

I have a 21 TRD OR that has 1800 miles now and have two fairly obnoxious rattles that I have to drown out with the stereo to not be bothered by them. I’ve tried to find them and I can’t seem to. Also have taken into the dealer twice and they “couldn’t replicate” the sounds. Plus with Covid you can’t ride with a tech to point out what you’re talking about. I don’t want to waste any more time at the dealer. In the 12 or so new cars I’ve had in my life, I’ve been fairly disappointed with the runners fit and finish this far.

 

It’s a truck...so, with everything I’ve done to mine, I have squeaking/creaking/rattling quite a bit

but with almost 30k miles, I’ve never noticed any rattling from factory interior.

 

You forgot to add the poll.

I don't have any rattles in mine after 47K miles and lots of off-roading, so I wouldn't say your experience is normal.

However, I think a few others have had these types of issues. I wouldn't be happy, either. It's annoying when you can't figure out where it's coming from.

If you dislike the 4runner, trade it in. Resale value is fantastic on these vehicles, and life is too short to drive a car you don't like.

 

Dynomat it???

 

Yeah with add on’s noises are understandable, I must have a build flaw in my dash or something.

 

I suppose I could, although I’m not super experienced with taking car interiors apart, although I’m sure it’s just like legos lol.

 

I tend to agree, I just don’t want to lose my backside too much on the trade, decisions. Funny enough though, I just had a new OR Tacoma as a loaner with 100 miles on it and that had dash rattles already too hmm.

 

But what if the next vehicle you buy has annoying rattles...and the next one?
Could become an expensive game.

 

Good point, I’ve definitely thought about that, there’s no guarantee of anything and test drives are short.

 

Could you record video/audio from inside while driving to show to the techs? Might be one of those "I've heard that before" things for them...

 

It's definitely a tough decision, especially if you like the 4runner otherwise.

I agree that for $40K you should be able to expect a solid interior. My '03 was still rattle free at 257K miles.

 

Yeah I thought of that and recorded two separate short videos and forwarded them to the service manager. They said they listened to them but was still told nothing could be replicated.

 

I wholeheartedly agree, I do like the truck otherwise, I had planned to keep it awhile. And yes, I’ve had vehicles that cost half as much that were silent on the inside.

 

Did you check the rubber splash guards inside the front fenders? Those clips can loosen and rattle. Mine is a 2013 with 111k. Mine had the rattle when I bought it at 79k, I fixed mine with a zip tie. When they rattle, can almost sound like coming from under the dash or the door. (I had pointed it out to the dealer on the test drive, he said he'd have the shop take care of it. Yeah right)

Also had a squeek coming from my driver's door, I lubed the weatherstrip with silicone spray last winter and that cured it. Going to reapply for this winter soon.

I also recently noticed a creak that sounds like it's coming from the dash, it's not constant, only when I hit certain kinds of bumps. Seems cold weather related, and I had an airbag recall done earlier this year, I wonder if it has to do with less than perfect reassembly. I haven't really tried to check it out yet. My GF has a brand new Hyundai that makes a similar noise.

Other than that it's pretty good as far as noise, my biggest complaint now is all engine noise that intrudes into the cabin, this engine truly sounds terrible.

But yes, I agree, you're not being unreasonable at all in expecting more out of a new vehicle.

 

Actually I checked the splash guards first and ended up replacing them with a sturdier set from Rad Rubber. The noise(s) are still there. I even took off the passenger dash side speaker grill and applied a bunch of foam but that didn’t change anything either.

Yeah I agree that the engine is noisy but I’m not too concerned about that ironically enough; as long as it idles and runs good and doesn’t throw any check engine lights I’m cool with it lol. At least it doesn’t have direct injection, those high pressure fuel pumps are noisy too.

 

I've taken my 2015 completely apart (not due to rattling) - it was much easier than I anticipated. I completely removed all seats, lifted the carpet, etc. I did everything but remove the headliner. Here's the link to that thread for pictures (https://www.4runners.com/threads/gr...ew-to-me-4runner-trd-pro-long-pictures.15142/)

 

Didn’t read the whole thread so I’m not sure if anyone has asked you if your rig has a sunroof/moonroof?

 

Nope, no sunroof. I felt I didn’t need it, and would t use it much.

 

ok good. There have been reports of sunroofs/moonroofs causing clunking and rattle noises. Not sure which models but certainly a Toyota issue that should be addressed at the assembly plant.

 

I had one in mine...turned out to be the sunglasses in my sunglasses holder! Drove me nuts for days(chasing it), was a gloomy spell and no sun.

 

There’s no reason for a modern vehicle to rattle, especially one that has the high quality control in its manufacture as a 4 Runner. To begin with, I’d change dealers, and elevate this within Toyota management. Let them know you have a serious problem that the dealer is trying blow off. W. Edwards Deming is famous in Japan for his scientific approach to quality control and it made Toyota the world class company it is today. I’d be totally surprised if Toyota left you at the mercy of an ignorant dealer over an issue like this one.

 

Have you tried having a friend move around inside the vehicle while driving to see if they can pinpoint it?

 

I have once, she tried to push on different area but we had a hard time figuring it out. The only place on top of the dash(passenger side) that I saw could be removed, was the speaker grill. I popped it off and foam/felt taped all around and tightened a few bolts holding the tweeter in place that were very slightly loose. Popped it back on and the noise is still there. It’s intermittent at times and constant at times and cold temps definitely make it worse.

 

I had mine about a week, then I started hearing a vibration I thought was coming from the drivetrain. Only noticed it when accelerating from a stop. After a day or two I realized it was my sunglasses that I had put in the four wheel drive shifter boot, vibrating against the console and lever LOL. Moved the sunglasses, and immediately vibration noise went away.

 

It has crossed my mind to bring it up with corporate, I suppose I assumed they’d just blow me off too; it may be worth a second thought.

 

Haha well your message was the motivation I needed to call Toyota. To my surprise they were extremely helpful, they’re going to get management involved, we’ll see what happens.