Updated 7/13: Droning or Howling Noise (Drivetrain? Rear End?) Video

oh shot... did you get your diff fluid checked before it was replaced?

wowo

 

I may go to Toyota next week

 

No I asked them to but they said there was no need. Go figure... besides according to @The hammer a half quart or so won't make a difference. ...

 

but it may have been low. I know a few people were 0.5 to 1 quart low in the diff

 

First thing I did when I noticed mine howling was check the fluid, which seemed fine. Also had both dealerships check it while they had the truck, and they confirmed it was full. I don't think our problem is the result of low fluid.

 

I have a hunch it has something to do with driveline angle which may also explain the vibration or hum experienced at highway speeds.

 

Well, when I take mine in on Tuesday I will let you know what they say. Surely they will be looking for other issues since this is the second diff I have had do this.

 

As I stated earlier this year, I was told that a diff. gear was not correct tolerance size (off by a few hundredths of an inch), so the new diff gears they put in are now the corrected tolerance size. Couldn't that cause this premature wear of the diff?

 

I will specifically bring this up while I am there. When was yours fixed?

 

sometime in February.


my dealership is in Columbia, MO (Joe Machens Toyota)

 

Thanks!

Mine was early June....assuming the gear is the issue could Toyota be so backwards that they are still sending out ones with the old gear!? I am terrified that they are just gonna say "Well, we already replaced the diff once, nothing else we can do." I feel like there is a very slim chance that I get another new diff without a TSB or Recall.

 

Yes. Out of tolerance by a few hundredths of an inch is a lot for gears.

Mine is howling, will mention it again at my 10k service (I'm at 5300). It's a nuisance but thankfully not a high risk of causing immediate failure. I want to get a few more data points too on the howl coming back for those getting replacements.

Smitty, I see you are familiar with the proper break in procedure for diffs. Will you be doing it with this new one? Break in fluid change at 500? I decided to go with a by the book maintenance my first go around with this truck to avoid any warrant claim issues (now I have experienced their "normal" strategy first hand and realize it will be a tough battle to get things fixed properly).

I feel I'm in the same shoes as you, came from an early 2000's ford truck. People used to always shit on the ford telling me how superior tacomas were and to strongly consider one for my next truck. It took over 120-130k miles on the ford truck to see these types of issues showing up and it was my first car, so the first 50k miles of my ownership (50k-100k miles) I was not the best with maintenance. Eventually at the end of its run I was doing all repairs myself. I eventually got rid of it because it started to develop issues with the differential. Now, brand new 35k "king of the midsize, bulletproof tacoma" and I have a howling differential, chirping high pressure fuel pump inadequate vibration damping from the engine and/or exhaust and some minor issues which at this point I've just given up on completely. It is a good truck overall, but it sure is overhyped and a bummer to know I could have had that "shitty fix or repair daily" ranger and rebuilt any issues 3-5x's over for the price I paid for my "gift from jesus himself" tacoma. I mean the interior was almost just as comfortable and even had power seats.

I was hoping for a problem free truck, and I mean mechanically, im not one of those people who gives a shit if my radio or navigation or display goes out and needs to be fixed, that would last me 15-20+ years and take me anywhere I needed to go reliably. Toyota has some aftermarket, post purchase, under warranty repairs to pull out of their pocket to convince me this is still possible.

Smitty, if you are ever in san diego, I'll buy you a beer. I don't know why people give you shit on this board, you post some of the funniest stuff I have read on here, have legitimate issues with your truck, and are one of the more rational people in terms of actually just saying "hey, I like the tacoma I want the one that was advertised, not to just lemon it and run to another brand because fuck toyota and all its couches".

So yes I'll buy you a beer, I think we've both had enough kool aid through this whole ordeal.

Now that, that was an essay damn.

 

The perceived reliabilty is what sells these vehicles and keeps the prices inflated. It isn't the creature comforts by any means. People buy it because it has the reputation of being the bulletproof truck that can take you anywhere for 200k+ miles with just regular maintenance.

If Toyota loses that, they will absolutely lose the midsize market. They also are the only ones to offer a 4x4 manual transmission option and still are superior offroad compared to others. Also, arguably it looks the BEST out of any other options. Ford has a huge, HUGE chance to become the #1 competitor with the return of the Ranger. If they don't fuck up the aesthetic design (i.e. Honda and the ridgeline front end), offer adequate ground clearance, keep it simple selectable 4wd (no AWD torque vectoring we do everything for you BS) and offer good engine/transmission combos (please please offer a manual 4x4), BUT follow what ford has been doing to their interior design lately and you will see lots of people jumping ship from the tacoma.

Ford needs to let honda, gmc, Chevy keep the majority of the pavement princess market and compete DIRECTLY with the tacoma. They will pull plenty of sales away from toyota (everyone knows ford is increasing in quality as each year goes on) and will have a lot of potential to pull away some of the other brand owners who care more about interior comfort, mpg (they can offer an ecoboost option for them), and creature comforts. I really, really hope ford is taking their shit in the right direction with the Ranger return.

 

Thanks man appreciate the good will. I don't know I'll ask what they say about diff break in and do what they suggest. I appreciate the beer offer. Same applies if you're in PHX

 

Don't put words in my mouth, I never said anything about the differential, so get your facts straight before you lie about me.

 

That's better lmaoo!

 

I noticed this same noise and to be exact, starts between 55mph and 70mph, only when I press the gas pedal...

 

Asked about mine when I went in to have the transmission fluid check (.4 quarts low) took the tech on a ride to hear it. He could hear it, said there was a definitive noise coming from the rear end and he called about it and was told it was a characteristic of the vehicle. Hopefully another TSB is in the works for this.

 

Will be REAL interesting what toyota says when I come back for a 2nd rear diff replacement. They going to back pedal and tell me it's normal now after the first time showing premature wear on rear diff as being cause for the noise? It's not too loud yet but I'm guessing in 6 months and 8k miles that will change. I can alreasy hear it coming back now with only 500 miles on new diff