Buzzy Vibration at certain RPM's..read before buying!

Thanks for mirroring my symptoms with your feedback. I actually feel most of the vibration in the 1k range and haven't really pushed the truck into the 2k's very often since it' still in it's break in period. That droning noise is becoming more apparent now unfortunately. Imo that clunk feels like a rough downshift and I really feel like Toyota should be able to fix that with a software flash (my hope).

 

I've been running thru theories in my head and I'm starting to think it has to be the engine too. I did some cursory research on when the Atkinson cycle engine was introduced in 2011-12 with the Prius...and owners were complaining about buzzyness and engine noise too. Not sure if it was ever fixed with a TSB, but I would assume something was put out.

To note, the ECU theory I'm continuing to bring up is because in theory, an ECU update or flash "should" help to resolve our engine/noise issues. The ECU plays a major role in determining air/fuel ratio, direct injection and VVT timing we have on our trucks.

I've owned several BMWs in the past and had factory ECU updates done then noticed a marked improvement in shifting/engine noise, afterwards. In fact, my 3 series was once incorrectly flashed (during regular maintenance) with the wrong version by a BMW tech and it actually made the engine and exhaust super loud. After picking it up, I immediately noticed the pedal vibrating due to the loud exhaust and engine noise, so I brought it back. No clue how it happened, but the BMW service dept. admitted the mistake and re-flashed it, which fixed the issue.

What I'm wondering now is if Toyota is really indeed addressing the issue and if their "normal" protocol is to disavow any knowledge of the issue, until they have a fix? I'm glad you and DRBANE have made some progress and at least have Toyota showing some semblance of progress in resolving the issue. I'm with you on trading it back if they can't provide us any further info on what they're doing to fix this. Keep me posted and good luck next week!

 

Yes, I will be following up with the case manager.

"determined to be normal and characteristic" is not going to work for me.
I wonder why the "field tech" didn't get more details or personally look at it.
Maybe they have all the details they need from the other vehicles?

Yah, I don't don't understand this either. Do we know if any of the 4 cylinders has this buzzing issue?

 

Thanks, I will take a look at these.

 

I test drove two Tacomas yesterday. Both access cab 4X4 V6 auto. SR5 had a very noticeable buzz starting around 2000 rpm. TRD offroad was very faint - I wouldn't have even noticed it if I didn't know to look for it.

 

How much would it take to get a multi billion dollar company to strap these trucks down to a chasi dyno and duplicate these RPM's under load and figure this out!! I did have a thought that maybe the exhaust system is maybe 2 restrictive causing a Reverberation come through the truck... I was wondering if anyone has changed out the exhaust system to a better flowing and thought
the vibration get better?

 

If they are going to keep up with the current line of "normal", you would think at the very least they could put it on a dyno and figure out what causes it. This way they could atleast tell customers that it is a "normal" vibration caused by XYZ.

 

If the field technician didn’t bother to drive or inspect your truck, then my money is because they all collectively know about the issue but, for now, have nothing more to offer than the “normal” line.

I had a similar experience several years ago with one of the biggest computer companies. They introduced a significant bug in a software release. Visits to the store technicians and phone calls to the customer help line yielded nothing more than “we haven’t heard about this” or “don’t know what to tell you, they don’t tell us anything...maybe they’ll fix it.” Thing is, this bug had a nasty implications for our business line. So after pushing through the denial, we finally got it escalated to the enterprise group. Even then, it was months of that group asking us to send them diagnostic logs and configuration information. Not once did the enterprise group ever say it was a problem or hint that they were working to fix it. Then, one day, a software patch came out and fixed the problem.

One of the higher-ups called me to confirm the fix. I asked him why no one bothered to fess up before, because it could have blunted all the calls and complaints? His answer was candid but made some sense owing to liability: we never acknowledge anything, including it’s severity, until it’s fully resolved. To do so risks customers thinking that we’ll fix something we may never fix. To say that we’re working on a fix means we’ve set expectations that something’s coming out when we may not know for sure what the problem is or when we can fix it. Then the rumor mill starts. Worse, to tell the customers we think we know what it is and disclose that during the whole process worsens the rumor mill. If we launch a fix and end up being wrong about any of this, we look bad and customers come back to us and say “well you said [or we heard] you’d fix it by this date” or “you said [or we heard] that this was the problem and this would fix it and yet it didn’t. You were wrong!” Things just get out of control. Better to control the message with no message.

I’m not saying this is the best thing to do from a customer service perspective, but sure seems to be what the major companies do to control the message about problems. In any event, I think “report it” is still the better than nothing for now—even if you get the maddening “normal” line.

