Headrest Rattle ('21 LC 200) (1 Viewer)

[tbonemalone]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the site so I apologize if I'm posting my question/concern in the wrong area - still figuring things out.

My spouse and I recently picked up two 2021 LC 200s, and we noticed right away that the front driver and passenger headrests have a pretty awful rattle. The rattle gets much worse as the headrest goes up, but some rattling can still be heard when the headrest is completely down. I was thinking the issue was unique to my vehicle until my spouse's vehicle arrived and started rattling as well. I'm debating on whether or not to take them to the dealership, but since this seems to be a common issue I'm not sure what all they can do.

I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has experienced this issue (I've seen other posts related to seat rattles and some rattling on older LC 200 models), and I'm wondering if anyone has come up with a solution.

Thank you!

 

[Madtiger]

How did you engage the dealership to get the repair done? Did you provide them with a parts list? Did you have to go in first and have them inspect before repair? Glad to hear issue is resolved!

I told them about the rattle. Showed them the parts list from above. I printed out the picture above with the parts number. They test drive it and confirmed the rattle. Ordered the parts and got it within a week.

 

[bloc]

They replaced the black “runner” inside the actual seat…where the metal poles of headrest stick into. So i assume that this applies to all years???

Thanks for the info.. I’ll dig in and see if this applies to mine.

 

[NLE]

This is great, I'm going to give this a shot with my local dealer when I'm free this winter.

 

[CharlieS]

I've only ever had the middle row center apart, but those parts are easy to remove once you have the seat back off. They have two plastic tabs you squeeze and then they pull right out. Again, assuming they are the same setup, which is usually a pretty good guess with toyota.

 

[mobi-arc]

Add another 2021 to the list. Dealer will order the parts and repair under warranty.

 

[nolamule]

Did you have to go in to have them inspect?

Add another 2021 to the list. Dealer will order the parts and repair under warranty.

 

[mobi-arc]

Did you have to go in to have them inspect?

Yes, dropped the truck with them with the assumption that they have to confirm the rattle with a test drive. Confirmed rattle on uneven surfaces. Swapped driver and passenger headrests and rattle persisted. Opened a case with Toyota and will be resolved by installing parts that will take week to come in. I presume they are the same parts as the invoice(s) indicate up this thread, but I didn't check that.

 

[Sinister]

Do we know if this works across all the model years? My 2011 does this too.

 

[bloc]

Do we know if this works across all the model years? My 2011 does this too.

Originally equipped part numbers changed between 08-15 and 16+ for one of the headrest post guides on both front seats. But, typing in the old number for a parts site brings up the new numbers as being correct.. as if they are superceded. Only ~$15, so possibly worth taking the risk to find out.

Note that the last two digits are the color code. B is medium gray, E is sand beige, A is "shell", and C is black. I'm not exactly sure how to decode the number after that, but that should help with ordering on parts sites.

 

[shortribs]

Did you have to go in to have them inspect?

Just brought my '21 HE into the dealer yesterday for the same. Adviser was initially skeptical though rattles were confirmed by their techs. Replacement headrests ordered under warranty per a service bulletin; parts are on backorder for a month but will be fulfilled under warranty.

Thanks all.

 

[JPRS]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the site so I apologize if I'm posting my question/concern in the wrong area - still figuring things out.

My spouse and I recently picked up two 2021 LC 200s, and we noticed right away that the front driver and passenger headrests have a pretty awful rattle. The rattle gets much worse as the headrest goes up, but some rattling can still be heard when the headrest is completely down. I was thinking the issue was unique to my vehicle until my spouse's vehicle arrived and started rattling as well. I'm debating on whether or not to take them to the dealership, but since this seems to be a common issue I'm not sure what all they can do.

I'm reaching out to see if anyone else has experienced this issue (I've seen other posts related to seat rattles and some rattling on older LC 200 models), and I'm wondering if anyone has come up with a solution.

Thank you!

I have the front passenger head rest rattle on my 2021 and agree that it gets worse as you raise it up (note that I never had the rattle on my 2018). For several months we have left the head rest down as far as it will go and it still makes a little noise--though not nearly as bad as when it's raised at any level. Last week I took it to the dealer and asked them to fix the rattle and pointed to this forum where many are experiencing the issue. The senior-most technician at this dealership looked into this for a day and eventually came up with the idea to pull the head rest posts apart just a little further than they were to give the head rest a tighter fit when inserted into the seat. It worked. No rattle whatsoever now, and the head rest adjusts up and down with no issues. I'll report back if the head rest ever begins rattling again; but some of you may want to try this if the rattle bothers you.

