2021 Tacoma TRD Sport Vibration

Gonna go with a nope on still being around.

 

I'm starting to get/see a "fact" stated from time to time only to see it fade...about posters coming here to drop said problems and then leave.

So annoying.

EDIT: Hopefully, they have a legitimate reason for not coming back--like they sold their Tacoma.

 

Thought there was a waiting period for starting a thread if not should be ?

 

Not to resurrect this post after 2 years but........ I also have a 2021 Tacoma that I built online back in December of 2020 and took the build sheet to the dealer and had it built special at the factory. I had the bed increased to the normal 6 foot bed in my Tacoma. Since the day I drove it off the lot in April of 2021, I have been complaining every time I go back to the service department to have it serviced. I ended up buying an extended warranty from the dealer on my truck because I believe this to be some kind of cumulative problem and down the road, something major will happen as a result of this problem. Over the past 3 years, I have had this truck in multiple times - new tires help but do not eliminate - alignments, balancing, road test balanced, etc. Nothing has helped.

The vibration is much worse in the winter (I live in Ohio) when it is below freezing, better when it is warm out and, the odd thing is, it is pretty much non existent when I am pulling a trailer with a load on it. I know that combination has to point in a direction, but I am not a mechanic, nor the son of a mechanic! (Nor the son of a son of a mechanic). It also seems to start at about 40-45 mph as with OP's truck. In the beginning, the technicians with the dealership suspected something awry with the drive shaft (due to the extended bed), but then suddenly, Toyota decided it was not an issue. Dealership could not seem to find another similar Tacoma with the extended bed to have a sister truck to drive and compare. Finally, this past February, when it was cold out, it was so bad that I drove it straight to the dealer and demanded something be done. They also experienced this bad vibration on their test drive and looked at a few things, but then told me that they needed to check the angle of the drive shaft but could not do that as the tires only had about 3/32 tread on them and that they were cupped. Told me to come back in April (now) because they had the buy 3 and get one for $1 deal and then they would test.

So here we are in April, I got the new tires and it is being assessed right now at the service department of a local Toyota dealership. Word is that the angle of driveshaft is the likely culprit, and they are ordering spacers for the carrier bearing to adjust this angle (yep, Toyota apparently makes a spacer kit for the carrier bearing for some reason - I wonder why???). These parts will be in early next week and I will come back and fill everyone in on whether or not this eliminates this problem. I have a feeling that this will become a recall issue down the road somewhere with these Tacoma trucks... Stay tuned!!

 

Nitrogen in all my vehicles! The only benefit I see with Nitrogen is the air doesn't fluctuate like regular air. It's been great as no TPM lights come on when the temps drop.

 

I'm having similar vibration issues on my '23. The truck is stock yet it sounds like you're running off road tires. You can even feel vibration in your feet and it starts around 45 mph and up. I used to have the pinion whine but that's been replaced by the vibration. You can't hear it when the windows are down but the vibration is still there in your feet. To me it's drivetrain related and I'm thinking it's the rear end. I've put it into neutral on the road and down hills with no throttle and the vibration is still constant. It started at a little over 11k miles after I had weld spatter recall done then 300ish miles later it started. Took it in immediately, the could not hear it. They documented it and it will be going back in now that the weather is warming back up.

 

Just a thought from a long time 3g owner….does it go away with weight in the bed?

My truck had some random vibrations and some shudder under braking in the early years and I tried a few solutions. One however completely eliminated it….weight in the bed. I threw two 50lb sandbags in the bed, close to the tailgate and all was eliminated, rolled smooth as could be. There’s something with having a load in the bed that gets the suspension right and eliminates some driveline vibration.

I added one of those swing out tool boxes that store over the wheel well and filled it with my essentials rather than storing it in the underseat compartments to at least have some use for carrying extra weight all the time. A few tools, straps, bottle jack, and other things. It’s pretty heavy now loaded and that eliminated 90% of my driveline vibration.

Go get yourself a $6 50lb bag of play sand or two at Lowe’s and give it a try, it might be a very cheap solution for you

 

My issue does not change no matter how much weight I carry and I've carried 500 lbs or more.

 

Jericho.
By chance is your Tacoma an extended bed version? Is your vibration worse when it’s below freezing outside?

my vibration does almost disappear if I am pulling my trailer with the ATV on it. I told that to the service department and that, coupled with the above information made them start looking at the angle of the drive shaft.

hopefully I will have something to report early this coming week.

 

A 2023 is still under warranty and should be no need for a ‘cheap’ fix. Sounds like Jericho has the same problem I have. I’ve been complaining about this since 2021 when I bought my Tacoma. Have thought several times about trading it in on a Ford Ranger Raptor.

somewhere down the road, I suspect a recall will be coming. I’ve talked to quite a few other early 2020’s model tacomas with a similar problem like this.

 

Hello. It's a short bed. The vibration is the same no matter what season or the temperature is. I have not towed anything either so I can't speak to that. I do carry occasionally 500ish lbs with no changes.

