TRD Air Filter - Engine knocking Tacoma 2016+

Hi Everyone!.

Something weird is happening to my Taco, and i like to know if some of you noticed something similar.

I own a 2017 TRD Sport 4x4, before that was a 2016 same trim.

Third gen Tacoma's are known for the engine knocking sound, no the engine thinking noise while the engine is idle, but an actually knocking like when a poor gas or a sparkplug misfire.

Toyota says this is normal and you will ear it once in a while, i have read several forums and apparently that is because the two cycle engine that Tacoma's have (OTTO and Atkinson) and that normally happens when cursing at low speed and trying to gain speed.

So i accepted that in my head because Toyota says is normal, but recently i have noticed more and more and louder and its driving me crazy, so i went to the dealer to check on that, and to be honest they don't have a clue or care about anything, their favorite words are "that's normal"

Anyway last week i decided to clean my TRD engine air filter and since i have to wash it and let it air dry i went to AutoZone to buy a cheap paper air filter to use it while my main trd filter is drying, and magically knocking sounds went away, i use it for few days and no knocking, yesterday i oiled my trd filter and put it back, and knocking start over again.

Idk if my trd filter is "NO bueno" or more air to the intake is causing my knocking..

What's is your take on that?

By the way, using only 92 premium gas.

 

Dude, paper filters are 10x better than those crappy kinds that take oil to clean.

100% fight me if you disagree jk.

They let too much into your engine. Not air, particles - meaning crap that doesn't belong in your engine. Its been tested all over youtube most notably on ProjectFarm.

Those filters suck. Throw that crap in the trash and put that paper filter back in. Your engine does not need those style "performance" filters. Even the best CAI use dry filters. Obviously, if you open the airflow up, it's gonna perform better - to a point then it runs lean and shuts off. Opening the airways up also lets crap inside your engine, again, obviously.

But this odd "knocking" or what feels like plug chug will hopefully be solved with a tune and I have gears going in too. I have just over 1k miles on my '22, and I notice it, so you are not alone. But paper filters are for sure better for your engine and it's clear your truck prefers them. The performance you get out of those filters is not worth the cost of an engine. You'd be better off investing in coils, better plugs, putting higher octane fuel in, etc etc... but most notably and especially if you are doing the aforementioned, a tune. You already invest in higher octane fuel, but maybe that's also got something to do with it? Have you tried lower octane? Higher octane? Fuel additives to clean injectors? A foam spray and spa treatment (heat soak)? Honestly, investing in the higher octane gas really isn't worth it unless you have a tune that requires it for timing. You can spend $10 every 6 months on a cleaner and soaker and actually get better results than if you just use higher octane gas the entire life of an engine.

Plenty of people on here with tunes, I am sure they have some valuable input if it's solved the sluggishness

 

All i can say is my truck still has the oem paper filter. As far as any knocking, yeah there are faint mechanical noises similar what a diesel sounds like if you open the hood and listen, especially on the passenger side. As for fuel, 87 works best in my truck, anything else higher in octane is wasting money.

 

Those K&N TRD type oiled filters didn't go well with my tundra fouling the MAF sensor a number of times till i replaced it with a wix paper air filter.

 

That is just the lifters and followers doing their thing. I've had a 5.4L Triton before, and this engine sounds whisper quiet compared to the top end on that engine. But yea, still noticeable and sometimes at idle you might associate it with a diesel engine lol.

And I agree, anything higher than 87 is a waste. Not worth it unless it's tuned specifically for higher grade octane. A fuel cleaner every now and then is for sure a better investment.

 

I noticed this issue as well, The good news that I noticed when I cleaned the throttle body and switched gas brands the ''knocking noise'' seems to come by less. But truth be told that's what these engines sound like. crappy but hopefully ill get over 200k.

I switched from shell 89 to chevron 91 ( I live in SoCal) .

 

I have TRD filter. No knocking and I would not directly link a filter to the engine knocking.
The only way to know the root of the problem is to get monitoring app and set to monitor fuel trims, afr, knock, etc.

 

Exactly, I have been using K&N oil type on every single vehicle for more than 30 years...guess what, no issues!, don't over oil the filter!
Car manufacturers go the paper filter way due to cost, nothing else.

 

Knock at idle or under load?