I'd start with ruling out the tires. Might want swap with a buddy that's got a premium set of 'sneakers' to get a seat of the pants ruling...

 

I noticed what seemed like an buzz-like exhaust resonance @ 2500 rpm, 5-6 & 6-5th in stop and go traffic, below that nothing. I'll monitor my tach on the highway to see if I can replicate it...good luck

 

Appt for Friday at 10:30. Service manager checked and found no bulletins on my issue. Also thinks it may be tire issue. I truly hope so as it takes the enjoyment out of driving an otherwise nice vehicle.

Will post up after the check up!

 

I assume that the tire pressure is correct? Every new Toyota I've taken delivery of had way over inflated tires.

 

Sitting at dealer now. Their senior master tech said it is not a balance issue. He drove the truck and distinctly felt the buzzy vibration in the steering wheel and in the footwell between 2100-2300 RPM. He called Toyota tech line and was told they had no knowledge or reports of this issue. Engineers got back to him and told him to loosen all of the engine and transmission mounts and then re-torque them to spec.

Will report more as I find out. They are telling me they have no idea how long this will take.

The one thing I didn't like was his comment that "this may just be normal." I've never gotten numb hands and arms from anything but an old shovel head Harley. Not expecting this from a 40k truck?.

 

No resolution!

Well, the Master Tech at the dealer said all mounts were properly torque'd to spec. The vibration is still there. They are escalating it with Toyota and I now have the case number.


Note that I have been also posting on the tacomaworld.com forum and received a PM from a member stating that he had the exact same issue and also has a case number. He said that he test drove several Limiteds and Sports and they all had the buzziness to some degree, many worse than others and ALL at 2100-2300 RPM; however, he also drove 3 TRD O/R's and NONE of them exhibited the buzzy vibration at all. Interesting development and hopefully this will lead us to a resolution.


This is the first time after purchasing several Toyotas (over 10) that I can honestly say that I am disappointed in my purchase. I truly hope they can make this right because, overall, I like a lot about the truck; however, this 'buzzy' engine is downright unacceptable.:frown:

 

Sorry to hear about your woes with the 2016. Speaking strictly of the customer experience I had a fews years back with bad tires, Toyota District rep up here (Portland) his name was Paul Kirniak was an uneducated corporate "Yes" man trying to dismiss my issue altogether. Encourage you to keep after the engineers...that ought not be happening as you put it with a brand new $40K truck. If they cannot identify and fix, what is your plan? Lemmon law could work but that is an arduous process.

 

Plans? Well, I'm EXTREMELY disappointed and will keep rocking this boat until I get an answer and a solution. If it can't be fixed/resolved, this will be the last Toyota that I ever buy. Not that I like the idea; however, I would also have to trade it in (and take a big hit) as I would not be able to use it the way I intended and can't see having a $40k truck to just drive locally, putting all of the other miles on our TAH. Didn't like it as much as the Toyota; however, the GMC Canyon was not a bad vehicle, just not as nice as the Taco. It may be my alternative if Toyota does the "it's normal" line and fails to resolve this.

The thing that amazes me is Toyota engineers let this truck out the door with a buzz in the rpm range that should be a sweet spot for smoothness and drivability. Going to be interesting to hear the rest of the story...good work DB

Can't agree more. They had to have put thousands of hours into testing these trucks. This engine supposedly comes from the Lexus side, too, and is not new at all. Could you imagine this buzzy vibration coming from a Lexus? Interestingly enough, there does seem to be anecdotal evidence that enough others are bringing this issue up that they may actually priority address this. We bought a 'first year' TAH in '13 and, except for a falling down headliner that was promptly fixed under a TSB, have been very satisfied with the vehicle. This issue with the '16 Taco concerns me regarding Toyota and how well their R&D might have fallen....


