Buzzy Vibration at certain RPM's..read before buying!

Exactly where i am at

 

Has anyone with the issue seen any kind of resolution from the dealer?

 

Many did! The resolution is "it's normal!".

 

lmao! This is exactly why I'm reluctant to take it in, I would go
bat-shit if they brushed me off with a response like that.

 

Well regardless of your reaction, it's needs to be documented with a visit..otherwise Toyota doesnt see it as an issue..

 

So I would promise not to touch (too much). Haha.

Seriously though, I would not need to disassemble anything. Just some gentle taps here and there looking to see if responses are the same, and then mostly looking for differences. Like, do some of these Tacomas actually have rubber isolating mounts where others do not?

 

I documented it with them with emails and a phone call, I'll mention it at the 5k checkup.
Wasting my time with a drive to the dealer for a "no fix" visit won't happen.

 

It's a high-frequency vibration more “felt” and heard than observed. But I understand the desire to quantify through some visual measurement. So I downloaded a basic phone app called iVibrometer (hat tip to @busticator), which measures vibration through acceleration, velocity, and displacement. You put the phone to a source and let the app measure. Last night I made some comparisons and posted the graph measurements below in ascending order. This was very quick and dirty. It’s not a precise instrument or methodology, especially considering I did this with an OtterBox Defender case on the phone and could not guarantee I affixed the phone with consistent pressure to the sources. It was also tricky capturing this with a phone pressed up against the steering wheel in the RPM ranges, pressing start/stop in peak range through runs, and having a temperamental transmission shift that still hasn't learned to behave after 3,000 miles. Also, when I did this late last night, the truck had settled into a “moderate vib” mood (this comes and goes in flavors of nothing, mild-moderate, and hard). So take these for what they’re worth. When you compare, keep in mind what it would feel like on a long trip through terrain rich with hills, when the engine is working consistently in the RPM range, and the vibrations are buzzing through your hands (wheel) and foot (pedals) like what @Doobiewah and others are experiencing. In the end, you truly have to feel it first-hand to get the best sense of what we’re talking about.

1. Tacoma steering wheel on flat street in 1,000-1,500 RPMs.


2. My Norelco Hair and Beard Trimmer.

3. Tacoma steering wheel on flat street accelerating through 2,000-2,200 RPM.

4. Tacoma steering wheel on flat street accelerating through 2,100-2,300 RPM.

5. Tacoma steering wheel on moderate hill climb accelerating through 2,100-2,200 RPM.

6. Vibration level chart. Source: Human Vibration (Bruel & Kjaer, 1989: http://www.bksv.com/doc/br056.pdf).

 

I do think mine (again prior to taking heat shields off) would be worse at warm temperatures. Now I'm not so sure. The intensity seems a bit random, but I think mine might be worse cold now.

I have no clue why it seems to vary in intensity.

 

This is great work!..it needs some type of formal publishing and sent to Toyota!!

 

Yeah that's some fantastic data!

I forgot about measuring it. #3 for the chaos vibration win! Although some of those spikes are probably due to a sampling phenomenon (aliasing).

I might bum my wife's phone this weekend and try to characterize the brake lines and heat shields which are under suspicion right now.

 

Awesome work. Now we just need a baseline off another non-vibrating vehicle.... or even better, a non-vibrating '16 Tacoma.

 

Thanks! It's very rudimentary. I'd feel better if I could remove the thick phone case and use something to affix the phone more steadily to the wheel. Unfortunately I put my phone to the gas pedal. I know Toyota field technical specialists have professional vibration tools to measure these things. When mine visited and rode with me in November, I only saw him taking myriad pictures of the tachometer with his phone. But when they had the truck in the back to perform the engine mount re-torque, I saw him leave to take the truck out for another spin after. He was gone for some time. Don't know whether or not he took quick measurements then. I can't imagine the FTS and Field Product Engineer who had @Doobiewah's truck didn't do this and beyond.

 

This is INCREDIBLE. So basically we are driving around in chainsaws.

 

It's funny how refined and smooth the Norelco looks in comparison.

 

This smooth running Double Cab is a loaner. My vibrating truck is at the dealership where they are trying to solve this.

 

Great job with this. This is exactly what I am experiencing.

 

@Doobiewah you can take @DRBANE 's graphs and put them on the first post so it is highly visible!.. Until we get more precise readings.

 

Yeap, and it’s funny because I took the Norelco and grasped it with my entire hand as I would the truck’s steering wheel. Only took about 10 seconds for that numb, tingly, falling-asleep feeling to set. I’ve taken a few trips through the mountains and all I could think is “damn.” And I know the Toyota FTS felt the same intensity because we both went into the foothills with some steep climbs. So I can’t imagine @Doobiewah’s long trips. I know he got the silly form letter. But I have to say—assuming the crude method's result set aligned closely to Toyota’s sophisticated tools—were I an FTS writing the internal report with these metrics in hand, I’d conclude that despite the vibration being present to varying degrees across all models, prolonged exposure will result in feelings of tingling and numbness in the extremities. Therefore, it does not fall within acceptable industry tolerance for comfort or safety.

 

This is too serious and too obvious. Toyota better effing fixing it or they will be lawyering up soon.