Another vibration thread.

I know you guys see this a lot but man is this so annoying for me.

I got this Tacoma SR in December with 21k miles from a local dealer. Never noticed any issues whatsoever on the test drive. Got a decent deal considering the market at 32k.

I start noticing a vibration within a few days in the steering wheel but it’s not a shake, it’s like a cell phone vibration and it’s rhythmic, you can also hear it but it’s like sound pressure to make your ears pop. Then I had the vibrations while braking and coming to a stop.

Took it to the dealer and they turned the front rotors, then brought it back same day because obviously it didn’t fix it.

They kept the truck for 2 weeks, put new rear drums on it, did the leaf spring TSB, and a road force balance. Just got it back and it has fixed some and caused more.

Now I have a small vibration on acceleration to 25mph, the same vibration in the steering wheel between 35-60 mph, and no vibration on braking.

It is on the OEM wheels and tires and no modifications.

Any idea what to do next? I’ve got till October for the 3 year 36k warranty.

 

Does it go away when you engage 4x4?

If so, it's probably the needle bearing on the driver side of the front diff. It can be fixed with the East Coast Gear Supply bushing. Order the parts and pay someone to do it, since the OEM part is flawed. Toyota is just going to replace it with another crap needle bearing and it will fail again.

I'm doing mine this weekend, it doesn't look difficult to do.

 

I have tested it in 4wd and also with the tech that rode with me. It stays the same if not very slightly worse.

 

It is honestly not difficult at all. Just a couple bolts and some work with a drift once the wheel is off.


Toss a bit of grease on the CV spring clip to keep the opening at the bottom when you go to install it.

 

That is not good.

Likely not the bearing then. Might be an out of balance driveshaft?

 

When I left last time the dealer said it’s as good as it gets, it’s a truck. Which I know better, had a 19 Tundra 5.7 TRD Sport with sway bars all over the place and drove like a dream.

Guess I’ll have to pester them again until it’s resolved. I think it’s driveline related for sure.

 

Might wanna try a better dealer?


I mean, sure, if it was a domestic truck, you might be able to swallow that. But, I can tell you that the Taco is / should be smooth. That is a too-common excuse from some dealers though.

 

Did you check Carfax to see the history on the truck? Back in the early days of low profile tires I had a new VW Jetta Wolfsburg that started with a chatter about 2 weeks after driving it off the lot. They went through everything trying to find the cause. Turns out it was a warped Continental...did the same thing 3 months after that. Ditched the Conti's for Goodyear Eagle GT's and never had that problem in the 10 years that I owned the car.

 

You said it's no change in 2wd or 4wd, how about rpm? Does it change or go away if you raise rpm by choosing a lower gear?

 

I either need to get off this board or I should have read all this before spending 40k on a new truck. I thought buying a Toyota would be problem free. Especially since I was coming from Ford and Nissan. Seeing so many problems with Toyota is somewhat disconcerting. To be fair, I never went to any forums on those vehicles but damn this sucks for all these people with vibration problems. I hope they get resolved.

 

Relax, chronic complaints and strange issues abound on owners forums. That said it’s still a good truck. Anything you buy is going to have specific issues and they all build bad ones now and then. The domestic trucks have become so refined and luxurious that people are spoiled and their expectations are higher. The Toyota is an old design, almost primitive but that’s the beauty of it. I wanted a Ram 1500 (after owning three Toyota trucks) but it was another 10k to buy a similar one. Do I still love the Ram limited? Yes! But my Tacoma has a miniature ruggedness to it that I still love.

 

Thanks. I haven’t had a truck in forever since my beloved 1997 Chevy S10. It was so damn slow but was a manual transmission and I loved it. Family grew and I had to get rid of it and have been in sedans since. Family now moving out the house and I wanted a truck again. I hope I get at least 10 good years out of this one, maybe pass it on to my youngest.

 

It seems like less vibration in 4th and below but it will do it coasting even in neutral. it feels worst in 5th and 6th. I’m usually around 45mph at 1200ish rpm. I do know that is low rpm’s and the engine kinda quivers around a bit with super light throttle. But I live in a country area and it’s hard to get up in the 50s for over half my commute.

 

Well my family member is the manager of the dealership. It was one of the TRAC vehicles the service dept used as a loaner. So it has had multiple drivers, and likely some idiots. I do plan on getting new wheels and tires as I hate the steelies, knew that going into it.

I’m praying it is a tire or warped steel wheel issue. I rotated them today and it seems somewhat different, I’ll have to test tomorrow and make sure. They have been roadforce balanced, looks like they used huge weights too.

 

What did they do for the leaf spring TSB

 

"I start noticing a vibration within a few days in the steering wheel but it’s not a shake, it’s like a cell phone vibration and it’s rhythmic, you can also hear it but it’s like sound pressure to make your ears pop."

Pretty much nailed my trucks vibration.

 

Installed the steering wheel damper, turned front rotors, new rear drums, leaf springs and road force balanced the tires.

I can hear the vibration drone, but I have 0 braking vibrations at any speed or down to a stop now. It’s just 40-50ish vibration, at 60mph it feels like driving a new Camry. I got it up to 80 this morning and the vibration comes back and is pretty pronounced.

 

To bump this thread and update, I got a set of TRD OR takeoffs with the factory tires, have around 15,000 miles on them. Put them on and still the same exact vibration, and present in 4wd.

So now I have.
New front rotors
New rear drums
Leaf spring TSB
New takeoffs (similar mileage to my truck)

Just gonna have to go to the dealer again and get them to do something.

Vibration starts at 38Mph peaks around 43, goes up to 50ish, then comes back again at 80. At 60+ truck is super smooth.

 

Someday... I'm going to find a machine shop and take my trucks drive shaft and have them check balance.

 

You mentioned it got worse after the leaf springs? The drive line angles need to be checked if they haven't already.