[awesomebase]

Well, I just got called to pick up my truck from the dealership. It seems that both the rubbing/grinding feel I got through the steering wheel (what I thought was the front differential) and the occasional clunkity-clunk noise that seemed to come from the rear axle were both stemming from the same problem. They replaced the drive-shaft and, of course took care of the recall issues as well. I'll be picking it up today! I hope that this resolves the issues...
If anybody has had their drive-shaft replaced recently, please chime in and let me know your impressions! The service at this dealership so far has been very good. Though this repair is free, they clearly have their labor charge listed as $103/hr; my how times have changed!

 

[hunt4steve]

Well, I just got called to pick up my truck from the dealership. It seems that both the rubbing/grinding feel I got through the steering wheel (what I thought was the front differential) and the occasional clunkity-clunk noise that seemed to come from the rear axle were both stemming from the same problem. They replaced the drive-shaft and, of course took care of the recall issues as well. I'll be picking it up today! I hope that this resolves the issues...
If anybody has had their drive-shaft replaced recently, please chime in and let me know your impressions! The service at this dealership so far has been very good. Though this repair is free, they clearly have their labor charge listed as $103/hr; my how times have changed!

hmmm, I've got some vibration in my truck as well. I can feel it in the seats, shifter, gas pedal, steering wheel...... It feels like its a wheel bearing in the rear end. The Master tech who performed a test ride with me could definitely feel it as well. The vibration was the same in 2wd and 4wd, so it does seem to be coming from the rear end. The dealership put on some new Nitto Terra Grappler AT tires, and the service manager is thinking these tires are the culprit of the vibration. Personally, I don't think so. Next friday I'm taking the truck in to have it worked on, so we'll see what the come up with. I brought up the TSB on the front diff, and they didn't think this was the problem. Hopefully these guys will do the right thing and get it fixed correctly...... especially since I just purchased the truck last week.....

 

[dogstate]

Did you get it REAL heavy around 30 mph? And does it last for like a second or two, then go away for a second or two, then come back? My truck did not need a new rear diff per the TSB.

I was thinking either the front diff or the tires....

-rockstate

 

[awesomebase]

Well, initially I thought it had something to do with the shop that installed my DT Shorties, because I had an extra 150 miles on the truck and this annoying problem. However, though I can't rule that out, I can say that the problem was most noticeable at around 40mph. I could feel it pretty strong anywhere from 5 mph to 40mph through the steering wheel, but couldn't replicate when it would happen or go away. My only saving grace is that it seemed to happen if I put the truck in 4wd and then back to 2wd where it would start to occur again. It also seemed to happen on colder days, so, not sure that it is the same issue, but hoping that it is resolved. All I know is that it killed my milage... lost about 3mpg because it feels like I'm pushing against something...

 

[dogstate]

Well, initially I thought it had something to do with the shop that installed my DT Shorties, because I had an extra 150 miles on the truck and this annoying problem. However, though I can't rule that out, I can say that the problem was most noticeable at around 40mph. I could feel it pretty strong anywhere from 5 mph to 40mph through the steering wheel, but couldn't replicate when it would happen or go away. My only saving grace is that it seemed to happen if I put the truck in 4wd and then back to 2wd where it would start to occur again. It also seemed to happen on colder days, so, not sure that it is the same issue, but hoping that it is resolved. All I know is that it killed my milage... lost about 3mpg because it feels like I'm pushing against something...

Hmmm interesting.....

Mine happened the other night in about 40* weather and with my engine/transmission cold.

I am getting about 9 mpg right now.

-rockstate

 

[hunt4steve]

well....... I think i was trying to convince myself of this behavior, but it appears that it is consistent from about 10mph up to highway speed. At highway speed it gets much louder.

 

[awesomebase]

Well one good way to determine if you have it is a very simple test. Put your display to show instant mpg so it is reading your mpg something like twice a second. Then drive somewhere flat, get up to a good cruising speed and release the accelerator. If you don't see 99.9mpg when you do that, chances are you have something like this. I know for me I could tell that immediately. Mine would read somewhere between 42mpg and 46mpg with no gas acceleration. Basically, lifting your foot off the gas should get the truck to just coast and have your engine running. If you go on a decline your reading may get messed up because of the engine breaking and that will reduce your mpg to 75 or something close to that from the 99.9. On a flat road, you should always see that number... if not, your truck is pushing against something...

 

[dogstate]

Ahhh, interesting...

I wish I could try it but I don't have the instant MPG or a MPG at all.

Only downside I've run into having a bench seat.

