Crawl Control Grinding

I did a search on this first but did not find a similar issue...

Finally took my 1month old (1500 miles) 18 TRDORDC out in the high desert for a little trial. This is my 4th Tacoma & I am versed in all the specific Tacoma controls. I read up on the Multi-Terrain & Crawl Control features. MT no problem, Crawl Control BIG problem.

I pushed to engage it & GRIND CITY!! Scared the piss out of me & the wife! Sounded like a loud, heavy grind / pop from the transfer case area. Tried it two more times as well as once at home & same thing (only for a second or two each time). The CC is pretty much dummy proof from what I can tell meaning it will not engage unless certain features are on or off.

Read over the manual again 3X. I feel pretty silly asking what's up in a forum...

Anyone else have any issues? I'm taking it in next week for the AT Floor Stall issue / TSB.

 

I tried mine out for the first time in my gravel driveway. It did the same thing. I thought I broke something it sounded so bad. Then I was in the mountains on a fire trail that was really steep and rough. I engaged it and it was smooth as butter and acted perfectly. Tried it just now in the driveway and grind city again. I guess it just doesn't like being used when it isn't needed.

 

Surprisingly enough, that's normal. Freaked me out the first time too!

 

i went on a trail with a friend in a AT and it did the same thing. but the sounds i was hearing came mainly from the brakes, especially the rear drums, and I'm not sure about any transfer case noises. but the grinding was crazy from the drum brake modulation. super loud.

 

You might have it set so low and all you're hearing is the abs.

 

That’s insane. I was just speculating the transfer case area, it did have a feel of ABS jerking as well. Maybe that was it. Jesus H Christ though, I thought something broke.

 

The instructions read to not use on steep incline. That is pretty much all I will use it for

 

Yeah if you use it on flat ground it starts noisy as fuck. if you start it under load, on a hill or something, it sounds much better.

 

I've tried it on steep decents
Fastest setting is the only one that works though. The others are just too slow and it's ridiculous

 

Yeah that trail I was going down I would've had to ride my brakes all the way in normal mode. The CC worked great on a steep incline. The computer rode the brakes for me.

 

Crawl control sounds like Armageddon

 

My crawl control is noisy due to the abs but I have personally never had any grinding noises happen.

 

Put it in s1 you shouldn't need brakes.

I've done some pretty steep stuff no problem without touching brakes

 

If you put it on the higher speeds it isn’t too bad, but the lower two and you believe something is broken!

Going down a steep hill off-road I have it in Lo and S1..

Take it out on a dirt road with a good incline and try out S1, S2, and S3..S2 will actually let you run about 10mph before it limits, S3 is a little faster about 15mph. That is all in Lo..

Don’t hit your brakes! Let it build up speed and slow you down itself!

Hi range doesn’t hold you back near as well!

Don’t believe climbing will make as much racket as a decline because you’re trying to gain speed instead of limit.

 

I have never tried the CC. Now I'm afraid too.

 

Sound like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O7FwL9qg7I

 

Yes.

Do you feel the vibration as well?

 

You are hearing ABS brake noise.

 

That is the ABS braking system. It is normal.

 

Crawl control is tuned for terrain when you actually need it. Complaining that it is noisy, grinding, and jerky on flat ground or tame trails is similar to asking why a dragster doesn’t purr at idle.

Find the steepest ‘effin janky hill in your area and put the truck in crawl mode. You’ll chooch right up and down that bitch like nuthin.

Great system that you will come to respect if you ever really, truly need it to press on (which means you are really getting much more extreme than your average Tacoma driver) . Very glad it came with my truck. Doesn’t replace driving experience or skill, but adds a huge degree of safety on very steep terrain that you cannot have without it. There is no physical way to independently apply proportional throttle, and feathered braking to all 4 wheels, in differing degrees of brake and throttle, simultaneously, without it. Basically the truck is being “indexed” across the terrain, and at no point is any wheel allowed to develop slip or momentum. Powerful technology. Might save your life someday.