igzy

Had the car for some 3~4 years now with rattle noise from the rear. Drove me nuts. I've looked into rusty muffler heat-shields that were loose, sway bar end-links, rear brakes, etc. None of it got rid of the noise. So to describe the noise: city driving speeds at 30~40mph (50~70 km/h) over uneven broken road surface would get a rattle noise sound from the rear suspension similar as the rattle noise one would hear from loose joints on stabilizer link bars.

Recently I had rusty flex pipe on the Y-pipe and I took the car to the exhaust shop to fix. While in the air, I grabbed onto the rear sway (stabilizer) bar and shook it. Sure enough there was some movement in it and contact to bushings was what was making the rattle noise. I further confirmed this looseness by lifting one side of the car, compressing the strut (so to alleviate tension on stabilizer bar) and I observed looseness and gap between the bar and bushing:


Observe the gap at the top between the bar and bushing

I then went on and replaced both bushings with part number (2x) 48818-33101. Note that when you order them from the dealer you will need to order 2 pieces - they are sold individually. I got them from a dealer, but also saw them on RockAuto, either source is fine, but I don't know if RockAuto sells them in pair or individually:


Old bushing with the PN label

To fix: you'll need: 2 bushings, 12mm socket/wrench, some liquid wrench spray (apply liberally a few hours before the job as it is rusty there), jack, stand, 21mm socket for wheel nuts.

Takes about 30~60 minutes in total. Flat surface and be safe! Perform at your own risk! If you are not comfortable doing it, take it to a shop/garage it will set you back up to one hour of labor cost + parts...

Jack up one side at a time. Parking brake on, or wheel stoppers so the car doesn't roll. Place the car on a stand. Remove the jack, remove the wheel. Place the jack under the strut (at the trailing arm attachment point) and lift until you see the stabilizer bar relax and you can move it by hand and see the gap on the bushing:


Here you can see the gap on the top of the bar. The drips on the parts is from the liquid wrench. This is on the Left side of the car

Remove the two 12mm bolts and the bushing bracket. The bushing comes off easy through the slot on it. Note the orientation of the slot - they alternate (R was towards the front of the car, L was towards the rear). Put the new ones on the same way. Hook in the bracket over it and tighten the two bolts back in. The bracket has a hook that goes into the vehicle body. Ensure that the bolts go in straight and hand start them a few turns before you tighten them - this is to make sure they don't go in cross threaded! Lower the jack, put the wheel back on, and repeat on the other side.

Enjoy your quieter ride again, and slightly better cornering too I did it on this past weekend and the car is amazingly quiet over the same roads it would rattle over in the past! Let me know if you have any questions...

Lexmus

How many miles on the odometer?

igzy

Around 150ish atm, but the rattle has been there for years. Started around 100K I would say...

lanb

It looks like my 2007 ES350 at 125K may have the same issue.

I generally hear the rattle from the rear passenger door area when turning and/or braking. Is that similar to what you experienced ?

jkayca

Seems to be a common issue with cars this age. I had my bushings replaced this spring to get rid of a rattle in the rear

salvojimmy

igzy

Noise would be present on mine regardless of turning or braking. It would be on any uneven road surface. Yours sounds like something related to the brakes though... I would have a passenger on the back seat listen to the noise and try to pinpoint it is related to brakes, i.e. if the noise is only there when you brake... And go from there...