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

How are you getting your truck to Tahiti?

 

HEy @smitty99 Congrats good luck with the new wife and have fun wheeling in Tahiti...

 

Congrats! Have a great honeymoon, and hope you get your truck's issues solved very soon.

 

Update -

Transfer case replaced today IAW diagnosis/corrective action.

The whine is still present under exactly the same conditions as before the swap (feathering throttle at 90-100Km/h). Pitch/volume also remain the same.

The new T-case seems to work normally, so good news there. I did pick up a bit of an unwanted bonus though, as the infamous buzz vibration under load seems to have increased in strength (shifter/gas pedal). I'm no mechanic, but a quick look under the truck tells me they would have to drop the exhaust to get the T-Case out - and disturbing said exhaust may have messed with the vibe. This part is conjecture of course, but there were new "looking" studs in the flanges on both sides just below the cats.

There are a few of you who think this whine is a non-issue, and I wish you the best of luck. I like my Tacoma, but in MY OPINION this is just unacceptable from an engineering/QA/QC standpoint (and these rigs aren't cheap).

At the very least, I hope my experience thus far will add data to Toyota's knowledge base on the issue.

Frank

 

Let us know what they intend to do now .

 

Yep, will do.

I didn't hear the whine until my trip home from work today, but I'll be heading back to the dealer very soon. They are literally a 5 min walk from my workplace.

It's going to be interesting, as they wrote on the invoice that the noise was gone after the swap or something to that effect.

Putting on my diplomat hat....

Frank

 

Thanks for the update. Did they replace the carrier bearing?

 

Good afternoon Ed;

No, just the transfer case this time around. It seems the troubleshooting process at these dealerships (while under warranty at least) is a one shot/full stop/see if the customer complains again process. Or maybe my perception of the process is just clouded by my disappointment in it (since the whine is sooo obviously still there). I do realize they just don't have a shelf full of hot swaps to diagnose with, that would not be cost effective.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the techs on the shop floor (do you hear me, Aussie?). I truly believe their hands are tied by Toyota corporate in cases such as these.

Frank

 

This has been my experience, they seem to avoid working on more than one issue at once. In my case they wouldn't perform the transmission TSB while they had the truck for the differential replacement. I guess they figured both issues could be related, who knows.

Good luck with your diff. Hopefully you have a different outcome than the rest of us. The typical routine seems to be:

1) complain - get told it's normal
2) complain - get told it's normal by field rep
3) complain - get replacement authorized by Toyota
4) receive new diff which "doesn't make any noise as confirmed by our tech" - drive off the lot while listening to your new diff howl
5) complain - get told it's normal and receive an extended warranty to get you to go away

Did I miss any steps, guys?

The good news is that once it's documented as being normal, you'll have some good support to fall back on if an issue ever comes up, so you can drive it (mostly) worry free!

 

Read end howling?? Totally normal

 

Just brought my truck to my local dealer last week for 5k service and to address the 55mph rear diff whine. Was told that this obnoxious noise was "normal" for these trucks and that there was nothing they could do for me. Since many others have had full diff replacement and still have this issue doesn't seem like there are many options for a sure-thing fix.

I opened a case with Toyota today. I'll post updated if/when I get anywhere.

 

Welcome to the club.

 

Sucks for you guys, though my new diff still howls from 50-55 mph range, at least I got hooked up with the warranty from Toyota CS.

 

I just put new tires on 265/70/17 and I don't hear that rear diff howling sound. I know it is still there. Before I put my new tires on I had the dealership document the rear diff sound.

 

Has anyone found the root cause of this yet? I can hear mine getting louder between 40-55 mph. I only have 2800 miles on a very lightly, on road driven driven, TRDOR. I broke in the gears over a 100 mile gentle ride, ranging from low speeds to 60mph. I changed the diff fluid with Toyota's costly fluid at 1000 miles.

 

I passed the 5,300 mile mark. The whining noise has not gotten any worse.

 

I passed 10000 miles whining is still extremely annoying. I really hope they find a fix for this soon.

 

Is it any louder than when your Tacoma had 1,000 miles on it?

 

I heard the wine again...after a replace its still in there somewhere. Around 1500 to 1800km on new diff