Thank you for giving me back my sanity!!!!!!!! I had this same problem and it was irritating the hell outta me. Followed your solution and it worked. Two nuts securing the cross beam were just a little loose, not loose like they could turn easily but like it wasnt to proper torque specs. Only was able to tighten 1/2 to 3/4 full turn but i guess that it was enough that it was creaking because after i took it for a spin the clicks were gone. Hardest part was getting the box wrench wedged in between the curtain air bag bracket to reach the nuts. Didnt want to drop the whole headliner so it was a little difficult. If, god forbid, i gotta get in there again ill probly look to remove the grab handles and maybe the A and C pillars to get more working room. Actually, if i have to do it again, ill just take it in to the dealer, now that i can tell them the exact problem and make them do it since warranty is still in effect. Really should be a TSB from Toyota for this. Thanks again......

 

Thanks, I'll be taking this in or doing it myself this weekend. I didn't know where to start taking things apart, glad to know now, it has been driving me nuts.

 

The RV mirror slides onto a mount that is glued to the windshield. If you look closely you should see a little release button on the bottom. Just press it and slide the mirror up and off. I watched the guy do mine when I had my windshield replaced. As for taking the mirror apart, you're on your own there.

 

the same thing is happeneing to my 09 now. its not a big deal but its really annoying sometimes

 

Same here on my 2010. Constant clicking/creaking/popping sound from the driver's side B pillar. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't right next to my ear. Drives me nuts. Gonna have to print this thread and take it to the dealer.

So happy a solution has been found. Thanks so much for posting this!!!

 

my 2010 is also doing this bad, it drives me nuts. I've taken the B pillar cover completely off and the rear O'____t handle, and checked the airbag bolts and they weren't loose, I just read about the beam from the passenger side to the driver's side, I guess that's what's doing it, so i'll be taking down that side of the headliner soon to get to it. Or take it to the dealer, I just hate others working on my car..

 

My bolts were snug, no real sign of looseness but i was able to tighten it down 1/2 to 3/4 turn and i guess that was the difference. Also, i believe the bolts were not necessarily the air bag mount but were located under the plastic thingy. Maybe its one and the same, hard to remember its been a while. I also sprayed some dry lubricant in and around the area including the seams in the metal behind the pillars.

 

Can you offer any more info on location of these bolts. I've been experiencing this clicking in my B-pillar driver side for weeks and its driving me nuts! ( I only have 1500 miles on my 2010). I've pulled the seat belt and cover several times and pulled both OS handles, dropped the headliner and only see two 10mm bolts holding that cross bar that go across the roof? Tightened those down really snug, but I'm still getting a ton of "clicks". I'm really desperate to fix this annoying sound.

 

Which seams did you lube? Any chance you could provide a picture? The only area I could think would be in the cavity of the B-pillars? And did you use graphite powder? As mentioned above, I'm really having a hard time isolating where this damn clicking is coming from and any info you had to help me get rid of it would be much appreciated.

 

MFers! Thanks for the post! This was driving me nuts and I haven't had the time to figure it out. I'll take it apart and fix when I due my headliner. I don't let the dealer touch my car anymore since they can't get my car on their lifts. Besides my brother-in-law works for a dealership and if they can hire an idiot like that then I'm sure there is more there (not all but a lot).

I have a 2010 bought in Nov. 09.

 

so when i go to the dealer what do i say? cuz i have a feeling these guys are gonna bs with me give me the run around and not do anything

 

Tell them you'll call corporate and if that don't get them then call corporate. So sick of the dealers.

 

im gonna try and take mine in soon

 

For anyone with this creaking/popping/snapping, whatever you wanna call it, I finally found the solution(on mine at least). I bought my 2010 back in Feb brand new. The noise developed around 5000 miles or so. I removed B-pillar covers and tightened bolts on cross beam which seemed to work(for about a mile). I then tried prying between the layers on metal behind door seals as another member mentioned. Did not work. Finally as another member or two suggested, I stopped and bought some Gunk Dry Lube spray yesterday. I sprayed it in between layers of metal on B-pillar, NOISE GONE. I drove probably ~30-40 city miles last night and not a single sound came from the pillar. Just thought I'd share since it was driving me nuts and I didn't want the dealer unsuccessfully trying to repair my car as others here have experienced.

 

I'm glad I decided to search for this. My noise has been bugging me for a few weeks. Sounds like someone quickly tapping on the window with a key once every 30 seconds or so. I now have 15k on it and I think it really started to come up around 7k. It seems to be getting worse. I'm going to try this, hopefully tonight. When I do, I'll take some pics. I worry about using lubricant, because that doesn't really solve the problem, it will only make it silent. I'll try everything else first.

 

Ok. First pull the plastic door sills up in the front and rear (sorry no pics). They're easy to get off, there's just 2 clips each, one at the front and back. Then pull the rubber away from the B pillar. The bottom piece of trim (black) comes off first with 3 clips (red arrows).



Then remove the little cover over the seat belt height adjuster by pulling out at the bottom and squeezing the sides together. It should just tilt up and out.

Unbolt the seat belt holder

You can now pull off the top piece of trim (gray). Just pull out from the bottom. There's 2 clips.



At this point, you can just see the bolts that people have been reporting loose. They're up and under the airbag. You'll need to stick your fingers up there to access them. Use a 10mm wrench to tighten them.





It didn't seem like mine were loose, so I just sprayed some WD40 in the gaps between the panels under the rubber trim.



I drove around and realized that nothing had changed, so I pulled over and removed, sprayed, and reinstalled the seat belt bracket.



After that, the noise seemed to stop. I haven't driven very much, so I wont say it's fixed yet, but I'm hopeful. It may have just taken time for the initial spray of WD40 to soak in??

I'll report back in a few days.

 

I have this exact same issue with my 2010 xb. Thanks for the photos. Let us know if this fixed it for good too. Thanks!

 

I'm glad my pics could be helpful. It's always nice when I find pics of exactly what I'm looking for, so I figured I'd start taking pictures and posting everything I do.

Its been a month now, and I've drivin a lot since I did the above work. I can confidently say I got rid of the clicking sound. Again, I'm not positive that it was the seat belt bracket, as I only gave my first fix (WD40 in all the seams) about 2 trips around the block before trying the seat belt bracket. It sure seems like it though. If anyone else does this, I suggest removing, lubricating, and reinstalling the seat belt bracket first to see if this is all you need. It's really easy.

The only problem now is that I'm starting to notice every other little noise in the car....

 

Well, nothing has changed on the 2011's. Funny how one little thing can absolutely drive you crazy. But I guess it's because it's so close to your ear. I drive down the road beating on the B pillar.

 

hey guys my family has a 2011 and this morning i heard some squeaking noises on the left side when i was driving, i thought it was just change but its not, how do you know which pillar is which, sorry noob question, only 16, its confused me for a while...
and it is a little cold around 55-65 degrees here in vegas.