My car has remained quiet all week so I've documented my work. I tried to add/remove various types and methods of insulation in order to determine what worked and what didn't. I did not remove all my previous attempts at insulation so what I've done may not necessarily work in your vehicle. However, you should be able to use the instructions as a guide to accessing the components causing the noise and find your own solution.

Disclaimer: there is a chance that any of the plastic parts involved may break.

1. Fold down the rear seats.

2. Dig your fingers underneath the door trim to grab the front corner of each "roof side inner garnish." Pull the corner straight out towards the centerline of the car until clip one disengages. You should then be able to slide the garnish towards the front of the car and remove it. If not, I remembered incorrectly and clip 2 also needs to be disengaged before the garnish can be slid forward.

3. Place all your fingers under the "package tray trim assembly" (rear deck) and lift straight up to disengage front two clips. Then pull the assembly towards the front of the car to disengage the remaining two clips.

4. Place thin weatherstripping as shown:







The 3M double-sided foam mounting tape shown in some of the pictures probably doesn't do anything and is thus optional.

5. Replacing the rear deck assembly.

The two blue clips probably stayed behind when the rear deck assembly was removed. Locate them and pry them out. Then slide them into place on the bottom of the rear deck assembly:





Slide the rear deck assembly back into position. Press firmly in the areas above all 4 clips.

6. Roof garnish reinstallation.



Remove the clip in location 3 from the car body and install it in its mount on the inside of the garnish. Remove clips 1 & 2 from the garnish. Slide the garnish back into its original location, engaging clips 4 & 5 which remained attached to the car body. If both are engaged correctly, the rear half of the garnish will be secured. Place clips 1 & 2 in their mounts on the garnish then push the front end of the garnish straight in to secure it. Make sure the door trim is not getting in the way during any part of the procedure.

7. Hybrid battery vent rattle abatement.

The rear deck assembly does not have to be removed to perform this "fix."

Cut a strip of 3M double-sided foam mounting tape lengthwise and secure it as shown on both sides of the vent cover.





You can see where I previously placed two small bits of weatherstripping. The rattling did not go away completely after their addition so I don't think they're necessary.

 

WOW! Nice job! I'll be doing this soon.

 

Excellent job sir....if anyone can make stickies on this site...we should....I am getting close to compiling all this information into a few web pages for safe keeping...we have so much good information on this site.

 

Eric, thanks for your excellent instructions and pictures! I pulled my rear deck today, following your instructions, which made it very easy.

BTW, did you find the wiring to the third brake light had come un-taped?

FYI, I had previously tried a temporary fix, by wedging a small piece of foam between the top of the third brake light housing and the rear glass. It solved the rattle, but eventually fell into the brake light housing, forcing me to remove the deck anyway! Oh well..... I will let the forum know how successful it was for me in a few days.

 

Yes, I found the wire had come loose. I made a half-hearted effort to tape it back to underside of the deck but arranged it so that when it fell back down again, it'd be out of the way and not on top of the speaker.

I was able to test whether the rattles were gone just by playing a song with heavy bass. When it no longer rattled the deck, the rattle on bumpy roads was gone as well.

The key is gaining access to that area. Once you know how to do it, you'll eventually figure out how to silence the rattles. There were quite a few subtle variations in the placement of the insulation before the rattle was silenced completely rather than partially.

 

any other recommendations to fix the squeaking that are less invasive to the car?

 

Squeaking from the rear deck or other areas of the car?

 

I must say I'm disappointed in the build quality of the Toyotas made in the U.S. The ones I have owned of Japanese origin did not have problem after problem. There build quality really has declined. I'm not sure I want one anymore.

 

I had a blown rear JBL speaker replace by Toyota and the replacement has now caused my rear deck to rattle. They have failed 3 times to completely fix it so I will try this myself. Thanks!

 

Great Job and Thank you!!