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

Sounds like you may get above 40 today? I've been able to get them pretty good above 20 degrees. Probably a good thing for them to know this, experience first hand the "drive cold," wait, repeat when it's warmed up a bit, and compare.

 

We're supposed to get to 44....sun just came out and now it's minus 3.....

If they take it on the freeway and go east from here, it's downhill and into warmer territory....we shall see. I'm ready with my presentation!

 

Good Luck Today.

 

Fingers crossed for you mate.

After driving a crappy rental car on a trip all week and going back to the taco, its absurd how much it vibrates. I guess I had gotten used to it as "normal".

 

They gave me a bottom level rav4 when my 16 Tacoma was in for 5000 check up and vibration issue. I wanted rav4 back halfway home from picking up Tacoma!!
Yes that's how bad it is Toyota!

 

How'd it go today with the toyota engineers ?

 

Yes, how did it go today? I'm very curious (hopeful, fearful).

 

Will report tonight. Got home late from work last night and now going back in for a long day. Computer at work is very restrictive on personal usage and my report will be too long to try and type it on my phone.

One thing I will say is the report is not negative as it seems they are beginning to pinpoint the issue. They tested the truck for 4 hours.

More tonight!

 

Sub'd for report.

 

Cool! Looking forward to the update.

 

Thanks for all the info. Looking forward to it.

 

I am also interested because yesterday I took a 300 mile trip through the mountains and it was bad for the 3.5 hour trip. I was navigating steep hills for long periods where the engine constantly worked in the 2,000-3,000 rpm range. The vibration in the wheel and pedal was stunning to me. I could literally feel the buzzing through my shirt, slacks, shoe, and even arm hairs (seriously!). The best I can describe it was like having my hands and foot on an electric sander. The engine (or something) had a very distinct sound when working in this range and it really didn’t sound good at all. Don’t know whether it was coming from the engine or exhaust. I also noticed that the vibration seemed to pulsate rapidly at times. The pulsating wasn’t constant but it came and went.

Now that I am back and driving off-highway I believe the vibration has gotten stronger than it was before my trip. Maybe I’m just more sensitive after the trip but I don’t think so.

In my estimation what I experienced yesterday wasn’t something that any driver could not notice or not be bothered by. I no longer find this just annoying. Honestly couldn't look someone in the eye even with my best poker face and tell them this was in any way “normal.” I plan to call Toyota back to tell them how this has deteriorated for me and that this is not tolerable.

 

Agreed, this is starting to get annoying.
I just submitted a complaint with Toyota, hopefully everyone with this issue has been proactive and either phoned in or at a minimum submitted an email. Let's get the numbers up so hopefully they put a out a fix for this.

 

Called this morning and gave them an ear full, got my case number.

 

Just got off phone with Toyota.
Got my case number...
Keep hitting them with the complaints.

 

Out the door at 6:30 AM and back in at 9:30 PM....job kicking my ass lately. Not lucid enough to write up my report. Will try to get it done tomorrow.....I need a stiff Irish whisky and a soft bed!

Sorry for the delay.

 

Same here. Job is sucking me dry lately and driving me to the bottle more and more. Wish I could break out my Jameson Reserve and share a few with you. You deserve it for all the trouble you've gone through and keeping everyone posted to boot. Take care and rest up!

 

OK....here goes! First and most importantly, NO ONE told me that the vibration was 'normal'. I was told that it appeared to be inherent in some, if not , most, of these trucks, and to varying degrees.

So, I drive to the dealership and get there about 8:50AM. Greeted at the service drive-in, a very nice, young service writer comes up and, when I tell him why I'm there, I get a VERY PUZZLED LOOK. Not a good sign at all, I'm thinking. "Is there anything else you are here for?" he asks? Nope. "Have you been in to have our service team check this out on a previous visit?" No, I'm here to see a team of engineers from Toyota Regional out of Denver. The leads name is Sean. "Are you getting any kind of service with us while you are here?" I explain again. He obviously has no clue and I'm wondering, now, what's up. Another, older service writer comes up and they start asking me about the problem. I give them a little more detailed explanation, and both have totally blank faces. They both agree that they've never heard of this issue at all. The younger one comments that he'll at least get me checked in and starts getting my information when I overhear a voice saying "I think he's over here" and two men get escorted into the service writer desk area and are walking with a purpose. At this point, my blood pressure drops back down.