 

From reading everyone's posts sounds like I've done all I can do which is pretty damn depressing because otherwise this is a kick-ass truck were it not for this. I'd trade it out if I were confident I'd get another one that wouldn't develop it down the road. I don't think I can live with it for the long term at the level I have it, and driving that Limited didn't help any. Even if I hadn't test-driven that Limited I still don't think I could live with it. Feels like a buzz saw vibration and for some reason it doesn't take much for me to be in that range driving around. I'm torn about waiting around for however long it takes to fix knowing it may never be fixed and wanting to love this truck.

 

The vibrations in my 2006 V6 Auto 4wd were a big reason why I didn't buy another Tacoma. Reliable but always had some annoying driveability issue.

 

For what it's worth, I wouldn't make any drastic moves like trading it out just yet. I know it's annoying. Annoys me the more I drive it and seems to vary in intensity and range every trip I take. I could see deciding not to live with it if nothing happens after 6-9 months. But I'd wait at least for that long to see what flushes down the pike. It's the first year of a new model and there's bound to be some fixes. If nothing happens after that time, then these trucks hold amazing resale value. You'll get a good trade value even after a year or so and at least know you gave it a good wait before getting rid of something you really wanted. Just my two cents.

 

Thanks. I think the OP has a team coming out to inspect his truck and download diagnostic info soon. If he says they come back and say it's "normal" after a team has looked at his, then I'm really not counting on them fixing anything.

 

Agreed. I have that fear..... It has been REALLY cold here lately, and it seems the vibration is less in the extreme cold (to me, extreme is single digits and below...). The forecast for 1/13, the day I drop my truck off, is for a high of 41, so that may help......they want the truck all day, so that says they aren't just going to take it on a local drive and blow me off....we shall see; however, I'm quite ready to point out to them that my '10 FJC had none of this.....

 

Those 4 Cylinder owners that I have spoke to, both with M/T's and A/T's haven't yet reported the issue at all. Granted, the sample size is small; however, there are enough of them (about a dozen or so...) that it seems likely that the new 6 cylinder is the culprit in some way.

 

Ok, I thought this was odd even coming from years owning a Tundra....you're coming from an FJ Cruiser!? Those things are tanks! Now my eyebrows are really raised. I'm very, very curious to hear what happens after you take your truck in. Good luck!

 

Yes, good luck! I'm also anxious to hear what happens. For some reason still not convinced this is present in all 6 cylinder trucks. I'd love to drive a few more but the dealer isn't getting much in, they say they were lucky to have the Limited...

 

I got a call from a case manager at Toyota corporate today.

He restated that the buzzing / vibration is normal and characteristic at this time. He said that doesn't mean that they won't be a TSB in the future about this. He didn't say that there would be one either.

What he did make clear was to report this problem directly to Toyota (800) 331-4331, give them the details and get a case number.
(I believe that it would be beneficial to get it escalated to a case manager if possible.)

This is the only way Toyota will look at this issue. Meaning we need everyone who has this problem (and other issues as well) to report it to Toyota corporate (800) 331-4331.
Telling the dealership is not enough. Toyota corporate needs the data directly to internally see the trend.

The case manager gave an analogy of: if 100 people report directly to use this buzzing / vibration issue we will see a spike and look at this further.

So again, what we need is for everyone to report this buzzing / vibration issue to Toyota Corporate at (800) 331 - 4331.

 

Good information and advice. Even a short email to Toyota Customer Care will help. In the end, though, the “normal characteristic at this time” line is getting old—even though I know why they do it. The term “characteristic” is an affirmative defense for manufacturers under most lemon law statutes. Then to hear “if 100 people report directly we will see a spike and look at this further”—well, we kind of know you are looking at this further.

Unfortunately, I am beginning to detect a pattern that mirrors the driveline vibrations. Some trucks have it; others don’t. Year after year Toyota extends the TSB for driveline vibrations, all the while telling owners who report it that it’s a normal characteristic. Looks like some even get denied the TSB. Give Toyota some credit for the TSBs and at least trying to fix it. But now I see owners slowly cropping up to report that the driveline vibrations are back in the 2016 models, even though Toyota’s chief design VP said those vibrations were completely eliminated with the ’16. Yet owners are reporting it and still getting “normal for these trucks.” IMHO, this all portends a foreboding experience ahead. It's frustrating because clearing up these things quickly would make for an amazing truck and a superior customer service experience.

Doobiewah, good luck tomorrow. If this “A-Team” evaluates your truck and the end result is “normal”, I agree with the poster above. I won’t bank on a fix. I’ve already given this beyond a reasonable effort for the money I spent.

 

I'm all in, as you know....its been hecka-cold here these last few days and I'm hoping it will warm up enough to tomorrow that they will find the buzzy vibration....January in flagstaff is not the best test time for this issue....

I will repeat n as soon as I can after picking the truck back up.

 

Well, minus 1 as I write this...going over with the truck to the dealership for the engineering team in about 1.5 hours. I hope it warms up at least a little as cold like this seems to muffle the vibrations....