Arbitration didn't go well..........

Got the same problem with 2 trucks that we own, started a year or better after we had both.
Can not stop the 45-55 hop and shake, replaced the tires and still have it, working with a tire shop to use higher tires pressure and deal with it.
I feel for the reason and how they treated me on both trucks with the rear brake problem putting me off to out of warranty on one and fighting on the other and no help other then to charge for service and align several times, these are the first and last toyota products I will own.
Wife loves her truck, just not dealing with toyota, the rear brake problem and rear spring problem, being pushed out of warranty then told they have a fix for it all but we need to pay not as it was covered under the 36k only.

 

I had numerous problems with a 2013 Taco, and finally, fed up, drove it to the dealer and traded it on a 2014. Took a pretty good hit, but since this is my 7th Toyota truck, I figured I would give Toyota one last chance at keeping me loyal to the brand. I have to admit, that most of my experience with newer Toyotas is underwhelming to say the least. The fit and finish is mediocre, the engine idles rough, the doors creak when rolling over rough terrain, the sound system and navigation is a complete joke. I'm not looking for luxury car performance from a truck, but having owned a lot of trucks in my life, this one isn't knocking me over with how much better it is than previous generations... in some ways, I'd say Toyota is going backwards.

Fingers are x'ed that this new 2014 doesn't start having problems like the 2013 did... time will tell. I do know that the wheels and tires that never could ride smooth on the 2013 - even after 7x balancing and 2x roadforce balancing - as soon as I pulled them off the 2013 and put them on the 2014 the ride was smooth as glass.

 

When you mentioned the "fix" was was finally available for your vehicle, but unfortunately it's not covered under warranty.. it got me thinking back to our arbitration hearing.

The representative from Toyota (Dirk Hammersmith) brought up the low speed shudder vibration and the TSB that was/does fix that issue, oops.. characteristic. But other characteristics, like the vibration some people feel at highway speeds may take months or years before the engineers make changes that effect/alter that characteristic, or it may just remain a characteristic. When he said that, I figured we might have a chance and the arbitrator would find the vehicle defective... not.

 

I have an 09 double cab 4x4 lb with absolutely no vibration. Its silky smooth from 0 to 90. If my truck is smooth and yours shudders, there is a defect in yours. Good luck proving that. Had a 76 olds that did that and it drove me nuts.

Kevin

 

This is 2014 not 1944. No modern vehicle should come off the lot with a vibration regardless of price. If it does its a defect and the manufacturer should fix it.

 

My 2010 had this issue from new and dealer said the same thing as OP! Had other issues of the 2 1/2 years I owned it but the accumulation of problems forced me to sell it and get something else. Haven't regretted it one day since!
I agree that if you pay a good $$$ for a truck, no modern vehicle should come off the lot with a defect like vibration they can't solve. They should be ashamed of themselves putting out a product they won't stand behind!

 

Not sure what advice to give you, except maybe check rims. Toyota is hub centric which means ones screwed up it will stay screwed up. If your vibes showed up suddenly maybe somebody screwed up when installing wheels.
Borrow steel wheels from somebody and try them on? Check the hub for something making wheel unbalanced?

 

OP, did you get it assessed by a qualified independent mechanic?

I think I've been following this thread from the start, but don't recall reading of a professional mechanical assessment asides from your dealership (and maybe a drive line place that didn't turn out so great). I'm just thinking that if you could come up with an explanation of what the problem is, it would probably much easier to prove your case.

Also, at the moment, it just seems like you might be blindly shooting in the dark, hoping to hit a solution to your problem. It's hard to fix a problem when you don't know exactly what's causing it.

Hope you can get this resolved somehow...

 

I have an 05 with 100k miles and haven't felt what you're describing ever. Maybe just a bad truck in general

 

It's been a big pain..

