2022 1794 Tundra - Tailgate Rattle & Loose

I have a 2022 Tundra 1794 and the tailgate rattles and is loose. Anyone else having this issue? It’s been to 2 dealerships and neither have addressed or acknowledge an issue. Very frustrating….

 

Possibly - in my case the passenger side tailgate pivot moved a lot and was the source of the clunk-over-a-bump noise. Not a rattle per-se. I shimmed the gate side of the pivot with a heavy felt material and secured it with nylon wire ties.

 

Thanks….I was hoping to have the dealership address just because I don’t want to start modifying a new vehicle less than 2 weeks in!

 

Ridiculous....just dropped off at the dealer and they said the rattle are the tailgate cables and that is just "is what it is" and that the loud bang over bumps is the rear seats because they are locked down. So basically, I have a vehicle that rattles, bangs not only when driving, but when sitting still and closing the doors!!!! It's been to three dealerships and no fix. This is brutal...not sure I'll keep this vehicle at this point....who ever buys a $65k vehicle to have it bang over every bump and rattle when the vehicle moves!

 

Definitely is ridiculous. I am at 21K miles and the truck has progressively gotten more and more rattles, inside and out. To the point where it just feels cheap to drive now. My truck is at the body shop right now but when I get it back I am going to take it to trade in at my local Ford dealer.

 

Had the same issue with the clunking and rattling sound of the tailgate. Brought the truck in after driving the brand new truck for a week and they found out the bolts of the bed were loose. Service tightened the bolts and said all is good. Took it home and sound still there. Brought back the truck and they had the truck for 1 whole week and they figured they will replace one hinge and the two cables on the tailgate. They test drove it and said, sound gone and problem solved. Drove out of dealership...sound still there.
Brought back and drove with Service Foreman and pointed out the sound, foreman says, "oh that's not the sound i first heard and repaired." Additional comment was, the truck is supposed to flex. I replied, yes, but not rattle and clunch for a brand new $60K truck. They had another Tundra in the shop and they test drove it and hears the same clunking sound. They called me back and said they hear the same clunking sound, so sound is normal.
So frustrating.

 

I have 2022 1794 TRD 6K miles on it no clunking , rattles in tailgate , only vibration in driver mirror at highway speeds

 

Hi I have a 2021 tundra 1794 with a rattle from the tailgate area . Have been back to the dealer multiple times and they cannot fix the issue despite replacing some parts etc. I’m pretty sure I found the source of my rattle today. The tailgate dampening shock up under the driver side rear of the truck bed wiggles and rattles when the tailgate is closed because the shock is not compressed and loose. As soon as you open the tailgate the shock compresses from the weight of the tailgate and you can’t budge it. We have an appt at the dealer again for them to look into what I found will keep you posted .

 

Normally it's new "members" that show up to bitch about an issue or ask for help without searching but you are good in my book! Helping providing possible answers worldwide! Welcome.

 

Update?

 

This thread prompted to me create a profile as soon as I realized I was not alone on this issue.

Writing this after a third dealership turned me away this afternoon, so excuse the rant:

Wanted to help by immediately debunk the tailgate cables claim made by OP’s service rep. I had the same hypothesis and installed foam tape on every square inch of both the tailgate and wall surfaces between the seam/cables. The sound is not the cables hitting the adjacent bed, but the metal-on-metal on the cable connections. No luck with the tape.

I discovered that the problem was on the passenger side of the tailgate where there the tailgate disconnects from the bed. If you open the tailgate half way, simply lift up on the right side. if it’s anything like mine, it will come right off, being so loose it causes a metal on metal rattle that everyone is experiencing here. While at the dealership today getting scheduled service, I had some time to kill so I figured “what the hell”, and had a salesman show me some other Tundra’s on the lot. I inspected 2 trucks, and both had a secure tailgate and what appeared to be a dense rubber damper at the passenger-side connection point. When I tugged at the tailgate, it did not budge, where mine comes right off. Thinking this may be a fix between 2022 (mine) to those on the lot (2024), but I’m having a hard time accepting that.

I was again dismissed. I will be having the dealer document my concern with the foremen on my next visit. Will update.

Posting in hopes of providing some clarity and help to attack the issue in numbers.

 

Sure thing, here you go. I also uploaded my bandaid fix to the cable rattle claim - this is how I figured it wasn’t that.
Mind sharing the same so I can confirm? I’m almost certain I’m missing this piece…

 

Appreciate it man. My concern is with the passenger-side tailgate connection. Do you have any dense rubber or plastic bearing at the connection or is it metal-on-metal like mine? Does it pop off and bounce around or is it a snug fit? Mind sending a photo of the tailgate popped off on that side?

 

Mine rattles as well. Passenger side. Going to see if I'm missing any pieces? Up until now, I assumed it was the cable, as the cable on that size is looser than the other side. Thanks for the post...

 

Just looked at mine and notice the side I hear the rattle doesn’t have the rubber piece.

Should both side have one?

 

The side that doesn’t rattle…

 

I got a brand new 2024 and exact same thing. My dealership found the culprit right way, checked other 2024 trucks on the lot and they all did it. They acknowledged it sucks but didn’t have a fix. They said they submitted a “TAS” to Toyota about it though.

 

Fixed mine for $2. Same thing on my ‘16 Tacoma. One guy on here driving with his tailgate down had it pop off from the right hinge and drag behind the truck by the cables until he got it stopped.

 

Genius! I’ll be trying this soon! Thanks!!

 

I fixed mine by cutting a small cross-section from a road bicycle tube (small diameter) and stretched it around the post on the passenger side. It's basically a rubber bushing.

 

Do you have a photo of what you did?

 

This is the way! I used a piece of rubber i had laying around and can confirm it eliminated the clunk. Now I need to add o rings to the cable latches to quite them up. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the pics!!

 

It’s interesting that one of the features I love about my 2023 Tundra is the rear window rolls down. That’s why I hear the clunk / rattle. It’s been something I’ve been wanting to address and I came up with similar ideas.
This thread is just what I needed to take one and only step to resolve this.
Thank you all!

 

Dude, i could literally kiss you right now. I’ve had this noise for YEARS now on my 2021. I’ve legit contemplated selling my truck a few times because of it. It’s embarrassing and a lot of times i hated rolling down my back window because of it. I even took my truck to the dealer last year about it and the lazy F’ing tech blamed the noise on my aftermarket exhaust. I knew he was full of shit, just didn’t want to troubleshoot it.
Thankfully, i found this thread. I tried the hose clamp method and that didn’t work. So I cut a small strip off a rubber soaker hose i had and stuck it in the hinge like you did with the rubber, and it worked!! Thank you!!! Why the fuck Toyota allows so much slack in that hinge is beyond me.

 

My 24’ has been doing this as well, I will try this. Thanks for all the pointers/pics!! It’s been driving me crazy with the back window down!!

 

Crazy Toyota didn’t fix this on the ‘22+!!

 

Just searched and so glad I found this!!

Think just some electrical tape would work? Does this fix the whole tailgate noise? Or is it this plus the o ring on both cables?