Like you I have been trying to figure what the cause is. All I can say is it started about 300 miles after the weld spatter recall which was at a little over 11k miles. They ended up replacing 4 of the 8 bolts/nuts. Before that there was only the pinion whine at about 50mph and up under power but would go away when you took your foot off the gas. The pinion whine is totally gone.

Since I was able to isolate it to the drive train not the engine, it seems to be coming from the back and thought possibly driveshaft or rear end since that was the only thing that had been touched. I wondered if it could be the driveshaft too but thought if they greased it at 15k it would go away but it did not. The sound is like you hit the rumble strip or the sound of an airboat engine in similarity so you can have an idea. It's a droning vibration you can feel in your feet.

My question with driveshaft angle is why it would start with over 11k miles and not from day one? I'm now over 22k miles.

The pinion whine is a known issue with these.

 

I had a rhythmic vibration when I had between 30K-40K miles on my factory Toyo tires. Vibration was noticeable around 50mph. I never tried to track down what caused the vibration because I wanted new tires anyway.

Vibration when away when I got my Michelin LTX Defenders. 20K miles on my Defenders and no more vibration.

https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-defender-ltx-m-s

 

@TA2016
Interesting. The vibration I have is rhythmic too. I have the factory Goodyear's.
The tires have been rotated with no change.

 

I use the Michelin LTX defenders as well on mine. Got 60,000 miles on the set that I just changed and they still had about 3/32 left on them. Could have waiting until fall to change them out, but I did it early so that the dealership could measure the angle of the driveshaft and because they had the buy 3 get one for $1 sale.

 

I have had no pinion whine with my 2021. That must be a 2023 issue (?).

My problem has been since I first drove this truck off the lot when it arrived. ( I ordered this one special for the extended bed, etc. back in December,2020. It arrived on lot in April, 2021). I also feel my vibration in the seat and in the ride, but not so much in the steering wheel. Is yours worse when the outside temperature is below freezing? Mine gets real bad then.

I should be getting mine back from the dealership today or tomorrow. I'll post here as to whether this angle of driveshaft change has corrected the problem or not.

 

Going to assume due to age that this isn't a ball joint issue. Only going off experience from my Jeep, but figured it was my steelies and 35" mud tires that were constantly out of balance.
Had what I thought was an un-related front drive shaft leak on my passenger side. Took it to a trusted mechanic and turns out my ball joints top and bottom were basically ready to disintegrate. Replaced those, fixed the Dif leak (not related to vibration) and magically vibration and steering wheel shimmy was gone.
Making sure everything in my drive line is tight and your ball joints are good and double check alignment.

From a Tacoma standpoint:
Are you lifted?
You say the vibration comes in at "highway speeds", So I am going to guess this is not the infamous needle bearing. If you aren't lifted, going to assume your drive shaft alignment is fine.
In my case the low hanging fruit for me was rear axle shim because that was "easier" and cheaper to try first. Didn't solve it, so had to go after the needle bearing. A mornings worth of work at a friends place for help and She is riding smooth as I could ever hope for.

Does the vibration happen on the highway when you are in 4x4? Is it an actual shake/shimmy or is it like a vibration/hum you can feel in your foot/steering wheel but your steering wheel doesn't shake?
If the vibration goes away in 4H, and the vibration is more like I just described, then it could be the needle bearing. But this was more like an issue between 25mph and like 49'ish mph, above or below that and it would go away. So probably not the needle bearing. But thought I would throw it out there.

 

In my case, they checked my needle bearing. No problem. Mine is 100% stock. No lift, etc. They believe that the angle of driveshaft is the culprit - possibly due to the 1.5 foot bed extension (?).

I have not tried 4X4 on the highway, so cannot answer that one. It is a shimmy/vibration over about 40 mph and you can feel it and hear it as well. Much worse when it is at or below freezing temperatures outside. Way worse and much more noticeable too. Do not feel it in the steering wheel at all.

 

Do you have the ability to get it on a lift or up on jack stands, put it in Neutral and hand spin the drive shaft to see if it binds at all?
Did the bed extension come with a wheel base extension or is it just the standard difference between the 5' box and 6' box? I wouldn't think that would be an issue. Weird that temperature plays a factor.

Either way, that is the limit of my experience dealing with vibration. Hopefully it stays that way too.
Good luck.

 

I don't have jack stands, but the service department at the dealership assures me that they have checked the driveshaft and that this is the likely problem.

I am pretty sure that the wheel base did change as a result of the bed extension. (Though I am not a mechanic - others here might know for sure)

Yea... Weather plays a factor, when I have a trailer loaded with my atv or whatever - no problem and no vibration noticed. I think that is what drove them to consider the angle of the driveshaft.


EDIT... i just checked.. The wheelbase did change. Short bed is 127.4 inches, the extended bed is 131.9 inches...

 

My vibration can be felt in the floor and heard with the windows up. Not so much in the steering wheel. Don't really notice it in the seat.
Temperature has no effect on my issue. It's the same all year long.
Did your problem start from day one?