My Front End Growling/Noise Experience.....

Yea for you!
Pleas post, what the dealer fix was.

 

Sorry Ihavent gotten back to this....

But, I was soo pissed when I left the dealer. They told me they changed out the outer needle bearing on the drivers side when in fact they didnt! After pretty much re-building the diff. the last thing they replace was the bearing.
I told them twice that its the bearing on the drivers side that the axle shaft sits in.
Oh well.... atleast its fixed now!

 

Just had Toyota replace my front diff for free. I have 52,000 miles on the truck. This is the second dealership I had to take it to in order for them to experience the vibration. Noise is gone and drivers side CV seems to be at a less steep of an angle.

 

Good Job! I wish my dealerwould have just replaced the entire diff. But no!

 

Do you have a lift or non stock suspension or are you still stock?
Sounds like my dealer may have finally gotten approval to replace my front diff too. My salesman called to tell me the owner of the dealership was able to get it approved. Still waiting for the official call though.

 

How long does it take for them to replace the front diff? Does it take more than 2-3 days?

Im taking mine in tomorrow for them to check it out and ill refer to this thread when I talk to the service guy. But Im on spring break and need the truck back before the weekend.

 

It depends on the dealer. Like mine only could replace parts, not the entire diff. But most have had better luck and the dealer just swapped the entire diff.
If they have to order the part then it will take 2-3 days probably....

 

Thanks. Is there anything I should say to possibly convince them to swap the front diff? How should I approach this situation.. And also I have 5100s and bigger tires.. Do you think they could blame it on that?

 

Nah, I just told them that it had the vibe/noise slightly at stock but it got worse when I put the lift on.
and tell them you know many other Tacoma owners who have the same issue. And tell them what you think the problem is, (drivers side outer bearing)...

Oh! and it might help to go to a dealer who sells lifted Tacoma's, just a thaught. Bc mine does and they didnt really care about the lift.

 

They could blame it on the lift and tires, but as long as you tell them that the lift didnt cause it, bc the noise happened right after the lift was installed, they shouldnt have a problem with looking at it.

 

gotcha, thanks for the headsup. Ill just say it just happened recently and i had the shocks replaced a long time ago.. how much is that part if one were to buy it ?

 

Not sure on the part, I hope you still have a warrenty.....

Not sure if you should say you've had the lift for awhile and the noise just started, bc then they could pin it on the lift and not fix it. You know?

Its better to say the noise happened right after I lifted it. Then they know the lift didnt cause it, and it was or ready there, and the lift just braught the problem to light.

 

They are charging 99 for diagnosis but if it's warrantee related it's free? Is this right. I'm still under warrantee as I only have 28k

 

What happens if one has this problem but never fixes it?

 

No idea on long term damage yet since no one has stuck with it long enough to see what will happen. No one's come close to describing it as being anywhere near as bad as mine was last year, but then most don't have 100K miles on them. Long term, I would expect it to fail (bearing disintegrating and parts going everywhere into the front diff), but before it gets to that point it will get very loud (you'll hear it over the radio). So it's definitely beneficial to get it covered under warranty. Case in point, I paid to have mine replaced last year at 88K miles (Toyota split the cost with me as a goodwill gesture). And this new one has the same problem less than a year later (or it's the CV Axle causing the vibe now). But new Toyota parts that they install have a 12 month unlimited mileage warranty, so I'll be getting another new one this year (and I'll pay for a new CV Axle that they'll install at no extra cost while they're replacing the front diff again). It could go on like this each year until I get one that actually lasts.

As far as your description to them of the vibe going away in 4wd, I think your description should be enough. If they come back and say it's the lift or the tires (common likely excuses to not deal with it), then you have to keep putting the proof back onto them by saying, "Explain to me why it goes away in 4wd if that's the cause." And then just point out it's a well documented problem with the Tacoma (even though there's no TSB like for the Tundra) and you can even tell them which part it is (driver's side front diff needle bearing). If they still give you grief, immediately call Toyota Corporate (their 800 customer service number) and file a complaint. That'll force them to listen more.

Oh, and if they're like my dealership, then they won't tear it apart even if they know what the cause is. They'll just replace the whole front differential. Usually takes 1 day for them to get a new front diff and it takes them 3-4 hours to do the job of replacing it.

 

I tried to explain to the service employee that to make note that its coming from the front diff as I have read online, but the guy was like I'd rather have the tech look at it and let them do their job. I said okay and then he told me its going to cost 100 if its not under warrantee but if it is i wont have to pay. Sounds like a way to easily get 100 bucks. Ill definitely ask one of the techs to come out and explain why it goes away 4wd.

 

I know you said you're at 28K miles which is still under the original factory warranty, but have you passed the 36 month mark? I'm wondering why they're attempting to charge you a diagnosis fee? They don't usually do that if you're still under the 36K/36 month warranty. They do that if you're now in the powertrain warranty, so it seems odd to me.

 

yeah im under 36 month as well. they said something about having to change to other rims/tires to see if its my tires. but ill tell the guy that having to change the tires doesnt make sense since the vibration goes away in 4wd. maybe he thought i wasnt under warrantee so we will see

 

If they come back and say they want to charge you, I'd fight it. You'll probably be forced to pay it if they push the issue, but I'd then call Toyota Corporate and complain that they're charging you for unnecessary work in order to diagnose a known problem in which you already told them what the problem was and how to diagnose it. You shouldn't have to pay anything if they aren't knowledgeable enough to diagnose a well known problem (especially since it's the same diagnosis as the Tundra in the TSB!). If they haven't figured it out on their own, here's a link to the Tundra TSB that points out the same diagnosis steps/symptoms for the front diff (albeit the MPH that the Tundra owners experience it is a tad slower).
http://toyotatundraforum.com/pdf/Front Diff TSB.pdf

 

I will definitely show that to them when I go back. The service guy said they were a bit busy today so they had to keep my truck over night. I brought my truck in at 7AM!!

I'm just worried they wont fix it and I'll have to keep driving my truck the way it is.
For those who have been driving with this problem, how many miles has it been so far? and has it gotten worse?