Cyclical Vibration in Tundra - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

whatsthatnoise · 04-15-2003, 11:59 AM

I have a 2003 Tundra Access Cab. When I first drive it, before it is full warmed up, I get a cycling vibration. As I speed up, it speeds up and as I slow down, it slows down. The dealer tells me that it is typical of the Tundra, Sequia and the 4-Runner. They claim that it is a design flaw and an annoyance, but that it causes no damage. Apparently the driveshaft flutters around a bit in the transfer case when the truck is NOT in 4WD and that is where the noise apparently comes from.

Has anyone else seen this? Toyota is supposedly aware of the problem and may be working on a fix, but I have heard nothing yet.

Thanks for the help.

boroEF · 04-19-2003, 02:50 AM

um unbalanced tires?
need alignment?

whatsthatnoise · 04-21-2003, 09:05 AM

Checked all that stuff first. It is what it says in my original post. Just curious if anyone else has seen this problem. I know of a few who have.

tech100 · 05-10-2003, 02:47 PM

exhaust resonation is a common complaint for the Tundra.........no dealer fixes available....

des2147 · 07-25-2003, 06:45 PM

Coincidentally, I had my 2000 Tundra at the dealer yeaterday for the same problem. I had taken it in during March sometime when I started hearing a regularly repeating growl from the front end.
I have only 16K on the vehicle. The "ACE" mechanic blew me off with the old "its tire noise". I put up with it figuring the tire noise might go away, but it persisted! I finally was able to test for tire noise by switching each tire with the spare. However, the pulsating noise continued. It was there with the engine off and in neutral or when in gear.

So, I took it back for service again about a week ago. I told them about my test and that the noise still continued. So, the mechanic contacted the R&D unit in CA. They told him it was a problem with the front differential/drive shaft, as you described. CA also said it occurred mostly in cold climate states. I am in St. Louis and the dealership had not seen the problem here before.

CA told my dealership to order and install a new front differential. It was installed 7/24. The service writer I was working with called me to let me know I could pickup the truck. I asked him if he had taken an test drive and was the noise gone. He said it was "better" but not gone. I lost it with him! I told him to get a better explanation than that. Just so happened that the Toyota Dist. Service Manager was in the dealership.

The final explanation I got was that the front driveshaft noise is, according to Toyta, "inherrent" in the 2000 4x4 Tundra platform and is a design flaw.

I asked the my Service Writer, "Let's suppose I decide to sell this truck next week and that you saw the ad and came by for a test drive. During the drive you heard the "whump, whump, whump" and asked what that noise was. And I say "Don't worry about that. It's just a driveshaft noise that Toyota says is INHERRENT in the 2000 Tundra. I asked him if he would believe me and he just smiled.

They gave me the following number for Toyota in CA so I can call them about this problem to complain about the "non-fix" and to find out if they are working on fixing the problem. 800-331-4331

I suggest that anyone with this problem should call Toyota and light a fire under them to correct this 3-year-old design flaw.

whatsthatnoise · 09-02-2003, 04:32 PM

Great post.

I'm so glad that I am finally finding others that have been having the same problem. Although the problem isn't yet corrected, at least I'm not just imagining the noise. This way I won't lose my mind.

JeremyH · 09-02-2003, 09:45 PM

This sounds like you have a bent input shaft (going into the front of your t-case). I bent the output shaft on my Jeep and it wobbled badly. It just needs to be replaced.

des2147 · 09-04-2003, 08:22 PM

More news!
I contacted toyota Customer Service and things are rolling. Dealer Cust Serv. Mgr. called me Said he received a call from Toyota so, I explained everything to him again. He called me back in a few days and said Toyota's Zone Mgr. wants to send the chief mechanic for the zone to evaluate my truck. That should happen in about a week. I will try to be sure to let your know the outcome.

Have you tried listening for the noise while in 4W drive? I didn't until I got the truck back after they installed the new Diff. If my truck is making the noise and I shift into 4W the noise continues without missing a beat. I told the Cust Serv. Mgr.

If they say the front drive shaft makes the noise because it is spinning while not under load (in other words, not in 4W drive). Based on this, I think the noise is caused by some other problem.
We'll see...

martys · 10-26-2005, 01:11 PM

I too have ths problem. I have an '02 access cab 4.7v8. when i first start out in the morning i get this noise and very slight vibration in the front end. It only happens between 30 and 40 mph. It does not speed up or down noticibly. As soon as i push the button for 4hi it stops. After turning 4hi off it will not come back for awhile. I can really only feel or hear it on very smooth asphalt. I took it to the dealer. They kept it for 2 days adn said they could not feel it. I took the tech out and got it to do it when her was driving. He said maybe it was occuring during a critical speed of dynamic balance. I told him that i used to do dynamic balancing and did not feel that was it. If it was you could correct it or change the critical speed. The service writer then said to just drive it. If it gets worse then we'll look at it. I was not pleased. I got my ball joint recall and wondered if this could be a cause of the problem. This is very annoying. What if i wanted to sell it? It bugs the heck out of me when it does it. Almost to the point that i want to trade it in on a new one.

rvboy · 10-27-2005, 01:24 PM

I live in Wisconsin, so I'll have to listen for the noise. I do grease all my U-joints and the rear yoke sleeve seems to hold a lot. I do get get some exhaust noise and on certain roads I get that rear end shudder when braking. My favorite noise now is the dash board by the radio and it only does it on certain roads and not all the time, may take the front pannel off and put some type of pading back there.

martys · 12-16-2005, 06:24 PM

Have the dealer replace your front diff. From what i heard they didn't bevel the gears correctly and they kind of rub. My '02 has kind of the same noise. It goes away when i put it in 4hi. I am having my front diff replaced after the new year. One dealer didn't know what to do. They told me to run it and if it got worse to bring it back. The next dealer told me about the gear problem and offered to swap the diff out under warranty.