2015 Tacoma Oil Pump Noise/Replacement

So here's the story about my beloved 2015 Toyota Tacoma.

I started hearing an intermittent whining from the engine area while driving, early on this February. The pitch was directly proportional to engine speed but was randomly coming and going. I checked all fluids and everything was perfect so just shrugged it off because it was so quiet. Over the course of a few days it got much louder so I called my friend who's a service advisor at the dealership where I bought my truck here in NY. He got me an appointment with a complimentary loaner car and I dropped it off Saturday February 4th. Thinking it was something minor like a pulley making noise I figured I would get it back the same day. He calls me mid that day and says we are going to have to hold the car until Monday because they are having difficulty finding out what the noise is. I said okay that's fine thanks for the call and went on my way.

Now here's where I start to get concerned. On Monday he says they have to put in a case to Toyota to see what is wrong with the car. They hear back right away and by Tuesday he tells me they have to replace the oil pump and lower timing case cover!

I went that Thursday to check it out and boy oh boy, that technician had that motor torn down completely to where it was just the bare cylinder head and block! He showed me where the oil pump was rubbing on the inside of the lower timing case cover and I could definitely see how it was making that noise. I think to myself, how could this happen to a truck with only 18,000 miles?! I did a lot of research for my first new truck purchase and chose the Tacoma because it is so robust and reliable. I have lost faith in the truck because of this issue!

As a former BMW technician and still a recreational mechanic and tinkerer, I know things are never the same when you take them completely apart like this because of a major issue. The metal that was being scrapped off the timing case cover was probably circulating throughout the whole engine and having everything torn apart and put back together could have long term effects. I bought this truck to keep a minimum of 10 years and this has got me really concerned.

I called Toyota customer care to 1. start a case about the situation because I'm worried about this truck long term and 2. tell them how great my dealer has been to me throughout this situation.

As of today 2/14 I heard they are half way through repair but are waiting on more parts to come in from their warehouse in California, and I am also waiting for the customer service case manager from Toyota to give me a call back which should be by the end of the day.

Has anyone dealt with Toyota customer service before or had a major issue like this so early on? I will continue to update the thread as it progresses.

 

You should settle for no less than a new longblock. Period.

 

YotaDriver631,
Very sorry to hear of your troubles with your engine. Unfortunately, oil pump problems seem to be somewhat common in recent year V6 Tacomas. See this thread https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/13-v6-4500-miles-and-my-motor-may-be-shot.317054/ for the history. In this thread, you will see that it sounded like the problem affected mostly 2013 and 2014 V6 Tacomas. In nearly all cases, the problem manifested itself on cold starts as a combination whining/ticking noise.

I have a 2015 V6 Tacoma as well, and recently started noticing the very same noise at about 25K miles. Same scenario as the referenced thread - I noticed the noise on cold start, and it would disappear as the engine warmed up. I could never hear any noise during driving.

What I find interesting about your thread is that you noticed your noise while driving. Did you notice any noise at startup?

In my case, I have been routinely been having oil samples analyzed regularly since the vehicle was new. My last sample was at 20K miles, and it was normal. I will see how it looks when I take another sample at 30K. If that analysis is normal, I may not do anything else, as my noise seems to be pretty minor.

Did you notice your noise at startup, or only while driving?

 

Toyota is refunding me what I spent on previous the extended warranty and giving me a transferable 8 year 100,000 mile platinum warranty. Picking up truck tomorrow..

 

So,what did they "fix"?

 

Replaced lower timing case cover and oil pump.

 

YotaDriver631,

Do you know if they have to pull the engine out to replace the lower timing case cover and oil pump, or can it be done with the engine in the vehicle?

 

And you were good with that? I don't even see how the pump rubbed on the cover in the first place.