Very odd sound......

Well, they’ll tell you it’s nothing to worry about. Personally it drives me /insane/ and i don’t know why the hell they can’t fix it. You should take it in though

 

Seems to me that the rhythmic characteristic would almost certainly eliminate wind noise. I’d bet it’s diff howl despite that typically being around 55mph

 

Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions. I have a lot of follow-up reading to do.

 

Arnie are you ok? Are you ok Arnie?
https://media.giphy.com/media/DH9skMDA3Vf0s/giphy.gif

 

This sounds similar to the intermittent, predictably timed, harmonic sound I frequently hear in the rear of my truck. It is particularly noticeable under load (with multiple occupants going up a hill or pulling a boat). It lasts about 2-3 seconds, goes away, comes back less than a minute later. I did not notice this initially, but it happens all the time now (9K miles) when I am towing my boat. This is not the same type of sound as the rear diff growl/howl that I lived with on my V6 Rav4. Not sure if its something to be concerned about or not and curious to hear your outcome.

 

Haha........define ok.....

 

Im glad you appreciated my humor

 

Sometimes, you just gotta laugh about life......

 

The rhythmic nature of the noise makes me think A/C whistle. Usually occurs under certain conditions for 3-4 seconds whenever the compressor cycles on. The compressor normally cycles on and off, which could explain the 20 second separation.

The rear diff howl is a constant howl from 50-60 mph... noise peaks at about 56-57 mph. Goes away when lifting foot off gas, comes back when foot is on gas.
LCA howl seems to depend on crosswinds, so it can be sporadic, but not rhythmic.

 

Center support bearing?

 

Hmmm. Never thought about that. I'll have to give it a test run with the AC off. Haven't done any real highway miles since I got back from FL last week.

 

It's a known quirk with these trucks. Nothing to worry about though.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/3rd-gen-tacoma-a-c-noise.550627/

 

I think you hit the nail right on the head with that one. Read every single post and they match my issue precisely. I did take it out for a short ride today with the AC on at first and as soon as the sound started appearing after about 10 minutes of driving, I shut the AC off and could not detect any noise whatsoever after that. Now, when I take it in for its 5K service, I will have something for them to look at.