Rattles...what’s your tolerance?

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usurper

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My 2019 rattle list is the sunroof (primarily at low speeds) and 2 kids booster seats in the back.


My tolerance for being annoyed by rattles is really low.

My tolerance for actually doing something about it is, so far, way higher.
 

NHDude4

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ZERO tolerance for rattles. All must be hunted down and resolved. Had a squeak from the cup holder on day 1. Wedged in a piece of thin cardboard you can't see which resolved it. 60-split rear bench made a weird kind of squeak when resting in the down position. Put a sweatshirt in the under-seat storage that applies just a little upward pressure to resolve that. Driver door latch improperly adjusted causing the driver door to physically rattle around. Shimmed with felt pads after dealer failed to resolve it.

The only rattle I have now is the same one this post is about. Intermittent and somewhere around my elbow on the front driver door. Also afraid to have the dealer try anything.
 

rightway

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What cause a squeak or rattle? We all know it's a slight bit of movement between adjoining surfaces either slipping on or tapping on a near by surface. I thought I might share one of my finding, it's on a 2018 Lariat but they share similar construction. It's a tapping, clicking type of sound that lasts just a single click or tick, sometimes more, lasting into seconds. It only happens on a bit of roughness in the road, not a sound on a smooth road. The quite ride inside our trucks is a wonderful feature but sure enables transmission of those irritating sounds. Its hard to tell exactly where it's coming from but I isolated mine to movement, between the door latch and where it latches to the pillar. There is a Black Loop of metal on the pillar, that the door latch, snaps around, to hold the door closed.

I isolated this before taking the truck into the dealer by rapping black electrical tape around the Black Loop. Starting with a couple or bit more of raps of tape. Then gently testing the latch's fit by gently partially closing the door as I felt and observed the markings on the tape. Backing off the excess turns until the latch just cleared. Out for a ride and again only quietness.

The Dealer later adjusted the Black Loop, rattle gone with out the tape. They had a bit of trouble, damaging the two screws, backing them out. They had me bring it back, replacing the damaged screws and the black loop which showed a bit of ware from the movement. The truck may have had about 10,000 miles on it then, none of the other door's latches showed any ware. Apparently Ford uses some type of lock tight sealant to really secure the screw. I have looked at friends F150 trucks, having in the range of 45,000 miles on them and their latch's Black Loops show no ware. The black coating still fully in tact on the contact area of the loop, no ware at all. It's interesting how the latch can close on something and never leave a contact closing mark and any other movement there. Obviously there has to be some movement there as the body flexes a bit moving down the road. Maybe someone has better insight, they would like to share.
 

FordTechOne

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For those that are uninterested in going to the dealer or those very sensitive to noises, you can purchase the Rotunda Squeak & Rattle kit to resolve any concerns yourself. This is the same kit that the dealer uses. This can be especially helpful for those like @bobn who have issues as the result of a collision that wouldn’t be covered under warranty.

https://rotunda.service-solutions.com/en-US/Pages/ItemDetail.aspx?SKU=164-R4900
 

Moridin

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My 2012, after about 20,000 miles, developed squeaks and rattles all over the place. Not in the sunroof, surprisingly, but in the dash and the driver's side door. Especially the door, and I'm one of those OCD types that doesn't slam them and yells at passengers that do.

Drove me insane, and man I hunted down those door rattles but never got the nerve to take the panel off cause I figure knowing me I'd just cause more of them trying to get it off and back on. I'm notorious for breaking/bending clips and stuff. All thumbs I guess.

My 2019, so far at 7,000 miles, is quiet as a church mouse. Fingers crossed... I can definitely say the fit and finish of both dash and door panels seems much tighter and more refined than my 2012, so I'm feeling optimistic... threads like this one notwithstanding.
 

MattR

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For the last 15 years I've been buying a new F150 every 2.5-3 years and never had an issue with rattles.
My 92 Bronco is another story. The doors and dash rattle so bad you have to crank the stereo way up drown out the rattles.

Same. I'm on my 6th and I haven't owned one without rattles.
 

MattR

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My Raptor has no squeaks or rattles and neither did my other 2 F-150s. Go ride in any Prius, the amount of squeaks and rattles from the hatch area is unbelievable, never mind the dash rattles. Tundra and Sequoia are bad with interior quality and NVH too, as well as Scions.

Stop drinking the Toyota kool aid; your claim is entirely anecdotal and simply not true.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/dash-creak-squeak-rattle.18946/

That's interesting. I'm on my 6th F150 and every one has rattled. Fortunately, there are plenty more benefits to the F150 that keep me in one.

I don't ride in Prius's, but haven't heard close to the same level of rattles in Toyotas versus these. My dad has a Tundra, mom/brother/sister all drive 4runners. My dad has driven Tundras since I can remember, and my sister is in my mom's 2009 4runner with over 200k. None of them have rattles. I rode 10hr either way in my cousin's 5yo 90k mile Tundra a few weeks ago to the beach and was astonished at how quiet the interior was...no rattles, clunks, squeaks. My fiancé's GX470 now has around 60k and the same.

It isn't a coolaid. There is a reason Toyota beats most domestics over and over in reliability. Their stuff is considerably behind domestics in most categories, but that isn't one of them.

Also, I brought mine into the dealer for squeaks. I'm not one to bring it in for everything...in fact, this was the first time my truck has been into the dealer for warranty work. They couldn't find any of the rattles...when I left, I immediately heard them again but they refused to come for a ride because of Covid. Now, I'm past 36k and they want a 160$ fee to assess the rattle again (which I'm sure they won't find)
 
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