40 MPH Vibration

Very common. Loads of threads on the 4Runner and Tacoma sites. The fix seems to work for about 95% of everyone.

 

tapping my breaks doesn't seem to make any difference. Also I don not feel the vibration in the steering wheel at all the whole time.

 

Which fix are you referring to?

 

This is a good thread. About two weeks ago I started to notice this issue. Slight to not so slight vibration at about 1200 rpm at about 42 mph and ONLY in 5th on a very slight incline or very light acceleration. If I pull it down to 4th or slide it into neutral, it instantly goes away. My truck only has 59,000 miles on it, it's a 2014. Had it since 32,000 miles and never noticed this before. Put 2018 Wheels and Tires on it at roughly 40,000 miles. I am sure they could use a good balancing but the tires actually feel really smooth and are wearing perfectly.
I stopped by my local Toyota dealer and they were a little stumped by what I was describing. I have an appointment with them this Saturday to go for a ride with a Master Tech. I can duplicate it about half of the time so I will just see if I can make it vibrate while he is in the truck and go from there.

 

Ok guys I’ve got a 2013 with the 40mph rumble. Gonna be long winded here. I Noticed it right after I got new tires from GoodYear but figured it was just because I was driving daily on a road that had the grooves in center double yellow line and ignored it for a while. The odd thing is seemed that if crown of road was on left that tire seemed to rumble then reverse. I went to another GoodYear place and took a test drive with the guy. His take (which tied into some of these comments) was tranny related given that it happens when you give it a little gas at 40mph and rumble disappears when you take foot off pedal. Maybe it shifts up into 5th and at low rpm causes rumble. Anyway trucks got 68k miles and I’ve never done a thing to it and might need a tune up. But WTF didn’t feel like doing it yet. But here’s the thing I filled it up with Premium Gas. And it’s gone. All fixed.

 

OK.... you guys are gonna think I'm flippin' nuts. I stumbled on this thread last week and I have had this problem, at 40 MPH on the nose, for almost a year. I didn't really care. Its only at 40. And, the guy on this thread that said if you drop into 4rth it goes away, I tried that and it does in fact work for whatever that's worth.

Soooo. On Saturday, despite what I said in a previous post elsewhere that I was going to do it that week, I said it several weeks ago, I finally started on the task of PB Blasting the drain/fill plugs on the front differential and xfer case. And that little box that engages the 4WD that I know about because I learned it here, that has the bad contacts in it and needs a drop of solder on each wire inside. But Saturday I was basically up under there to change the oil and figured I'd spray some PB. (I still stink)

This is the part I want to share. The xfer case, that bracket or whatever you call it that holds it underneath, there was a large stone wedged between it and the xfer case. I mean it was in there tight. I saw it and couldn't get it out without a long flathead and a damn hammer. I got it out and now, for the last 3 days.... no "rumble strip" at 40.

Somebody here jokingly mentioned harmonic (resonating) frequency. I'll tell ya what... that for real might be the case... because the truck runs smooth as all get out now thru 40. I mean its funny it happens for all you folks at 40. Resonating frequency is a real thing. Every object has one. Someone in this thread mentioned a bad rubber part.. I assume that's a vibration damper... it would do the same thing really if it was bad. Its just weird that 40 MPH is so consistent. So check that. Maybe you hardcore wheelers have some stuff pinching that case and its riding solid on that cross-member essentially where the rear driveshaft heads back when it should be isolated and dampened. I dunno... but so far so good. The bitch is running smooth. Knock on wood huh. And until someone proves me wrong with a super-computer... I'm gonna assign a resonating frequency to Tacoma's, at least like ours in this thread, of 40 MPH.
Not that anyone gives a f lol.
But check that bracket if you get this problem.

 

Balance issue in front tires. Maybe weights fell off, thats happens often. Also if you had your tires rotated recently thats when people notice vibrations as well. Sounds 100% like a wheel balace and or a bent front rim.

 

No, this problem is consistent thruout this thread. These guys know all that, wheel balance has been around as long as I have and then some lol. It (tires) manifests itself at 60ish for the most part anyway, and this vibration is not a shimmy. Its like a "rumble-strip". A very fine rumble-strip. You can feel it in your ass.

 

My tire balance issues were a vibration from 40-60, then was smooth past 60 just for reference.

 

I can now verify this and totally agree with you. I can now verify this and totally agree with you. My 2012 is doing the same damn thing, between 40-50 its a bad vibration, feels like the torque converter. Also usually only in 5th gear. Havent tried in 4wd yet though. Ugggh, pain in the ass.

 

My 2015 Tacoma Access Cab 4.0L 4by4 with approx. 58K miles recently started vibrating under slight throttle and slight incline. Kicks in at 38-40 MPH. I don't off road with it so I don't think it's a rock stuck in a cross member. It feels like torque converter shudder. Just started looking into it.
I have replace the converters on GM trucks in the past to fix this issue. Maybe call Toyota Customer Assistance and see if they will help.

 

So did anyone ever figure out the cure for rumble strip.... I have a 2009 that does it at 30-40mph. Bought it used a month ago. Dealership says I need to start out in 4th and shift up to 5th around 45
HMMMMM I thought I was buying an "automatic"...

 

I did not figure it out. I put in a transmission kit that Gearcruncher recommended but it did not do the trick. It's a pain but I drop it down to 4th gear when I am around the 40 mph speed for an extended period of time.

 

I am having similar issues, I do have a 3 inch lift and I have been reading that I should be running carrier bearing spacer to level out the driveline and that should help with vibrations. I just started having this issue after having my rear wheel lock up on me for an unknown reason, It feel like the drum might be warped or something because I can feel some resistance at times especially when going slow. It was so bad the other day on the highway I almost pulled over because I was bouncing so bad, the weird thing is that it just started doing it and coming to a stop a couple times.

 

Driver side wheel bearing/bushing. Replace with ECGS bushing. East Coast Gear Supply. Just did mine truck drives like new. When the vibration starts put it in 4h and see if it goes away.