oh no....TSB-0171-16 Driveline vibration

I was pretty sure I was going to buy a Tacoma this month but the more I research it appears that the quality is no longer there with the 3rd gens. This thread and others like it are definitely an eye opener for me.

 

My 2020 doesn't have this issue. Did you not test drive the truck before buying it? If not then its on you. This doesn't seem like an issue that would all of a sudden present itself.

 

Look back in this thread to a Feb 5 post by 23psi4age. He posted photos.

 

Don't be ridiculous, of course I test trove it. There are lots of reasons a person might not notice issues during a test drive. The issue might be intermittent or dependent upon a certain speed or type of driving or terrain. If you don't have any issues, consider yourself lucky!

 

Sorry if I sounded harsh. I just know a lot of individuals who actually didn't test drive a vehicle they bought. Especially jeepers who a lot order it from the factory. I wonder if its something with the driveshafts. Really a drivetrain is pretty simple operation. I wonder why Toyota can't figure it out.

 

Same here so annoying I couldn’t live with it. Trucks gone traded it in.

 

There are A LOT of naysayers in many of these 'issue' threads that troll those of us who are having problems, I guess because they can't fathom that the almighty Toyota could make a subpar product...or maybe they're just brainless fanboy sycophants for the brand. Either way, I'm tired of people questioning me about it, as if I'm making it up or something. It's infuriating. I left the auto transmission issue thread because of the trolls. I'm not saying you're one of them, but I just don't have the patience to deal with those a-holes when I'm also trying to come to terms with the fact that I'm stuck with a vibrating truck that also has a transmission that shifts erratically, which is a problem that was supposedly address for the 2020 MY. I'm angry and disappointed.

It's not that Toyota can't figure it out, it's more that they don't need to figure it out because the trucks are selling like crazy anyway. They just don't give a damn, especially with these forums being full of fanboys who carry their water.

 

This is my third Toyota and the third truck I have owned. Although this is the first Toyota truck. I test drove the truck before buying and I wanted a Toyota because of the great experience I had with my previous two Toyota's. The transmission is a big disappointment. Before buying I read about the complaints of the transmission. During the test drive I did not notice any issues with the transmission. It's a smaller truck so your going to feel and hear road noise. But after 2000 miles the transmission leaves a lot to be desired. The way it shift's and the vibrations should not be considered normal. When I brought it in to the dealer their comments were that is was normal. I test drove a new 2019 that was on the lot and had the shop foreman in the truck with me. It had the same vibration and even more harsh shifting. He noticed and commented on the shifting issues as well. I suppose Toyota simply accepts the vibration and harsh shifting as acceptable. As long as it is not doing any long term damage to the transmission it is simply something to get used to. I have no plans on trading it in. But after owning many vehicles over the years and having higher expectations from Toyota I would not recommend a 3rd generations Tacoma.

 

Agreed.

 

Gents, upgraded to the Nitto RG 265/75R16. Weighs 49 pounds. Greatly reduced or dampened the driveline noise. Leveling the front this week, will update.

 

dhectorg - I got the same bs from Toyota field tech this past December on my 2017 DCLB Sport, bone stock. Vibration in seat and console at 48mph under light acceleration, which only became noticeable a few months after purchase. He hooked up his Ride/Vibration/Harshness laptop to the OBD under the dash and went for a ride with me. When all was said and done, "It is normal". Took it to a different dealer, explained the whole thing to the service manager there, and he said he replaced the transfer case on two DCLBs and solved the problem. He then called the field tech and was told Toyota would not honor any warranty work done by second dealer.

I would be really curious to hear from anyone who has gone through the Lemon Law process with this same problem (I have paperwork for the numerous repair attempts, and e-mails from first dealership acknowledging the vibration). If you have, please let me know your outcome, good or bad . . . .

 

Excluding the annoying vibration and shift happy transmission, I actually like everything else about the truck. I've slowly come around to the position of trying to correct the annoyances rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. I was really angry at first, but I can't afford to lose $1000s trying to trade or sell this truck, especially since I mostly like it.

The transmission's busy shifting can be corrected by re-gearing the diffs (from 3.91 to 4.88 or 5.29), which would improve power delivery and fuel economy too. The vibration is likely related to the complicated 2 pc drive shaft design Toyota implemented, in order to increase ground clearance, so vibration may be significantly reduced or even eliminated by swapping out the 2 pc carrier bearing setup with a custom 1 pc drive shaft. I've seen guys do it on YouTube on highly modified trucks, so it's impossible to know what my results would be, but I'm confident it would be a significant improvement. These are pricey mods, but given that I already invested $40k in the truck, I guess I'm willing to spend a bit more to make it a better driving truck.

