Ok. So for the past month or so, I have been hearing this mysterious “hatch rattle” in my tC and it has been driving me nuts! So I came on the forum and looked for all the possible fixes and tried them all, but none of them worked. It was not a wire harness, it was not a loose taillight, it was not loose molding, or bump stops, or the latch mechanism, or the rear sunroof, or the spare tire, or the hatch struts. I thought, “Maybe it’s not even in the hatch.” So on Monday morning, I decided to gut the rear end of my car again. I decided to remove the roof liner by the rear dome light. First remove the two round clips.



Then unscrew the coat hanger clips. Push in the plastic and then pull it back. Then use a Philips head screwdriver or a 10mm socket to loosen the screw. Here’s the tricky part. There is a plastic “pin” that is clipped into the roof to keep the hangar from rotating. Use a thin screwdriver to unclip the pin.







Next, remove the molding on the rear where the hatch closes.



Unclip the Velcro from the edges of the roof liner, but be careful not to bend the liner or it will show a crease when you reinstall it. There are Velcro clips around the edges of the liner and one on each side under it, in the middle.



Now unclip the dome light by using a flathead screwdriver to depress the clips.



Pull the liner down so that you have a decent amount of room to work in at the sides.

Take notice of the plastic “ribs” that are there to keep the shape of the roof liner.



Give them a little tap, sound familiar? The ribs come loose after a little driving and make that dreadful noise. Put a little bit of thin foam tape between the ribs and the metal of the roof.



Problem solved! (It worked for me). And I haven’t heard the rattle for 200miles so far.

I hope this works for everyone!

Good luck!

- Dante

PS.... I did this on BOTH sides

 

awesome info, sticky this plz MOD

 

d,

awesome!. . . it looks like you saved a lot of us some time and head ache. . . i was planning on doing the same thing when i put on my new TRD struts/shocks/spring.. . tear apart everything until the rattle was found.

. .but, it looks like you beat me to the rattle.

great job. . .i hope it works on my tC. ..

. . figures a guy from jersey would solve the problems.

z

 

wow thats great dude!! im going to try it this weekend. hope it works for me! *crosses fingers*

 

so this rattle isn't the actual hatch then?? not the shocks or the rubber stoppers? i'll have to give this a shot!

 

very nice...i tried some foam tape around the panels of the hatch but didnt think that it could be under the roof liner. My rattle is coming from the right side...ill have to give it a try
THANKS

 

i'd really like to try this, but i have the side airbags. can i still gut everything like that? the panel that covers those plastic things he says are the problem is labeled SRS airbag.

 

.. you can probably still do it if you have the air bags.. .

.. i would just disconnect the car battery first.

also, you might have to reset some of your systems.

 

if i wasnt at work i would try this...also how thick was the foam tape and where can i find it?

 

thanx

 

thank you very much.... THat noise has really been ____ing me off......

 

it's usually the foam weatherstripping you can get from like ace hardware, lowe's, home depot.. place like that.. i know on the bumper stops on mine to stop the rattles i had to get some very thick foam (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch) because it compressed when closed.. hope that helps ya..

 

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...016950#1016950

 

I have been hearing that noise forever too. After insulating my car that noise just got more annoying. I can't wait to fix it!!!!!!!!!

 

Man, if I can strike another rattle off my list I'll be a happy man. I'll bet this is exactly the noise I have been hearing. Thanks for all the effort!

 

Hey I took my car apart and I have the side curtain air bags. I don't have those plastic pieces that are in those pics.. But I found what was rattling ..
It is those plastic velcro clips that help to support the headliner.. there are two of them. I put a little RTV on the back of them and waited 20 min to dry and then put everything back together. NO MORE NOISE, praise God ! [/img]

 

the sound that comes from behind the passenger back (right for sure) it the plastic ribs... i got foam weathering adhesive tape and applied some to both of the ribs at the end on the left and right side... BINGO!!!

obviously, there are the normal hatch back "clangs" you will here from time to time because they are hatchbacks... but this solution for the noise you here coming from the back roof interior area for sure helps....

i found you did not need to remove the rear dome light housing (that was a pain in the azz so i did not take it out), or take apart apart the headliner completely...

had to take out both plastic plugs in the roof and thw two shirt hangers.... then remove the plastic molding on both sides of the hatch.. i could not get it completely off but the first couple of "popcorn" locks came undone and that gave me enough room to get at the plastic ribs that smack the medal of the roof... that is what makes this noise...

as stated, be careful cause those "popcorn" fasteners on the hatch molding can snap easliy... broke the bottom one and it fell somewhere... i don't hear it anywhere but i was hoping that this would not be rattling around now...

i probably will spell it wrong but great work dachmo... no way would dealers figure this out and that is a shame... this fix should be available to all service centers!!!

 

Well I believe I am getting closer but that freaking noise or some rattle noise is back!
There is a TSIB out at the dealers to change the hatch supports(shocks) but I heard that doesn't do crap. There seems to be many noises we are all experiencing but to everyone who has taken their car apart 'don't loose hope" !

1. try to use a good and rubber safe lubricant on the hatch stops(those black rubber things.)

2.leave the hatch partially open( use a towel to cover the latch so it doesn't close) then go for a drive and listen.... if your noise is still there it is not in the hatch !

3. pray that God will help you find that rattle.

 

Well I put some special lubicant on the rubber stops and plastic part that rests on it and I don't know if it's the cold weather or not but I truly don't hear that noise I've been hearing now for months. ! Praise God !

 

Hey I don't know about u guys but I'm sure glad that one of the sales managers at my local Toyota dealer owns a Scion tC. When they're own need it fixed it gets DONE! hehe

Well to make a long story short, as soon as I brought the car in, and took the tech for a test drive, he knew what the problem was. He even had his suspicions before we went out to test drive.

Here was the problem. The rubber stoppers on the sides were not expending low enough so that the hatch would bounce and that would cause a rattle. Now I know this might not be the case for everyone, but for my hatch rattle it was.
Some people have recommended taping some foam tape to these stoppers but that is only temporary, what you have to do is adjust the stoppers. Yup that's all you do! Unscrew them and set them lower. EASY and it worked for me.

I'll take some pictures and post. I feel great! and I love my tC even more now that it doesn't rattle!

____