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

Mine is being replaced currently. Should have it back tomorrow and will keep updated over the next 1000 miles. Thi king about changing the oil after a 500 mile break in if the dealership wants to cover that or not.

 

Do you personally know these guys, or maybe just trolling. I've got over 3k miles on my 2020 sr5, except for getting use to the harsher rider these taco's have, my truck runs great with zero noises of any kind. All you can hear is the engine, and some slight wind. Its really nice cruising at 60 mph...engine is very quiet running slightly above 1500 rpm, lower that what my tundra use to run at that speed.

 

I've wondered about that and what the percentage would be between the trims and having the rear diff howl. Folks with SR5s and Sports have also reported having the diff howl, but it seems that it's more common on the OR and Pro, based on what's posted here. That's anecdotal evidence for sure, but unless someone creates a poll or something for it, that's all we have. A poll wouldn't be definitive by any means, but it would interesting to see.

My dad has put a little over 60k miles on two SR5s and neither had the diff howl. My nephew has an SR and no howl. Neither of my Sports have howled, but my OR did. I was fortunate that mine didn't seem to be as loud as some of the others on here.

 

The short time i've been a member on this site, i have noticed the majority of issues on these taco trims are on the trd or or sport, so it makes one wonder if those trims outsell the others that they would develop more issues, or is it these trims are just more prone to problems no matter how many are sold.
On another note, being a electronic tech doing warranty for sony video products i always saw more issues with their higher end cutting edge models than the more basic ones that outsold those high priced models 3-1. Seemed you always getting new service bulletins to fix these strange issues.

 

Trolling? lol You must be new around here. This thread alone has some some AC guys as well as SR5 guys with the howl. Glad you are happy, but this thread wouldn't be over 300 pages if this howl wasn't real.

Edit: And yes, my buddy with a 2016 SR5 has the howl. My unlce's 2019 TRD short bed has the howl bad. Really bad. Acceleration and deceleration the thing howls away. He is pretty much deaf though so he is lucky there.

 

I think the SR5 is the highest volume trim, but on TW, it seems to skew heavily towards the TRD OR. So that would make sense that we see more ORs with the howl on here. I was just going on my experiences and thought there might be a correlation with the howl and the larger diff of the OR and Pro.

 

My truck was quiet until 16k miles. Just saying... And these guys are right, once you hear it, you can't unhear it.

 

Won't change much. I have Dakar HD's and on my stock GY's I can still hear a bit of it. With my worn AT3W's though? Not a peep. My best advice is get some AT tires and let her rip.

 

Agreed (again). People can read every post in this thread but in the end if you are bothered by the howl and you really want to keep your truck, get more aggressive tires. That’s the only bandaid that’ll give you peace if you can’t live with the howl. If the extra tire noise bothers you then I can’t help you.

 

My truck has the very faint but consistent whine at a consistent 52-54 mph when easing off throttle. I have a lift with Icon stage 2 with the AAL. Absolutely no impact on the hum. I mentioned to the dealer during last service and they totally dismissed it as normal road noise. Truck has only 15k miles and hum started about 4-5 k miles back.

 

Any recommendations on an AT tire thats not obnoxiously loud but has enough noise to drown some of the whine out?

I hear mixed reviews on the KO2s. some say their noise and some say they are fairly quiet. I dont want to MT as they will get annoying after the slightest bit of cupping.

 

I run KO/2's, they are pretty quiet down to 6/32 now they are making considerable noise at speed. Not feathered wear either, just normal wear. I will buy again. They wear like iron, I think I am at 6 yrs ownership, so its about time to replace due to age. First several yrs of ownership the tires are quiet.

 

Seems strange that 2 different taco trims that have different differentials from each other would experience the same howl if the differentials were truly the problem.

 

Not really.

Same ring & pinion between models only difference is between MT and AT trucks. Same parts, same part numbers, same problem. It's not really that hard to see.

 

I think there’s a cream for that...

 

I'm a closet fan of Frontiers, but the new generation sounds less than attractive. First generation turbocharged engine + 9 speed transmission + possible ugly rounded international looking truck body = red flag in my book.

I would be interested in a return of the Xterra at some point, if it happens. I owned an '01 for 9 years and loved the hell out of it. If Nissan keeps it true to its original design philosophy -- rugged, excellent off road, inexpensive, simple -- and it turns out to be decently reliable, it might be worth looking at.

For now though, I'm reasonably satisfied with my truck. I'm still holding out hope Toyota will come out with a fix for the howl.

 

As far as the new Frontier, the engine/trans 3.8L non turbo, NA, w/9 speed auto is in the 2020 old body style this summer for sale on lots this week. I am interested in the 2021 version so the same engine will be on the streets for awhile with the 2020's. There are red flags for me, if its direct injected with no port injection, big no no, valves will carbon. Also waiting to see if the new 3.8L has standard cast iron cylinder liners which I would want rather than the new tech (flawed) plasma welded cylinders, and waiting to see if cylinder deactivation in the engine, don't want that period as its flawed tech as well. I like the looks of the 2021 body, very squared modern look w/built in flares. Unlike the older Frontiers. Time will tell. If the Frontier doesn't pan out, I may end up with a new Tundra double cab 6.5 ft bed TRD Pro then deal with adding the missing aux trans cooler.

 

I had a set of KO2's on my 1st gen that lasted me 10 years lol. In fact, when I replaced them in 2016, they still had a lot of tread depth even after 10 years and around 100,000 miles. Never had any complaint about them and they aren't very loud. The only reason I had to replace them is because of weather cracking on the sidewall. I pulled into a parking garage one day and heard air hissing, and I looked at my L/R tire and air was coming from a little crack in the sidewall. The new set I replaced them with is now about 4 1/2 years old, and sadly the Arizona sun is causing them to crack somewhat on the sides already. Still a TON of tread depth on them though.

What I don't like as far as the KO2's go is that it seems you can't put them on a 16 inch rim with a load range "C." I don't want bigger rims for my 3rd gen, and I would like to put some KO2's on it, but I don't want a big heavy "E" load range tire that's meant for a full size truck on my Tacoma. Not sure what route to take when my stock tires wear out on the 3rd gen.

I am also one of the lucky ones as far as the howl goes. My 3rd gen howls slightly basically right at 55 regardless of accel, or decel. But it isn't that loud. I don't usually drive at 55, and if I do, it's not too noticeable. The truck isn't quite at 14,000 miles yet. I'm hoping it stays that way. It would be nice if they actually came out with a real solution for all the ones that howl loudly though!

 

I have a few friends with OR tacos that have the howl and it doesn’t bother them at all. What I would give to be like that but it just won’t happen. I did a side job and will be doing a 2” lift with 5100s and a AAL in lieu of a block. Tires , I think some 265/75/16, but not sure on the brand. I don’t expect to fix it but maybe the change in circumference and a little more road noise or drown it out some.