wow crazy.. good work. I have to say I've had a few new cars and they all have rattled.. but not a single noise has come out of my Venza in the 9 months I've owned it. Fingers crossed.

 

all quiet here too-- but only 1 month in

 

I really don't want to shatter anyone's experience, but after having driven no fewer than a dozen different venzas last year, I had yet to find one that didn't. Not that they don't exist, just that folks simply may not notice it.

If one DOES notice them and decides to troubleshoot, another excellent piece of advice I can give is to force the rattle/noise to show itself by doing what I do in the videos. Thump adjacent parts with the heel of your fist. This makes finding the exact soure of the noise much easier than trying to find a rough road and dipping your head all around or forcing a passenger to do the same.

For the glovebox, thump the tan part just above the glovebox first. Then try the dark part of the dash above that. Similarly for any noises on the drivers side. Just above the instrument cluster yielded results for me on that dash seam. Not to mention I'd have been searching forever while driving as I would never have driven it with the door open searching for said rattle.

 

Thanks. I am actually very sensitive to any rattles -- My last Camry was good but it had a tendency for the stick shift to rattle (which actually went away after 20K: I complained to the dealer but all I got was BS). I will report back on the 2012 AWD V6 I have in a while.

 

could you please describe how you fixed the passenger seat rattle. your glove box and door rattle fixes worked great. thanks for all your info.

 

That particular one was actually fixed by the dealer. That was the very first one. What I can tell you is that the work order said something about the seat base being uninsulated and that they reinsulated and reinstalled.

As I've made visual proof of my dealer having not actually fixed things that they said they fixed and not ordering and installing parts that they put on the work order, I did take a peak after this one but I must say I did notice that the seat bolt heads had seen a wrench/socket so I trust that they at least removed the seat. Is one or both of your seats making noise?

One of the things I'm going to communicate to toyota in a couple weeks is that they don't need to DRIVE the vehicle to mimic these rattles. Thumping, bumping, agitation can accomplish the same task. THAT is what I've learned over my few months in venza ownership and I can't breve they haven't learned that one themselves already. I can't count how many times they've driven the vehicle only to note that they didn't hear anything so they didn't DO anything. That is a PATHETIC excuse for troubleshooting and after 100 years of the automobile, we need to do better than that. :disappoin

 

Thanks for the info. Both of my seats are making noise, but if I sit on the driver seat just right I can make it disappear. Since I drive the car for work with no one sitting in the passenger seat, the noise drives me crazy. Kind of sounds like its metal vibrating on metal. I also noticed that when I go over bumps, similar to railroad tracks, the back of the passenger seat flops back and forth and makes an annoying sound as well.
Another noise that I have not read about on the forum yet is what sounds like the back passenger windows rattling or vibrating against the plastic panels. I have brought it to the dealerships attention, and they tell me its body flex. I dont believe that for a moment. I have my 5000 mile service coming up soon, and plan on bringing this issue up again.
I have a 2011 V6 AWD with all the options minus the DVD Entertainment Add-On. It has almost 4400 miles.

 

I know what you mean about the seat backs. I don't know if there's a good solution for that, though I mainly drive the venza with family in tow so Im not exposed to it Ike I was when brand new. The wife doesn't notice a dump truck rolling through a nitro glycerin plant so to her it's the perfect car.

As for your passenger window noise, I have a possible fix. Another well documented issue I had with the venza required a Toyota field tech getting involved. Apparently some camrys coming out of Kentucky have not had their door catches secured tightly enough. As a result, the jarring of the door from driving can cause the catch to be moved allowing the door to jiggle. I originally called the sound a "sizzle" as I thought it was the seatbelt against the seat fabric first, then thought it was maybe the curtain airbag in the door post. Ultimately, TFT heard it, diagnosed it as same as Camry prob (Kentucky) and adjusted the door so that it sit slightly recessed now. Ask your dealer to check it out!

Here's the link to one of my first complaint pages. You can see the pics at the bottom of page 2 to see how they drew the door in on the passenger side to eliminate the problem I think you might have......

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...-do-dealers-do-rattles-these-days-ive-got-one-my-right-door-panel-2011-a-2.html

 

I said I would report back: After 6000 km (about 4000mi) all is still quiet. I will report back again (2012 AWD V6)

 

Very nice! Happy for you! :thumbsup:

I was dropped by my dealer in a calamity of miscommunication. The Toyota field tech arrived and left the dealership in an emergency trip to another dealer, however, my dealer failed to communicate this to me. That was on the 7th.

