Rattle, driver's side door

[emtaylor]

Folks, I'm almost at my wits end here. My dealership is worthless and pretends they don't hear the rattle. They said they're ordering me some 89 cent clip, however - I have no idea what that's supposed to do, but if that doesn't work, my next step is to take them along for a ride myself to prove there's a rattle.

Anyway, mostly at higher speeds, but even occasionally at slower speeds, there is a very very very annoying rattle coming from my driver's side door. If I press my arm or leg firmly against the door, it stops while I am doing that. And really, I can press firmly on any part of the door - even the window. Problem is, the second I remove my leg or arm, the rattling starts right back up.

It's not a super loud rattle, but it certainly annoying and it comes and goes throughout my entire ride.

I have been completely unable to diagnose the problem. Any body else had a similar problem? Any help here would be greatly appreciated!

[jazba]

I have the exact same problem. I thought maybe it was my OCD but im glad im not alone on this..

[bobc]

I know you said that you can't diagnose it but can you tell roughly where the noise is coming from? The top, bottom, front, rear?

Cheers,

[JimboJones]

I've had a rattle (more like white noise) coming from what seemed like the front door, and I couldn't make it go away until I re-adjusted the seat belt tensioner on the center pillar - I hitched it up by a few mm and the noise went away.

[emtaylor]

I've tried the seat-belt thing - doesn't work for my problem. Thanks anyway.

NO, I don't know exactly where the noise is coming from, other than from the door. When I press firmly on either the window or the door itself, the noise stops. It sounds like the noise is coming from near my ear (so in that vicinity). So I actually thought it may be the seat belt thing myself. But again, the only thing that works is pressing firmly against the door.

Here's the one thing that works for me on long trips. I take a sandle or flip flop, fold it in half, and then wedge it between the seat and the door. Because the pressure is against the door, it works. I know it's bizarre, but if you press firmly against ANY part of the driver's side door, the noise goes away. But this is crazy - I won't the problem fixed - not just some wacky solution like that.

This guy down the street told me he think it may be that the window track (or the bottom piece of it) is loose. So I may go back to my dealership and ask them to check that. Does that make sense to anyone else?

[zenMachine]

Sounds to me like your plastic panel is loose somewhere. If I were you, I'd pull out the door panel and take a look. You may be able to add foam or some other material to dampen or eliminate the extra vibration.

There's a secret handle on the bottom of the plastic panel, just grab it and pull the panel straight out with one motion. Before you do, don't forget to unscrew two screws - one in the door handle and one hidden behind the plastic piece in the door latch. Also, pull the front tweeter housing out as well.

[bobc]

There are three strong possibilities: The plastic door trim, as mentioned by others, or wires inside the door or the plastic door trim is rubbing against the plastic trim piece on the dashboard (The piece the has the dashboard vent in it...

Start by investigating the latter: Are there any wear marks on this dashboard trim piece? Try putting a piece of paper between the closed door and the dash. Or, spray a little bit of silicon lubricant (Avoid WD-40--It's oily and will pick up dirt). Don't put something too thick in between the two as this may just add pressure on the door similar to your leg and stops the squeaking that is originating somewhere else...

If it's not that, pop off the plastic arm rest that has the window and mirror controls on it. Re-arrange or wrap in foam the wires that run to the controls. These are the only wires in the door that aren't tied down.

If that doesn't do it, think about taking the plastic door trim piece off. Check the foam along the very top of the trim piece that slips down into the window slot. Put a light coat of silicon lubricant or very thin foam wherever the trim piece touches the door metal. Also, wrap the door courtesy light wire in foam and the wires running from the mirror.

If you go to this length of taking the door trim off, might as well put lubricant wherever the plastic parts touch each other, too.

Here's a link to another thread on squeaking. I give the step by step instructions on how to take the door trim piece off: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=32934&hl=
The only thing I would do differently: Instead of using the "handle," start pulling the plastic trim piece off at the conrer by the speaker. It's easier starting there.

There are also some instructions on removing the door piece if you do a search in the audio forum..

Cheers,

[aledcol]

I too am at the end of my rope with an unidentifiable squeak/rattle which I am now calling "chattering". The dealership can't find it and I think it is coming from the drivers side, possible in the suspension??? It drives me nuts and seeing that I paid a lot of money for my car just 2 months ago and they have told me there is nothing they can do, I would like to scream. They told me to "turn up the radio and then you won't hear it"!!!! Mine seems to take place at slow speeds and when I am driving over bumpy roads so doesn't sound the same but let me know if you'rs goes away and what you did. Can anyone else relate???
Tx.

[springfield]

Originally Posted by aledcol

I too am at the end of my rope with an unidentifiable squeak/rattle which I am now calling "chattering". The dealership can't find it and I think it is coming from the drivers side, possible in the suspension??? It drives me nuts and seeing that I paid a lot of money for my car just 2 months ago and they have told me there is nothing they can do, I would like to scream. They told me to "turn up the radio and then you won't hear it"!!!! Mine seems to take place at slow speeds and when I am driving over bumpy roads so doesn't sound the same but let me know if you'rs goes away and what you did. Can anyone else relate???
Tx.

I can relate!!! My car is 4 months old and rattles/squeaks mostly from the center arm rest console. The dealer told me they need to keep it for a day and possibly order parts. I have inspected the console and found that all of the plastic hinges, etc are cheaply made and are not surprisingly prone to making chattering noises when the car vibrates from rather small road bumps.

The turn up the radio advice is really annoying. When you spend hard earned money on a new car you should at least enjoy it for a few months without the irritation of hearing rattles and flimsy plastic sounds on a regular basis.

I am planning on leaving my car at the dealership in two weeks and hope they fix it. My gut says it's not fixable because the construction of the parts are what they are. It's a shame because the car is really awesome.

I'll post my experience after the dealer does his thing. I paid 25k for my car and feel like it's a car worth about 18k with a hybrid system. The people who paid over 30k for the V series must really be upset if they experience squeaks and rattles.

Bottom line, you don't get the Toyota quality that you supposedly paid for.