Finally got it riding right! Tranny and vibration issues gone :)

Hey guys and gals,
just wanted to share a recap of my first three months of ownership ('16 DBL Cab TRD Off-Road), and how I resolved the issues that many of us have faced.

When I picked up my truck at the stealership it had the following issues from the get-go:
1. Tranny missing gears, slow to react, and slow to engage when shifting to drive.
2. Severe vibration in rear-end
3. Slight pull to the left
4. Squeaky leaf packs
5. Minor buzzing (not enough in mine to raise any fuss)

Since that day, it has taken me 3 trips to the dealer, 2 trips to Goodyear, and 1 trip to Discount Tire (yeah the dealer wouldn't have any part of the vibration issue after re-balancing) to get the items resolved.

Win 1. As it turns out, truck was 0.6 qt. low on tranny fluid from factory and they openly admitted to me that Toyota fills all the Tacos with the same amount regardless of tranny cooler. (how the F*** do they get away with that? You'd think the engineers would say "that might not be a good idea?"). Once filled, tranny completely changed behavior and now acts "normal", with none of issues described above (albeit having the most restrictive ECU/software in any vehicle I've had).

Win 2. Master mechanic identified squeak and pull, as dry leafs and bad alignment from factory (again where's QC?). Both have been fixed and he again openly admitted that the re-designed "silicone" lubing pads ain't worth a damn, and said regular lubrication (grease or aerosol, take your pick) was still needed.

Win 3. (the big one) Truck came with Goodyear Wrangler Kevlars as we all know, and even when re-balanced and turned on wheels 2 times the dealer couldn't get it right so they said I had to deal with Goodyear directly. Took it to Goodyear 2 times where they identified a tire out of round but gave me the usual pitch about how good these new tires are, even when they rolled 18-22 on road force. They replaced the out of round tire, but this did not settle anything, it still rode like a soil stomper at 68mph+. Then last week I returned to my favorite tire shop (Discount Tire) to get some Michelin M/S2's put on my wife's '15 4Runner Trail, and boy oh boy did that change things from the stock Dunlops that was on it. The guys also told me that anything over 15 on road force is unacceptable for this application (and that they have nothing but trouble with Goodyears). So today I headed over there with the Taco, and just for S**** and giggles we balanced the Goodyears to see how good they could get them (they calibrate their machines weekly btw), and they got them down to 16-18 but still vibrated. So I traded them in ($630 credit with 8000 miles) for a set of Michelin Defender LTX's, and they rolled 7-9 LOL!!! The truck is now a completely different animal and has ZERO vibration whatsoever even at 100 mph. I could finally crack a beer and let that "new truck" feeling come creepin in, and tonight I took her out for the first joy ride I actually enjoyed!

So just my 0.2 cents to all of y'all out there struggling with similar issues, tell those service managers to cut the BS and fill your tranny, and put some good tires on
And needless to say, I'm never allowing another set of Goodyears on any future vehicle, they can pack up shop for all I care. (2 out of 2 sets were "bad" on my Jeep Wrangler and Taco).

 

Are you telling me one of the few things I thought they did right might be causing some of the issues?

 

Well that depends on which thing you're thinking about

 

adding lubricant to the leaf springs can actually cause more damage...i was told by the tech that toyota had some ideas of lubing the leaf springs or putting rubber gourmets in between the springs to stop the squeaking issue. He said it would work but will cause your leafs more damage in the long run....he told me to keep putting it on paperwork every time i come in for maintenance so that way there is record of it and so can Toyota fix the issue. he took a ride with me in my truck as well...he said he has been doing tech work for toyota for almost 20yrs

 

my truck does vibrate when i am in between 75 to 80mph tho....i have k02 275/70/17 that were installed by the stealership

 

Glad to hear you are good to go!

 

My Limited came with Michelin LTX M/S2's and I love them!

 

Nothing but issues with my good years as well. They ride like crap, they are very soft so they get flat spots after sitting for a day or two. Wish I changed then out but didn't want to throw money on new tires on a lease

 

I had Goodyear SRAs on my Ram and got 34" KO2s E rated that ride better than the P rated Goodyears on there.

 

That's what I have the SRA's. Complete garbage. And dumb they put them in a off-road package. All for EPA and economy numbers though

 

Yeah my dad has 22k miles on his that are on his Ram quad cab and they're borderline at the wear indicators. Our experiences with Goodyear over the years is why I shy away from Duratracs even though I want to give them a try.

 

Yep....I picked up a set of 18" Limited wheels with my all-time favorite tires on them....Michelin LTX M/S2.....Rides great

 

That's what I was looking at and my buddy bought a set. He likes them. Wonder how the tread will hold up. I'll probably get TA KO's again on my next truck

 

Oh I see. Well this guy is German and worked on engines and suspension for Toyota Racing in Germany (including the F-1 team) for 15 years before coming to the US, so I do "trust" his opinion on what's safe with the leaf springs. He said most moly grease and similar lubricants are safe, but did use some Toyota aerosol on my truck. I didn't catch the name, but it's some product they have for suspension parts. That said, my neighbor has an immaculate '11 Taco, which he's used nothin but WD40 on LOL, and those springs look good and never squeaks. I guess it's all opinions but I'm more in the "any lube is better than no lube" state of mind

 

Have you had them road forced? Could just be heavy spot on rim aligning with heavy spot on tire. Obviously that wasn't good enough in my situation, but I doubt the BFs are as out of spec as the Goodyears. I also have not seen anyone with "real" driveline vibrations on the '16's, so I'd still put my money on the wheels. Seriously though, after the 5th re-balance I was starting to wonder if it could be driveline as Toyota and Goodyear said "oh it's dead on now, oh it's perfectly balanced" blah blah.... It was when I actually requested the road force numbers and got the info from the tech at Discount Tire that 15 was the critical number for this truck that I knew I wasn't going crazy

 

Yeah that really pissed me off. If I was Toyota I'd never put on tires that consistently under-perform. All you end up with is dissatisfied owners, and the truck not performing to it's true potential. I'd gladly pay the $300 up-charge for quality rubber and not dealing with vibrations. BMW certainly never did that. All of mine came with Pirelli PZero or Michelin Pilot Supersport, not Hankooks. We're not talking about a Kia here, the Tacoma is 30-40K

 

I can't say anything bad about my good years on my truck. So far they seem fine and ride good.

 

Well good for you, they totally ruined my experience. 8000 miles of hell

 

I had Cooper Discoverer A/T3 on my Ranger. Great all around tire on road, rain, snow and off road as well. I'll probably get those next summer.

 

The GoodYears are probably the only thing I've been impressed with on my truck. They perform and held up outstandingly well in some very tough AZ off road situations