2012 Camry V6 Rattle

[RN89]

2012 Camry SE 3.5L V6
50k miles.
Front end rattle (its a soft tone, not like marbles in a can. More like someone knocking on a door really fast, like quadruple time!). Passenger side, almost sounds as if it's lower in the engine compartment. It's heard from inside the vehicle at speeds of 30-70mph.
It started back in July 14' but has gotten progressively more frequent. Not louder in nature, same exact noise, just more frequent. It can be heard driving in town or cruising on the highway. It doesn't do it all the time either, which is what makes it hard to diagnose. The sound is not coming from the engine itself, I don't believe. It does not change with engine speed, and it's not present at idle.

The car runs perfectly as it always has. Engine is smooth and no lights on or anything. I explained this to the service manager at the dealership and he went through a list of options of what it could be, and said I could have it "diagnosed" for $110.00. Wanted to see if any of you Camry owners have experienced the same thing?

Thanks in advance!

 

[larrystorchrules]

Not a camry owner but sounds a lot like what I had with my Hyundai. Bet you have worn sway bar links. Not sure if it is covered under warranty, but if not the damage was around 200 bucks from an independent.s




2010 Hyundai Elantra,
255,000 miles
M1 high mileage
Bosch long life filter

 

[Traction]

Agree on checking sway bar end links, but on my 07 Camry, and the 01 I had, ended up needing to change the inner bushings on the rear bar of both cars which took car of the rattle. Sometimes it's hard to tell which end of the car the noise is coming from. The bushings are easy to change. To check, with car level on ramps, slide under rear of car and see if the rear bar can be moved up and down.

 

[cptbarkey]

i doubt its suspension. if there is a lower engine cover it is probably flapping in the wind. put it on ramps and find out.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

What did you find out when you crawled underneath and looked everything over?

 

[HerrStig]

The front top strut bearing mount is a Camry favorite.

 

[RN89]

BINGO!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36QW9UgGC9Q

Check out this YouTube video. This is the EXACT sound I am experiencing in the Camry. Sound starts around 1:10.

Looks like I may need to replace the sway bar links. I don't have much experience or knowledge with anything relating to this, so if one is bad, does that mean the other is bad also? Or just the one making noise?

Also, with the car only having 50k miles, what could have caused these to go bad already? Car is driven where most Camry's are; in town and highway cruising for my wife's work.

I will call the dealer and see what is covered under warranty or not, but is this something that you would trust an indy mechanic to do or should I take it to the dealer? I hear it's not a terribly expensive fix.

Thanks for all you great info guys.

 

[Doog]

Do both sides. Also there are rubber bushings on some models that hold the actual sway bar onto the frame. Replace those as well.

I have done several sets on my wifes ES350. I get the links, bolts and rubber parts and cut the old ones off with a sawzall.

But mine are salt corroded. Easy DIY job.

Don't forget blue loctite. 1/2" impact gun makes short work of the job. BTW, do one side at a time.

 

[Silverado12]

When doing anything sway bar related, have both wheels evenly off the ground so the bar isn't on a bind.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: RN89
Also, with the car only having 50k miles, what could have caused these to go bad already? Car is driven where most Camry's are; in town and highway cruising for my wife's work.


I think 50k miles is early for stabilizer bar parts, but we had two minivans that needed them constantly, so it could be bad parts quality, bad design, or anything in between. Our Acura is still on all of its original stabilizer bar bushings and end links (118k miles). Our Honda (96k miles) had them replaced prior to 50k by the dealer when they mis-diagnosed rattling brake pads as bad endlinks, so it's hard to tell how long they'd have lasted if the originals were left in place.

 

[supton]

I've been hearing rattling on my Camry lately; will have to check come summer. As long as the wifey doesn't notice... I'm in no rush.

 

[larrystorchrules]

I was going to ask what kind of driving you do. Agree with the other poster that 50k seems way too soon - mine went ar around 240k. My $200 figure may be a bit high,I would check the bill for you but we are in the middle of a blizzard. Pretty easy fix though, should be no problem for any indy to do and definately do both,

 

[RN89]

Ya, I agree this problem seems way too soon at only 50k miles and 3 years for a car that is driven on decent roads. I got a quote from the dealer just for fun (knowing it would be high) and it was $515 to replace both!! I also got a quote from a very reputable, highly recommended indy which was $200 to replace both...so you can guess where I'm going to go. Another plus is that they're offering 25% off of labor for first time customers. So I'll keep y'all updated on the progress. Hoping to get this done ASAP as my wife drives A LOT!

 

[dlayman]

Originally Posted By: larrystorchrules
I was going to ask what kind of driving you do. Agree with the other poster that 50k seems way too soon - mine went ar around 240k. My $200 figure may be a bit high,I would check the bill for you but we are in the middle of a blizzard. Pretty easy fix though, should be no problem for any indy to do and definately do both,


Yeah that is WAY too soon for that to be going on. I'd complain to Toyota and ask for assistance on that, probably wouldn't get it. I've taken six cars to over 150,000 miles, one closing in on 300k, and never had that problem.

 

[Mykl]

I got my Camry with 95k miles and the suspension was spent. All kinds of fun noises over bumps. I replaced the entirely blown struts and most of the noises went away an the car became nicer to drive than I expected.

Another noise, more of a creaking than what you describe, still existed and only came out every now and then, was still there. I did some poking around and one of the swaybar end links had a blown rubber seal.

If there's a recurring theme with these cars it seems like the suspensions aren't too durable. I can think of worse problems to have, but it's still annoying. Thankfully the car is pretty nice to drive when it's all sorted out.

 

[horse123]

And here we have the reason not to buy budget brand cars with 250hp+. The suspension is the same from the little I4s but people treat them like track cars so the suspension is dead well before it should be.

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: horse123
And here we have the reason not to buy budget brand cars with 250hp+. The suspension is the same from the little I4s but people treat them like track cars so the suspension is dead well before it should be.


The engine was worth the afternoon I spent changing the shocks.

 

[horse123]

Sure, the world would be fine if we put a 6.7 Cummins in every corolla and civic and kept everything else the same. That's exactly how cars should work. It's funny to see people defend their falling apart cars.

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: horse123
Sure, the world would be fine if we put a 6.7 Cummins in every corolla and civic and kept everything else the same. That's exactly how cars should work. It's funny to see people defend their falling apart cars.


Who's defending what?

Who buys a seven year old car with around 100,000 miles on it and complains when it needs repairs?

The car was solid otherwise, so why should I be upset with Toyota?

 

[Jim K]

Psssst check the heat shield on the exhaust .