We had all 4 corners of the original factory struts replaced yesterday on our 2005 Camry LE, by a shop that has done good work for us in the past. They used Monroe's Premium Quick Struts (coil spring/ strut package) on all front and rear points. The original Toyota parts had 241,000 miles on them and were in desperate need of replacement. The care is riding exceptionally smooth and the vehicle received a 4-wheel alignment by a second alignment shop after the install.

The issue: for some reason, there was a noticeable rattle coming from the driver's side strut tower area right after the installation. The other 3 suspension points are absolutely fine, no issues or noise. I brought the care back the next day for them to diagnose, and they all heard the rattle upon driving the car. They checked all the suspension components in the area of the replaced strut, for loose connections or issues and then replaced the driver's side quick strut under warranty (since it was brand new). Now it rattles louder than the previous part. It's driving me nuts to hear this after spending nearly $1700 for the parts and labor.

After some online research, it appears this problem is not new in Toyota Camry vehicles. I'm not inclined to take it back, since they were unable to resolve it the second time I brought the car back. I doubt they installed it incorrectly because the other three quick struts are fine. I live in AZ and the temp outside is currently 109 degrees, plus I don't have the facilities to take this apart and check it myself. I'm hoping someone here has a suggestion, because at this point, the vehicle is perfectly drive-able, but I'm at a loss for how to efficiently troubleshoot the issue without throwing a ton more dollars at this through Toyota or elsewhere.

Thanks in advance for your input & suggestions.
- XJP5

Driver's Strut shown below from side & top view:

 

Would normally state the upper strut mount was bad but the shop replaced the same strut twice.

Look at the sway bar bushing. The bushings can look OK but still make a rattle noise typically when going over bumps..

See link below:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...CBADByj9a8U%3D

 

Good suggestion. I'm going to inspect the vertical sway bar end link on the driver's side tomorrow, to see if it was stripped out and maybe left in a loose condition when they replaced the quick strut. I'll report back my results. Thank you.

 

The shop that performed the installation called me this morning and offered to replace the noisy driver's side front strut with a new KYB Strut Plus, as a test, to see if it resolves the rattling noise. He doesn't believe this is coming from the sway bar or associated end links. If this does eliminate the noise, he will also replace the other front strut on the passenger side. We're not hearing any issues with the rear units, so I would be fine with leaving the Monroe Quick Struts back there. Does anyone foresee an issue with having the Monroe's in the rear and KYB's in front? Just curious.

I have to give the shop credit for their tenacity in making this right.

XJP5

 

That's some service by the shop!!

Doubt if you would notice the difference with different front/rear brands as I never have.

Post back with the results of the change.

 

The shop that installed my Monroe Premium Quick Struts replaced the front two locations with the KYB Strut Plus package. The rattling and knocking noise is gone. I kept the two Monroe struts in the rear locations as they are fine and we haven't had any issues with them. Just thought I would pass this on as an FYI to those of you replacing your struts/coils in the future. Thanks for the feedback.

XJP5

 

Thanks for posting back with the fix.

Two bad new parts in a row has one wondering.