2012 Whistling sound indentified

Does anyone know if the problem is solved by installing a bug deflector? I'm looking at non-OEM ones that would mount under the hood, and would think it would reduce that gap size even more.[/QUOTE]

I have the Toyota bug deflector on my 2012 and the whistle. They swapped my grill for a TSB fix, but it was scratched and made the whistle worse. I made them put my original grill back. I thought it was gone for a while, but when I raised the rear of the truck 3/4 inch and the whistle got worse. Go figure, just a slight change in aerodynamics I guess.

 

So our 2 month old 2013 Taco has a whistle that my wife has been telling me about but hadnt had a chance to check out. We take a 400 mile drive Saturday and sure enough at 43 mph its like you flip a switch to turn on a whistle go below 43 and it turns off. Funny thing is with the drivers window down it sounded like it was right next to the mirror. So as I move my hand around the mirror when I get to the outside edge the whistle goes away. Fast forward to today my wife took the truck in to get the roof moulding that blew off replaced and told them about it, thier fix (according to what Toyota told them to do) was to stuff some open cell foam between the grill and the weatherstrip to "push it up tighter to the hood" !!! Well the noise is gone but the completly half a$$ed way they stuffed multiple pieces in there not only looks like crap, the open cell foam is going to fill up with dirt, bugs, water and anything else that passes the front of the hood,so this is going to get fixed the way you guys have posted.

I am a dealership mechanic for Harley, IF I was to do something this half a$$ed to a bike I was working on it would be back in my bay seconds after the customer looked at it.

Based on the problems weve already had with the selling dealership the free Toyota care will NEVER cost them a dime because they will never service our truck. Couple that with the way the SA treated my wife like crap over the roof moulding, IF we ever buy another Toyota it will be at a different dealership.

 

I am picking my 2013 up today. I took it in yesterday for the whistling sound. From what the service guy said, it sounds like they did the same thing with the foam stuff on mine. My truck is also a few months old. Hoping it doesn't look like crap either.

Jon

 

If they use the same open cell foam they did on ours, it looks like crap!!!

 

I kept that in mind when I went to pick it up yesterday. Apparently, they had the new foam all over and the service advisor had them clean it up. When I had him show me what was done, you could see a little bit of it where they trimmed it and cleaned it up. Overall, it's not too bad.

It's more disappointing that we even had to deal with this problem. The service guy also said that due to so many of these complaints they are going to have a TSB for the problem.

At least there is no whistling anymore.

Jon

 

I fixed mine the first time and it has never been a problem once over the past year since. Just use a 1/4" or slightly smaller aluminum dowel rod (solid not tube) from ace hardware or someplace. You can easily cut/trim the dowel rod to size as aluminum is fairly soft for metal. A small hacksaw worked like butter. Then if you want to, slightly sand the ends roundish (metal file or dremel), give a slight curve to the dowel (basketball helped) that matches the curve of the weather stripping, lube with your choice of lubricant and insert into the grill top weather stripping. Done. The aluminum is non corrosive, light, strong, and easier to install/remove than the tubing which may allow the noise to return over time. Never think of it again.

 

An apparently its on '13 as well…. so Yota has not fix it yet….

going to try this mod soon… before I take to dealer…..

 

I just notice this tonight while I was driving my truck. Thanks for the tip!

 

Same problem in my 2013 DC V6 Tacomas which drives crazy. Went to the dealer 3 times and gained more than 200km for testing, the problem still there. I am going to try your way, thanks.

 

I have same experience as u.

 

Hmmm,

I have a new 2013 RC and it has the whistle, my diagnosis was a little more dangerous then all I have read, I just pulled the hood latch and drove up to 45ish, lol... Noise gone, will get my tubing or drip line, and install it this evening. I am going to check the alignment of the grill and see if it's something I can adjust myself,

Thanks again TW for helping me out.

FWIW don't got to the auto parts store and try rubber hose, lol... I should have paid better attention,

Ended up at Home Depot and got the drip line, 3.00 plus tax, and you have lots left over. lol...

Lubed it up, inserted. Whistle gone!

 

Just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone. I had a whistling noise that was absolutely driving me nuts on my 2013 DC w/ factory Bug Deflector installed. Like the others have posted it started around 40mph and phased out around 55mpg. After reading this thread I went to Home Depot looking for some cheap tubing when I came across this:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/MD-Build...Auto-and-Marine-Weather-Strip-01033/100175299

$8 bucks with a 10yr warranty. I installed a single strip across the entire length of the hood directly overtop the factory weather seal.

WHISTLE NO MORE!

 

UPDATE: It's been 2 months since I realigned my grill and the whistle is still gone!

 

Thanks for the follow up! I don't have the whistle, that I've noticed, but if I get it, I'll check this first.

 

Did this today, thanks for the awesome tip and pics! Annoying sound gone.

Something to add for those who have complaints, I realize its annoying and can get bothersome especially if fix requires dealer work. It doesnt matter if its Toyota or any other auto manufacturer. There's always something. And yes, its frustrating when dealerships don't fix. Perhaps the blame can be set from the litigious nature of how things work nowadays to cost factors of running a business. I hate it too. BUT, I have to say, I'm overall happy with my Tacoma. More happier than any other new vehicle I have purchased since. Some cars I bought pretended to be fully equipped with fancy new gadgetry, etc etc but you can tell those mini add ons were put there to suck you in.

Not with my DC Prerunner Taco! And did I mention I'm a happy 4 banger driver. Awesome truck.

 

Thanks to this forum (sharing members), internet and google, this problem was fixed within 12 hours of buying a 2013 Tacoma and saving me a trip to the dealer.

HD no longer sells dripping line, but I picked up some 1/4 clear pipe in the plumbing section (used for aquarium and insulation as the label said). Put it above the headlights "just in case". Slight (but extremely annoying) whistling seems to be gone.

Thanks again to OP.

 

I had found this thread a few weeks back because i was having the same whistle on my '13….. I was going to give this a try but never got around to do so….. yet, in the mean time, I aquired a base model taco grill, to swap out my chrome off-road one…. and luckly the whistle is now gone……
I'm posting this for those that may still doubt that the issue is not on grill weather stripping, but on the windshield…
I very much believe it is the grill after my experience!!! good luck everyone, if the whistle start, ill try the strip mod!

 

I began to notice the whistling annoyance a few weeks back. I've had the Taco about 4 months now, and just assumed it was an aerodynamics issue...and kinda just accepted it. After finding this post, I rolled out to Lowe's and got some 1/4 inch distribution tubing. After cutting it and lubing it with spit, I slid right into the weatherstripping just above the grill. NO MORE WHISTLING! Thanks, OP!

 

Thank you!! Thank you!! Had my 2013 DC Tacoma for three days and the whistling sound started. Drove me and my wife nuts! You guys saved me!! 5 minute fix! Added tubing to all foam trim around hood, whistling GONE!!! Thanks again

 

Does this mean doing this mod on your own voids your warranty?