Buzzy Vibration at certain RPM's..read before buying!

I picked up a 2016 Tacoma 4x4 Off Road DCSB today and am VERY OCD and anal about vibrations, rattles, noises, etc. Little things bug the hell out of me and I wish I wasn't born this way. lol.

However after 200 miles in a variety of driving conditions (part to WOT), hills, curves, passing, city, etc. - I did not feel any vibrations in my truck. It's rock solid and I put it through it's paces today.

Hope you guys get an answer. Last time I had a major issue, Toyota let me down in a big way. Why I bought another, I don't know? I just remember talking to the rude customer (don't)care person who could give one shit about my issue. With that said, so far, so good!

 

If it's driveline-related, I would suspect the driveshaft and/or leafspring/u-bolts causing pinion angle to change under load.
Does anyone with the problem have the taco lean?
Has anyone with the problem checked their u-bolts?

If it's transmission related, I suspect;
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-automatic-transmission.397788/#post-11238563

 

I have reported before feeling a slight vibration at low RPMs through the steering and gas pedal. Also a lugging problem as well, but that seems to be going away now that it is cooling down outside...

Anyway, I haven't done much interstate / high speed driving, so I went for a drive this morning. At 75 MPH, I was about 2000 RPM and it was very faint vibe but a nice ride. At 80 MPH and 2100+ RPM, the vibration was strong through the steering/pedal and seat. I can see where you say a numbness would set it, as it is at the right frequency to put you to sleep. I really think that feeling the vibrations through the seat would even be uncomfortable over extended periods.

I don't currently do much interstate/highspeed driving right now, so I'm not sure if I should report it and go through the process, or wait for other people to get this issue figured out. To be honest, I would be inclined to back the speed down to 75 where it is not as bad, but you should be able to stay with the flow of traffic on a highway and not be numb from some resonant vibration.

 

The O/R seems to not have the issue. IF it's there, it is so minimal that it is virtually unnoticeable. Your being OCD and actually looking for it and not finding it proves this once again. I can't feel it at all in the O/R either; and, trust me, I know exactly where to find it in the rev range. I've been trying to track this down and have done lots of driving of different models and have told Toyota that it is the Limited or Sport in 4x4 A/T and the Master Mechanic at my dealership concurs.

As to Toyota Customer Care, they have been OK to this point. They listen, type and have, to this point, responded. To me, the biggest gripe I've had is my dealership's service department. They seem blah and "we can't do anything until Toyota issues a TSB" focused. The only person at the dealership who has shown any emotion about my situation is the Fleet Manager who sold me the car. I would have appreciated at least some emotion from the Service Manager or his assistant. The Fleet Manager told me that they have to be completely neutral, per Toyota, as taking sides might indicate responsibility on Toyota and they don't want that unless they absolutely have to. Understandable; but, annoying and frustrating, to say the least...

 

That's exactly what I have learned to do, for now. My problem is the hilly area I live in. I find a comfortable freeway speed out of the buzz range, then hit a slight grade and the trans shifts from 6th to 5th and goes right back in the vibration range and I'm forced to change speed again....

As to the issue, I would at least report it. The more of us who say something, the faster the issue will be addressed/resolved. It is just a quick call to Toyota Customer Care and, if you have the time, would actually be helpful to all.

 

I know you feel as if they don't care and aren't doing anything, but without a tsb or any sort of course of action from Toyota, what would you expect them to do? They can't just start digging into things, as Toyota will not pay them to do it. Therefore the technician and dealership will be doing the work for free. Of course that isn't your problem, but that is why their hands are tied. This fix will have to come from the Toyota engineers.

 

I certainly understand, which is why I said that I understood. Still annoying and frustrating. I just hate politically correct neutrality; however, I certainly understand why they have to take that stance.

As to them digging into things, it is my understanding, directly from the Service Manager, that when one of these problems comes up and a dealer finds the solution, the Tech who figures it out gets a major spiff from Toyota Corporate. Now, like you, I don't expect the tech to work on this issue and not make any money while he does it (I slipped the Master Tech who worked on it for a few hours a nice gift certificate since I knew he wasn't making any money checking my issue out...); however, when the Service Manager throws me the BS about how they can spend time working on it since Toyota will spiff them for finding the solution, I knew he was just trying to assuage my concerns and trying to give me hope where, in reality, it is up to me to truly complain and properly document the issue (their documentation of my complaint was just poor and left out waaaaay too much information) and up to me to fight this, and up to Toyota engineers to find and fix the issue. I'd rather he have been honest with me and just said what you said: "It is up to you and Toyota and there is nothing we can do." I'm not stupid so don't try to send me home thinking otherwise. Some people don't like the truth or the reality of the situation (they don't make money helping out in a situation like this...). I do.

 

Yeah it's a tough situation for all involved. The tech would have to try to figure out what the problem is with no leads. Have you considered visiting a different dealership with your problem?

 

Naaaaah. I figure that Toyota knows all about this, now, and is at least looking at it seriously. Another dealer wouldn't want to waste their time on it and, to be honest, it is not fair to have a mechanic spend any time on something that they will make no money on. The Master Mechanic who did check it out is quite experienced (30+ years) and I trust his analysis. He has already said that, as soon as a TSB is issued, he wants to be the one to apply the fix.