Will keep the forum updated as I go through this journey. To me, it is a test of how well Toyota truly values it's customers and their total satisfaction. We buy a new vehicle every 2-3 years (keeping each one for 5-6 years) and for the past two decades it has been all Toyota all of the time (OK....Harleys don't count!), even buying our sons used Toyotas. I hope this is not my last Toyota purchase.

 

The thing that amazes me is Toyota engineers let this truck out the door with a buzz in the rpm range that should be a sweet spot for smoothness and drivability. Going to be interesting to hear the rest of the story...good work DB

 

I have some questions for you on the buzz. You said it occurs at a certain RPM in 6th gear (forget mph). If you downshift to a lower gear (manually moving the shift lever to 3rd gear for example), and bring the rpms up to the same rpm range, do you feel the buzz there? The reason I ask is I am wondering if some harmonics are setting up in your drive line. Not sure what it would cost to have the driveshaft looked at for proper balancing. And whilst at the driveline place investigate (test stand) to see if harmonics are setting up in the drive shaft (perfect storm length of drive shaft coupled with the drive line material thickness etc...). These are of course random thoughts on what else could be ailing the truck. You're right about this Atkinson "wonder" engine.....it comes down from Lexus so I am (and shouldn't necessarily be) eliminating from the trouble shooting hit list for the time being.

 

2100-2300RPM. When it falls out of that range, it goes away. I can be in 6th and it's there. A slight grade causes the vehicle to go into fifth and the vehicle RPM will go up and it goes away. I can also be cruising in 6th at 1800RPM or so with no buzzy vibration. Vehicle downshifts to 5th for that same slight grade and goes into that 2100ish RPM range, and the vibration is back.


I originally noticed it on the long trip I took to LV that I speak of in post #1 and thought it might be speed related. Now, if I go looking for it while driving around town and keep it steady at that 2100RPM in almost any gear, it's there, just not as noticeable as you rarely keep the vehicle steady for any length of time in-town.


On the way to LV, I had the steering wheel adjusted all the way out and felt the vibration much greater (in the steering wheel, not the foot-well) than on the way back, when I pushed it all of the way in. Seemed to reduce the felt vibration by 25% or so, which made sense as the vibration was travelling up the steering column and pushing it in locks it in place better. The foot-well vibration did not change. I've gone to wearing really thick socks, which seems to pad the vibration somewhat. The dealer is 100 miles away and my feet were not tingling as bad when I got there after I tried the thicker socks.


It you put the vehicle in neutral and run the RPMs up to 2100 and let it sit there, I don't detect any vibration at all. I'm wondering if it is a symbiotic vibration between the trans and the engine? A forum member on tacomaworld.com PM'd me and said that he tested 3 Off-Roads after he discovered the same vibration in his Sport. None of them had it. The Off-Road has the Crawl-Control etc, which may be an added component of some kind in the trans to drivetrain link, which may be what cushions the vibration there?


My salesman, who is the dealer Fleet Manager, has an Off-Road coming in and said he would send it to that same Master Tech as soon as it was prepped so he could drive it and see if he notices the vibration on the Off-Road. If he doesn't, that would be an interesting development and may help isolate the issue.


Just trying not to get discouraged and hoping that Toyota will actually address this and find a solution.


Thank-you for your input and suggestions.

 

I think looking into the future the biggest issue is going to be wether or not this mechanical/driveline/ imbalance will result in mechanical component failure. Anyone that has built race engines knows that the smallest imbalance in engine, flywheel, clutch, driveline components will cause failure in a race car at WOT, this can happen in seconds to minutes. Our '16' imbalance/buzz is reported to be occurring at low RPM, but a steady highway diet at 65-80mph will eventually end in some type damage or mechanical failure. This brings up warranty questions that should prove costly or legally sticky. So if you have 'it' document it, and report it. No manufacturer wants admit screw ups unless they are forced to...

 

Is the vibration there at a lower speed where you're in 5th gear at those RPMs?

