Squeaky noise arounds seats area - 2000 Toyota Camry

I hear squeaking noise from the driving/passenger seats while I am driving… The noise is more obvious when somebody is sitting at the front passenger seat. maybe loose screws/nuts, bad spring somewhere?



The noise almost sounds someone is walking on the second floor of an older apartment building, “the ceiling squeaks”.



Where can i take the car to have it checked out? to the dealer? do they have to take the chairs/seats apart? That will be very expensive.



Otherwise, car works fine

You do NOT have to take it to a dealer. If the squeak is really the seats or their mounts, a good independent body shop ought to be able to tell what it would take to fix it. They would probably charge you something for diagnosis.

OTOH, if the noise is actually from something like the struts in the suspension system (and that is not unreasonable with a 9-year-old car) then you want to go to a good independent mechanic. They will tell you how much it will cost to fix it.

Hard to guess which to try first. I’d tend to go to the mechanic, especially if I could find one who has a lot of experience with Camry’s. The mechanic could probably fix seats, if that turned out to be the problem.

If the seat makes noise when you bounce on it, move it forward and backward, or recline it, it’s probably the problem. A body shop can probably diagnose and fix it. Maybe even an upholsterer.

If you can’t force the seat to make a noise, I agree with art1966. It’s possibly the suspension or steering and you want to get it checked out by an independent mechanic. It may well be harmless, but you want to know what it is because it could be a real safety issue.