View Poll Results: Does your Tc have any rattles?
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Does your Tc have any rattles?
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Joined: Jun 2005
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Does your Tc have any rattles?
Obviously the longer you've had your Tc the more likely it is to rattle. I've read much about a common problem with a rattling in the back hatch area. Another cople of common place for rattles has been the glove box or the sunroof. There's a poll over at yoursciontc.com that shows more people are experiencing these rattles than not. So I thought I'd start it here and see what people have to say.
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Joined: Jun 2005
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A couple of other places I've seen this mentioned:
'The interior, while fairly attractive (albeit dark in our black model), has cheap-looking aspects, and while it looks well-assembled, our test car, with 11,000 miles, had a surprising number of buzzes and rattles coming from different directions. '
http://www.toyoland.com/car-reviews/scion/scion-tc.html
'Generation Y is a fickle group on squeaks and rattles.
"They have the same expectations for a $15,000 Scion that older customers have for a $50,000 Lexus," says Scion Vice President Jim Farley, recounting a letter from a grumpy tC owner who complained of moon-roof wind noise at 115 mph.'
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101420
'The interior, while fairly attractive (albeit dark in our black model), has cheap-looking aspects, and while it looks well-assembled, our test car, with 11,000 miles, had a surprising number of buzzes and rattles coming from different directions. '
http://www.toyoland.com/car-reviews/scion/scion-tc.html
'Generation Y is a fickle group on squeaks and rattles.
"They have the same expectations for a $15,000 Scion that older customers have for a $50,000 Lexus," says Scion Vice President Jim Farley, recounting a letter from a grumpy tC owner who complained of moon-roof wind noise at 115 mph.'
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101420
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Joined: May 2005
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From: Vancouver, Wa
2 weeks....
Had my TC for two weeks now, I have just started noticing some EDITED: "pops" from the rear moonroof area... Like when I go over speed bumps or railroad tracks or things like that. I'm going super slow over these bumps as well...
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ive had my tc for exactly 2 months now and the rattles DRIVE ME CRAZY! The rattles started around at 700 miles and have gotton louder ever since. its coming from the hatch, but i dont know where exactly. i try to ignore it, but sometimes it ____es me off that a brand new car at 700 miles rattles this much!
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I've got the usual rattles and pops... moonroof does both, hatch rattles a little, door on the stereo squeaks, headliner near the moonroof vibrates and makes a funky noise now and then.
I've had my car for more than a year now, and I'll wait until next summer to have it all taken care of under warranty.
I've had my car for more than a year now, and I'll wait until next summer to have it all taken care of under warranty.
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 32
From: Savannah, GA
the only noises i dont like about my car are: in high wind situations the tag on the bottom side of the lap belt with blow in the wind, since it has been cut off and not a problem. and also in high wind situations there will be noises coming from the "rollers" that retract the fabric under the glass roof. i dont know if its the fabric or the roller itself but its barly noticable.
other than those small things i find my tC is sound.
other than those small things i find my tC is sound.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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I cant even classify the sounds in my car as rattles. They come and go from all directions. I have no clue what causes the noises, or where the noises are coming from. Some are definitely from the hatch, and some are from the plastic center console. But I cant pin point any of them. Also, during wintertime, if the sunroof gets iced up, it makes some pretty scary sounds when the car goes over a bump.
All my noises are very minor, which can actually be more annoying than loud noises I think. Loud noises are easier to diagnose.
All my noises are very minor, which can actually be more annoying than loud noises I think. Loud noises are easier to diagnose.
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Here's what somebody came up with after an extensive investigation:
http://www.yoursciontc.com/forums/in...showtopic=3315
Wolo and I chased down his hatch rattle this morning by removing everything until the noise stopped. Well sort of. The noise never stopped. We held up at removing the glass, but everything else came off the hatch.
The root cause is two spot welds on the hatch frame that didn't fully penetrate. I can reproduce the noise by simply flexing the hatch frame. We also compared everything on his car to everything on my car, and there are no differences except the production dates. His is June 04, mine is September 04. Mine does not rattle the way his does using the same test.
I have no idea how Toyota will address this kind of problem. It is clearly a production flaw. The spot welds are done by a robotic machine on the chassis, but I am not sure if they use the same kind of machine for constructing the hatch. Because the hatch is relatively small, it might be done on a more specialized machine.
In any case, the real solution to the problem is to reweld the spots that failed only enough to make a noise. This is not the solution I was hoping to find, but it is what it is. There was nothing on the hatch to make noise (including the struts), and I could still make the noise Wolo was complaining about.
We tried a couple of adjustments to keep the hatch from being able to move so it makes noise, but I have little confidence this will be a long term fix. This is probably the conclusion Scion/Toyota arrived at, and why they don't have a TSB. They would need to identify all the affected VINs and offer to replace or repair the hatch. This would completely toast their profit margin on the vehicles, so they want to be sure they accurately identify all the affected cars and only fix the ones with the problem.
Sorry all, but this is what we concluded after a full morning's investigation.
The root cause is two spot welds on the hatch frame that didn't fully penetrate. I can reproduce the noise by simply flexing the hatch frame. We also compared everything on his car to everything on my car, and there are no differences except the production dates. His is June 04, mine is September 04. Mine does not rattle the way his does using the same test.
I have no idea how Toyota will address this kind of problem. It is clearly a production flaw. The spot welds are done by a robotic machine on the chassis, but I am not sure if they use the same kind of machine for constructing the hatch. Because the hatch is relatively small, it might be done on a more specialized machine.
In any case, the real solution to the problem is to reweld the spots that failed only enough to make a noise. This is not the solution I was hoping to find, but it is what it is. There was nothing on the hatch to make noise (including the struts), and I could still make the noise Wolo was complaining about.
We tried a couple of adjustments to keep the hatch from being able to move so it makes noise, but I have little confidence this will be a long term fix. This is probably the conclusion Scion/Toyota arrived at, and why they don't have a TSB. They would need to identify all the affected VINs and offer to replace or repair the hatch. This would completely toast their profit margin on the vehicles, so they want to be sure they accurately identify all the affected cars and only fix the ones with the problem.
Sorry all, but this is what we concluded after a full morning's investigation.
To make the hatch tick as Wolo's does, just put one hand underneath the hatch about 4 inches towards the rear from where the strut connects, and put the other hand on the passenger's side bottom edge corner of the hatch. Apply a light force. You will hear a distinct ticking sound coming from the hatch right about where the electrical connection for the defroster is mounted to the rear glass. His car does it, neither of mine do.
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Joined: Feb 2005
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From: AZ
I have 1800 miles on my tC and there is not a single rattle. My tC was also boated in from Japan in April and I think they may have worked out some of the noises on the latest models coming from the factories.