The sunroof on my GX 470 has been noisy for awhile now but seems to be getting worse. I was on a slightly washboard road the other day and it was awful. Rattles like crazy. So bad that I'm afraid to really take it offroad. I tried to see if I could find screws or anything else that seemed loose and did snug a couple screws but it didn't do any good. Anyone else had this issue and know what the fix is? Parts numbers? Any help is appreciated.
Sunroof Issues
- Thread starter Azarmorer76
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This thread Sun roof rattle - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/sun-roof-rattle.988022/ was the key to getting rid of my rattle.
I followed the instructions to loosen the 2 screws and push the sunroof all the way up in the adjustment slots and re-tighten. I have since done that with all 4 adjustment screws (2 front and 2 back and left the plastic pieces that cover all the adjustment screws off altogether). Almost 100% silent now.
I followed the instructions to loosen the 2 screws and push the sunroof all the way up in the adjustment slots and re-tighten. I have since done that with all 4 adjustment screws (2 front and 2 back and left the plastic pieces that cover all the adjustment screws off altogether). Almost 100% silent now.
The gaskets on these shrink over time and lose their sealing ability. While I tweaked mine enough that it does not rattle (using the adjustment screws), it's super loud now when driving with the inner sunroof cover open.
I temporarily fixed mine by putting a strip of bicycle tube (cut in half long ways) within the gasket. This made the noise way better. The problem is that it made the seal pinch up at the corners, and the sunroof often would not close from the "tilt up" position. It finally jammed the roof open after a year of use so I ripped the tube out. It works normally again, other than the wind noise.
Someone really needs to figure out a replacement gasket for these roofs. Lexus will only sell you the full glass panel for something like $600. I had done some digging and identified a couple of seals for other Lexus/Toyota models from the aughts that might work (and are available without the glass), but it's going to take someone ordering some seals and actually trying them to figure it out. I'd like to do that, but if I get the wrong gasket, I'd be SOL as my old gasket would be removed and destroyed, leaving me with having to rush purchase a $600 sunroof to use my daily-driver GX in our 45" of rain per year climate.
I temporarily fixed mine by putting a strip of bicycle tube (cut in half long ways) within the gasket. This made the noise way better. The problem is that it made the seal pinch up at the corners, and the sunroof often would not close from the "tilt up" position. It finally jammed the roof open after a year of use so I ripped the tube out. It works normally again, other than the wind noise.
Someone really needs to figure out a replacement gasket for these roofs. Lexus will only sell you the full glass panel for something like $600. I had done some digging and identified a couple of seals for other Lexus/Toyota models from the aughts that might work (and are available without the glass), but it's going to take someone ordering some seals and actually trying them to figure it out. I'd like to do that, but if I get the wrong gasket, I'd be SOL as my old gasket would be removed and destroyed, leaving me with having to rush purchase a $600 sunroof to use my daily-driver GX in our 45" of rain per year climate.
- Thread starter
- #6
I'm gonna try the adjustment screws and see if it at least helps. I can't believe that you can't get a replacement seal without buying the entire glass but then it's a Lexus so why not make it as expensive as possible to maintain. I was sure you could easily get a new seal just like you can for all the other glass on the vehicle but nope.
The rubber seal becomes hardened with age and loses some of it's ability to shrink/expand and seal the gap between the sunroof and roof. All of our seals are 13 to 19 years old now, which is a long time for a rubber seal that gets a lot of UV exposure like a sunroof (think of what a tire looks like after being exposed to UV rays for 19 years!). Mine was absolutely better (in regards to wind nose) when I had rigged it with the bike inner tube, other than difficulties in not being able to use the tilt-up feature. Adjusting the sunroof position can counteract some of this, but not all of it if the seal is just too degraded.
I think replacing the seal is not impossible....it's just going to take someone whose GX is not their daily figuring out which aftermarket or non-GX seal actually fits these things.
Just checked mine cause WTH, I would not recommend messing with the gear-cables (not sure what to call them) above the motor. If one gets out of sync with the other , the glass moves crooked and the mechanisms make grinding noises. Not good. Don’t touch the gear/cables the rattle fix is not there. If you do buttf*ck this up, the best way to reset/sync the gear cables is with sunroof fully open. You’ll see it move as you manipulate the gears, but really don’t bother messing with them at all.
The rattle comes from the plastic guide/lift mechanisms on the sunroof. Whether or not the guide is actually worn? Or if it’s just like that from factory? Who knows… I did not pull the whole sunroof down yet.
To see this movement, move your sunroof to tilt/closed and in several positions in between with black trim pieces removed, and watch this part while you push up at every position. Mine is very obviously coming from the plastic guide.
Adjusting your seal or replacing may give it enough friction to reduce up/down movement but I do not think that is an actual fix. If the seal were causing a rattle the glass would be moving side to side or fore/aft, not up/down. If you have a leak, clean your drains. The seal isn’t there to keep 100% of water out.
The rattle comes from the plastic guide/lift mechanisms on the sunroof. Whether or not the guide is actually worn? Or if it’s just like that from factory? Who knows… I did not pull the whole sunroof down yet.
To see this movement, move your sunroof to tilt/closed and in several positions in between with black trim pieces removed, and watch this part while you push up at every position. Mine is very obviously coming from the plastic guide.
Adjusting your seal or replacing may give it enough friction to reduce up/down movement but I do not think that is an actual fix. If the seal were causing a rattle the glass would be moving side to side or fore/aft, not up/down. If you have a leak, clean your drains. The seal isn’t there to keep 100% of water out.
My issue with the seal is not leaking - it doesn't leak (or my drains are clear enough that it does not cause issues), but the crap-ton of wind noise it makes due to the seal being loose/not springy enough. I had the rattle before but got rid of it by adjusting the glass up (and now have zero rattle). The wind noise is almost as annoying, I usually keep the lower sunroof cover shut unless I have the sunroof open or if I'm on a low-speed backroad where there isn't enough wind for it to be noisy.
