New Truck Quirks...Are these normal?

OK, so my truck has got roughly 4K on it right now, and there are a few things that I suspect might be normal for the 2nd generation Tacomas, but I wanted to make sure.

1) The windows in my truck rattle with they're partially rolled down. All four windows will rattle like it's glass on metal or plastic when you're driving over rough roads with them partially rolled down. They don't rattle in the up or completely down position and have been like this since day one. Is this normal?

2) The engine sounds like there's gravel in the cylinders. My '01 V6 sounded very throaty and deep. This one has a rattley tin can sounds that is reminiscent of my '94 4cyl. when you get it into it from a stand still. Is this normal?

3) Lastly, when braking to a stop at a red light the engine and transmission do a weird down shifting, low idling, thing that makes stops seem very jerky. It's almost like I've got a warped brake rotor, but it's not in the brake. It's like the truck is forcing the truck to brake by down shifting and engine breaking. The ABS works fine, though. Is this normal?

Don't want to seem paranoid, but the truck goes in for the 5K oil change and I want to know what I should tell the dealership, if anything to take a look at while they've got it. Any suggestions?

 

well as for the braking thing....i think i know what your talking about. mine kinda does the same. Im not super mechanically inclined so i dont know what is is though. The windows.....i never checked. I dont think mine do that. And the engine....well i never noticed that either. But i dont have any other tacos to compare to since this is my first.

 

1. Yes
2. Yes they are noisey dependent upon load factors, gas quality, etc.
3. Yes, axle wrap.

 

I have all those issues with mine. As far as the motor goes, I use higher octane fuel and it seems to like it better.

 

^^
What those guys said... normal noises / things for this truck...

 

I haven't checked the windows yet.
Yes, I noticed the same noise in my engine - I thought it was normal, since I am use to driving a V8. I will try higher octane gas next time I fill up.
Yes, my braking is the same.

 

I sure notice alot of wind noise with mine....had door seals replaced but it didn't seem to help.

 

i ran with regular at the beginning, then to super,, felt the same, now I went back to regular... seems the same again... I'll just go with regular and fill up super here and there just to clean injector.... does the truck need fuel injection cleaned?

 

Braking yes.
Engine no.
Windows Hell no.

 

Man, that's disheartening. I'm a huge Toyota and Lexus fan, but have been a litte bit let down by the lack of attention to detail on this new truck. I bought my first new Toyota truck (yes, they were called trucks back then and not Tacomas), and I paid 17K for it. It was 4x4 with an extended cab, but no other options. The windows didn't rattle, the brakes were solid (never had the brakes serviced in 100K miles that I owned the truck), and the engine had a slight tick, but that was characteristic of the 22RE 4 cyl. back then. I didn't have any of these issues with the 01 Tacoma I had either.

My plan of action is this: I'll try the higher octane gas and synthetic oil as some have suggested for the engine noise. If that doesn't cure it, I'll install a TRD CAI and or exhaust to at least mask the rattling noise in the engine.

I'm also going to let the dealership have one pass at fixing the windows to keep them from rattling. If they're unable to stop it, then I guess I'll just have to turn the radio up when I ride with my windows partially down to mask that noise. What a bummer.

And as far as the braking thing, same as the windows...I'll give the dealership one pass at it, but I guess I'll just have to learn the live with it if they can't fix it.

It's a shame that this is such a good looking truck and I want to be in love with it, but when it's arguably worse than what you had for twice the money, then that's just disappointing.

Thanks for all your feedback guys.

 

Heh. heh heh. Don't complain until you run with an economy car for about 7 months. Not trying to be rude, but it's true.

 

I would not consider any of that stuff normal....

- Window rattling is un-acceptable and should be able to re remedied with some felt and somebody who knows what he's doing.

- As far as the engine rattling, it sounds like you are experiencing detonation especially since it's happening under hard acceleration/load. That needs to fixed or your gonna break a piston or blow a head gasket (it is indeed detonation - sounds like marbles in a can when you are acclerating under load)

- Not sure about the trans...the torque converting may be hanging up??

 

1) yes mine rattle as well but i just noticed it on my 07 with 36k miles.
2) i've noticed this as well at idle...has almost a tick tick tick sound, or like there is sand runing through my engine.
3) when i come to a stop, sometimes my truck inches forward a bit, as if i dont have the break down all the way. A friend at work with the same truck has the same experience.

 

Mine is a regular cab 2.7L 4cyl with manual transmission, so maybe it's apples/oranges time, but I've not noticed any of the things you describe. No window-rattle. Definitely no engine detonation, but the V6 calls for premium fuel, I believe, even though the owner's manual might say it's okay to burn regular, but if I were experiencing that sort of noise I'd definitely try premium for a while and see if it helps. Manual transmission negates the last issue, but I'd have the dealership take a look at it.

 

It's going in for an oil change in a few weekends, and I'll let you guys know what I find out. It would be nice if Toyota issued a TSB for at least the window rattle. That one seems easy enough to fix with a different window track or something. I have a feeling the stealership is going to disassemble the doors, reinstall the same window track that's already there, and reassemle the doors. Then, not only will the windows rattle, but the door panels will probably start rattling as well.

Anyway, thanks again for the reassurance that I wasn't the only one with these issues. Nice to know I'm not as obsessive as I thought...or am I?

 

No, I hate the window rattle. I'm going to ask about it on my next oil change as well.

 

Thanks to you bringing it up, and now me looking to see if mine does it, I'll have to go in...geese these forums cause more problems than they solve.

lol...

 

My windows have never rattled and i'd find that horribly annoying and unacceptable if mine were to start doing that. The engine tick is very common with these motors, i use synthetic and have an exhaust and dont even notice it any more. I dont have the auto though so i cant comment on the last problem

 

Mine is a 2008 with 3500 miles and I have had it for about six months. I haven't noticed the window rattle but I don't recall having the windows down so I'll have to check.

The transmission issue I have noticed. Mine seems to shift hard when it is downshifting and when it is shifting to a higher gears sometimes it seems as if it takes longer to shift then it should.

I have not notice any noise in the engine however I do have a rattle on the right side front of the console.

I also think there is a lot of wind noise while driving down the road. Plus I don't like the front mud flaps they scrap on the littlest things.

 

For the tranny problem? Mine does this when I am braking down a hill. Its the downhill assist working I guess. I like it... doesn't seem jerky to me, maybe what yal are talking about is different.