 

Easily noted at 2100-2200RPM in either 5th or 6th gears, both of which are overdrives. My seat-of-the-pants analysis says that the OD gears are the primary culprits, with a lesser vibration felt in 4th. I drove the vehicle home from work tonight and used the 'manual' shifting and tried to drive side streets without traffic and could not find the buzz distinctly in 1st, 2nd or 3rd (although it was hard to maintain the speeds for any length of time like one can on the highway). It was quite evident in 4th and then got more noticeable in 5th and 6th.


The Master Tech who agreed that there was a definite 'buzzy' vibration at 2100RPM will be driving an O/R tomorrow that just came in. Am curious if he finds the vibration there, too. If not, then I believe we at least have a place to start...

 

Doobiewah,

The additional details you provided could be useful to the master tech at Toyota. If you shift into neutral and rev to the 2100 rpm range and no vibration, that tells me that potentially the issue could be transmission, or maybe drive shaft. I would explore them both with master tech once he gets a Off-Road to test drive as well. Would like to hear how your explorations with Master Tech go as they look into this.

V. Best

DPD327

 

I have read of at least one and perhaps two accounts of that buzz-like thing coming up through the gas pedal. I have not had occasion to track this further and did not bookmark the posts. If I see something like again or stumble back on what I read that I will post back.

 

Are they new to the Tacoma? I remember how I noticed the buzz in the gas pedal of the 2nd Gen. Still does it, but I got used to it. Seems normal for 2nd Gen. I bet if there were a buzz in the 3rd Gen pedal and I drove one, I wouldn't notice it since I'm used to it.

 

I tried to dial in 2100-2300 then hit cruise control to keep it in that rpm range. No matter how many times I tried, the cruise control took me to 1900 or 24-2500 rpm then set. I could not get a set at 21-2300 rpm. Anyone notice this ?

 

No problem here on a flat Fwy with a speed limit of 75. Easy to do for me.

 

I posted on the other site about the gas pedal vibration and PM'd Doobiewah about my Off-Road test drives. I bought a 2016 TRD Sport 4x4 and noticed the heavy gas pedal vibs from 2,000-2,300 RPMs the next day. I also feel it, to a lesser extent, in the steering wheel. Took it back to the dealership’s service department and got the standard line: “We test drove another Sport and it has the same issue. Suspect it’s normal.” I complained to Toyota. Dealership called me back the next day, said corporate was out, test-drove two more Sports, found the same problem, and opened a corporate case. They said if enough people complained, Toyota may fix it. I never heard back.

Out of curiosity, I drove two Off-Roads at other dealerships. I tried to find a Sport but no dealership had any. The Off-Roads didn’t have the problem. I went back to my dealer with my findings. They said, “We want you to be happy and will let you have an incoming Off-Road for an hour by yourself. If you like it, we’ll trade you out.” Note: not fix what they sold me, but sell me another car. I accepted the test drive because I was contemplating switching out. So I drove the third Off-Road pretty hard for an hour and never experienced the issue; however, I do not want an Off-Road, nor do I want to take the financial hit. So I declined and again reported my experience to Toyota.

Toyota didn’t understand why the original dealership wanted to sell me another vehicle instead of diagnosing mine and trying to find and explain the problem. So they referred me to another local dealership’s service department for a second opinion. I called this one and they didn’t dance around it: they knew about it and offered to diagnose my Sport this week. I am going to request that they drive an Off-Road. Then find and explain to me (a) what’s causing the problem on the Sport—not a guess—and (b) provide a plausible explanation as to why my Sport has the defect but the Off-Road does not.

I’m skeptical and think I’ll get the “it’s normal,” but I’ve got to try. I’ll keep this forum posted.

 

I'm skeptical, too, that we will get the "it's normal" line. I am pushing this, too, and will be calling corporate after my dealership gets back to me about the Master Mechanic test drive of the O/R.

