The Death of a Differential at 3,000 Miles

WTB: YZ 250 and a bunny costume. Local if possible.

 

If you're doing donuts, trac should be off and you should be in 2wd, correct?

 

That's the first thing I thought

Yea I was unlocked, tried pulling some fuses at first got put in limp mode. It's just a Sport trim

The commercials are what inspired me haha, especially when I saw that handbrake

Held traction button down for everything off

Everything was off, what else are you looking to know? It's 2wd

 

Man I've pulled stunts like that in a Honda Civic. I cannot believe that caused a truck diff to fail.

 

You were killin' out there in more ways then one . Cringed when I heard the dif blow. Glad it was all covered under warranty. Hopefully it was an anomaly and you don't go through that again.

 

Hate to be that guy, but seems like Toyota quality is slipping, my 10 wasn't as well built as my 08, my 08 not as tough as my 00 and don't get me started on fit and finish of my 15. Glad they took care of you OP.

 

It's funny how often threads get derailed by the trolls(usually the guys with over 10,000 post) and the mods do nothing or even join in...and this mod makes a comment about your post. Oh the irony.

 

Sounds like an anomaly. Tons of people on here have done far far worse to their diffs. I would guess the part was flawed or cracked pre-assembly or just assembled in a way that led to the failure. Even with the strictest inspections, a bad part can get through since parts like that are tested by random sampling. Don't be afraid to get out there and tear it up (figuratively) some more.

 

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

^ This

These American built Toyotas aren't reliable as their Japanese counterparts anymore. I wanted to like the 3rd gen. But with the amount of first year issues piling up, it's not happening.

It's so sad, that I'm actually considering a new Nissan Frontier. Sure it may not have the ground clearance or the better front suspension that the Tacoma has but I've been doing my research on it. The Frontier's strawberry milkshake issue was resolved in 2010, it has most of the new tech that just appeared on the 3rd gen, guys on their forum are getting 230k+ on them, they are quite capable off road from the youtube videos I've seen.

And lastly, as a firefighter, I showed up to an auto accident where a recent generation Frontier plowed into another car totalling that vehicle and continued on jumping over a guard rail into a 5 foot ditch. That Frontier had minimal damage and had impressed myself and other firefighters on that scene about the build quality of the vehicle.

I'm a Toyota fanboy that owns a 2004 Toyota Land Cruiser and a 2007 FJ Cruiser. But let's be real here. When it comes to the Tacoma, Toyota is relying on the past reputation that was the Hilux before that, and this new Tacoma is no Hilux.

 

That sure gives you a warm fuzzy feeling. I've put twice as much power through a smaller diff with 100's of drag passes on slicks and not a single issue.

 

Please note that since this is a Tacoma forum, therefore any Tacoma issues are spotlighted and magnified. I am sure the same discussions occur on Nissan, Ford, Dodge, GM, etc., web forums.

You acknowledge that Nissan had a milkshake issue and resolved it, but imply that Toyota should never have had an issue in the first place.

Diffs blow, AC compressors fail, windshields crack (me), and a leather seat splits (me). That doesn't mean that every part that fails indicates a model wide problem.

Not sure where you were going with your post, but you are more than welcome to go spend your money where you wish.

 

You forgot to add automatic transmission hard shifting from reverse to drive which seems pretty common on the 3rd gen.

Nissan resolved their milkshake issue. Toyota never resolved their rusting frame issue on the 2nd gen as they replaced the frame with the same frame that will rust out again in the same amount of time. And seeing exposed metal on the frame welds on new 3rd gens with only 6 miles on the odometer isnt confidence inspiring.

I was highlighting that the Tacoma ain't the Toyota pick-up it used to be.

 

^^^

Fair enough.

 

Based on what the terrain looks like in the video, I THINK I can see how the diff failed (maybe?). Doing donuts in snow or sand is different than than sand/soils with hard pack and embedded rocks underneath. It would sort of like drifting around the bend of a paved road that potholes all through it. The tires catch on the rocks and one axle is being pulled horizantally out of the diff while the other is being pushed into axle housing. The flexibility of the tires would be like a hammering effect. With one axle pulling and the other pushing, it wouldn't be hard to imagine that there might some binding and gear teeth meshing.

Regardless, glad that your truck was fixed without issue!!

 

lol!!!!!!!

no forum is "public" they're all owned by someone and if you want to keep posting
on one, no, you can't just "say what you want", that's why there are moderators.

 

fail sauce all around



1) you have video evidence of beating on a vehicle

sure the video here doesn't show much

but what about all the other times you we wailing on it , hmmmmmmmmmmm ?


[this video shows a behavioral trend that you are not a 'sunday driver']

not that there is anything wrong with that...but

2) diff still shouldn't bust though

3) hope you get it fixed for free, but this video, in a toyota rep hands, would stop that immediately or at least make it pretty hard to get it fixed

 

But aren't Toyotas supposed to be known for taking beatings and not breaking?

 

well...I am just saying if something busts, and you have video evidence of abuse,
(yes that is abuse don't try to say otherwise it won't hold up) you have less and less
to stand on regarding repairs for free.....and open the door to questioning how
you treat the vehicle overall

diff should be the last thing to break though...

lets say this, the next time something breaks on that truck, and the service writer
sits down and watches this video posted above, they now have a lot more ammo to refuse to do warranty work.
also, if you ever want to sell that truck, this video will make the potential new buyer think thrice.
I mean, this video is now permanently stored forever and available to all.
and the operator is clearly identifiable. that is the 'fail' part, this video being
posted on the intertubes

 

There's video evidence of a Tacoma jumping sand dunes in their own commercial advertisements. If these vehicles aren't performing as advertised, then something is seriously wrong on Toyota's end.