I just filled out the forms to allow Toyota to access all of the black box records, etc. on the truck. It's on corporate, now.

 

So does the dealership still have your truck or are you driving it still?

 

I still have the truck. For now I have no long trips and it is fine for local driving.

Add: Just got a call from Toyota and an engineer will be contacting me to come to Flagstaff to download my 'Black Boxes' and ride and drive with me to experience the described vibration issue. They must be taking this seriously since they are sending someone to Flagstaff....

 

I've owned several Toyota vehicles, my '16 being the second Tacoma. I've never had an issue with any of them like what you are. I've seen interesting problems come through the service department, like a '12 4Runner, 29k miles and one of the worst transmission slips I've ever seen. The fluid was low, but there were no visible leaks. Topped off fluid and it was good for a couple weeks then it started doing it again. Fluid was again low, but still no leaks. While in contact with a Toyota engineer, I used our Toyota scan tool to do some data logging of transmission parameters while driving around.
After sending that to them, our FTS (field technical specialist) came out and checked it out with me, and brought a regional driveline specialist with him. We got to the source of the problem fairly quickly at that point.
I guess the moral of the story is, from what I've witnessed, Toyota is pretty good at standing behind their product and pretty good at trying to get issues resolved, so hang in there. Sucks your dealership staff, aside from the tech, doesn't seem to be too sympathetic to your cause.

 

Toyota has been VERY responsive and I can't complain about their response at all. If my bringing this up and shouting it out louder than some brings a solution to the problem for me and others, I will be quite happy. My disappointment is still in the R&D that was done, as I am surprised that this vehicle was ever let out of the gate with these issues, even if only 25% of the vehicles have the problem. Toyota has been better than that in the past...some accuse them of making somewhat boring vehicles; however, they have always been bullet-proof reliable with no issues, for the most part. Maybe they have just gotten too big? Hard to say.

 

I have a case w/ Toyota on this issue, and they obviously pushed me to bring it to the dealer. I have not had the time to do this.

Hopefully Toyota is linking the cases.

 

Glad to hear you let them know. Taking it to the dealer would only re-affirm the issue as the dealer can't do much of anything until they find a fix. I'd bring it up when you take it in for the 5K service and it will create another case number, this one a dealer case. The more they get these, the faster they will find a fix. My dealer checked the balance on the tires, etc. Took an extra 5 hours for them to confirm what I already knew: No easy fix on their end.

The CSR who is handling my case commented that she saw the dealer case that I had created. I was actually able to add to that case, since the dealer only gave a brief description of the problem and left much of the issue out of their report (like how the vibration caused numbing in my hands on a long freeway trip). She also inferred that there were several other cases like ours; however, she was very careful in her words.

I just read in today's USA Today that Toyota dealers have a less than 10-day supply of Tacoma's on their lots, so they are selling well. We can hope that Toyota does not wish this sales success to crash and will follow through with a fix, sooner than later.

 

Doobiewah can you post a description of the easiest way to detect this vibration? Can you manually shift it into 3rd or 4th gear? Or how is the best way to get it into this RPM range?

 

No interstate driving today, but was late for an appointment, so was driving a little faster than normal. I don't know if it was I was extra sensitive or if the issue is getting worse for my truck, but I felt it pretty much the entire ride. I'll definitely get a case opened once I figure out how, lol. I really hate wasting my life away at a dealer when they can't fix it though. Such a time suck!

 

I think the best way is to get on an interstate and get up to 75+. If you don't feel a vibration through the steering wheel / floor / pedal, then you are ok. You can feel it faintly when accelerating or normal driving, but it is easy to overlook. When it is held more constant in that rpm range, it gets to be quite annoying... and, as Doobiewah said, can make you start to feel numb.

 

busticator is right in his comment...and, you can put it in manual mode and put it in the 'buzzy vibration' RPM range, which is 2100-2200ish RPM. On the freeway, it can be really detectable and bad; as, it can be held for a long time pretty much at the speeds that I drive....that was my original discovery as my lower hands/arms went partially numb driving to Las Vegas from Flagstaff. I tested it extensively on some lonely rural roads outside of Flagstaff on the Navajo reservation where you can do this kind of thing without pissing off other drivers. On the rolling hills it becomes quite noticeable in even the lower gears, especially when there is even a slight load on the transmission, like when going up a slight rolling grade. There is also a slight uphill of about 1/3 of a mile just before turning to get to my house that I can find it to remind me that it is still there, every time I go home. I've been driving exclusively in-town for the last 10 days and I keep hoping that maybe the truck has grown out of it since it is hard to notice it in those driving conditions...unfortunately, reality sets in when I intentionally switch to manual mode and check...it's still there. Until Toyota can fix this, I won't be driving the truck on any long trips.

 

I talked to a dealer today and mentioned the vibration problem. This is what he said. You are correct that the some of the 4WD Tacoma's have a vibration when de-accelerating from 60mph to about 50mph. They are currently testing every Tacoma before leaving the factory and if they have the issue, they are not shipping them until they find the remedy.