I'm curious how your steering wheel is adjusted. I got the most vibration in the wheel when it was pulled all the way out (which was the way I wanted it). By pushing it back in, the vibration was alleviated, somewhat, however I am not real happy with that driving position. One would think there would be a plausible, identifiable issue that could be fixed and that the vibration would go away in both the floorboard and the steering wheel. At that point, this would be a very nice truck. Otherwise, it is a bust, IMHO, for what we paid.

Thank you for posting here and keeping the flame lit on this. If enough of us squeak, then we might get the appropriate amount of grease to fix this (pun intended!).

I'll be posting over at tacomaworld.com regarding my observations, too.

 

I paid attention to the steering wheel adjustment on the way to the service department this morning. It was pushed all the way inward, so I pulled it all the way out. Oddly, the steering wheel vibration disappeared when I had mine pulled all the way out. When I pushed it back in, the vibration returned. Not sure how to explain the opposite results.

 

Well, time to amend my previous comment. Found myself on a meandering country road today with no cars at all, so I decided to play around with the gears and trans to see. After driving several miles on the mostly flat, occasionally slightly up and down road, I determined that ALL gears show the buzzy vibration between 2100-2300RPM. You go above or below, and it goes away completely. And, you definitely feel it more when there is an even slight load on the trans/engine.


No call from my dealer today, so I'll have to call tomorrow to find out about that O/R that they were supposed to test for the vibration.

 

Doobiewah, buy a Harley. You'll never notice Tacoma vibes...trust me!!!!

Okay guys...just trying to make light of a problem. FYI, with 1000 miles on my access cab 4x4 off road, I tried various rpm's and gears and I swear, mine feels smoother in the 2200-2500rpm range than between 1200 and 2100 and 2600 and 3500 rpm. Not a lot and maybe just a bias issue but, ....

Tires are Goodyear Wrangler kevlars...even tho you've ruled that out. TP 31 cold 34 hot.

 

Doobiewah, buy a Harley. You'll never notice Tacoma vibes...trust me!!!!

I have one...'99 Road King Classic w/ Screaming Eagle Racing Kit installed! Handlebars have less vibration than my Taco steering wheel at speed...sad:frown:. (Ok...they do hecka shake at idle, though!)

AND: Your input is appreciated. Any input I can get to help me figure this out and get it resolved is why these forums exist...otherwise, the only answer we'd get is: "it's normal".

 

Quick update on my case. I took it into the second dealership this week. The technicians didn't know what was causing this. I then rode with the shop foreman and service manager. He felt the vibration in the passenger floorbed, the driver floorbed/gas pedal, and steering wheel from 2,100-2,300 RPMs. He said he needs to confer with the regional field engineer (RFE)to first determine whether there is a problem that may cause damage now or down the road, as Toyota is sensitive to defects that will result in warranty repairs down the line. If it is not a problem, then it's a matter of that RFE deciding whether it's a "characteristic" of the model. We also tried to find another model to test drive--Sport and Off Road--to no avail. Popular trucks!

Over at Tacomaworld I had a thread about the floorbed/pedal vib in which the last poster said that the buzz lessened the more miles he put on the truck. I also found another thread where the poster noted the buzz and vibration--not specific as to where--accelerating through the 2,000 RPM range. The poster said it smoothed out after 1K miles.

 

If it goes away, that would be great! Still feel it on mine at 1200 miles, though. Will be going on another several hundred mile trip in about 10 days, so it will be interesting to see if adding more mileage lessens or eliminates the vibration. Still not sure how, with all of the supposed R&D that went into this truck, it got through the manufacturing process with this issue....:frown:


Thank-you for posting your ongoing results.

