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

They know what the problem is at Toyota by now, they just don't want to have to replace entire axle assemblies on a ton of trucks to make them quiet, with better thicker materials, we never had this problem with older gen tacomas, at least I never did if I did I would have been at the dealership hounding them or lemon lawed them. Probably nothing short of a class action lawsuit will cure this problem. Its Hino of Thailand causing the issue with substandard parts.


This issue is keeping me from buying a new 2020 OR right now. I don't want to go thru the hassle of lemon law and or a lawyer. I can wait. Eventually they will have to address the issue and man up.

 

Honestly, had I known the diff was going to make this much noise I would have gone with a Frontier.

I still love my Taco, and plan to keep it, but this noise is just crazy town.

 

Ford, GM and Nissan seem to have no problem with a technology that’s been around for centuries. Our dealership here wouldn’t allow highway driving so on a test run you will never hear it until its to late. Same here, love the truck but sometimes the noise just ruins it for you. I think KIA has better QC.

 

I thought I was the only one haha. The engine in the tacoma is LOUD. I have this hill heading home which I would stay in 2nd gear @ 3.5 - 4K rpm and the thing roars.

 

Unfortunately I highly doubt it as this has been a problem since 2016. If they were going to fix it, it would’ve been fixed within the first two years. Toyota sells enough Tacoma’s as it is so why fix the issue if only a small percentage complains about it.

 

Same here. I have a long steep asphalt highway grade just before the turn off to a dirt road to my home. Engine sounds like the chipmunks are starting to work hard around 3k rpm. My tundra would downshift a gear to run around 2400 rpm to maintain 50 mph

 

I have an access cab and the howl is there but its not that loud though. So it doesn't bother me too much. You might be one of the lucky ones that don't have it.

 

I just did a 50 mile round trip errand in my access cab, it still has the factory tonneau cover on it...wondering if that helps dampen any howling. At any rate the trucks as quiet as a church mouse. More mileage i pile up on it, the truck just runs better. Except for not having 4' between the wheel wells, and a very stiff ride, i really like the truck now. It rides surprisingly better on rougher dirt roads than on the asphalt ones.

 

It possible the tonneau cover helps. Is it the factory tonneau?

 

You have the Sport with the 8 inch differential. If you were to make Toyota replace your differential you would probably have better luck getting it fixed permanently. those of us with off roads and pro’s seem to be screwed

 

Yeah at this point it hasn't really bothered me enough to bother the dealership to fix it. I'm kind of afraid it will be worse if I try after seeing some of the replies here.

 

Here ya go, can hear it at 00:04 (its faint on here, but if you were in the cabin you'd be like, dahfaq?).

https://vimeo.com/178979705

 

Were you on the gas or decelerating?

 

That was back in 2016, couldn't tell ya, if I remember correctly it was on decel or constant/maintained speed though, don't ever remember hearing it on accel.

 

I still think it's weird that some have it on acceleration and others on deceleration. That's kind of a big clue that this may be a gear setup/bearing preload problem, and not just harmonics.

Mine happens on light-moderate acceleration and deceleration (although with the AT, the decel noise only happens when engine braking).

 

Just as weird that I've had it on some trucks and some not, all different configs, some same. Good luck!

 

Well, I just left my 2020 ORDC at dealership this morning for them to determine whats up with my howling. I asked him to "NOT TELL ME IT"S NORMAL". My last tacoma did not have this issue, and I've been in other Offroads that didnt exhibit this noise. So it may be a common issue/complaint , but it can't be considered normal. He stated that have now been seeing Tundras owners that have this complaint too. Fingers crossed!

 

If I'm not happy with the "repairs" or outcome of the "repairs", I'll be talking to a dedicated Diff. repair shop.
My 2020 now starts singing around 50mph and goes into the "tree tenors at the colosseum" at 58-59. And it's mainly on slight decel.
Hard decel and When maintaining speed it's still singing however it's not at annoying levels. I have to listen for it.

 

Yup, factory cover...its pretty heavy. Just kind of surprised the truck rides like an ox cart of the asphalt roads. A friend has a 2019 trd that riders noticeably better. I have to put about 400 lbs in the bed to get a similar ride compliance. Even my 0ld 93 toyota 4x4 extra cab had a better ride.

 

A heavier oil will definitely kill the noise. When I put 4.88’s in and 85w-140 there was no howl for 1,000’s of miles. Switched to

$29 75w-90 Synthetic Gear Lube - 1 Quart (Pack of 2)

75w-90 and there is a faint howl now. Going to go to 75w-110