Trailhunter vibration at 30-40 (test drive)

I took a LB TH out for a test drive yesterday. Looking to upgrade my 2018 SR5. It checked all the boxed, 6ft bed, almost no options (especially no roofrack), dealer discount and a fair price offered for my SR5.

However as I got up to 30-40mph I felt a distinct shake/vibration. It felt like it was coming from the rear wheels. No steering wheel shake. It pretty much felt like cold rubber with a flat spot from sitting, but the vehicle had been in a showroom for a couple of days.

The problem went away completely at ~60mph and I thought at that point it was the tires, but it came back as I slowed back to 40 or so. Sales guy was with me and agreed. Sales manager took it for a drive and agreed.

Over the last day or so the techs have been over it and cannot find an issue. They swapped out the wheels from another Taco and got the same vibration, indicating it's not the tires or a wheel balance. Their input is that it's normal for an aggressive offroad vehicle like the Trailhunter.

Do any of you TH owners experience something like this? I would say I could live with it (if it really is normal), but I definitely don't want to buy a truck with an underlying problem. I was going to take out a TH with a 5ft bed from my closer dealer but it just sold. Looking for another one.

 

Welcome to TW! No vibes here. Best to get another one.

 

Thanks, yes this was my feeling too. Anyone else confirm theirs is smooooth?

I found another one and have a test drive scheduled at 9am

 

Mine is smooth. Maybe the driveshaft is out of balance? Tough to make a sale on something that's not right. Good luck.

 

Thanks. Good to hear another one is vibe free. I do recall having to deal with an out of balance driveshaft after I had to change when switching a gearbox for a longer one that had syncho (1956 Morris Minor). 50 years ago so my knowledge (amongst other things) is a bit old.

 

Mine does the same thing at the same speed.. dealer said it’s normal.. I think they are full of shit. So I’ll wait and see if Toyota recognizes the issue and does something about it down the road

 

OK, so now 2 have and 2 have-nots (including the one I test drove). I have another testdrive today at 9am and will post the results.

 

Could TH owners add whether they have a 5ft or 6ft model please? Just thinking that if it's a drive shaft imbalance it may affect only one version (I'm guess they are different lengths). The one I drove on Wednesday was a long bed. Same later today.
Thanks

 

SMOOTH from the start, 5FT

 

6 foot

 

Hmmm .. I had my 2nd test drive, another 6ft bed TH and it had the same vibration. Might have been a little less but same symptoms as my 1st post, sales guy agreed with me it was there.

 

i dont think your gonna be happy with any of them now.... 100% of the trucks you have driven have been broke..

 

Yeah that ain’t normal

 

Sounds like it's specific to 6ft beds...

 

Yea, would be good to hear from more people, especially those with 6ft bed. I'm guessing that most YT testers were given 5ft beds so they could show them off on Toyota tracks or in the real wild.

 

Not a Trailhunter, but more than a few of us have noticed a vibration today begins around 37/38mph, and goes away by 47/48mph. All 5ft, can't recall if only the hybrids or non hybrids as well. Wonder if you're noticing the same. Mine is LTD HV no roof racks or anything.

 

You're never going to be happy with one that vibrates like that, especially a brand-new one driving at normal everyday speeds... not to mention the steep price asking price of admission for this Halo model.

I bet it gets corrected in the 2026 models. Move on down the road until you hopefully find one in your preferred configuration that doesn't have the problem. (defect)

 

Good info, thanks.

And some sage advice!

 

I have a stock 2025 TRD OR with a 6ft bed and only 800 miles on it and am experiencing vibration issues around 25-35mph. It's not very noticeable when you accelerate past 35mph but when driving at a constant speed in that range it can be very annoying. It feels like something is reaching a natural frequency and inducing a vibration (tires, cv joints, driveshaft, etc). When slowing down to a stop it's also noticeable. I took it in today and the dealer drove my truck and another Tacoma (without me) and claimed that vibration is normal as the other Tacoma did it as well. I hopped in an SR5 with the service manager and we were unable to detect the same issue. The dealer did nothing other than a test drive of my truck and another truck. I am taking it back next week and dropping it off for an extended diagnosis and they stated they would open up a complaint with Toyota.

Posts from other threads/forums
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vibration-from-35-50-in-the-trd-pro.849245/

 

Similar to my experience. LTD HV trim. Dealer claimed they couldn't reproduce. Did a service ride with the technician driving and called their attention to it. They confirmed they felt what I was talking about. A day later they diagnosed it as "normal". I was pissed.

Any time any vehicle changes characteristics like this, it's not normal. There's speed are no where near someone trying to exceed the velocity envelope it was developed for.

Mine doesn't feel like everything is shuddering. Just that the seat is vibrating into your lower back heavily. Happens from 35/37mpg to 47 mph. Wish the was a way to have the vehicle report or record what gear and rpm it was in to see if it's gear hunting, hybrid/ice conflict or wheel balance/alignment.

After the dealer experience of "nothing's wrong" I took it to a Goodyear and they found two wheels needing balancing and the front end slightly out of alignment. After those corrections it was better, but not gone.

In the midst of an experiment to see if changing octane levels alters the behavior (no change, more, less, moves when it occurs). If that doesn't influence things positively, then I may explore the OTT route next.

I'm also curious if it resolves itself via break in. I'm at ~2500 mi right now.

PS would be that I feel like it happens again, but about 1/3 as intense up at 65-78mph.