 

Well, dealership has tested other trucks and has come to the 'conclusion' that it must be normal as they found it on all 4x4 Sports and Limiteds they have tested. When I asked the Asst Service Manager if this was acceptable in a $40k truck, he was DEAD SILENT. I then asked him what I was supposed to do since the problem was bad enough to numb my hands and wrists on long drives, and I could not imaging a Tundra, or a Colorado/Canyon, being acceptable with this issue. His response was TEPID at best, saying that they had "filed a report with Toyota, and there was nothing more they could do. Maybe you should call the ToyotaCare line and file another complaint? Just let them know that we already filed our report and give them the case number we gave you."


I'm calling and will see what Toyota will do; however, this is starting to really irritate me since the dealership seems to want to be totally hands off on this. I'm starting to regret that I traded in my FJC for this truck. Overall, I like much about it; however, this issue is ridiculous in todays day and age.....and I'm getting more and more PO'd at the dealership for not seeming to care one bit.

 

Well, dealership has tested other trucks and has come to the 'conclusion' that it must be normal as they found it on all 4x4 Sports and Limiteds they have tested.

I find it interesting that, rather than testing the Off-Road they said they'd check, they test the Sport and Limited models only and call it normal.

 

I wonder if Toyota will offer a steering wheel padded cover???

 

Gel? It may reduce the vibration in the steering wheel...and I may have to resort to that....I appreciate the idea!

The footwell vibration, however, won't be taken care of until they find what is causing this problem......and I also have a concern for the long-term. We shall see. I am seeing more and more posts with similar complaints over at Tacomaworld.com and am hoping that enough people will complain that a TSB will be forthcoming....

 

Ya know, I was thinking about getting a '16 4x4 Sport or a Limited. Not now after reading this. Had an '05 Sport with the steering wheel flutter on the highway. Got fixed, but was a long tuff road. Got the typical "it's normal". Got a '13 Prerunner I4 with the 20MPH drive line vibe, got fixed...but it's still there at times. C'mon Toyota engineers ....what's the deal!!!!

 

I'd sure wait. Wish I hadn't traded in my FJC. :frown:


IF the vibration wasn't there, the truck would get a solid 8.5-9.0. With the annoying vibration, a 5. Had one of my employees in the truck today. He loved it, except for the vibration he felt at times in the passenger front footwell.....he'd heard me speak of it and was trying to see if he could feel it himself. He said it was quite obvious and surprised that it came from a Toyota. Said his Kia Forte was smoother and had no vibration at all at any speeds.....ouch!

 

Dealer service manager just let me know that there is nothing more they can do and to shout out to Toyota as loud and as long as I can. He believes that the truck needs re-designed engine/tranny mounts to resolve the issue and isolate the 'obvious' vibration issue.


My salesman, the Fleet Manager, also let me know that a dealer trade came in today from NM and it was a 4x4 Dbl Cab O/R. He was going to try and sneak it out for a short drive to check it, since he was disappointed that the other one they had didn't get checked. I'm hoping that if the O/R 4x4 doesn't have the problem, I can focus my complaint when I call.

 

I had mine back at the dealership today for another issue and spoke with the service manager, who said they've been noticing it on other incoming vehicles and are trying to figure it out at upper levels. So I haven't quite got the "it's normal" line yet. I'm holding out hope but we'll see...

 

Was able to speak with Toyota Customer Care. They were very patient and understanding and, after speaking with a supervisor, the CSR is forwarding it to a senior case manager. It was interesting to note that he was quick to say how many Toyotas I have purchased over the years. It was after I said that I wasn't too sure how long I could keep the truck with the vibration issue that he spoke with his supervisor. They do not want me to get rid of the truck and said they would do whatever it takes to keep me a happy Toyota customer.


I'm curious how this plays out and truly hope that they find an easy solution.

 

Hi there! Sorry to hear about your new truck. I have a 2016 trd sport AT but I don't think I can feel any vibration in the steering wheel as well as in the foot well. I will inform you right away if I notice any vibrations with the truck. My wife has the truck right now and I will ask her as soon as she comes home if she ever noticed any vibrations at all. Again sorry for your misfotune with your new truck. Hope it gets resolved soon.