NEW TSB, Whine Noise From Rear of Vehicle

Pretty sure I just heard this twice today in my 19. Accelerating around 20-25. Googled 3rd gen howl to see if I was nuts and find all this. Just rolled 1000 miles.

 

20k service tomorrow, so we'll see what the dealer says about the rear differential. I'm also getting the front sensor recall done, since I'm eligible for it. I've had that thing malfunction twice in heavy rain, both times on the interstate.

This dealer has a pretty good reputation around here so I'm not too worried about them giving me BS. I'll have an update tomorrow evening.

 

Watch this video (you might have to watch on Youtube). They regeared to 4.88 gears. As he's driving & giving his impressions of the re-gear, you can hear the howling even with the new gearing. Honestly, this has been an issue with Tacomas since the 2nd gen. If they haven't figured it out by now, I don't think they ever will.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxBWZGQIScI

 

I'm regeared to 4.88 - just picked up last Friday. I have no howl with new gears and also no howl with the original 3.91 gears. The shop in that video does tons of gears. Watching the guy do it is a thing of beauty. Not sure why those seem to be howling a bit.

 

Well, they checked the rear and everything seems to be fine. They ordered some parts to take care of the noise, which will be covered under warranty. So at least I know my rear differential isn't falling apart! I'm assuming it's just some leaf spring resonance or whatever. I've had good experiences with this dealership and I'm just gonna have to trust them.

 

I hope you get taken care of and that your experience was better than mine. My rear differential had ground gears and excessive shavings in it. They replaced it with one that was church pew quiet, until a couple of thousand miles later, and now it’s must as loud as the first one I wonder how that would be considered a resonance when it was quiet and then not quiet? BTW, I hope yours truly gets fixed to your satisfaction - best of luck.

 

2019 Sport owner here. The rear end whines. Dealer said they can't do anything because the TSB only addresses 16/17. So apparently, after they problem has been in existence for 3+ years, the engineers still haven't put the fix into the production line. And apparently, they also haven't gotten around to updating the affected years to include NOW. Absurd.

 

It is truly unbelievable.

 

My 18 is in the shop as we speak for TSB 0013-18. I think it is crazy as well. I have a Highlander that had the transmission replaced for the exact same issue. I don't know why Toyota has such a hard time with final drives and differential gears. These issues go back many years with Toyota across their entire product line.

 

Fellow 18 owner with the same howl. You're lucky to have a dealership that will use common sense. Hope it works for you!

 

I wonder why some do and some don’t? Luckily I’m in the don’t whine category.

 

It seems like the 3rd gen trucks are plagued with "some have it, some don't" issues, but for those that do have the issue, the issues are consistent.

 

So I have a 2018 TRDOR M/T. Took it in for the howl and the leaking diff. Master tech rode along and confirmed that he was hearing the howl. I also mentioned the TSB about the diff whine. They checked it and found that my VIN didn't fall within the range, so they said they have to talk to the Toyota representative. The toyota representative said that these diffs are noisy diffs and since it doesn't fall within the range they want the dealership to do some investigation. Dealer called me back today. They fixed the leak my tightening up the bolts. Wrt to the howling, they said they folded up the tray cover and that somewhat dampened the noise, reported back the Toyota team and the Toyota team said that the noise is normal. I replied by saying that if you fold up the tray cover there would be more wind noise so that's why it would dampen the howl. She said they have to follow what Toyota tells them so the next option would be for me to call Toyota and make a case.

I've seen some posts here that say the 2018 model year is covered under the TSB, but the dealership/Toyota is telling me otherwise. Is there an updated TSB? Also people seem to be having mixed results with the TSB. Any thoughts on how I should proceed here?

 

Sorry to hear that, but I'm not surprised at Toyota's lack of give-a-fuckness. Guess you just have to keep your tray in the upright and locked position while the vehicle is in motion. Hang in there, stay strong.

 

Im still trying to decide how far I want to pursue this. Since there are mixed results with the TSB, and most people say it goes away with a lift.......maybe the fix is to install a lift lol

 

Not to thread hijack, but I pray you don't run into the other "this doesn't cover 2018s" TSB for engine surging....I broke down and ordered OVT in order to fix it, after 3 different dealerships told me to eat my own ass.

 

My '17 OR had the whine, so they TSB'd the leaf springs, etc. Helped for a bit, but it's intermittently back now. Doesn't do it all the time, but I do notice it. Truck just rolled over 61,xxx miles, so powertrain warranty is done. Service manager to me to call him and he'd get it taken care of regardless.....guess I need to call.

 

So I paid a visit to the doc today. Here's the receipt:





Everything was totally free of charge, covered under warranty or recall.

I can report that the howl is 95% gone, as far as I can hear in the cabin. The dampers/cushion/foam pads do a good job of masking the noise, and the cabin is a tad quieter overall, which is nice. I realize the issue probably hasn't been solved in any meaningful way, and this is really just more of a band-aid to alleviate the annoyance. However, when talking with the main service manager kahuna guy, I got the understanding that it's nothing to worry about, and if that differential really becomes a problem, it will be taken care of. He also admitted the rear end howl is really common with these Tacomas, which to me is both unnerving and reassuring at the same time: unnerving because Toyota really sent out a TON of defective units, but reassuring in the sense that my dealership is well aware of it and isn't playing dumb. They've been honest thus far, and I haven't had to literally show them print-outs of TSBs or recalls in order to get them done.

As you can see, they also flashed the ECU, and maybe it's just placebo, but I think I've noticed some improvement in the transmission. Going up hills, there's less gear hunting, and the whole rig just seems more sure of itself.

Anyways, I'm an average dude, not too mechanically inclined, just trying to maintain a realistic balance between the flood of information I get online (mostly negative) and what I experience in the world. It's easy to let the bad stories lower my confidence, but this is a strong little truck and it's never let me down, and I don't get the feeling that it will anytime soon. There's definitely some shit Toyota needs to fix, but I doubt their quality has just completely tumbled to hell. I'm always willing to hear evidence to the contrary.

I do just have a couple questions, if anyone can give me some insight:

• If a Taco's rear differential is leaking and potentially "eating itself" as I've seen posted (metal shavings in the fluid, etc.), how long until it totally gives out and leaves me stranded? Have there been accounts of this happening yet?

• If you had to guess, what percentage of the howling noise is caused by actual malfunction of the differential, and how much might be caused by some sort of "harmonic resonance" in other components?

• Is flashing the ECU capable of producing the kind of change in performance I mentioned, or am I just crazy?

• Is there anything on the service receipt that sticks out like a sore thumb?

Cheers.

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

 

Yes flashing the ECU will change things. But as you drive it, it will adjust back to your driving style and revert to the way it was before.

If they do an ECU update (TSB or a different ECU software version) then it will be altogether different and stay different.