I wrote "Ask Toyota" via e-mail.

The form letter I received in return from Toyota directed me to contact the Dealer.

The e-mail's return address:

toyota_cares@toyota.com

Subject: 2007 camry console fin(s) chirp, rattle, squeak

 

So far the fix is still working. Moving the fins around would make the noise come from under the shifters plastic plate. Shoving the silicone fuel line in the gap has stopped the noise. I will still mention this to my dealer when I take it in for my first service.

In every other respect the car has been perfect!
Receiving many comments about the color, (either "great color!", or "the color grows on you").

 

I will tell all what the dealer does to fix my center console squeak. My appt. is on the 4th of July. (something to celebrate?) I also noticed that my passenger seat shakes a bit more than I think it should occasionally on bumpy roads when no one is in it. I'll have them take a peak.

 

Finally got the squeak fixed at the dealer. It was a real pain. It took forever. Had to go out in the car with them 3 times. They thought they had fixed it only for it start up again as I was leaving the dealership. They put felt tape almost everywhere under the plastic that covered the shifter in the console and on the inside of the fins. Finally they saw that some vibration insulating foam had come out of place to the left of the shifter. (exactly where i told them the sound was coming from the entire time.

I will have to go back again now though. The tech. scratched up the thin black plastic piece the slides back and forth when you use the shifter. It 's not bad, but noticeable. I had to point it out, he didn't say anything. It has to be ordered. This is chewing up my time. If I'd didn't like this car so much, I might be a little ticked off. Anyway if you have this squeaking problem in the console it's probably the same as mine. Tell your tech it's not the vertical fins. (they come off very easily) just pull straight out using one hand. The tech will probably find some lose foam under the shifter plate which lifts up easily when the shifter is still in place. My tech didn't even use the little slot to the top left of the shifter, he just yanked on it from the bottom corner and the piece popped up. lots of plastic pieces in that console that rub and start squeaking easily. Hope this helps anyone with the same difficulty.

 

Well right on cue today my TCH hit 1000km and thus did start the now infamous console squeek. Mine seems to be between the plastic cover right in front of the flip door and the left fin as it appears when I put a bit of pressure on these 2 pieces at the same time the squeek stops. Reminds me a bit of my 2004 Sienna, it was one of the first of the latest generation just like the TCH is now. After a month or so it developed really squeeky sliding doors and the solution turned out to simply be rubber coated latches. These new latches ended up on the assembly line by mid run of the 2004 model year run. I wonder how long before we see the squeeky console TSB. Fortunately this was the only problem I've ever had with my Sienna so I'm expecting the same of the TCH, it's token problem found, it's clear sailing from here...

 

make sure your dealer fixes it. tells us how it works out.

 

Okay, so I didn't really understand what the description of the squeak in this post was until it started in my car this weekend. It is REALLY annoying given that the car is so quiet otherwise. The "crickets having sex" is pretty accurate. I describe it as similar to the sound a CD player makes when it is endlessly searching for a track on a bad disc, sort of a high pitched but quiet chirping/squeak. It is now happening over almost every bump or vibration. It completely stops if I put pressure right over the front left part of the shifter plate cover near the joint close to the left fin. Has anyone else fixed this on their own? I can just imagine taking up a whole day to have the dealer tell me he couldn't find it or have an incomplete fix... Seems to me that this is something Toyota will be fixing on the assembly line quickly given how commonplace this specific squeak appears to be.

I also have a sort of metallic "creak" type sound coming from somewhere in the rear package shelf or maybe backseat area over larger bumps or vibrations. Anyone else have something similar happening? I don't even have 300 mi yet!

 

Fullofbeans, sorry to hear they scratched up your car. That is exactly what I am worried about and I would prefer not to go through that with the dealer, I don't want them to make it any worse. I don't have squeaks or noises anywhere else. Initially I thought I did but it was something rolling around in the center storage console that my husband had put inside.

 

I found my squeak. The cupholder lid is the culprit. When the lid is open, there is a squeak coming from the lid, it is less noisy/more faint when the lid is closed. I am going to have the Techs fix this when I have my side moldings put on.

 

The main culprit on my car is the left fin. But there is also a rattle beneath the shift lever. It is one of those things that once you observe it, it will bug you continuously. Very annoying. I am going to poke around that area this weekend and hope to find a fix.
-k