Raiders757

I have a 2006 tC with only 81,000 miles. Recently I have gained a loud squeaking/rattling noise from inside my dash. This mainly happens when I'm stopped at a light while the car is in drive with the brakes applied. It will go away when shifted into neutral, but after a while it will do it in neutral as well. It stops once you let off the break and hit the gas and only seems to occur during the first few miles of driving. It almost sounds as if it's a squeaky fan spinning or rattling, but it still does it when the air is cut off. Any ideas what this could be? Thanks in advance for any replies. (A video with the noise is linked below.)

yupinmytC

It's coming from your Engine, take it to toyota.

Excessive Oil Consumption on 2AZ-FE Engine LSC ZE7 | TOYO Headquarters


Taking mine in soon, supposedly its a defective piston ring. Causes excessive oil consumption.

Raiders757

Thanks for the reply YupinmytC. Thing is, I haven't lost a drop of oil, or so it seems when I check the dip stick. I've managed to pop the hood listen to the engine when this happens(finally), and it's not nearly as loud and sounds like it's coming from the back near the fire wall and less so from the engine itself. Thanks again for the link. I'll go check it out.

Edit: Meant to ask if you were experiencing the same noise as well. The noise is real loud inside the car. Louder than the video leads one to believe.

Flyfishfreak

I have the same noise, it comes and goes in mine. I was told it has something to do with the plastic housing in the dash and is a known issue with 1st gen TC's. I was also told there is not really a way to fix it, because the plastic has some kind of expansion due to heat, etc.

Raiders757

Thanks for the reply Flyfishfeak. It was mentioned to me that it might be the plastic vibrating in the dash, but I've had a hard time accepting this, as I find it odd that once in gear, the noise stops. Then again, it could be caused by the vibration of the engine. In the winter, the engine does seem to vibrate a lot more than in summer, and winter is when this noise mainly occurs. Thing is, it seems to be more of a spinning noise than a rattling noise. Not only that, but even in drive or reverse, when hitting a bump, the noise can quickly appear for a brief moment. It makes me want to tear the dash apart and search for the cause.

I'm still worried it's from the engine bay, or caused by something directly related to the engine.

yupinmytC

I have a Loud Rattling sound coming from the engine, its just as loud in the engine bay as well as in the Car, usually rattles between 1000-3000 RPMS at any speed and in the middle of switching gears

Forced4

I can tell you I just fixed an issue that made a similar sound in mine. There was a "rattle" or vibration sound even sometimes a sort of squeak (as if rubber was being scrubbed against something) The fix was the pass side engine mount located at timing cover to fender. It was completely blown out, and the engine sags down causing the aluminum bracket to make noise against the metal bracket of the mount. This mount is hydraulic BTW.... probably the biggest cause of vibes when it fails. Not easy to do but can be done with hand tools and a jack+stands.

Also.... see if you get a vibe that is more noticeable at like 40-45mph and maybe 60-65ish. I had that as well.

Raiders757

Thanks for the response Forced4. My engine does seem to vibrate more than one would think it should, so it's a possibly that I will eventually be doing a similar repair. Funny, as now that the weather has broke in my area and the days are warmer, the vibration has reduced and the dash noise has gone away. makes me wonder if I was running with too thick of an oil this past winter, as I heard that can cause vibrations in colder temps. I had some free oil changes from the local dealership, so I am guessing that they used 10W40. Thing is, the noise only occurred when either in park with the break pushed in, or at a stop light in drive or neutral with the break pushed in. Once you hit the gas, the sound disappeared.

mc1114

If its not engine noise and for sure its coming from inside the car, check the blower fan

Have had two Toyotas in the past with a broken fan blade and it made a similar noise

Raiders757

Thanks mc1114, I'll check into it.