Thanks Kevin

 

BAMM!!! What he said.. X10

 

A different set tires were tried, as well as a different set of wheels and tires. Same vibration, same speeds

 

I actually did have a Toyota mechanic/technician from the selling dealer drive it and give me his honest opinion, wants to remain anonymous. He said it was a known issue and it is in the drive line. If there are enough complaints about the vibration, the dealer will balance the tires, re balance them, road force balance them and then maybe provide the customer with a different set of tires..but the problem remains. If the customer is still unhappy, Toyota sends their field service technician (John Holton) out with his EVA vibration diagnostic device. After he tests the vehicle, he then gives you a report stating any vibration you are feeling is within acceptable limits.

Which is exactly what happened to us.

Yeah, I am hoping this last "shot" works.. next one is re installing the original DS and get an Attorney.

Thanks..

 

And that's why I hate you!

Kidding!

Some people have stated it's been since a re design that more vibrations have popped up. But not all 2wd access cabs are experiencing this problem. Guess I should start a pole, then take that data to Toyota.

 

OK, but I mean, what is this "known issue in the drive line" exactly and what's causing it?

My point is unless you know exactly what's causing the drive line vibration, you're going to have a hard time fixing it, and/or proving that Toyota should fix it. Is it a part that's not balanced properly? Is it something that's not aligned properly? etc.

I'm curious because when you had your drive shaft trued and balanced, that should at least have affected the vibration. I would think it may not solve the issue, but definitely make it different if the drive line is the cause, no?

The bottom line is that instead of arguing over a vibration that is rather subjective at the moment, maybe you would have a better chance of winning your cause if you could talk about a specific component(s) that is defective.

 

As far as the original DS work we had done, I'm not sure of the quality... the weld was ugly compared to an automated welding unit and after checking with more people locally, his business practices/quality are suspect. In fact, I met a guy at Advance Auto Parts today, we got to talking about the issue with the Tacoma and Toyota in general. Yes, I share my Toyota experience with everybody I can, and I'm in sales.. so I tell a lot of people. Anyway, the guy at the store works in La Vergne, TN as a diesel mechanic and they stopped using Dave years ago and only use Clinards Drive Shaft Shop in Nashville. Apparently they do a lot of custom DS. So maybe another ear to bend.

I hear you and I agree with you.. But nobody has been able to isolate or put there finger on the exact cause of the vibration. The service manager at Cool Springs Toyota in Franklin, TN. made this point after I asked him about changing the drive shaft to one with a double cardan unit.
He told me that Toyota is aware of the high speed vibration, they have been working on fix for several years. When I asked if swapping the DS with a double cardan unit would help? He said "do you think the engineers at Toyota with all the resources at their disposal haven't already tried that? He then went on to say "somebody isn't going to fix this problem in their garage because according to what he's been told, it's probably an issue with the chassis/frame". I hope the hell he is wrong..

He is the Service manager that the Toyota GM from Ohio (Dirk Hammersmith) tried to completely discredit at the arbitration.

I guess we'll have our answer, or at the very least eliminate the driveshaft from the equation on Tuesday.

 

Just to eliminate ds. Did you by chance unbolt your ds. Block your wheels to keep from an accident roll. And get the truck up to speed? I would have done that before throwing away 400.00 on a ds that may not work. I know the 4wd guys do that to Eliminate front ds. It could be a tranny mount, engine mount something else you're not looking at. Did you try swapping wheels and tires for a brief moment with someone that didn't have any vibrations?

 

Sorry to hear you're still battling this shit, it was mentioned some Toyota rep. going to tell you if the vibe is within acceptable limits, that in itself is a piss poor stand for Toyota to take, if I were Toyota the fact that new vehicles are rolling out with weird vibes would cause me to find out where the problem is originating, not to tell the paying public whether or not its "within acceptable limits." What are the lemon laws in Tn?
(if applicable)

 

Yes tn has a lemon law

 

I haven't mentioned ever single thing we did try, but the wheels/tires were swapped from another truck, they were 17".. same vibe. I did run the truck jack stands with and without the wheels/tires... there was still a vibration even when I re indexed the DS and w/o wheels/tires. It was more intense with a load (actually driving it). But it's difficult to say without be able to measure the intensity of the vibration. I wasn't comfortable removing the driveshaft and "running" the truck up to 75mph w/o a load of some sort.. made me a bit nervous.