-rockstate

 

[awesomebase]

Well, picked up the truck last night and I didn't even get out of the service parking lot before I heard the distinct "thunk"ing sound from the rear! But, so far that front differential problem hasn't popped up again, so maybe they got that taken care of. I'll have to give it some more time before I really find out if that is the case. Not sure what that thunking noise could be though...

 

[hunt4steve]

Well, picked up the truck last night and I didn't even get out of the service parking lot before I heard the distinct "thunk"ing sound from the rear!

Ah man, sorry to hear about that. Did you report it to them right then and there?

 

[awesomebase]

Ah man, sorry to hear about that. Did you report it to them right then and there?

No, unfortunately I didn't. I had my 3 year old son with me and we needed to make a couple of stops on the way home before dinner. I'll be calling this morning. The guy I dealt with wasn't around when I picked up the truck anyway, so it probably wouldn't have mattered much in terms of what I could do. I had to take it home. I'll just have to arrange another time to bring it in.
Keep in mind, this thunk doesn't seem to be affecting anything performance-wise or in terms of drive-ability. It is just annoying and I can't seem to get rid of it. Sometimes it sounds like it is coming from the tail-gate. Other times it sounds like it is coming from directly under the rear part of the bed, so it is definitely something in the back, just difficult to identify...

 

[shooter2jim]

Well, I just got called to pick up my truck from the dealership. It seems that both the rubbing/grinding feel I got through the steering wheel (what I thought was the front differential) and the occasional clunkity-clunk noise that seemed to come from the rear axle were both stemming from the same problem. They replaced the drive-shaft and, of course took care of the recall issues as well. I'll be picking it up today! I hope that this resolves the issues...
If anybody has had their drive-shaft replaced recently, please chime in and let me know your impressions! The service at this dealership so far has been very good. Though this repair is free, they clearly have their labor charge listed as $103/hr; my how times have changed!

Remember that this is not a great time to get anything serviced on your Toyota. I had my front diff assy replaced in Jan. 09, and the diff growl has returned- but only first thing in the morning when it's 40 degrees or less outside. I took the truck back to the dealership and told them I'd leave it overnight so they could drive it first thing in the morning. That was fine with my tech- same one who's always worked on the truck. No call the next day so I dropped in after lunch. The tech said he'd not had time to drive it and the weather had warmed up enough that when we drove it, it didn't make the noise. Then discussion turned to who'd pay if a repair was needed. He told me that since the diff had been replaced under the TSB once, Toyota wouldn't pay for it again, so it would fall on my Platinum warranty. Then he said instead of replacing the entire assembly, he'd be required to tear it down and diagnose and replace the specific part causing the noise- something he said would be a total pain... i:e, the standard repair rate he'd get paid on wouldn't cover the time it would take him to do the work. This is my work truck and I drive long distances just about every day. If I'm broken down I'm not making a living. Needless to say, I left the dealership feeling like they were more worried about their pockets than anything else. What pisses me off is that Toyota has no problem overpaying people to buy back OLD Tacomas with rusty frames, or paying for head gasket replacements on the old V6's regardless of age or mileage, but they seem to hesitate at taking care of new car problems.

 

[Dakster]

Remember that this is not a great time to get anything serviced on your Toyota. I had my front diff assy replaced in Jan. 09, and the diff growl has returned- but only first thing in the morning when it's 40 degrees or less outside. I took the truck back to the dealership and told them I'd leave it overnight so they could drive it first thing in the morning. That was fine with my tech- same one who's always worked on the truck. No call the next day so I dropped in after lunch. The tech said he'd not had time to drive it and the weather had warmed up enough that when we drove it, it didn't make the noise. Then discussion turned to who'd pay if a repair was needed. He told me that since the diff had been replaced under the TSB once, Toyota wouldn't pay for it again, so it would fall on my Platinum warranty. Then he said instead of replacing the entire assembly, he'd be required to tear it down and diagnose and replace the specific part causing the noise- something he said would be a total pain... i:e, the standard repair rate he'd get paid on wouldn't cover the time it would take him to do the work. This is my work truck and I drive long distances just about every day. If I'm broken down I'm not making a living. Needless to say, I left the dealership feeling like they were more worried about their pockets than anything else. What pisses me off is that Toyota has no problem overpaying people to buy back OLD Tacomas with rusty frames, or paying for head gasket replacements on the old V6's regardless of age or mileage, but they seem to hesitate at taking care of new car problems.

Hmm... So there is no warranty of the replacement part if it fails again? You would think that the replacement part has some warranty... My wife's Saturn of yersteryear (1996) had a lifetime warranty for any part replaced under warranty...

I would have told the tech to do whatever he/she thinks is best to get the problem fixed is fine. The money argument is not my concern. I paid for the truck AND AN EXTENDED warranty and "You tried to fix my problem and didn't so know I'm the one out???." Your sales staff didn't have any problem TAKING my money for the truck and warranty and now you don't want to honor it?