I meet Sean, a man in his 40's. He's the one I spoke with on the phone. His title is Field Technical Specialist. The second person is Roger, a man in his maybe early 50's. His title is Field Product Engineer. They are both out of Toyota Denver Regional in Englewood, CO. After exchanging some pleasantries, we get down to business. They don't ask to go into a closed room or an office to sit down; however, the area we are in is now just us, with the service writers off doing their work. There are no customers around. Sean tells me they are, obviously, there following up on my complaint. He wants details. I give them details. We speak for almost an hour as I explain to him, from purchase/delivery in October to driving in to the dealership that morning in -3 degree weather. They've already given my truck the once over as I get asked about the Michelin X-Ice snow tires I have on the truck. I tell them about the first trip to Vegas, and how my lower arms and hands, from the bottom two fingers to the elbow, went numb from the vibration by way before Kingman, AZ and how it took overnight for the discomfort to go away once I got to Vegas. We discuss how I contacted the dealer, then drove back home, pushing the steering wheel in and down and changing the seat, which did reduce the felt vibration in the steering wheel, somewhat, and how I had to constantly change hands on the wheel and continuously flex my hands. I told them how the initial thought was possibly tires and how I drove back, intentionally going over different roadway services, changing speeds etc. to try to analyze the situation myself. I explained that I had been an accident reconstructionist in my younger days and was trying to figure the issue out scientifically to help the dealership solve the problem once I got there. I mentioned that you could feel the vibration in the gas pedal and the floorboard; however, I wasn't focused there because my first concern was the safety issue: The numbness might cause an inability to properly react in an emergency situation. A secondary concern was the safety and longevity of the vehicle due to the vibration and I used as my example my first Harley Davidson, telling them how you had to tighten things up before the trips, at the gas stations, and check in between as you didn't want things falling off. The vibration, of course, is not that hard and heavy to the point of things falling off; however, I asked them to consider that this vibration could not be positive for the long-term reliability of this truck.

Once I get home, the dealership in Prescott tells me to get it in quick, they are sure it is probably a tire or wheel problem, and it shouldn't be an issue to fix. I'm hoping but skeptical because on that drive home from Vegas I realize that the vibration is clustered in areas on the rev range, not to speed, or whatever, and there is a distinct increase in the vibration caused by even a slight load on the engine in those RPM ranges. We discuss my trip to the dealer where they can find nothing wrong with the drive-train or the tires/wheels and how the Master Mechanic at the dealer does drive a new Sport and says he feels the vibration in the Sport, too (but not as intense), and thinks it may be just normal and characteristic of this truck. This is where I get the chance to look at both engineers and say how my '10 FJC had none of this and how could this be "normal and characteristic" in any vehicle, much less a $40k truck that had supposedly been R&D'd extensively? It also gives me a chance to tell them that I had taken a long drive on my '99 Road King soon after and had no numbness in my hands and arms from it, nor had I ever had anything from the Harley except for some slight tingly hands after long freeway trips at high speeds, which is not unusual considering that you have to grip that handlebar quite hard. They keep listening and nodding.

I continue on that I had to contact corporate because the dealer said they couldn't do anything without a TSB and were powerless to help until Corporate came up with a solution and that I had come to the conclusion that I could not keep the truck with this issue as it was ridiculous to keep a vehicle that I could not take on trips. We then get into my trip to the Navajo Reservation in the truck and how I discovered the 3500RPM vibe. We discuss how the vibration is virtually missing in certain ranges and there intensely in others. They are very interested in the fact that it seems less intense in severe cold; however, raises it's ugly head as soon as it warms up slightly or the vehicle itself warms up. I told them how I drove the truck on the lonely Rez roads in manual mode and constantly played with the speed and gear and was able to confirm the RPM and load issues beyond a reasonable doubt and that, for me, it was much more evident and an issue in 4th-6th gears; however, the lower gears were harder to keep in the range during local driving as you were generally driving through the range in-town. They asked me lots of questions here about RPMs in what gears and the speeds involved and want to know the speed limits of various roads in the area and where they can find slight upgrades, etc.

At this point they stop and tell me they think they have enough information to handle the testing. They appreciate the detailed explanations of the issue and how I had done a multitude of tests to rule out things and to pinpoint the issue. I did mention to them that I was aware that this was not an isolated issue and pointed to toyotanation.com and tacomaworld.com threads as backup for the fact that this was not just my truck encouraging them to check the threads and read what others had said. Sean at this point said they were well aware of the the issue, which is why they were there.


They were going to need the truck for much of the day to do the testing. They were going to drive the truck and put it on various testing devices to get baselines, etc, including putting the truck on a dyno (???not sure that was the word he used, tho) with other equipment attached to go over this with a fine tooth comb to gather as much data as possible.

Sean was there to take the information and analyze it to provide a report regarding the issue for Toyota Legal and any liability that existed with this issue for Toyota. Roger was there to determine and report on the engineering matters to determine what, if any, possible fix or repair was needed to get rid of this as an issue with the truck, if that was the case. This gave me an opportunity to tell Sean that I had been to a doctor regarding another issue and discussed with the doctor the numbness issue from driving the truck. The doctor had suggested that I could have a nerve induction test (I think that's what he said) because there is a nerve that goes from the elbow to the small finger side of the hand and, if I wanted to pay the copay, they could test to see if it might have anything to do with nerve damage. Of course, Sean was quite attentive, here. I told him, however, that I had done the test and was told that my nerves were 'normal' and that there was no physical issue the test showed that would have caused my numbness, other than the vibration from the truck, itself. We then discussed how I drove the truck any distance and I told him, again, how I had to just keep changing hands, and flex my hands and arms regularly to prevent the numbness and again had an opportunity to tell him that this was totally unacceptable and that, if the issue could not be resolved, I would have to trade the truck in and get something else. I had said to them how I was a long-term Toyota client and had purchased many Toyotas. He nodded and said: “We know.” They then took off to test the truck. Somewhere in there they asked if the snow tires made any change and I told them not that I could tell.

