gebo

I've read a bunch of posts talking about the sunroof rattling in our GX470's but no fixes that we as owners can do. Has anyone solved this issue? My wife is starting to bug me about it.

IanB2

I've tried adjusting the bolts in the rails, no difference. I've tried conditioning the seal around the glass with various products, no difference. I added a couple layers of clear Gorilla Tape across the entire rear length of the sunroof opening, making it tighter, and this made a difference!

I think if I added a 3rd layer it would be pretty well resolved. It's quick and easy, and nobody sees it up behind the sunroof...ever. It's clear too, so unless you're up on the running boards drying it off you forget it's there.

However, I read about a guy that pulled the seal off the glass, and used some screen door rubber gasket (that holds the screen in place), and and filled a groove in the seal (or the glass, it was a while ago I read about it), and reinstalled the seal. The gasket between the glass and the seal puffs the seal out, and fills in the opening. This might be a better long term fix than the tape, but I haven't done it yet.

For me at least, the issue appears to be that the seal has shrunken over the 15 years since it was built, and finding ways to close in the space the seal needs to fill keeps it from moving around. The glass in these trucks is thick, and heavy, making them especially prone to making noise with age.

Bovineplan

My first chance to contribute. I have been working on the same thing. Found a temp solution that has reduced 90% of the rattle. Couple issues I found.

There was a TSB, at least on the 4Runner, that placed a small isolated/space on a metal piece in the sunroof track. You can recreate this with a small nylon spacer from home depo trimmed down, 3/16 ID rubber hose of something similar. Looking down at the open sunroof there is a round silver color structure on either side running the length of the sunroof. Lube it a bit and put on chosen spacer.

Push up on the back corners off the closed sunroof. If it moves, the sunroof structure itself has loosened up combined with the rubber gasket has dried up and shrunk. When the roof is open/tilted it wont move at all and the noise goes away. This was my issue and seems to be the most common. Two things I did. First, I used a compound to rehydrate the rubber seal. I did this by removing the sunroof via the 4 T25 screws (two per side, front and back behind two plastic trim pieces). Place in the sun or somewhere to warm the rubber up. You can use vaseline if you are cheap (like me) or something like VRP. Coat the rubber quite thick and leave in the sun. The petroleum will soak into the rubber and help it swell a bit. It wont be much. Wipe off excess after an hour in the sun. Rubber should be good and warm. Re-install. Mine was better but still moved. Will likely take several treatments to improve the seal. To better heal the movement when driving I tilted roof open. Using a bit of alcohol (rubbing, not the good stuff) wipe two sections on the back of the rubber gasket clean about 4-5 inches long. Using electrical tape or something similar (rubberized type tape) place strips stacked onto the clean areas. Mine took about 5-6 strips. Closing the sunroof to check security. This is temporary obviously and wont work if you open the sunroof but for us reduced the noise/motion while driving. I plan to repeat the vaseline/VRP treatments several times to see if the seal swells enough to make up that space over time.

Third. The T25 I mentioned earlier. If your roof doesnt move when pressing up on the back corners it could be you need to adjust the sunroof. Loosen, but dont remove those 4 T25 screws. Push up slightly on the sunroof and hold while tightening down those screws. If you look from outside the vehicle down onto the sunroof, the sunroof may appear a bit sunk into the roof. Pushing up the goal is to ensure it is flush. If you raise it a bit more it will have a stuck out appearance. Doing this did not solve my issue.

Lastly, and the sucky one, it appears Lexus does not make a user replaceable rubber gasket for the sunroof. This means if none of the above works I may have to place the assembly.

Most the info above I got searching 4Runner sunroof issues. This thread was the first one I found. Link

Hope this helps!!

Benjam1n

I thought mine was rattling for awhile but realized it was just the cargo rack crossbars that needed a quick tightening. Check that first!

gebo

First thing I will do. Thanks!

gebo

IanB2 and Bovineplan,

You have given me direction. I really appreciate your taking the time to help me.

The stuffing the rubber trim and instructions on how to remove the glass are a great help.

I can push the sunroof up in the back. Based on yall's info, I need to make the rubber seal thicker.

punklexus

I had almost same issue. I gave up and just bought a replacement for $650 and was good to go. I've the previous parts from sunroof just i in case if you're interested. Few of them are brand new

angelslex

do you have a link for the replacement? Thanks

se7enine

The rattle on mine was just a loose screw on the rail. I also used a nylon washer to help with the metal on metal contact.