3rd Gen Poll: Rear End Noise howling when feathering throttle

Does anyone have a video of this noise?

 

Update:

I dropped the truck off yesterday afternoon with an appointment first thing this morning. They put me in a loaner. Camry.

Get a call today and they're going to hold onto my truck another day because after the differential replacement they still had a slight howl. So apparently someone from Toyota is coming out to check it out tomorrow.

We'll see. Hopefully not "Its normal".

 

If dealer says slight howl, it's probably as bad or worse than it was.

 

Update:

New diff. Same noise. But instead of waiting 2k miles for it I get it at 0k miles.

Might almost be louder.

Apparently it's standard with the long bed. Fuckin' toyota.

It's documented now and my service rep was cool about it. Assured me that it'll be taken care of "if it gets louder". Time to call corporate and open a case though.

Still like my truck but this is a black eye for me.

 

My Tacoma has over 12,000 miles on it and the volume of the noise the rear differential makes has not changed. If I am applying steady throttle between 55 and 65 mph I can hear the howling, which sounds a bit more like whining to me.

If the noise got progressively worse, I would suspect improper ring to pinion backlash or improper pinion bearing preload. Has anyone taken their truck to a shop that specializes in differential repair and asked the opinion of a mechanic who understands differentials?

 

That is the same exact thing that happened to me. Replaced diff still howls so to get out of it being a warranty issue with no solution, Toyota engineering deemed it normal and to let them know if it got way louder or broke (seriously). Apparently, and I kid you not, being able to hear the woooooooo when your radio is on at 20+ volume is a normal noise level. So yeah Toyota, thanks for the extended warranty, it will work out great for fixing "normal" issues. Sure it hasn't gotten much louder, but it doesn't mean it isn't unacceptable. Plus now, 12k miles later it doesn't just happen at 59 mph, i heard it yesterday all the way up to 80 mph (but at a lower volume level, so still within the "acceptable" noise range).

Icing on the cake too, I'm pissed off about the noise a few days ago and then I look at my hood and see it fluttering. Pop the hood when I get home and all of the adhesive joints directly above the engine are melted/destroyed.

It has turned into a fight with myself to not just walk into a dealership and take whatever they offer me for the truck.

 

I've been debating that for a while but I don't want to risk the warranty because frankly I don't have a lot of faith in other rear end components breaking down the road. I don't want them to say, "you messed with the diff so everything behind it is void" or "anything that touches the diff is void"

 

Doing some searching online on "Diff Whine 55 MPH" and ran across a Subaru forum noting rear end whine around 55-60 mph. From their thread it seemed that Subaru's fix was a dynamic damper added to the rear diff. Basically rubber weights bolted onto the differential to reduce (the whine.

Did a quick search and stumbled across a Ford Diff Damper.



Then I also found another variant for a mustang: http://www.speedconcepts.net/product_info.php?products_id=1143

So I wonder if this could be a viable solution?

 

That's an interesting idea but my gut feeling is that it wouldn't work for our situation.

That solution would be great if the issue was only a natural harmonic resonance but I don't think it is in our case. If it was purely resonance then the sound wouldn't ever change. Mine didn't howl at all in the beginning, started after 500 miles, has gotten much louder, and now happens between 50 and 75 mph.

For the sound to change like that, I believe that something is deteriorating inside the 3rd member. I'm not an expert but I suspect that the pinion bearing is wearing prematurely.

 

how would rubber weights reduce a whine?

 

Sound is caused by objects vibrating. You can add mass to reduce the amplitude so the sound is not as loud. Also since these are dynamic dampers, they themselves can vibrate at a different rate to essentially cancel out the sound.

The little dust shield plate for the rear locker, that thin plate rings if you tap it. I initially thought that could be resonating and causing some noise. I smeared black silicone sealer to the back of the plate and now it doesn't ring when tapped. Same principle. That didn't fix the diff noise thou.

 

Just did 5k service, they claim they couldn't hear a whine.

Ted

 

Well boys, I think I'm throwing in the towel. I'm starting to hear the noise all the way up to 80mph (fastest I drive) and it definitely didn't do this when they first replaced the diff. Combined with the odd power management and other small issues, I just can't see myself finishing paying off $30+k on this truck. I can have a much cheaper older vehicle and deal with the repairs and not feel guilty about it.

It will be a little bit of time before I successfully find a new 4x4 vehicle with a manual transmission, but if no fix comes out before then (not hopeful), then I wish you all the best! Good luck with getting this one fixed.

 

Good luck to ya. I traded mine for a 4Runner, couldn't be happier with a vehicle.

 

I hate to hear this but honestly I'm not far behind. My truck has been great EXCEPT for this stupid noisy rear diff. My wife and I took the truck tonight for our date night dinner and the howling was so loud until dinner was ruined before I got there. These trucks are not cheap and shouldn't do this and I'm tired of getting irritated every time I drive it. I have been waiting on Toyota to get a fix so to their credit I haven't had mine worked on yet for this. I will give them one try, maybe two because I love this truck, but that is it. My mind is made up that the truck will be on a short leash.

 

Guess we're not the only ones with a diff whine. It seems at least GM can fix their whine.

http://coloradofans.com/forums/185-...cal-discussion/233041-drivetrain-whine-5.html

 

Thanks for that link! There are guys on here saying it is the ring and pinion too. There are also guys on here, like the Colorado forum, that have had theirs replaced only to see it come back. Geez, I just wish a real fix would come out for this issue so it would remain fixed. I hear a slight howling from my 2016 GMC Yukon at about 55mph too. It is not as loud as the howl in the Taco but it's there. These are the first two new cars in my life where I ave has this issue and it sucks!

 

Like I've said before, I would actually be somewhat OK with it if Toyota acknowledged the issue and said they were working on a fix. Instead they sent my video recordings to the engineering department and they came back and said the noise level is normal and acceptable. I posted the videos a few pages back (1st differential and 2nd differential), the phone didn't pick up the noise intensity as well as it should have but you can definitely hear it. Driving around, it is loud enough to hear with the radio on at a volume of 20+ (when the radio volume isn't cutting in and out). Normal? Maybe for the new Tacoma, but I have yet to drive in another vehicle with a "normal" howling differential, and I am damn sensitive to this noise now. I don't know what the root cause is. I had a pinion bearing go out in my last truck, it howled and whirred but under all throttle conditions and got worse really fast.

Just like you, I'm starting to get irritated every time I jump in the truck and need to get on the highway. A cooler morning usually starts with the passenger dash rattling until I jump on the highway. Mashing the creaky wooden floorboard clutch a few times quickly gets me up to speed, but there is traffic so I slow down to 50-60 and lightly keep on the throttle "woooooooooooooooooooo." Then I notice I'm in 5th/6th gear and oh what is that, 2100 RPM. Traffic picks up a bit so I hit the throttle and my steering wheel/floor vibrates like a cell phone until i get out of that 2100-2300 RPM range. Thirty minutes later I pull into work, already pissed off before I've even seen anyone.

 

Has anyone had their rear reworked on their own and had it fix the issue? I'm very close to going down this path. But would like to know if anyone has had some success with this before being the guinea pig. My service manager tells me Toyota has a fix coming but that was 2 months ago and I'm not seeing anyone here with any definitive info about a solution?

 

I would be interested in this option too. I'm sitting back and waiting and hoping this gets resolved but so far there seems to be mixed results. I might just replace mine on my own unless I get ticked and unload it.