The TFT has since been in electric Rav4 training and is slated for a new appt on the 26th. I've received apology calls from everybody except Mr. Toyoda himself, but it's been an exhibition in buffoonery nonetheless.

I hope to have more answers for folks as my drivers side window has since shaken loose but I don't want to prematurely diagnose til the TFT does. That, plus a definitive answer on what the steering column issue TRULY is (I noticed in the other thread that somebody else's dealer is going to replace the turn signal switch which I'm not sure is the real culprit in the steering column issue) but it'll be a few more days.

 

How did you fix the rattling in the dash speakers?

 

I would advise anyone considering those speaker grills to also consider the adjoining piece with the vent slots for the triangle window as well as the A-pillar cover itself. (That off-white textured plasti-fiber stuff)

What my dealer did was put several strips of felt acrossed the inside of the grill itself. The real help came on the driver's side A-pillar. *They* say that there was a clip missing.....however....I'm not sold entire on that but regardless it still points to the A-pillar. Those 3 pieces like to agitate eachother upon vibration and so while the grill itself might rattle and pushing on it while driving may stop it, it could be the vent piece or the pillar cover that's the real culprit. (Is it any coincidence we're dealing with the passenger A-pillar today?)

Finally, the Field Tech is at it today. We met bright & early w/ the foreman and went over all items. The guy sounded genuinely interested, heard most of the sounds (for example the steering wheel creak wouldn't sound to save my life this morning but he immediately recalled my video which was forwarded to him & took note of TSB0005-11 where it was very audible) and said he's going to attack it. It's been 4 hours so far & no word back yet. Should be interesting.

 

Well, another day at the dealer, another piece of paper. I don't know what's missing at Toyota but it's as if they've lost their mojo or something. The folks are nice enough. Everybody knows how to follow the "nice" protocol but nice is one part of a car company. Quality and competency is another.

Anyway, the good news first...the FTS appears to have fixed most of what I asked. A lot of felt used but definitely good effort put in and I can appreciate that.

However......here's a video followed by a pic for the repair of what I thought was the most obvious fix (in fact they said they heard the glovebox even as they pulled the car around to take me for the ride and have me point stuff out almost making it seem as if, "Oh, that'll be easy") which is....the glovebox......

Specifically note: "Verified concern, compared to 9 other venzas all sounds the same. Noise is coming from glovebox door latch assembly. This is a sealed part and cannot be opened for inspection. Operating as designed." :facepalm:

I just don't even know what to say. They definitely tried. They replaced my fixes in the catch buckets with their own felt and looks like they tried a couple of times as the glovebox noise was not only witnessed by them on the road, but verified by hand as well. My regular service guy said they not only tested 9 other venzas but switched mine out with another and nothing changed. So it's like the foreman and the FTS just gave up? :dunno:

I even emailed about a week out to make sure they could bring in ANY parts the FTS might need for, if nothing else, tsb0005-11. What did they tell me they had to order today? TSB0005-11...:disappoin. It's like I'm dealing with that car company in that Michael Keaton movie from the 80's.

 

Well, another day at the dealer, another piece of paper. I don't know what's missing at Toyota but it's as if they've lost their mojo or something. The folks are nice enough. Everybody knows how to follow the "nice" protocol but nice is one part of a car company. Quality and competency is another.

Anyway, the good news first...the FTS appears to have fixed most of what I asked. A lot of felt used but definitely good effort put in and I can appreciate that.

However......here's a video followed by a pic for the repair of what I thought was the most obvious fix (in fact they said they heard the glovebox even as they pulled the car around to take me for the ride and have me point stuff out almost making it seem as if, "Oh, that'll be easy") which is....the glovebox......


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOABypGWDKY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Specifically note: "Verified concern, compared to 9 other venzas all sounds the same. Noise is coming from glovebox door latch assembly. This is a sealed part and cannot be opened for inspection. Operating as designed." :facepalm:

I just don't even know what to say. They definitely tried. They replaced my fixes in the catch buckets with their own felt and looks like they tried a couple of times as the glovebox noise was not only witnessed by them on the road, but verified by hand as well. My regular service guy said they not only tested 9 other venzas but switched mine out with another and nothing changed. So it's like the foreman and the FTS just gave up? :dunno:

I even emailed about a week out to make sure they could bring in ANY parts the FTS might need for, if nothing else, tsb0005-11. What did they tell me they had to order today? TSB0005-11...:disappoin. It's like I'm dealing with that car company in that Michael Keaton movie from the 80's.

