metallic rattle in roof area

[lklee]

My 07 se makes a metallic sounding rattle in the roof when driving over uneven pavement. It makes no difference whether the sunroof is open or closed. It feels like there's a loose nut hitting the metal roof. I've read that others have experienced the same thing. Is this a known issue, and is there a fix? I will have the dealer look at it.

[wiccanferret]

Good luck with that. Usually when the dealer tries to "fix" a rattle they end up making four more. What I would suggest is first getting some white lithium spray greasy and spraying down everything metal in there.

[Yazovets]

There is a TSB out for a moonroof rattle which happens on the sides of the moonroof.

However, that does NOT sound metallic.

Due to a snow incident, my car had a brand new roof installed. And I lived with the EXACT same rattle which you describe. After lots of "research" into the problem with both the body shop (Toyota certified) and the dealer, we found this:

Take down the interior headliner. You will see 2-3 steel brackets/beams which go from left to right. These hold the roof up to its egg shape. Else it would not stay curved.

So each of these brackets is secured with bolts on both sides of the car just before the doors begin. In my case, on the right side, 2 of these bolts were not torqued properly. They were causing the metal-to-metal rattle anytime I drove over uneven pavement or bumps.

That right there is your solution. I saw it with my own eyes. If you explain this stuff to them, it will take a body shop 30 minutes or less to take it apart, tighten, and put back together.

I had my car fixed a couple of months back and the rattle has NOT returned ever since. I hope this helps you!

[wiccanferret]

That's cool. That fix should be stickied...