Toguy

Hello all,

I have an '03 Limited V8 and had the driver seat squeaks and a rattle in the headliner near the sun roof. The dealer was able to fix the squeaky seat but can't seem to fix the rattle. Has anyone been able to get that rattle fixed? Any help is appreciated.

ToyCowboy

I posted about a month ago about a similar sunroof rattle. Since then I have had my 03 back twice still no fix. I did get the tech to tell me that he has heard the same rattle in about all 03s. I got the line about how Toyota is responsive (Ha!) to these types of problems. He assured me that there would be a fix before long.

keisur

I have noticed in my wife's '03 sport ed. there is a rattle in the head ceiling near the rear of the sunroof also. We haven't taken it in yet though because I still think those guys at the stealership are idiots and they'll just tell us it's nothing to worry about and there's no fix because they don't feel like looking into it. hopefully your post will drum up some good ideas and a possible cause and solution.

Erc

3rd gens have same rattle. I've tried to fix it several times. I just can't pinpoint what's causing it. Mine only rattles when it's cold out though. 40 degrees or below. I posted a long reply about this before. I'm sure you'll find it if you search for "rattle" and user "Erc"

keisur

are you talking about 3rd gens with sunroof? I don't have that prob in my 3rd gen, but, I don't have a sunroof in it either.

rimpainter.com

I have the same problem. But mine is when its any temp out.

I think its the wind deflector, but I havent verified that.

ToyoTy

Hi All,

I'm new to yotatech, but have been on a few other forums. I have struggled with this same problem for 5 months now and finally have a solution, somewhat crude as it is.

I had a rattle that came from behind the sunroof area, sounding like a vibration of plastic on plastic. Brought it to the dealer 4 times, who took my headliner out 4 times, had to replace it once because they broke it, had my front and rear bumpers scratched up and had those replaced while at the dealer, and total time in the shop was cumulatively over one month. I told the dealer I thought it was the wiring harness for the dome light initially, and well, still, after having the District Service Manager out, still unable to fix it. I was just about ready to let Toyota have it as I've had a number of complaints with them already regarding this.

So I decided to see if I could fix it myself. I took the dome light off, just 2 screws. If you disconnect the light, take a look at the wiring that continues onto the back pillar. (You'll need to pull a little on the headliner, it's pretty rigid, but don't put too much pressure on it!) You'll notice a blue wire tucked up near a roof pillar. If you tap on the headliner above the rear seat, you should hear and see it rattle. The rattle also comes from the wiring sitting on top of the headliner up to the dome light. (The wiring hitting the plastic molding).

My solution was to take some foam and taking a long screw driver, pushed it up between the pillars to keep the wiring tight against the top/bottom of the pillar. (Be careful: the sunroof visor must be closed and be sure to have the foam far enough back so it can open/close. Watch the wiring as well to not scratch the visor) After, I pulled the wiring tight and adhered it to the clip that is in the headliner, right next to the dome light.

Rattle is gone.

I figure a better solution would be to take the headliner down again and tape it up correctly, but I'm not about to deal with the dealer again. After seeing all that needs to be done, all the panels that had to be removed, the 2000 parts lying on the garage floor in the dealership, potential further damage to my vehicle, I figure this is a simpler solution!

There may be other rattle related problems, but this resolved mine.

A quick check is to puch up against the dome light. Hit the headliner and see if the noise stops. If it does, it's the wiring.

Hope this helps! I've been aggravated with this for too long!

Ty

BTW, my driver's seat still rattles. How did you get the dealer to fix it? When I sit in it, the front part moves up and down, and the lumbar clicks. Any help would be appreciated. Someone said there was a TSB but of course my dealer was unaware of it.

Toguy

The technician that worked on it said that they had to "lube" some of the rails... whatever they did worked!
Thanks for all the responses.

keisur

what year runner? welcome noob!

BigJohn

my headliner makes noise but only when its warm out , i dont have a sunroof

JGage

NV003-03 is the TSB for this problem... I have it on and off, but I usually just smack the spot and it goes away for a few weeks.

ToyoTy

Hi Keisur,

I have an '03 Silver Sport Edition V8 - and yes, I actually like the cladding!

Was that TSB for the seat?

keisur

So does my wife. that one's her's. I prefer all black myself.

Erc

Yes, my runner has a sunrood. No idea if same rattle would occur if I didn't have the sunroof. On mine, it's not coming from behind the sunroof, it's coming from just above driver's head and maybe a bit closer to the windshield.
It's not at all difficult to pull the headliner down and not all the panels have to come off since you don't need to drop the rear of the liner.
Regardless, I'm not dropping mine again. I will live with the rattle. This being one of the many minor annoyances I've found with this truck makes me realize that no vehicle is perfect and honestly, I think Toyota name is highly overhyped. I mean, my 3rd get had been made for 6 years.. you'd think they'd get all the bugs out in that time.
I drove a Dodge before this, which didn't break down once in 3 years. Went to 110k(that's when I sold it) miles and never rattled. Go figure.

keisur

that is odd, most american cars start rattling at 36001 miles.

keisur

Here's the PDF file of the TSB:

Headliner Rattles
And Another One
another one

rimpainter.com

That's a bold statement in a Toyota Forum. Besides, just because yours rattles doesn't mean all do.

Erc

True, it's a bold statement and I agree that not all Toyotas rattle just because mine does. However, between this forum and 4x4wire, I've read that quite a few people have experience same issues as I have (rattles, starting problems, poorly secured door tirm, speaker noise at low volume... and HORRIBLE dealers!!).
I don't think my statement is at all out of line and I feel it's fully justified.

keisur

I can say that my 3rd gen has never experienced any of those problems but I can agree with you about the dealers. I thought only the earlier third gens had the starting problems because of the cold start injector or something. I suppose I should just look at it as I had somebody assemble my runner that actually gave a hoot.

rimpainter.com

That's fine. I just dont agree with you, and neither does JD Power and Associates regarding quality.

We're all entitled to our opinions.