My '09 TCH is approaching 80,000km (will be 2 years old in less than a week). In October, 2009 my heat shield was rattling and the dealership fixed it (still within the 3 year, 60,000km new car warranty). This has been the sole issue I've had with the car. Otherwise, couldn't be happier.

I noticed that it was rattling again this week, and called the dealership and asked if it could be secured again through my ECP extended warranty (5 years, 160,000km). They weren't sure if the part (heat shield) was in need of replacement or simply securing it better than the first attempt. They would look into whether the extended warranty will cover it.

Has anyone experienced this issue? Will ECP cover the part and/or labour to have it secured properly (as the 1st fix clearly did not mitigate the problem)? I was told that the ECP covers any issues, bumper-to-bumper if anything goes wrong/sounds wrong. When I explained this to the dealership it sounded like this particular issue may not be covered...Thanks.

 

Are you talking about the exhaust heat shield under the hood?

 

We determined it's rattling on the underside of the car, below the driver's seat. I called Toyota again today - it was the heat shield under the catalytic converter that was loose/rattling, in October, 2009.

The tech. had placed shims under the bolts and retorqued the bolts. It doesn't affect performance, just rattles away...The guy I spoke to today said it should be covered by the extended warranty, so that is promising.

 

The next time you have the oil changed (if someone else does it), have them tighten the 4 nuts that hold the shield or if you change your own, tighten them the next time you are under the car.