LOL, are you joking, total BS man what they wrote up. I had many rattles in my car just like yours that the dealer told me that you should hear nothing. They in fact found all the nosies and replaced all the parts. I even got a new glove box, center console and door trims with moldings. It took 2 days to install but I have not had any more rattles in 2 months after they were all replaced. The dealer didnt give me any hassle on this either. They are a good dealer.

 

Glad to hear you got well taken care of! Sounds like a good and competent dealer.

To add to yesterday's drama.......they said that 9 different venzas glove boxes acted the same, right? Well, I literally went to the next closest dealer and upon hopping into the first venza I could climb into I gave the glovebox the test........and guess what........yup, NO rattles.

Other dealer's Venza......

And it was even a used 2011 like mine with 23,000 miles on it! :facepalm:

9 venzas that all sound the same and I just happen upon 1 that's fine at another dealer? And I really hope that was the dealer tech intervening and not directly from the field tech's mouth, but if it is, they ain't gonna like what I got to say about it. :disappoin

 

Red,
My rattles started appearing at 2K miles. Believe my latest is in the driver's side a pillar panel (the one for routing the defroster). I saw in one of your threads where you were able to get that removed/disassembled (to inspect dealer's non-work). Can you describe how to get that one off? I tried pulling up (w/paint opener like the speaker grilles) but I can't get it all the way removed. Thanks.

 

Ya, i took mine off the way you're describing but it was VERY hard to do so I know exactly what you're talking about. What you're running into is that that defroster piece is vertically trapped in place by tabs (think "fangs") that are hanging from both legs (the white textured covering) of the A pillar that frame the little triangular window. You can actually see them a bit if you push down hard on the vent piece as closely as you can to either leg of the A pillar.

The truly correct way to remove them is to pull the door frame rubber from the A pillar...(you don't have to take it all off but far enough toward the top of the door)....which will allow you to pull that textured white covering off. And believe me, you'll be much happier you did it that way when the little "mini-duct" separates from the vent piece as you take it out. It's much easier to put back together in reverse order that way. Plus you'll be able to throw more felt/tape/foam wherever you want when you insulate.

Check out this forumite's pic and album for illustration..... http://www.flickr.com/photos/33755670@N02/5594162630/in/set-72157626313943687

 

Wow...ok, thanks. Very detailed pics. But darn this is getting more complicated all the time. I understood there were those teeth/fangs holding it in and yes, I've separated it from the mini-duct now. Any way to get the mini-duct reattached w/o removing the a-pillar/rubber? Or do I have no choice but to work up the courage to do it as you describe?

 

Hmmmm....you know I honestly can't remember if I tried putting it back the first time with the pillar cover on. But if you think you can do it, I'd suggest maybe using some tape (not electrical but maybe duct or sport/cloth tape) around where the 2 parts connect to try and keep them together while you're working it back down that corner hole where dead flies & Dorito dust go to rest.

And remember.......if you pull the cover, no biggie. Like most R & R's, after the first go around, it's a piece of cake the 2nd & 37th time.

 

still quiet

 

Red (et al), I tried the A pillar disassembly and got it back together. Still rattled. Found a solution to quiet this POS once and for all. I traded it in on a 12 Camry SE yday. So my 7-mo old Venza w/7800 miles is now gone. The bath I took wasn't an entire body cleansing w/full massage--trade-in net was
-$2.7K (from purchase price). Got the SE for $2300 under invoice at 0 %APR for 48.

I consider that $2.7K loss as an OK extended test period/short-term lease (w/o the $3500 due at signing and 36-mo contract w/early term fee). Moreover, the incentives/negotiating room on the Camry was not nearly as good when I acquired the Venza--best I could do back then was closer to invoice at a 2.79%. That about makes up the lost $2.7K I suppose. But the pain and suffering is harder to quantify.

Funny thing is I was worried that a used car mgr would quickly notice the rattles and I'd be stuck. Lucky for me, the guy didn't even drive it!

To all rattle-free Venza owners, count your blessings and enjoy. To those of you embroiled in the rattle battles, my heart goes out to you. As for me, I slept like a baby last night knowing all was quiet on the western front.

 

Well, bummer to hear you couldn't work it out. I can't say I blame you, but still too bad. Hopefully your Camry rocks! :thumbsup:

In the meantime, I've got a quick & easy one for folks who hear their back seats rattle. On the passenger side, pop your seat forward and take a gander under that little flap that falls forward with the seatback itself........

