2015 DoubleCab Longbed Vibration Issue

New member here trying to navigate an issue with our truck and Toyota dealer.

Long story I'm going to try to make short. My wife and I purchased a certified 2015 Double Cab Longbed with just over 30k miles in Sept. of 2018 to replace our 08 standard cab manual trans gem. We have a 5.5 month old daughter so the standard can was not going to work for us...

Anyway, the day we drove it home from the dealer, I immediately noticed a wobble/vibration between 40-50 mph which is most prominent when the transmission is in a higher gear and rpms are about 15-1800. Took it back to the dealer and they suspected a tire balance issue but re balancing the tires didn't fix it. Had the winter tires put on by our local mechanic and had them drive it and they suggested having toyota look at it again. So, took it for a drive with a service tech with me driving so I could re-create the symptom and he was certain there was some issue. He suspected the e-brake cable was not adjusted correctly and/or the rear brakes were hanging up. He pointed out a subtle shutter when braking hard which I then noticed.

Had the truck back in to dealer for the rear brake adjustment. Drove it home and noticed the wobble was still there as was the shutter when braking hard... At this point I was getting pretty frustrated with the dealer so I spoke with the service manager I had been dealing with again and suggested they take the truck back and figure it out. The truck had also been hit and needed body work so the body shop did what they needed to do and then gave it to service. They were able to sort out the brake issue it seems as the shutter is no longer there, but the wobble/vibration is still there. Service informed me that they now feel that this is just an inherent characteristic with these 2015 trucks and that there is nothing they can do. They also informed me that one of the rims is bent but it will still balance out... Supposedly they had another truck with this issue and they replaced the tranny and other drive train parts and weren't able to repair it.

So, I got back in touch with the salesman that sold us the truck and said what gives? A $30k truck with a wobble at 40-50mph and you never mentioned this was an inherent characteristic of the truck before we bought it? If it were a ford or chevy that would be one thing...

Here's where we're currently at with the dealer. Service is done diagnosing it and stand by their claim that this is just a characteristic of these trucks. They claim the wobble appears in overdrive when in reality it appears at 1500-2000rpms. Perhaps the tranny is in overdrive at low rpms....? I don't know enough about these auto trannys and the salesman couldn't really explain what overdrive really is or does...

The dealer is willing to get us into another truck, though I don't get the sense they are willing to give us any kind of deal. My main concern with this truck is that there is some issue lurking that will become a safety issue or a major expense once the warranty is up. They are also willing to get toyota to sign off on their claim that the truck is 100% ok and this is normal, though I'm not sure this will help us if there is some lurking issue.

So, is anyone else, besides my toyota dealer, aware that these trucks wobble at 40-50 mph at 1500-2000 rpms? Is my dealer just clueless? How would others handle this with toyota given the truck is under warranty? Should I just accept this is something this truck just does, or is it time to get aggressive with the dealer?

 

I also have a 2015 Tacoma V6 automatic with a similar vibration issue. I just bought it used with 42k. To date I've had the tires rebalanced, replaced the shock absorbers (Bilstein 5100's), aligned steering, and I still have that flutter at 45 mph. I have not looked at rpm, but now I will. My next step is to examine the drive shafts to see if anything there looks off (improperly reassembled?). Perhaps a dial indicator used to measure all of the rotating parts in the drive train will reveal something out of spec. Assuming there is no wheel out of round, there should be a way to balance this issue. But I need to identify where it is. I have not broached this issue with local dealer (bought out of state). I did just notice that another Taco in my area with same year and mileage was up for sale. Hmmmm. There is a lot of info on this Tacoma vibration issue on the Internet, for example this Youtube, which will be my next move.

 

I have a 14 dclb, which is basically the same thing as a 15, and have no wobbles/vibrations. I'd dump it. There's a reason the previous owner got rid of it so early. Life is too short to deal with that shit. Get rid of it and move on.

 

Lotta info here if you research it, from driveline misalignment, u-joint TSB's, premature carrier bearing failure, transmission mount retrofits in earlier trucks, torque converter shudders, the list goes on and on and even 3rd gen Tacomas are susceptible. Your dealer is halfway right that it's an inherent characteristic of SOME not all of these trucks, but, to my understanding, either your truck shudders or it doesn't. Either way, with enough diligent hunting, it can be fixed. Late model 2nd gen Tacomas are prized vehicles and their resale value reflects this. Aside from being a little rough around the edges here and there, they're tough trucks and yours should be trouble free for a long time even with a drivetrain shudder. I'm crazy about squeaks and rattles but feel this is not worth losing sleep over and definitely not worth getting rid of the truck.

 

2015 DCSB never had any issues as described. I get some takeoff shudder at 20 mph but that’s a different animal caused by my rear lift. I disagree with the dealer that it’s just a “2015” issue.

 

So the saga continues.... after the dealer told me that the shudder is normal, I requested that they let me take another drive with the shop foreman so that we could confirm that he was experiencing the shudder I am and they obliged. I show up to the dealer and the same shop foreman that drove with me a few months earlier hops in, looks at me and remembers our previous drive and how he told me this was not a normal shudder.... So we drive it again and he once again tells me that he thinks it is not normal. Says it could be a number of things including a misfiring cylinder, torque converter, etc. and that he would make it his personal project to figure it out. We dropped it back off for two days and they gave us a loaner. We pick up the truck and they tell me that they verified that it is normal by driving another truck which apparently had the same shudder. So, I'm like well what if the other truck has the same issue? They're like, that is possible... ok?

Long story short, several phone calls with the salesman that sold us the truck and a call with the general manager of the dealer who blows all sorts of smoke up my a$$ and tells me he's going to look into it and then get back to me with a proposal as to how make it right. I did of course mention that we are shopping for another car and that at this point, while we would like to consider Toyota and their dealership, we're not too sure about it... He tells me he'll get back to me asap and I have not heard a peep. I even called and left him a voicemail. It was two weeks ago that we spoke...

I'm certainly considering this. Part of me thinks we should demand our money back and then go buy a different truck at a different dealer after extensive test driving. The issue is we need a truck and I have many hours of time invested in this one. It was not easy to find a dclb (which we need)...

I have indeed been looking into this and driveline vibrations seem to be common with Tacomas. Besides tire balancing and fixing the rear brakes, the dealer has not really done anything else to diagnose the issue. I can't even get them to explain, given this is normal, what might be causing it. If it were a subtle thing I could probably live with it but at times it can be quite pronounced and just seems like something is not right. Certainly not what I expected from a Toyota...