Rattling right in my ear

Hello all,

I just bought a '25 TH a few weeks ago. I absolutely love it overall. I traded in my '17 4runner ORP for it. I do have a mild rattle coming from just behind my left ear while driving. I sat in the back while my wife drove to listen, and I'm nearly certain it is coming from the seat belt adjuster/tensioner assembly on the driver's side. I am considering taking this in to the dealer, but it is a fairly minor issue. Rattles just annoy me on a new vehicle, especially in this price range. Anyone's insight on this would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

Buckle your rear seatbelts when not in use or use the buckle support located on rear seats.

Pop open the seat belt bracket located on the bottom of your seatbelt. I put foam inside and the put the cap back on.

Drop down rear seats and wrap metal bar that seat clicks into with electrical tape.

My truck rattle was gone. Took less than 10 minutes.

 

Hi Yodaman.

The rear seats aren't rattling just yet. Are you otherwise referring to the little bracket that attaches the seat belt to the bottom of the B Pillar? That seems lower than where my noise is coming from.

 

You bought the Tacoma that will probably rattle the most skid plates, sports bar, and OME suspension. Even if all that stuff stays quite the less compliant ride of the OME suspension is sure to rattle things lose before an Off Road.

 

This may not be the culprit in you scenario but might be worth looking into.
I have a significant rattle at times in the back seat area.
Turns out theres a plastic finishing trim piece that surrounds I think it was the center or driver side seat belt buckle.
Its inset below the base of the seat so not easily seen.
Theres only one.....
The 3" chunk of plastic was out of position & rattling against the plastics under the rear seat.

I completely removed the piece from the vehicle, it was pointless & there was no way to really secure it properly....

Might be worth a look & feeling around for a random loose hunk of plastic trim.

Also that Large JBL speakers in the front doors brings out all sorts of rattles....
When they designs the JBL system they intentionally designed the front door speakers to be really bassy.....
Designed to feel it, very boomy....
A non balanced stereo system, missing frequencies, etc, The system isnt balanced well & that brings out all sorts of rattles.....
Thats the JBL....

Im not telling you to sound deaden but when I installed my upgraded system, I intentionally sound deadened everything due to what I was hearing in the cab with the JBL, all the plastic panels, door panels, etc...
Figured the new sound system was going to 10x the rattles, didnt want that...

To my surprise, due to my system being well rounded, more so than the factory JBL, I have zero rattles from the stereo beating the cab to death...
Balanced system in conjunction with sound deadener.

If you cant find it, by all means, take it in to the dealer!!!!

Have a love / hate relationship with the sound deadener, adds weight to the truck in a con for me.....



So left the base of the rear seat & feel around at the base of the buckles for a loose piece of plastic covering the mounting area of the seat belt buckles.

 

Troll much?

 

I'm pretty sure the noise is from the front driver seat belt adjuster area, but I'll check those rear seats. I know that's a common issue.

 

The Trailhunter comes from the factory with the most amount of stuff bolted to it. More chances for things to rattle, and I recall people who have driven the TH say the suspension was on the stiff side that will probably rattle things more and make things lose faster. I'd expect a stripped down Xtracab which wouldn't have rear seats to rattle less than any Double Cab.

 

Doubt it would be the glove box but people have complained about that making noise. Most everyone thinks it's coming from the rear seat, so that's probably it.

 

Welcome to TW...

 

On some Toyotas, the seatbelt height adjuster cover is flimsy and just light pressure can push it in out of its guide. Sometimes, the cover can be pulled back out into its guide with no disassembly. If not, the B-pillar panel has to come off.

 

I've tried to mess with the adjuster a bit. No luck. The B Pillar cover doesn't look too difficult to remove. Thank you.

 

I actually had this problem recently.

Turns out it was after a haircut, and I actually had a hair that had worked it's way down to rub against my eardrum if I moved certain ways.