 

[shortribs]

Update: my local dealer installed a replacement set of headrests, per the service bulletin. Well, the new set of headrests rattled just as badly as the originals, particularly so on the passenger side... Nor were they in the matching Heritage trim color which I would put up with if the rattling went away, but alas we are back to waiting for a second replacement set.

 

[JPRS]

Update: my local dealer installed a replacement set of headrests, per the service bulletin. Well, the new set of headrests rattled just as badly as the originals, particularly so on the passenger side... Nor were they in the matching Heritage trim color which I would put up with if the rattling went away, but alas we are back to waiting for a second replacement set.

The mechanic at my dealer was skeptical that replacement head rests would fix the issue. He thought they'd probably rattle too. That's another reason he decided to try bending the posts apart just a tad. I know it's not a clean solution, but I like it much more than the rattle.

 

[bloc]

I have the front passenger head rest rattle on my 2021 and agree that it gets worse as you raise it up (note that I never had the rattle on my 2018). For several months we have left the head rest down as far as it will go and it still makes a little noise--though not nearly as bad as when it's raised at any level. Last week I took it to the dealer and asked them to fix the rattle and pointed to this forum where many are experiencing the issue. The senior-most technician at this dealership looked into this for a day and eventually came up with the idea to pull the head rest posts apart just a little further than they were to give the head rest a tighter fit when inserted into the seat. It worked. No rattle whatsoever now, and the head rest adjusts up and down with no issues. I'll report back if the head rest ever begins rattling again; but some of you may want to try this if the rattle bothers you.

Thanks for posting this!

 

[CharlieS]

The mechanic at my dealer was skeptical that replacement head rests would fix the issue. He thought they'd probably rattle too. That's another reason he decided to try bending the posts apart just a tad. I know it's not a clean solution, but I like it much more than the rattle.

Sounds like a great solution if it solves the problem. Nice and simple, doesn't require special parts or complex R&R. I like it.

 

[nugget]

I have the front passenger head rest rattle on my 2021 and agree that it gets worse as you raise it up (note that I never had the rattle on my 2018). For several months we have left the head rest down as far as it will go and it still makes a little noise--though not nearly as bad as when it's raised at any level. Last week I took it to the dealer and asked them to fix the rattle and pointed to this forum where many are experiencing the issue. The senior-most technician at this dealership looked into this for a day and eventually came up with the idea to pull the head rest posts apart just a little further than they were to give the head rest a tighter fit when inserted into the seat. It worked. No rattle whatsoever now, and the head rest adjusts up and down with no issues. I'll report back if the head rest ever begins rattling again; but some of you may want to try this if the rattle bothers you.

This was great advice. Solved my rattle in under a minute.

 

[boobook2]

My Headrest rattles have been driving me crazy for years in m 2016. I can tell it is in the headrest because if you remove it, you can replicate it by shaking the Headrest. The dealer replaced the passenger side but it was exactly the same.

Inspired by this thread, I widened the posts, but it made it worse.

Then I got a wide rubber band ( about 3/8 wide) and wrapped it around the post, and pushed it into the opening in the headrest about 3/4 of the way on both posts. It provides friction and a spacer between the post and the headrest. Like a dampener.

It worked! My 200 has never been so quiet. I hope it stays that way.

 

[JPRS]

My Headrest rattles have been driving me crazy for years in m 2016. I can tell it is in the headrest because if you remove it, you can replicate it by shaking the Headrest. The dealer replaced the passenger side but it was exactly the same.

Inspired by this thread, I widened the posts, but it made it worse.

Then I got a wide rubber band ( about 3/8 wide) and wrapped it around the post, and pushed it into the opening in the headrest about 3/4 of the way on both posts. It provides friction and a spacer between the post and the headrest. Like a dampener.

It worked! My 200 has never been so quiet. I hope it stays that way.

Good to know about this. It sounds like your headrest rattle was actually where the post entered into the headrest cushion. My rattle sounded like it was where the headrest post enters into the seat.

 

[boobook2]

Interesting, JPRS, for a vehicle with so few rattles, the Headrest area is a disaster. Mine sounded like a 'tick tick tick' noise when I grabbed the posts and shook the headrest front to back, it sounded like a small plastic flap hitting something inside the headrest.

I just hope I have actually fixed it. I only did it yesterday, so probably shouldn't have jinxed it by the post. LOL

 

[boobook2]

Oops I meant should not have jinxed it by my post on IH8MUD