They sent me to the service counter for my 'loaner', and was I surprised to be given a brand new '16 Tacoma 4Dr short bed 4x4 SR5 with 2 miles on it. The clerk said: “You are the first person who gets to drive this truck.” I checked and noted that this truck was manufactured 12/15. I drove off their lot and shook my head as I went down the street. The SR5 had little noticeable vibration at all and the transmission programming seemed different and much smoother than my Limited. It was also louder in the interior, telling me that the higher end models certainly have more sound-proofing, as the engine sounded much coarser than in my Limited when accelerating.


Over 4 hours later, while driving of course so I could not take good notes, my phone rings and it is Sean. They are done testing my truck. He thanks me for all of the information that I provided and says they have a ton of test information to take back to Toyota. We discuss the vibration and he concurs that it is there, and it is there in certain rev ranges, just as I had reported. They tested a new Sport that the dealer had on the lot and found the exact same patterns of vibration in the Sport. He said that they had eliminated many possible issues and were, as a company, looking at two issues that may be causing the problem (caveat: I was driving, so I wrote this stuff down as soon as I could after I got to my destination):

1. The manifold on this engine is direct connected to the head and is one piece, the first time Toyota has done this. They are looking at this and the connection to the exhaust system and the exhaust system itself, back pressure, etc. as a possible culprit.
   
   
2. The direct injection/ignition dual cycle system itself and the firing sequence and programming of same.
   
   
3. It may be a combination of the two...

I thought it great at this point that I was driving the SR5 on the highway and pointed out to Sean that “I wish my truck was as smooth as this SR5. There is hardly any noticeable vibration on it at all.” He didn't have much to say about that, at all, except for that they had been able to find it on all of the trucks that had been tested, of course to varying degrees.


The bottom line for me was that Toyota was to send me a response within 30 days regarding the legal matter. He asked for patience regarding the actual solution of fix, as they were still analyzing the data and testing. I got the distinct impression that he was speaking of volumes of data that they were analyzing, not just my truck. We discussed the issue with the engine for a short while and he said that they were looking very closely at that single piece manifold/head and that my comments about the severe cold seeming to dampen the vibrations, albeit temporarily, were quite informative to the process and would help direct the engineers in finding a solution to the issue.


The engineering issue, although being dealt with and focused on, was not something that would happen within 30 days. He wanted to assure me, however, that it was a priority and that they were doing everything they could to find a solution to this. He told me that Toyota truly cares about taking care of me and the broader issue regarding the truck, thanked me again for my time and assistance, and ended the conversation.


NOT ONCE did anyone say to me that this was normal and/or just a characteristic of this vehicle. NOT ONCE did they point to or consider that this was drive-train related (trans/drive shafts, etc.). They were well aware of the issue, and IMHO, are seeking a solution.

A long post; however, I hope that this helps people.


Lastly, when reviewing prior to my post, I did mention to them that when you put the vehicle in 4WD hi, it dampened the vibrations somewhat; however, I'm not sure when I threw that in. I remember Roger responding to that with a nod, saying that was significant, too, in helping them come up with a solution.


When I got back and picked up my truck, it had 52 more miles on it than when I dropped it off, so they certainly drove it and/or put the miles on it on a dyno. The steering wheel was way off from the way I had it, so they adjusted it and obviously were looking at the steering wheel vibrations as they related to the position of the steering wheel, too.


Unfortunately, they didn't wash my truck for me; however, I left feeling strongly that they are truly looking at this and attempting to determine the cause (I personally think they figured it out and are just trying to determine how to implement it and what the cost(s) might be before issuing a TSB). I was a priority for my 'legal liability' claim and issue.


As I told them many times during our conversation, this could be an amazing truck if this was fixed. Otherwise, I can't afford to keep it as it is un-driveable, for me as is, since $40k for a local runabout is not in my budget and I can't afford to put up with a discomfort that may prevent me from avoiding an accident.


Fire away with any questions you may have as I'm sure I might have left a few things out....

 

Thank you for the report. Hopefully, there will be a TSB issued in the relatively near future and the issue will be corrected.

 

@Doobiewah all I can say is how much relief I feel from your post. I really appreciate what you've put into things, and am left feeling a lot more assured that they're active in investigating and resolving the issue.

Really, thank you so much for all the energy you are putting into this.