Rear Differential locked up while doing 55MPH

12,500 miles apparently

 

Ok so let's assume that the truck was delivered with a shortage of diff fluid of 1.25 qts. The truck is a year old and has 12,500 miles on it. how long would it take for the fluid to dry out (i'm not sure if that is even the right way to phrase that, maybe for the oil to burn off is better?) if there was no leak?

 

I think every situation could be different, too many variables

 

Thanks so much for your 2 cents. It does really help and I appreciate it. I was out of it all day today and will talk to an attorney or two tomorrow.

 

Your call, but if its low and causing damage which doesn't result in a failure until after warranty....you'll foot the repair bill. If you know it's low and report it to the dealer and insist on it being documented...there is a better chance at making toyota pay the bill, even after the warranty. I doubt your dealer would say a thing if they happen to check during scheduled maintenance and it a quart low....they'll fill it and you'll never be the wiser.

I checked all my fluids before 500 miles based on sufficient thread reports. Diffs and Tcase were full to the top. Transmission, not quite, but not low enough to worry too much. I will ask them to top off at first service.

 

No, This happened a little past 9:00 this morning

 

Toyota engineering is supposed to have a look at it tomorrow.

 

Good luck, hope they take care of you!

 

ROTFL

 

Had this happen to me in my 1982 Toyota Pickup. The pinion lost preload and drove it self into the differential carrier. Had 250k and 25 years on it though.

 

Were you hurt? Tell me more details. What did you do?

 

I missed this earlier today..

http://www.carproblemzoo.com/toyota/tacoma/differential-unit-problems.php

Differential Unit problem of the 2016 Toyota Tacoma
Failure Date: 06/29/2016
While driving eastbound on the 210 freeway in glendora, CA at approx 35mph the vehicle came to a sudden and violent stop and veered slightly into the lane to my right. I was not braking at the time. Rear wheels had locked and vehicle had to be dragged to the shoulder as rear wheels would not turn. There were no indications of any problem at the time of the incident. Vehicle was in drive, and seemed to be operating normally. Vehicle was taken to Toyota of glendora in glendora, CA for service. I was told that the rear differential had leaked out, and it along with the rear tires had been replaced under warranty. This was a new vehicle with less than 4500 miles on it. It had not had its first oil change nor any other service. The problem was not caused by external damage, and it was explained to me by the dealership's service advisor that the part had not been properly sealed. Vehicle has no warning system or dash light to communicate a loss of differential fluid as it would with oil, tire pressure, temperature, etc.


Differential Unit problem of the 2016 Toyota Tacoma
Failure Date: 01/30/2016
First incident occured while vehicle was stuck in light snow and ice condition. 4-wheel drive system did not appear to be operating properly. Engaged new "crawl-control" system per owner's manual instructions. During use of crawl-control the motor rpm's exceeded 5,500; immediately pressed engine-stop button and applied brakes. Incident resulted in catastrophic damage of front drive-line. Damage included front drive-shaft failure; dealer indicated "drive-line" replaced. Significant damage to components adjacent to front drive-shaft. Vehicle repaired under warranty. Two days after service random brake lock-up occurs while driving; vehicle skids out of control. No malfunction indicators showing. Abs also does not activate during panic stop brake application. Brake lockup experienced in winter conditions at high elevation nearly causing potentially fatal accident (1,000ft drop from road to canyon bottom, no guard-rails). While driving at 30mph the rear end of the truck begins to slide sideways. Upon coming to a stop it is discovered that the vehicle will not drive forward. Engaged 4-wheel drive and vehicle struggled to move. Engaged differential lock and drove backwards for 80ft. Wheels appear to become un-locked. Drive forward for another 500 yards and same situation occurs.

 

Driving 55-60mph in 5th, felt a serious vibration and a couple loud bangs. I slowed down to pull over, the rear tires locked up and I skidded to a stop without much drama. Had to put it in 4wd low to limp it onto the shoulder, it was bucking like crazy and making some nasty sounds.

Had it towed home, replaced the rear 3rd member with a used one and was back driving it two days later.

 

if 4 quarts of oil leaked out over 12k miles you'd have puddles everywhere you parked. I'm guessing it was extremely low, and it finally hit it's breaking point. I've run axles on 1/2 quart in a pinch and was ok, as long as the ring gear was slinging some oil.

EDIT: The fluid would not dry out.

 

Definitely a dangerous situation for sure!

 

It probably leaked when driving, not parked.

 

I don't see that happening. All my leaking rock crawlers leak all the time, when they stop leaking they need more fluid.

The more I think about this it doesn't seem oil related, more like something came apart in the diff, or like mentioned earlier loosed pinion nut, ring gear bolts loosed up ect.

 

Most all gear companies tell you to change gear oil after a 500 mile break-in.
It's because the oil is compromised thermally.

 

Well they don't make em' like they used to, do they