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

Got mine back from the dealer today after it's 5K service. I talked with the service manager before they took it and told them about the howling and they said they would take a look at it. When I went to pick it up they fed me a line of BS about the '2017's being noisier than any other previous Tacomas and that it is completely normal'...

They drained the diff, refilled it and the noise is, not surprisingly, still there.
Tempted to drain the diff, drive it around until it makes a terrible racket, refill and try again at my 10K service.

 

See here. Don't mind my friend from facebook below.

 

And again, if they refuse to issue a work order, literally take a selfie with them at the dealer and document when you were there. GM tried this on me and I took photos and sent emails following up over my “service visit”. If they refuse to issue a work order and refuse to help it could still be determined to be a failed attempt. I will say that I have not had a Toyota dealer try this with me yet and hope this is not the case. If it comes down to it that ECGS $800 solution looks tempting.

 

I already got two lawyers interested in my case. The hard part is demonstrating my howl or whine from a cell phone video. I'll have to go in person.

The dealership is a waste of time along with corporate.

 

Depending on your state’s Lemon Law these cases are not terribly hard unless Toyota decides to fight back. They fight back quite well and tend to dig in more than any manufacturer I have seen and they don’t mind fighting a case they know is a loser to make a point or for the greater corporate good. For most manufacturers, if they think they will lose they will try to trade assist with you to keep it from being categorized as a Lemon. I have too much going on at work with my own caseload so I’m to the point where I’d likely pay the money for the ECGS replacement and move on with my life. I have had zero other issues with my truck and can honestly say there is nothing else out there that I like better. Best of luck to you with whatever you decide.

 

I literally wouldn't be able to afford to install a EGS rear end. My truck is financed through Toyota financial. The dealership I bought it from claims they " cannot talk to me" which is bs. They even said to lemon law it. Or " we didn't make the truck".

I asked for a trade in and they just refused. They're actually upset me because I filed a case against them with corporate. The dealership refuses to pay Toyota financial for the truck. I even got sent to collections. Can't make this stuff up. I was never past due. But this is from my first truck. They swapped me out with another TRD OR 4x4 that also developed a howling diff. So truck number 2 is just as bad as the first.

So for me lemon law makes the most sense and is the best pay back.

 

That sucks for sure. Hang in there and best of luck.

 

Just ordered Assembled 3rd, ( Rear Diff) from ECGS,

Should have it in a couple weeks, will post results after install.

 

4.30? Isn’t that the factory gearing for a 6MT?

If this works, they will be selling A LOT of those. And with a 5 year warranty, worth it... surpasses the factory from new date of purchase.

 

I went with the 4.88 gearing

 

I may be wrong about this, but don't you have to regear front and rear when you do? or is yours a 4x2?

 

Berto, I didnt think of that. i will double check with ECGS.

INFO: has anyone changed the rear diff to 4.88 without changing the front/ transfer case gears ratio?

 

It'll work great until you wish to use 4WD . Yes, of course you must have both axles geared the same.

 

Thought Double Cab Longs Beds only come with an automatic. Out of curiosity, I looked at ECGS and see they only offer the 4.3 or 4.88, auto's have 3.9 gearing.

Edit: I assumed you had an OR with 8.75" rear. I see they offer the 8" with a 3.9 ratio for the TRD Sport.

 

4.88 rear Diff install, postponed. i spoke with ECGS, they recommended to wait for 6 months or so until they get more calls/ more data, to determine the cause of the howling we all are experiencing. they explained to me that I could have them build a new rear Diff, and it's possible I could still have the noise. Dont really know the exact cause yet. (Gears/ housing/ setup)

 

I'm really not sure, what gears are in my Tacoma 2017 double cab/ long bed/ TRD Off road/ 4x4, V6

all i know is i just want it fixed/ i guess i just wait alittle longer!

 

Your Taco has 3.909 gearing and an 8 inch ring. The Off-Roads have the 8.75 inch ring with the same ratio.

I have the same issue with my 2017 DCSB TRD-Off Road w/auto; glad to see ECGS jumping on-board. Straight up company!

I think ECGS will figure it out. Toyota doesn't want to be truthful/honest!

Sorry for the private e-mail, but I don't post.

Regards.

 

You need the front and rear diffs to be at the same gear ratio unless you want your front diff to be all for show lol, you would be taking mall crawling to a whole new dimension.

Or you can do the math and go with two different tire sizes front and rear

But seriously if you change the rear and don't change the front, it can (will) be an expensive mistake if you forget and engage 4wd.

 

I think I found our problem gents:

Hino motors USA. They make our differentials. The housing sticker says " Thailand"

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2017/RMISC-17V285-9745.pdf

 

Isn’t that for the rear differential recall wherein they will check your rear differential and retorque your bolts to specs? My truck was not on the recall.