After about 3 years (low milage, car is garaged day and night, no snowy winter...) rattles, pops, and cracking sounds started to infrequently and randomly occur somewhere in the back, somewhere near the roof. The noise lasted for a few seconds, coming and going, perhaps over a minute or two, then quit for a while. It was very intermittent and very hard to reproduce. It sort of sounded like someone was dropping a handful (10-12) of marbles on the roof, but the sound is coming from inside, if that makes any sense, or maybe it sounds like a few drops of water onto a hot skillet when you are up close.
It did seemed a little more likely when cold and warming, or when in the sun and just starting out.
In any case, it got worse.
On-line research (this in 2012, ~3 years ago) showed this to be a known problem and that there TSB's, but not for the 2009 model.
To the dealership.
I plead my case.
A technician test drives with me around the parking lot, not even onto the street. He hits a small bump, I barely hear one "pop" and he immediately says "yup, I know exactly what it is". And then he clams up.
But hey! It's only three years old, and less than 30,000 miles.
And (!), I paid extra for a platinum, extended warranty. So, between older model TSBs and an "obvious" manufacturing defect, and a warranty or two, and being a good customer (3rd Toyota there) this should be fixed. Right?
No, wrong.
Try a different nearby dealer.
Same "too bad" story.
Bottom line from the dealers - Sorry, you are one month out of the basic warranty, and even though I claim the sound started a while ago, and they want to be nice, it's not a covered problem anyway. Neither on the standard warranty, nor the extended warranty. Read the fine print - the extended warranty specifically excludes "welding". That's ridiculous all by itself. Unbelievable -Toyota doesn't design nor manufacture the roof correctly, sells this junk, and then won't stand by their product.
Turns out that it's not a safety issue - so Toyota doesn't need to care.
I did have options - Dealer 1: pay $400 for a diagnosis, and the $400 may or may not apply to the repair.
Or, choose dealer #2, pay $1200 for a roof overhaul of some sort.
Neither dealer really wanted to deal with this. (we have to drop the whole headliner - only a few qualified technicians can do this...lot of time ...)
I could almost hear - "and there is no $750 part we can also charge for this...."
I chose door #3, and escalated to a regional manager. Several times. After three weeks - Someone called and lectured me about how this is not covered, and how it's not really a problem, certainly not Toyota's, and more excuses....But they will do a repair, exactly once, and never again, and they shouldn't have to in the first place,...etc. (Switch off)
But how do I know it will be fixed? How do I know the noise won't come back?
I won't.
"There No Warranty On This Repair. Don't even think about it"....They were angry with me?
After an overnight at the dealership, it was fixed.
Somehow - Nobody would tell me what they actually did.
Ha ha.
One year later the sound was back. but then it mostly went away.
It only mostly showed up when it's about 90 outside, which doesn't happen too too often here in Northern California. Whatever - just a not so pleasant reminder to tell my story from time to time when driving guests around town.
But now, early in 2016 the popping roof rattle is back with a vengeance. Even in the winter.
So, back on-line -and it's easy to see there are even more complaints of the same problem, with even later year models.
There are also complaints about the moon-roof thumping. I don't have the thumping problem yet. Makes me feel better.
Here, however, is more more rattling story.
I don't expect it to accomplish anything, but I suppose it's nice to let others know and to share in their misery.
Overall, it is just sad, and Toyota should be ashamed of themselves. Maybe they will be someday, once they get over all the other Camry recall issues - errant acceleration, melting dashboards, bad brake reservoirs, falling down visors, and probably more I don't know (deadly airbags?)
I guess our only hope for relief is when NHTSA declares the roof rattle noise to be so distracting that it becomes a driving hazard. That might take a while.
In the meantime a number of nice youtube videos have popped (no pun intended) up showing how "easy" it is to remove the headliner. I can do that!
And if I video it, I promise to use a tripod so you won't get seasick watching. And, I won't lapse in any shots of my dog eating Kibbles and Bits.
But of course - I am not sure how to weld anything back together once I get there. But that can be next week's big adventure. Stay tuned.
Final comment -
Hey Toyota! Are you really trying to turn yourselves into Chevrolet circa 1978? or is it Pontiac? - We know how that story ended!
Good luck.