 

I recently made some upgrades to my 2018 Double Cab Off-Road that appear to have eliminated the driveline vibration (45-60 when feather gas pedal).

First I upgraded to the Nitto Ridge Grappler 265/75 R16 which I understand weighs 49 pounds. This appeared to dampen (but not eliminate) the vibration. A few weeks later my steel CBIT3 bumper, Smittybuilt synthetic winch and OME (heavy spring and struts) were installed and the vibration/hum/noise is gone. I'm not sure what the lift amount was but the truck is basically level now. Good luck everyone.

 

I noticed something interesting about my truck last month that has me scratching my head.

I have always had the rumble strip vibe in the 15-25mph range but when we went camping last month and I had a bunch of weight in the back the vibes were gone. COMPLETELY GONE! When the bed is empty I get the vibes. Very strange but wondering if anyone knows why this is? Is it drive like angle?

I do have a 2.5” front lift and 2” rear lift and I have the ecgs bushing.

Empty bed= vibes
Loaded bed= no vibes

 

Been following this thread for about the last year and a half. Bought a 2018 TRD OR DC 4WD. Started to notice the shudder while breaking after about 500 miles, took it in and was told the drums were out of round, had them replaced. All was well for about another 700 miles, until the shudder came back. Waited for the 5,000 mile service to bring it up again. Was told they couldn't duplicate it. Drove it for another 2,000 miles and took it back. This time they could duplicate it, checked the rear end specs in regards to the TSB and found them within limits. Was told they would get back to me, never heard from them. At this point I knew that this was probably not going to get resolved. At the 10,000 mile service I managed to take a drive with a tech and was told that he had watched over 200 tacoma's come into his dealership with the rear end shudder, none of which they managed to get completely fixed. At this time they said they would open a case with Toyota and have the field service tech get in contact with me. Two months went by (over the holidays), never heard anything. I had really become defeated at this point and kind of gave up, particularly after reading other members stories on here. At the 15,000 mile service I inquired about the case yet again...turns out they never actually opened it. This time they showed me the paperwork that they actually did, was again told the FST would call me, again never got any phone calls. Made three different phones calls to the service department and was told the assistant manager or manager would get back to me the next day, that never happened either.

I traded it in for an F-150 today (the Ford dealership had about 8 used Tacoma's on their lot haha).

I realize none of this information is really going to help anyone. Maybe just one more truck for your mental tally of how widespread this problem is. Toyota is fully aware of the problem, they are either unwilling or unaware of how to correct it.

For those of you sticking it out, best of luck.

 

Toyota will never "address" these vibration issues because they are too widespread and it would cost them too much to take it seriously, so they will simply continue to say "everything is within normal specifications" and send you on your way. I immediately opened a case directly with Toyota USA when I first purchased my truck and after having a field tech check it out and wasting hours on several appointments that never resolved a goddamn thing, I gave up. I now know that Toyota will NEVER address this, so I moved on. The only thing that might get Toyota's attention is a class action law suit, but since these trucks are otherwise very reliable, I doubt that anyone will ever take that herculean task on.

Does it piss me off, of course it does, but beating your head against the wall will only get you a headache! My advice, let it go and it will eventually fade into the background, then you will begin to enjoy the truck without that constant feeling that you got fcked by a soulless corporation yet again lol.

 

Mine did the same thing. I assumed it was because the carrier bearing was lowered with respect to the rest axle which straightened

I noticed the same thing. I assumed it was because the carrier bearing was lower with respect to the rear axle when the truck was loaded. That would decrease the angle of the driveshaft between the carrier bearing and the differential. So I installed shims (2.5 degree) to tilt the front of the differential upward and that solved the problem.

 

please keep us informed if and when the vibs come back . how many miles do you have on the truck at present?

 

Anyone have any luck eliminating the vibe with just a CB drop? It probably needs shims but that’s a little more involved

 

I only have 1,100 miles on the truck. I first tried dropping the carrier bearing a little and it seemed to have no effect. I would probably needed to drop it significantly more than I did, but dropping that was making the front driveshaft angle between the transmission and the carrier bearing even greater.

I installed the shims roughly two months ago, but not a lot of miles due to the work from home order. If this ws truly a driveshaft alignment issue, which I believe it was, I do not see this re-starting to vibrate with added miles.