2023 Tundra Rattle Noise - Issue and Fix

Wanted to post this here for general information in case anyone in the future encounters the same issue.

The Problem:

I noticed a distinct rattling sound when I rolled my rear window down. At first I thought it was the window itself rattling around in the track. It was a clanging noise of metal-on-metal or glass-on-metal, that occurred when rolling over bumps in the road and especially off road. I could not hear this sound when the rear window was rolled up.

So, I disassembled the rear window area and had a friend drive my truck around off road while I sat in the back to observed the area for movement, sound, etc. What I found is that the sound was coming from the bed area, not the window. It was coming from the front of the bed and on the passenger side.

I reassembled the rear window area etc., and hopped in the bed of the truck and began articulating the suspension (I jumped around). This duplicated the sound, which from the standpoint of the bed area sounded like a cross between metal-on-metal clanging and a creaking sort of sound, like unfastened plastic stretching and moving across substrate - basically, my guess at this point was that the bed was not secure. It was bouncing/rattling on the metal brackets/frame underneath. Up to this point, I had not modded the bed or touched any of the bolts that tie it into the frame.

The Solution:

So, I unfastened the large bed bolts, sprayed some protectant lubricating film in the mounting points top and bottom, articulated the bed again and found the noise was gone. I drove around with the bed unsecured like this and found the rattling, clanging, creaking noise was gone. So I re-secured the now-lubricated bolts as tight as I could possibly get them and rechecked for sounds - all gone.

It appears as though my 2023 SR5 4X4 Crew Max Tundra had a few loose bolts on the bed? Anyway, what began in my mind as a rear window problem turned out to be an issue with (what I believe to have been) a loose or rattling bed. So far the issue is fixed. Just wanted to pass this info on in case anyone has similar problems.

 

Thx for sharing.

When you said you “drove around with the bed unsecured”, do you mean that the bed bolt was loose?

 

Yes, the bed bolts were in but not cinched down tight. And I drove around in an open field, not on the road.

 

Ok…so the rattling was from the bed and frame vibrating and the the lube dampened that, or was there a shim in between?

 

I added no shims, only some lubrication and then retightened the bolts as best as I could. The noise is gone for now. But, yes, it appears as though the plastic bed - from the factory - was loosely sitting on the frame/mounting points and it was rattling. And this is a truck with less than 2,000 miles on it. It's the sort of thing that is more annoying than problematic; although, it could have developed into other issues down the road.

 

There is now a white plastic shim installed between the bed itself and the frame. I have a 2022 Tundra which does not have the shim, it would appear some new models have this shim......you could ask your dealer to install it.

Here is a previous post regarding this topic; https://www.tundras.com/threads/2022-tundra-bed-noise-solved.121127/

Page 2 has pictures of this new shim.

 

Just checked my truck, and it has these white shims. Interesting, since mine still had the rattle issue.

 

Same...my 22 has the shims and had the bed bolt noise. Followed similar procedure and fixed it

 

Well as long as it's fixed

 

Any of you guys have a bedliner installed? Wondering best way to torque bed bolts with bedliner?

 

If you mean, can you avoid cleaning out the torx bolt heads....no you cannot.

 

I've had this issue with my 23 Tundra as well and ended up putting some thin spacers between the bed and the mount. This helped a lot with some of the noise. I still noticed some noise when the window was down but, it was definitely not from the window area. I removed the plastic bed rail caps and installed some foam tape to them and reinstalled. It fixed all the sounds that were coming from the bed area. Now I'm able to enjoy the rear window down with no rattles and creaks.

 

All of the bed noise was gone for me after installing the camper shell.. It probably pushed down the bed

 

2023 capstone
Hear rattling under the truck specially when goin drive through as noice bounces back

checked everything under no loose boots found

any ideas ?

 

Transmission and were told it's normal.

 

Ok

 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WeuUufJ--Qk

Mine is coming from the rear passenger seat somewhere. I wonder if it is the same problem as T-MAC issue?

 

chain that secures your spare tire. I zip tied mine to the spare rim

 

Here is another thread that may help you with your noise, several have issues with Hydraulic Cab mounts. https://www.tundras.com/threads/2024-tundra-rear-noise-rattle.134899/

 

I had this sound in my ‘24, ended up being slop in the passenger side tailgate connection point. I put some rubber on the point and the safety cable connection point and it stopped.