Noise from Dashboard

Hello -

New here ... I have a 2022 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium and recently it developed an annoying sound along the dashboard near the windshield (image: green border is where the noise is). It's a "sticky-like" sound, as if someone took a piece of tape and stuck it on a table and peeled it off repeatedly. The sound lasts for the first 10 -20 minutes of driving - and it doesn't take much to reproduce it, a smooth road will get it going. Also, it doesn't always happen, intermittent at times, maybe due to the warmer weather? Anyone experience this, or know the cause?

 

It's likely coming from the plastic caps at the base of the windshield next to the A pillars. They rub on the windshield and make this noise. I removed my recently and placed a butyl rubber (neoprene) pad on them so this is what makes contact with the glass instead of the plastic; this did the trick. It was driving me crazy, sounded like it was coming from where the dash meets the windshield.

 

It's driving me crazy too ... how do I get to those caps - remove the pillar, R/L speaker covers, or beneath steering wheel/glovebox (can you take a pic)? And do they run along the entire length of the dashboard (i.e. green path in my image)?

 

Ya beat me to it.

 

Have you cut the front fender liners? Got new larger tires?

 

Yes, upgraded to BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2, 265/70R/17; the store tested 275's and those hit the liners. So, there's plenty of clearance.

The sound is definitely coming between the dash and windshield. Just uncertain how achtung6 got to those caps - from the cabin inside under the dash or is it outside by removing the cowl?

 

After I got KO2s, somehow the vortex created by them sucked the liners back on windy days/highway speed. This didn’t happen with my ATW3s or stock tires. I had my wife drive the truck after telling Toyota of the annoying sound coming from the dash, and sure enough, the inside edge of the fender liner was sucking toward front edge of the tires as I watched it while driving her car. Pulled over and cut the liner with a pocket knife and have had no more issues.

Something else to check, you never know.

 

The only noise I experienced from the front wheel wells was from that triangular rubber covering. The fasteners had too much play causing it to flap. I filled the gaps on each one and that did it.

 

Can you send a pic of where you put the neoprene? I think I have the same squeak on my 23. Mine only happens when its cold out, after the car warms up it goes away. Drives me nuts.

 

If you find the source, I have always used the fuzzy side of velcro to muffle the sound (on other cars, just got my first 4R in Jan this year, no sounds). Velcro has a strong glue that lasts. A tiny piece will fix most problems.

 

The caps I'm talking about are on the exterior of the vehicle; if you follow the A pillar all the way down to their base, these plastic caps are at the very ends of the plastic cover that hides all the windshield wiper hardware. You access them by opening the hood and look near where the hood hinges. You lift the plastic caps (or cover plates) and slide them out. The top part of these rubs against the glass when the vehicle is in motion and makes the noise. All that's needed is a pad of some sort to serve as a soft spacer that can rub against the base of the windshield glass without making noise. I attached a photo of the cap in question.

 

I took a quick glance under the hood and followed what you said and will tackle it this weekend. However, I'm going to go one step further and remove the cowl, because there is something else more in the center of the windshield that's rubbing against it. I'll take pictures of what I found and done. -Thanks!

 

Perfect thank you! Im going to check this out this weekend.

 

Before taking everything apart, I’d suggest just running some water over that plastic corner cover first. I’ve noticed mine does the tapping-on-glass sound after driving in dusty conditions. Hitting that corner with the garden hose has always gotten rid of the sound. Now that I have around 45k miles on my 4runner, I havent heard the sound for a while…maybe everything has worn in.

The noise is a bit of a ventriloquist act. It doesnt necessarily sound like it’s coming from the corner.

 

I got anxious to work on it today and bought electrical tape (fabric) and adhesive velcro strips. Removed the wipers and cowl, then velcro'd (used the softer side) every contact part on the cowl and that cornered piece! It felt solid when I put all the parts together in place - all pieces snugged together tight. The real test will be driving tomorrow morning. I'll keep you posted.

 

It's been 2 days of driving the 4Runner and the center-dash area is quiet. That adhesive soft-velcro on the cowl's touch points did the trick!

 

I agree with this! The noise from those plastic corner covers rubbing on the windshield had gone completely..... Then yesterday I drove on a really dusty road; and it came right back.

I washed the truck and the noise is gone again.

 

I have to thank those who posted this fix. My new 23 has been rattling like a 20 year old car and the dealership has been absolutely useless. I used foam tape from home depot instead of Velcro and two stainless steel bolts in place of the plastic cowl retainers. My dash is no longer tapping and creaking away as the temperatures drop. This thread has saved my sanity lol.

 

Mine used to make that almost every morning, religiously. I removed the wiper cowl and windshield wipers, test drove again, and still had a noise. Started to thing it may be urethane/windshield sealant making contact with the glass over uneven surfaces.

After around 5k miles it no longer makes this noise.

Not 100% sure if it was the windshield as when I reinstalled the wiper cowl, I used copious amount of felt tape on contact areas in an attempt to minimize any noise being transferred into the cab.

 

@RumHamRunner73, make certain you use some heavy form of soft adhesive (like the fuzzy side of the velcro I applied, or triple it with electrical tape) on all the cowl's touchpoints. If you see my pictures, I did "all" contact points and used much velcro - truly eliminated all dashboard noise for me!

 

Yes sir, Luckily I had a lot of different types of materials from our Noise, Vibration and Harshness kit still in my toolbox from my Infiniti technician days.

Worked on a large amount of dash noises on those Nissan/Infinitis. You do indeed always want to use quality materials that will hold up over time.

 

I have noticed a noise seemingly from the outside driver mirror area previously. I happened to hear it with radio turned down. I imagine this has to be the same issue I'm hearing. THANKS!

 

Thanks everyone! I too had this vague but persistent noise. Got some padding on those A-pillar caps and all is quiet.

 

I though it was the Bieber CD that made the 4R dash noise....

 

Reviving a dead thread with an update. I had a mouse eat up my cabin air filter and pull off some of my foam weather stripping sound deadening I had used on the cowl. So I figured I would take it off and use something even better. I ended up using Hush Mat tape. The stuff has a great adhesive and one roll did pretty much everything (20 ft). I put this on every spot the Velcro was put on in previous posts and more. I tucked it in on the windshield tabs on the cowl with a pair of scissors, cutting it just before it would show as the rubber trim lay upon the windshield. Next I cut it in half in long strips and put it where the windshield would rest in the base flat part of the V channel with those tabs. I put about two pieces slightly overlapping on the lower section and on the three metal large tabs below the windshield on the 4runner itself. Basically get some and go to town anywhere you think it could make contact. I put the cowl on and went for a drive in the cold 40's out. The windshield was quiet, save for a small sticking tick sound, like putting the back of your finger nail on the windshield and sliding it up and down with pressure. I checked everything and was resigned I would have a slight sound still in the cold. The next morning I was pulling into the parking lot at work and the sun shone in just the right spot to show something I had missed this whole time. There was a small black wire pinned to the upper black portion of the windshield/A pillar/headliner. I used a trim tool to push it back in and under and two days now. Dead quiet. It seems the wire was pushed on the glass and as things shifted you would get that last sound. Hopefully This helps anyone who may need to do this. Also don't forget to do the lower portion where it sits on the fire wall and I recommend using two stainless steel bolts/washers/locking washer with a butterfly nut in place of those horribly loose plastic push retainers.