Although, I realize that they kind of have you over a barrel since you HAVE to HAVE your truck for work so leaving it there for a week may not be in the cards. Does sound like a talk with the service manager may be in order...

 

[hunt4steve]

Hmm... So there is no warranty of the replacement part if it fails again? You would think that the replacement part has some warranty......

hmmm... I'm thinking the Lemon Law should apply here, get your money back or get another truck....

 

[awesomebase]

Well, thankfully so far it doesn't seem like I have any issues with the dealership. I think that this is a case of them not being exactly sure what the issue(s) is/are. In any case, I hope I can get this resolved without too much trouble. Otherwise the truck has been great to drive!

 

[shooter2jim]

The tech talked like there was a 1 year warranty on the diff, but I'm sure he was careful not to say too much in terms of what would be covered and who would pay for it because he really doesn't make that call anyway. Technically it is 1 month out of warranty (woo hoo)... I'm sure that I could walk in and tell the service writer "diff makes noise...fix it" and the extended would cover it, but I like being able to talk to the guy who actually puts the wrenches on it. They never actually declined to work on it. What rubs me the wrong way was he was so busy doing a warranty tear down on a 15 year old engine that a simple diagnosis of my 2.5 year old truck, with a relatively newly replaced part, got overlooked. All the while, he was stealthily telling me how it would take longer than the "standard" job time for which he would be paid.

 

[DaYooper]

Remember that this is not a great time to get anything serviced on your Toyota. I had my front diff assy replaced in Jan. 09, and the diff growl has returned- but only first thing in the morning when it's 40 degrees or less outside. I took the truck back to the dealership and told them I'd leave it overnight so they could drive it first thing in the morning. That was fine with my tech- same one who's always worked on the truck. No call the next day so I dropped in after lunch. The tech said he'd not had time to drive it and the weather had warmed up enough that when we drove it, it didn't make the noise. Then discussion turned to who'd pay if a repair was needed. He told me that since the diff had been replaced under the TSB once, Toyota wouldn't pay for it again, so it would fall on my Platinum warranty. Then he said instead of replacing the entire assembly, he'd be required to tear it down and diagnose and replace the specific part causing the noise- something he said would be a total pain... i:e, the standard repair rate he'd get paid on wouldn't cover the time it would take him to do the work. This is my work truck and I drive long distances just about every day. If I'm broken down I'm not making a living. Needless to say, I left the dealership feeling like they were more worried about their pockets than anything else. What pisses me off is that Toyota has no problem overpaying people to buy back OLD Tacomas with rusty frames, or paying for head gasket replacements on the old V6's regardless of age or mileage, but they seem to hesitate at taking care of new car problems.

Yeah, I would check on the Service page of the dealers web-page. The dealer I have been going to says that it warranty's work they do for 3 years of 50,000miles. I know I am going to end up taking them up on this for the bumpers again in the future.

 

[awesomebase]

Well, the second problem reared its ugly head again, so now I'm taking the truck back to the dealership to get both problems fixed AGAIN. I'm not bitter because I know these things tend to take some time to figure out if they're not obvious, but it just takes a good amount of time out of my day to get done... Taking the truck in on Wednesday...

 

[Frankenstein]

Well, the second problem reared its ugly head again, so now I'm taking the truck back to the dealership to get both problems fixed AGAIN. I'm not bitter because I know these things tend to take some time to figure out if they're not obvious, but it just takes a good amount of time out of my day to get done... Taking the truck in on Wednesday...

I feel for you and your pain. . . I spent a while waiting for a fix of my problem and couldn't be happier now that it's done. But meanwhile it's aggravating. I almost went and bought another vehicle, just out of sheer frustration. I'm glad I didn't though.
Hang in there.

Edit: you'll notice I just doubled your rep value!

 

[awesomebase]

I feel for you and your pain. . . I spent a while waiting for a fix of my problem and couldn't be happier now that it's done. But meanwhile it's aggravating. I almost went and bought another vehicle, just out of sheer frustration. I'm glad I didn't though.
Hang in there.

Edit: you'll notice I just doubled your rep value!

Thanks for the added rep points!! Its been a while since I've gotten any! Yeah, I've been frustrated and with all the Toyota-knockin' in the media lately, it is easy to think of getting an alternative. But I remember how good this truck has been so far and how much fun it is to drive. Never mind all the stuff I've put on it... I know somewhere, somebody will lay claim to something better. But, overall I can't complain... when this problem is resolved, I know I'll be happy as a clam... it is just a kind of weight on my shoulders right now and I wish I could have it fixed for good!