Where those red arrows point, if you follow those channels down, you'll notice that on the passenger side, the feet attached at the bottom, hit metal body. There's a rubber mat along that slope all the way acrossed the car and on the driver's side, they hit the rubber mat so no worries. But on the passenger side, especially if the seat is empty, it can rattle. Here's the solution.......

Find the farthest outside contact point (foot) which is outside of those 2 I point to above. You will see a contact foot which touches a tab that is much higher and easier to reach. Simply put your buffer of choice (see my little 1/2" square piece of felt) between the plastic and that metal tab and that will silence that spot as well as keep the lower 2 feet from hitting the body. Or you could obviously put some on every point, but I found this one spot to take care of it all.

Hope that helps!! :thumbsup:

 

Thanks for the post. I just fixed my rear passenger rattle.

 

Since I got into the steering wheel the other night, I decided to investigate the clamshell turn signal cover since I had found it not well reassembled anyway. I heard the clamshell rattle driving away from the dealership before I noticed it was separated but then it was doing it again this week and sounded deep inside so I was determined to silence it.

Here's what it looks like after you take the 2 screws off that you can see when you turn the steering wheel. A Phillips screwdriver is all you need. Below is the view from the driver's side.....

Looking closer I can't help but chuckle as the dealer had obviously tried to quiet something they heard as you can see a piece of foam taped down with their uber-thin felt tape (I still havent found that stuff online yet) but they failed to take note that the foam touches NOTHING when the clamshell is assembled. :facepalm: Nevertheless, the real problem area is easily confirmed with a few taps......

Ultimately a nice square patch of adhesive felt from the craft store took care of the problem area.....(it's kinda hard to see but best pic I could get with flashlight & iPad).....

And finally just before I put I tall back together, I noticed that the frontal most bunch of wires and connectors jiggle quite a bit.....somewhat by design but somewhat just loosely adjoined in such a bunch, so I decided to cradle the cluster in a patch of foam in the bottom half of the clamshell piece. A few other precisely placed adhesive foam pieces which I've omitted as I probably went overboard but all in all the whole steering cluster is much, much better and how it should be from the factory......

Hope it helps. :thumbsup:

 

redgtxdi...... I commend you for the incredible effort you have put into making your venza what it should have been from the factory! IF I had purchased a (well-) used car that had all the rattles mine has I, too, would go to the effort that you have to make it right. For me, it's a matter of principle. To pay upwards of $30k for a car then have to fix all the rattles and noises is not something I'm willing to do. I have, and assume you have, the dash rattles, glovebox rattle, a- pillar rattle, left door rattle, back seat rattle (noticed it this morning), squeeky center cosole between the front seats, steering column rubbing & clicking, (had the rear door rattle and toyota fixed that one after 3 tries), and the road noise. Our 2000 honda accord lx (base model) that we bought new has over 135k miles on it. The build quality, fit & finish, and material used in it is better than our 2010 venza with premium package and to this very day has never had a single rattle and it does not have anywhere near the road noise of our venza! I know toyota takes a beating from car magazines over its cheap interiors, but I've looked on the lot when I take the venza for service and I can honestly say that I have not seen a toyota product that has a cheaper / worse fit & finish interior in it. My wife doesn't care because it's just a car. So what I do now is listen to my music louder than normal (enjoying the xm radio) and now that I no longer have our GT mustang I think I'll start enjoying (i.e. using a few more horses than normal) the incredibly smooth 6 cyl engine with the 6 cyl tranny. In spite of its flaws, I still enjoy the venza for its looks and easy entry doors and take very good care of it. Ours is garage kept and has been waxed no less than once a month since new and has been caught in the rain only twice. But one other feature I really enjoy is the ability to put my hands through the 5-spoked rims to wash and wax the entire wheel. (Retired military and still rather anal about some things.) I wasn't able to do this on the mustand and the honda has hubcaps. Thus I am making adjustments so that I can enjoy our venza to the fullest.

 

Any possible armrest rattle fix?

I am surprised there isn't much discussion about the armrest rattle when you rest your arm on it. I know it is a common problem. Anyone find a fix for it yet?

 

Well, it's definitely been mentioned. Some have even had the armrest replaced. But replacements appear to do the same. It's one of the things I haven't dug into myself (yet) but plan to get to eventually. It is piss poor but I have a feeling it's going to require delaminating the lid halves to get to the root of the problem.

Remember the slogan and you'll quickly forget all about it........... "We make it eeeeeasy on youuuuu!!!!". :thumbsup: