2019 Access Cab Rear Passenger Interior Door Panel Fit

So I removed my rear passenger interior door panel in order to fix a creaking noise. Like many others I found several of the red "pins" had been crushed during installation. I replaced them and am putting the panel back on. I am having issues with the bottom corner...corner where the seat belt bolt is located...not fitting snug against the door. There remains about a 1/3" gap. See pics with and without weather strip. Is this normal? My drivers side (which I have not removed) fits flush. Can someone please show me a pic of their panel fitment at that location.

 

anybody??

 

After removal, mine did that too. I was very careful on pulling it off and reseating it until it fit correctly. Something wasn't lining up right.

 

That is not normal. Keep working at it.

I had the same squeak / creak on my left door.

There is a great video out there on YouTube that shows the removal. You've made it past that part.

Just be sure that you have all the clips aligned as best that you can.

 

Thanks for the replies. I went by the dealership and looked at a truck there...the gap I have is not normal. I'll keep messing with it.

 

Did you get your squeak / creak fixed by doing something inside the panel area? Mine is much better, but still does it a little bit when the truck is turning to the right. I was thinking about some felt tape or something, but not sure where to put it...certainly don't want to introduce an obstruction to fitment

 

Yes. Mine is gone. I had just one crushed clip. The one in about the middle of the panel under the window. Wonderful silence since.

You could use something, but it might flex the panel and cause another noise. The best bet would be Dynamat or similar on the non-contact areas. That will both stiffen the panel a bit, dampen vibrations, and insulate against noises and such.

Some folks attach sound insulation to the door also and say that it kills road noise and give a door a more solid feel.

 

Hi allen, my door has had the damn squeak too, mines a 2016. Had it to dealer before warranty was up and the tech took door apart and taped around the upper storage/cup holder little bin. It is better but the squeak is still there.

 

Let me just drop this bit of enjoyment right here:


After a few replays, you might just notice that there is a Taco in the video. After a while longer, you might notice that she is messing with a 2nd Gen Xrunner. Don't fear. The 3rd Gen is the same.

Anyway, I suspect that the tech didn't get all the clips in the holes. I bet that you would have more luck at home taking your time.

 

Well I found out why my panel had a gap. I ran seatbelt to the bolt at bottom of door...on the INSIDE of the panel. Duh!! Amazingly, it all worked fine. I’m gonna see if creak gets better. If not, I now have some experience with the panel, so future on/off will be much easier. Thanks for all the help!

 

Ha! That will do it.

 

Seen that video. and No, its the same sound i originally went in for that is still there.

 

I think I have isolated the source of my creaking. It does even involve the damn panel.

I noticed that the creaking was worse when I made a "sweeping" right turn...like body stress was somehow involved. So I completely removed the panel, and STILL had the creaking. I then removed the vertical weather strip piece from the suicide door...original creaking gone. However, I then noticed a slightly different creaking in the same area, when I did a sweeping left turn...haven't looked into that yet, but suspect it's from the weather strip on the full-size passenger door. My plan is to apply wax to the painted body areas where the weather strips make contact. Hopefully, this will "interrupt" the friction which is causing the creaking. I will report back when I am done.

 

Ah! I had that also. Just about any rubber / vinyl / leather protector will do. I had some leather protectant wipes and just went over them. The noise went away.

The Taco frames are somewhat flexible, so this happens.

 

I tried everything to get rid of a creaking sound in the driver side rear door. I thought it was something rattling and pulled the panel, checked all the screws, taped wires together better, put noico sound deadener... It would still creak when making turns, especially on longer curves. Finally figured out it's the metal itself. I think it wasn't latching well enough and there was some movement/flex.

What eventually worked for me was I read that someone had put tape on the metal latches on the cab side (top and bottom). I put a layer of scotch tape and then a layer of electrical tape. It helps the door latch in better and stopped the creaking. After a while, you'll need to redo the tape (unless you never open/close the door). Could probably adjust the latches instead, but this was an easier fix for the time being.

Edit: Here's the post I read that has a picture of the top latch with tape https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/door-rattle.553150/#post-18005700

 

Well......I still have that $#@#$% creaking noise! I THOUGHT it was the weather stripping, but it's not. I put the panel back on, and the noise is back.

I did try adding tape to the steel "bar" that the suicide door latches on to. That seemed to help a bit, but not much. The noise definitely happens when I turn to the right, sometimes when going straight and NEVER when turning the left.....and I'm talking sweeping type turns, not a stop sign turn.

I hate to take the panel off again, as I almost broke one of the "female" part where one of the red plugs goes in. I'm pretty sure the issue is inside the panel, close to where the pocket handle is (right next to the window). My next step may be to put some kind of rubber ball (tennis ball, small rubber toy ball, etc.) in the interior area underneath the pocket handle. If I do take the panel off, I'd be curious where others have put noise damping material...that helped/fixed the problem.

I REALLY don't want to take it to the dealer for this, because 1 - they will probably break something else in the process. 2 - I really don't think they will fix it. But...I am interested in everyone's thoughts on taking it to dealer for this....anyone done this, and what where your results??

 

Did you put tape on both the top and bottom bars? I only did the top bar at first and still had the noise, so I did the bottom bar too and that stopped it. Seems like every door is different though.

I thought about bringing it up at the dealership, but I figured they'd just say it was because I had taken the door panel off. Since the tape fixed it for me, I didn't bother.

I put sound deadening on as much as I could of the metal panel and the back of the plastic door panel. But that didn't really make much of a difference with the creaking noise. I don't have a picture of the back of the panel, but here's a pic of the door itself. I went way overboard because the creaking was driving me insane and I was hoping it was just from vibrations. Maybe one day I'll go back and add the closed cell foam and mass loaded vinyl to actually sound proof it.

 

Sorry that it didn't work. I don't have anything else since that fixed mine because it was misinstalled at the factory.

Good luck!

 

Very nice work right there. I haven't put any tape or deadening material anywhere. I'm thinking that is gonna be the next step though. Like I said, I'm nervous every time I have to tug and jerk to get the panel off. I cracked one of the red plug holes on the panel. It still holds the plug, but it's cracked for sure. BUT, I think the panel is gonna have to come off at least one more time, to add some deadening stuff in there.

 

I feel your pain. That creak drove me up the freaking wall. I took that panel off probably 10 times over 2 weeks trying different things to shut it up. Luckily, I didn't have any issues breaking/cracking anything, but I would assume you could epoxy the crack on the panel if it becomes worse and wont hold the retainer clip thingy.

Edit: And the last time I had it off, I forgot to put the square foam cover thing at the bottom left back on. So it's just chilling in my garage, because ugh.