After about 3 years (low milage, car is garaged day and night, no snowy winter...) rattles, pops, and cracking sounds started to infrequently and randomly occur somewhere in the back, somewhere near the roof. The noise lasted for a few seconds, coming and going, perhaps over a minute or two, then quit for a while. It was very intermittent and very hard to reproduce. It sort of sounded like someone was dropping a handful (10-12) of marbles on the roof, but the sound is coming from inside, if that makes any sense, or maybe it sounds like a few drops of water onto a hot skillet when you are up close.
It did seemed a little more likely when cold and warming, or when in the sun and just starting out. In any case, it got worse.
On-line research (this in 2012, ~3 years ago) showed this to be a known problem and that there TSB's, but not for the 2009 model.
To the dealership.
I plead my case. A technician test drives with me around the parking lot, not even onto the street. He hits a small bump, I barely hear one "pop" and he immediately says "yup, I know exactly what it is". And then he clams up.
But hey! It's only three years old, and less than 30,000 miles. And (!), I paid extra for a platinum, extended warranty. So, between older model TSBs and an "obvious" manufacturing defect, and a warranty or two, and being a good customer (3rd Toyota there) this should be fixed. Right?
No, wrong. Try a different nearby dealer. Same "too bad" story.
Bottom line from the dealers - Sorry, you are one month out of the basic warranty, and even though I claim the sound started a while ago, and they want to be nice, it's not a covered problem anyway. Neither on the standard warranty, nor the extended warranty. Read the fine print - the extended warranty specifically excludes "welding". That's ridiculous all by itself. Unbelievable -Toyota doesn't design nor manufacture the roof correctly, sells this junk, and then won't stand by their product.
Turns out that it's not a safety issue - so Toyota doesn't need to care.
I did have options - Dealer 1: pay $400 for a diagnosis, and the $400 may or may not apply to the repair. Or, choose dealer #2, pay $1200 for a roof overhaul of some sort. Neither dealer really wanted to deal with this. (we have to drop the whole headliner - only a few qualified technicians can do this...lot of time ...) I could almost hear - "and there is no $750 part we can also charge for this...."
I chose door #3, and escalated to a regional manager. Several times. After three weeks - Someone called and lectured me about how this is not covered, and how it's not really a problem, certainly not Toyota's, and more excuses....But they will do a repair, exactly once, and never again, and they shouldn't have to in the first place,...etc. (Switch off)
But how do I know it will be fixed? How do I know the noise won't come back? I won't. "There No Warranty On This Repair. Don't even think about it"....They were angry with me?
After an overnight at the dealership, it was fixed. Somehow - Nobody would tell me what they actually did.
Ha ha. One year later the sound was back. but then it mostly went away. It only mostly showed up when it's about 90 outside, which doesn't happen too too often here in Northern California. Whatever - just a not so pleasant reminder to tell my story from time to time when driving guests around town.
But now, early in 2016 the popping roof rattle is back with a vengeance. Even in the winter.
So, back on-line -and it's easy to see there are even more complaints of the same problem, with even later year models. There are also complaints about the moon-roof thumping. I don't have the thumping problem yet. Makes me feel better.
Here, however, is more more rattling story. I don't expect it to accomplish anything, but I suppose it's nice to let others know and to share in their misery.
Overall, it is just sad, and Toyota should be ashamed of themselves. Maybe they will be someday, once they get over all the other Camry recall issues - errant acceleration, melting dashboards, bad brake reservoirs, falling down visors, and probably more I don't know (deadly airbags?)
I guess our only hope for relief is when NHTSA declares the roof rattle noise to be so distracting that it becomes a driving hazard. That might take a while.
In the meantime a number of nice youtube videos have popped (no pun intended) up showing how "easy" it is to remove the headliner. I can do that! And if I video it, I promise to use a tripod so you won't get seasick watching. And, I won't lapse in any shots of my dog eating Kibbles and Bits.
But of course - I am not sure how to weld anything back together once I get there. But that can be next week's big adventure. Stay tuned.
Final comment - Hey Toyota! Are you really trying to turn yourselves into Chevrolet circa 1978? or is it Pontiac? - We know how that story ended! Good luck.
- Thomas R., Sunnyvale, CA, US