[daSchtick]

My hatch started squeaking a little last summer, but this winter, it had gotten much worse. I checked the usual culprits, loose spoiler, rear plastics, etc., but I could not locate the source. Last week, I heard the sound after closing my hatch, so again I became redetermined to find the source.

It turned out that the problem lies in the rubber and plastic hatch stops located on each side of the hatch near the back of the car. Upon close inspection, the pieces that are fastened to the body appear somewhat stress cracked, and simply rubbing your fingers on them causes a friction squeak. I applied some thick silicone to these pieces, and onto the black plastic mates, located on the sides hatch itself. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! I went over my usual bumps, and I haven't heard a peep in over a week. I don't know how long this cure will last, but I am just happy to have located the culprit, and I know how to quiet it up. If the silicone does not hold up, I may try to apply some felt pads to these parts, but so far, the silicone has been great.

I just thought I'd share my simple solution.

-Nick

 

[Tom]

Mine were also squeeking and when I checked them they were cracking and seemed to be dried out, so I got them replaced under warranty. The silicone is only a temporary fix, I had to lube them every couple of months. I would have thought they should last longer than 3 years!

 

[mattgoldey]

To me, this is the single most useful post I've read on NC.org. My hatch started squeaking a few months ago and I had no idea what it was. I was afraid that it might be the rear suspension. Today I sprayed some GUNK White Lithium grease on the 2 rubber stoppers mentioned in the original post and took it for a test drive on a stretch of road that I KNOW it always squeaks on - no squeak! I don't know how long this will last, but lithium grease is cheap and I can always go get new rubber stoppers from Toyota - they're like $15 each.

 

[daSchtick]

Your very welcome...

To me, this is the single most useful post I've read on NC.org. My hatch started squeaking a few months ago and I had no idea what it was. I was afraid that it might be the rear suspension. Today I sprayed some GUNK White Lithium grease on the 2 rubber stoppers mentioned in the original post and took it for a test drive on a stretch of road that I KNOW it always squeaks on - no squeak! I don't know how long this will last, but lithium grease is cheap and I can always go get new rubber stoppers from Toyota - they're like $15 each.

I'm glad someone found this post useful! I figured that it would be a very common problem, and I know that it was very loud and annoying in my case. I also didn't think that the rubber stoppers would make such a metallic noise, plus it was very intermittent, so it took some time for me to track down also. I will probably replace mine before the warranty runs out, but at least I know that is an easy fix, and my car is again squeak free.

-Nick