3rd Gen Poll: Rear End Noise howling when feathering throttle

Yours sounds exactly like mine for what it's worth. Barely start to hear it at 48 mph... fades slightly from 50-53, then gets loud from 54-58... 57-58 being the worst. It quiets down from 59-64ish, then comes back at a higher pitch from 65-69.

 

Pretty much, yep.

 

I had inquired about a class action suit for these issues to Capstone Law (they are working with other Toyota vehicle issues) and they need a class representative. The number they called me from was 1-310-712-8154. The investigation is pertaining to poor gearing, whining rear ends, and the transmission issues. I’m too busy to be the class representative but I said there are likely others who think Toyota should actually fix these trucks and not rely on the aftermarket for OV tunes, gears, etc to have a working vehicle.

 

Mine’s made noise from the rear diff since day one. From about 43 to 60 it’s quite pronounced whenever I feather the throttle (up or down hill, doesn’t matter). I figure it’s common as hell so I’m just going to drive it. Maybe I’ll try the gear oil exchange at 10k or so and see what that does.

 

Not sure if anyone’s brought this up yet or not (didn’t take the time to run through 290+ pages of posts), but I had a dealer replace my leaf springs and bushings when I complained about the noise.

I have a 2017 TRD OR that I bought used with about 20k miles. Took it in for an oil change told them about the noise and when they called me to pick up the truck they said they replaced the suspension parts to correct the howl. I was told the repair was part of a TSB related to howling coming from the diff.

I decided to run a search for TSB and diff howl and there were a bunch, so you might want to check that out.

 

Thanks for the info. Can you explain the noise you were hearing? What speed range? Acceleration or deceleration?

Did the dealer repair get rid of it?

 

The noise was between a hum and howl - similar to feedback you get when you’ve wired your speakers wrong and they will hum in sync with a car’s acceleration. It would happen under moderate acceleration maybe around 45 mph between 2000-3000 rpm. The repair cured the noise, but it’s only been a few weeks and my truck is not a dd so if it’s going to come back it could be awhile.

 

For anyone who has had Toyota replace the rear end because of this reason. My question would be with the new parts has the sound gone away, has it come back yet. My 17 Trd Pro also has this same issue, my warranty is about to run out next couple thousand miles, So i want to know if this is a solid fix or if i should just ignore it. Do i risk going out to a dealership during the Virus shenanigans. Your thoughts would be helpful!

 

Longspur, Its been 6 weeks or so since. How is the truck now, still good?

 

Well after approx 1000 miles, the whining is back. But instead of it being between 50-60 mph, now it’s between 40-50mph and not as loud as before, would say it’s 40% quieter. Once all this virus mess is over I’ll go back and push the issue again. Really not to worried anymore since I spend most of the time @ 55-60mph. But still planning on pushing the issue

 

Entire differential was replaced under warranty on a previously owned 2016 and the noise was the same with the new rear end.

The body mount sound insulator TSB reduced the noise by over half on a 2017 my daughter previously owned.

 

I had the differential replaced on my 2019. Sound was a little quieter but change was marginal. I also tried some noise dampener on the back of my cab and again the suppression of the noise was still minimal if that. My next endeavor will be to change the oil to amsoil sever gear synthetic, but not expecting any change. I think the only solution that works is to drowned it out with something i.e. tires, music etc. I bet times wondered if some billet aluminum blocks on the back leaf springs would stop the harmonic noise from getting into the cab. Toyota doesn’t care and we are all on her own with this problem I’m also under suspicion that the new differentials some of us receive are just recycled ones taking off other Tacoma‘s for the same issue. That’s why they’re so willing to replace the differential.

 

I’ve been on this thread from day one. I’ve been through all the repairs for mine, as have guys like @nDub, and many others. There is no absolute fix to date. If you like your truck enough to keep it then put some aggressive tires on it and turn up the radio. Apart from that, not much really helps this issue. My second diff was church pew quiet for about 1500 miles and then it got loud just like the first one, but then at multiple speeds.

 

So by the sounds of it, i shouldn't waste my day arguing with my local Toyota shop. I had addressed this issue with them when i first purchased the truck, and was told it was nothing and that it was normal, 5 thousand miles later the noise was easier to hear, and now another 5 thousand miles i would like to think the noise hasn't gotten any louder, or possibly i am better at ignoring it now.

 

After about 7000 miles you start to not give a s***. It drove me up the wall at first.

 

I’d still get it documented (again) just in case, but that is your call. Call corporate. The more people that complain the better chance we have of getting a true fix.

 

Hey DMac06
I’d say try to get it fixed if you can. There are a bunch of TSBs on the howling issue you just have to find a dealer who is willing to help you out. The first dealer I went to fixed the problem when I went in for an oil change. Just gave them a quick description and I picked it up after work. I haven’t heard the noise come back.

 

I kinda doubt they will fix current model year and older trucks at this point. That ship has sailed. The fact that this has been going on since the 2nd gen Tacos tells me that Toyota knows what the problem is, but that a real fix would require a significant redesign of the truck and/or cost a lot of money.

At this point I'm wondering if a third-party company can provide an engineering solution to this. I'd pay good money to have this thing fixed since I plan on keeping the truck for a while.

 

Weird that in the 21st century vehicle manufacturers still have problems making decent differentials.

 

I agree that they know what the problem is but the issue is will they pony up to fix it? They’ve tried bandaids and tried appeasing the squeaky wheels (me included), but it’s now time for a fix. It’ll likely take a class action like on the frames. Maybe the new one will be here sooner than later and this won’t be an issue. One can hope....