SOLVED! Front end clunk (hood bumpers issue)

[DuckBlind]

So my 2024 TRDOR has developed a noise at low speeds. I’ve noticed it for the last 800ish miles, only 2000 miles on it currently.

When driving slow speeds, 10 mph or so in the neighborhood or parking lot, I get an audible clunkfrom the front end when going over small bumps or even some cracks in the road. It’s more prevalent when it’s cooler outside.

Took it to the dealer twice. The first time at 1500 miles and they couldn’t recreate the noise, no issue found. Second time at 2000 miles, drove the tech around for them to hear it, and left it with them for 3 days. They said they tightened/retorqued all suspension and couldn’t isolate the noise. Determined it’s “normal”.

Not satisfied with that because the noise drives me crazy. The dealer is going to contact the Toyota rep and schedule an appointment when they’re in town for me to bring the vehicle back in. In the meantime, I’ve scheduled another appointment at a different dealer to try and diagnose.
Any ideas what could be causing this?

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[Airborne]

Thats not normal .IMO, and i would be going to another dealer if thats what they call normal ,…i call bullshit. You shouldnt be hearing an abrupt thunk, noise or whatever with a brand new truck, youv spent a lot of money on new truck, this isnt normal.

 

[maxx075]

Dumb question, but have you checked the front shocks to make sure they haven't blown through?

 

[tacorancher]

Dumb question, but have you checked the front shocks to make sure they haven't blown through?

That’s actually not that dumb - I’d check the shock mount housing at the top of the shock / shock hat

 

[Quickreply1]

Same here. 3500 miles on my TRD OR and over wide pedestrian bumps it makes a clunk as the front tires roll down.

 

[wolfpackwest]

Sounds a bit different than the sound I was having, but had a similar clunking/clicking coming from the front during slow maneuvers and turning the wheel lock to lock - took it to the dealer yesterday and turns out it was the hardware on my skid plate for some reason causing that noise. They replaced the hardware, and the noise is gone.

 

[DuckBlind]

That’s actually not that dumb - I’d check the shock mount housing at the top of the shock / shock hat

Everything looks good and is tight. The noise almost sounds like a cracked or dry rotted bushing. I washed the truck today and the sound was gone. Drove it two hours later and it was back.

 

[DuckBlind]

Figured it out! It’s the hood. I was stumped as to why the noise stopped yesterday after washing it. So I recreated what I did, poured water onto each shock/bushing i could find, one at a time. Noise stayed. Then remember I popped the hood to dry it. So I pulled the latch and drove a few feet, noise gone. Closed the hood, noise came right back. Did this a few times and I’m confident that’s the culprit.

 

[DuckBlind]

There are two bumpers, one on each side of the hood to add pressure to the hood when it’s latched and adjust the height between the hood and fenders. My driver side bumper was threaded far down and was barely applying any pressure, if any. I unscrewed it to match the size of the passenger bumper and voila.

 

[nyydynasty]

I'm glad you figured it out and that it ended up being nothing...best case scenario

But the fact the dealer said it's normal, is bullshit. To me, that was laziness on their part for not wanting to figure it out.

 

[maxx075]

I'm glad you figured it out and that it ended up being nothing...best case scenario

But the fact the dealer said it's normal, is bullshit. To me, that was laziness on their part for not wanting to figure it out.

Yep, exactly. I would purposefully be petty and take it back to show them and then tell them that I would be doing my business at a different dealer.

 

[DuckBlind]

Yep, exactly. I would purposefully be petty and take it back to show them and then tell them that I would be doing my business at a different dealer.

The Toyota factory rep is coming the 22nd, I plan to still attend that appointment to show them how simple a fix it was and how they couldn’t diagnose it in 3 days, resulted to it be “normal”.

 

[Mini2nut]

Great detective work!

 

[tacorancher]

The Toyota factory rep is coming the 22nd, I plan to still attend that appointment to show them how simple a fix it was and how they couldn’t diagnose it in 3 days, resulted to it be “normal”.

Man that is so satisfying on so many levels

 

[DuckBlind]

Update: Noise came back and had the meeting with the Toyota factory rep today to diagnose. After about an hour of trial and error. The noise ended up coming from the firewall side weatherstrip that contacts the hood. It’s a harder plastic that contacts the bare metal when closed. He cleaned and applied a silicone spray to the plastic along the firewall side and the noise disappeared.

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