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

Well it must be summer again because my buzzing is back in full force. It goes away with the colder winter and just as I start to get complacent bam...

I bought a dampener a while ago but misplaced it before it got installed. Am going to be installing one before the muffler to see how it goes.

 

Will also be cleaning the MAF sensor. Needless to say after almost 4 years I'm definitely annoyed about it

 

Well I totally butchered my dampener. I guess the OD of the clamp I got was just a bit to big and it tore the dampening stuff off the mounting holes. Not sure what that stuff is but it is incredibly brittle. I might just try installing this dampener without the stuff around the holes, but will likely end up shopping for a different clamp and new dampener.

 

So just to be clear since I can't read thru 128 pages, Toyota accepts the steering buzz as normal, and has issued no fix/TSB for this. Also no one has found a good solution? Is this correct?

 

Exhaust dampener mentioned a few pages back with several other posts referenced seems to be the solution. Has been used on both tacoma and other Lexus cars that share this engine.

 

Thanks. Did this help all the buzzing vibrations or just the steering buzzing vibration?

 

I have both the steering and gas pedal "buzzy vibration." Had it to Toyota several times in it's 1st year and called Toyota corp to log it. They wouldn't do anything.
I also tried the dampener and it didn't work for me. That reminds me, I need to go take off the extra dead weight.
I will say that after towing my camper 2 weekends ago I didn't notice it at all. Then normal driving since and it gradually came back.

 

Here's my current understanding and I'd love to be corrected:

The buzzing vibration happens around 2200 rpm under slight load (as in going up a slight hill at a lower speed or pushing against the wind at 70 mph). Not all Gen 3 Tacomas have the problem and the seriousness of it varies as well. People have all sorts of theories about why. It has been reported that improvements using vibration dampers like above on the exhaust system have worked. Others have tried sound dampening materials under the carpets, under the accelerator pedal, etc. with varying results. They tried some of the following:

• Dynamat Sound Deadener
• Noico Sound Deadening Mat
• Kilmat Automotive Sound Deadening Mat
• HushMat Ultra Black Foil Dampening Pad
• FatMat Sound Deadener
• SoundQubed Q-Mat Sound Deadening Mat
• Thermo-Tec Heat and Sound Suppressor

I would like to buy a Gen 3 Tacoma and have put it off because I don't want to spend $40-$45k on a truck and then only be able to use it to go to Costco because it puts my hands and feet to sleep.

 

I was driving up steep hills today for long periods of time, and the steering wheel vibration was really bad. I have a dampener now that I'm going to try in different places and will report back.

 

Mostly true. The lower point of mine is at 2000rpms and up to 2200 or so. But depending on it's mood it does it all the time in that rpm range.
I've never heard of any of the things in that list but I know several pages back there was one person that changed out the exhaust (cat-back) and said it went away. I'm not willing to shell out that much money though on a hope. Early on there were people that said it was the engine mounts because this V6 is in the Lexus that had hydraulic mounts whereas Toyota just did rubber mounts on this truck.
My God if Toyota would just say what causes it I might pay or fix it myself! Its the only issue I have left with this damn thing lol

 

Thanks for the feedback. It seems like the 3rd gen has a lot of resonance issues. The diff howl, these vibrations etc. To be honest I'm really surprised. I really expected more from Toyota. Seems like not enough research testing was done. All in all from the truck I came from before, 2004 Nissan Frontier, this is a world of difference, and I'm happy with it despite these gremlins. Nothing is perfect right :/

 

Initial feedback from adding the exhaust dampener is a resounding improvement. Vibration was minimized throughout the range such that I didn't even notice and even forgot about it for a lot of the drive. It was not long distance so I'll update further as I drive more with it.

Dampener was placed between the connection and the muffler.

 

link for dampener? Please and thank you sir

 

Along with the exhaust dampener, are you guys sure that part or all of the buzz isn’t the torque converter kicking on? The TC buzz is normal and also occurs in Jeeps

 

Part number is 17581-31010, searching online should give you a bunch of options. Make sure you use a clamp with a diameter that fits, one from Amazon did not but one from Napa was good.

 

Genuine Toyota Parts - Damper, Exhaust Pipe (17581-31010)

https://www.amazon.com/Toyota-17581-31010-Exhaust-Pipe-Damper/dp/B00KTK4OXU

 

I bought one from them and it was partially broken. Probably not all like that but just a caution.

 

Thanks!

 

Has the damper eliminated the problem?

 

After several thousand miles, I can say no. I'm going to add one or two more and change where they are to see if that helps. I did put it pretty far toward the muffler.