2015 Front Differential Being Replaced

epjfsa said:
Can anyone speak to the longevity of the bushing? Seems like a strange place to swap a bearing for a bushing.
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I just installed the bushing on my 2012 w/ 83K on the clock. When I pulled the needle bearing there was one needle missing, but was generally intact. It didn't fix the loose clunk that I'm getting on the front left at low speed and low load, but it did tighten up the CV axle. I've replaced lower control arm/bushings/ball joint, upper ball joint on my upper control arms and tie rods and still have the clunk. The only thing I can replace next is the CV axle itself.

ECGS stated that they have yet to hear of a bushing wearing out - their words, not mine.
 
ECGS says "500,000" miles is the life of the bushing. I think that's just an arbitrary number in lieu of saying it never needs to be replaced. Certainly longer than the stock needle bearing's lifespan :thumb:
 
So I got my truck back this past Friday. They replaced the needle bearing and the truck runs fine in cold weather. The past week we had temps as low as 5 degrees.

Fingers crossed.
 
Same issue

My truck is now experiencing the same issues, more pronounced on smooth pavement, under deceleration at those same speeds, faint mind you but it is there for sure. I'm 18 months into warranty and at 18000 kilometres of daily driving only. Since it was minus 20 recently it was much more noticeable, not so much today as the temps are above zero. Anyway - all the same conditions as in this thread. Does not sound like it is grenading or getting worse so I'll try to find some time to bring it in for assessment.

This is a powertrain component however which is warrantied to 5 year and however many K's or mile correct ? This isn't under the standard 3 year / 60 I think... jeez I thought I might be able to avoid the dealer forever LoL.
 
Needle Bearing TSB

Hi all - So I think i have the same noise coming from the front diff. It seems more noticeable between 35-40mph in 2WD. My question is the TSB numbers shown in this thread only covers up to 2015 while my SR5 is 2016. I hate dealing with the Toyota dealership service dept. as they always use the cann't replicate the problem line. Anyway, will the TSB mentioned in this thread cover anything after 2015 model year? thanks.
 
BigredTEX said:
I just installed the bushing on my 2012 w/ 83K on the clock. When I pulled the needle bearing there was one needle missing, but was generally intact. It didn't fix the loose clunk that I'm getting on the front left at low speed and low load, but it did tighten up the CV axle. I've replaced lower control arm/bushings/ball joint, upper ball joint on my upper control arms and tie rods and still have the clunk. The only thing I can replace next is the CV axle itself.

ECGS stated that they have yet to hear of a bushing wearing out - their words, not mine.
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Check to see if your sway bar is contacting the radiator support.
 
4Rman said:
Hi all - So I think i have the same noise coming from the front diff. It seems more noticeable between 35-40mph in 2WD. My question is the TSB numbers shown in this thread only covers up to 2015 while my SR5 is 2016. I hate dealing with the Toyota dealership service dept. as they always use the cann't replicate the problem line. Anyway, will the TSB mentioned in this thread cover anything after 2015 model year? thanks.
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https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2018/MC-10142876-9999.pdf

Updated TSB to now include 16 & 17 year models.
 
Urbn_Overland said:
Yes, powertrain warranty applies. However, Toyota told me it would still be fixed since it was a known issue on that TSB even outside of warranty. But, i'm not really sure I trust that.

My noise started off faint, then within a year got worse.
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Mine was fixed at 68k- so over warranty, I had to call Toyota corp directly after I dropped at dealer, they took a few days to decide if they would cover it. I had reported the issue at 32k and had documentation of my complaint and visit to dealer- and had provided the TSB Rev1 which only covered up to 2015 at that time- dealer said no issue blamed my tires- all of which they printed on the service ticket. I had also emailed toyota corp to complain around 58k. So I had 2 previous complaints and it still wasnt a slam dunk. TSB is not a recall so as they told me its customer initiated to figure out if you have a problem and no guarantee of a fix outside warranty. Dealer finished the fix, while corp was thinking about it. Dealer called me said it's fixed Toyota is covering it, so I picked it up and went home. 2 days later Corp called and said they were covering part of the cost to fix. I told them was already told it was covered and had picked it up days ago. It appeared Corp was going to try and get me to pay $43 of the fix. I firmly went over all that I had done to report this while under warranty. They relented and sounded like the $43 was real important and was gonna ask the dealer for it. Interestingly enough the total fix was like $275, which I am guessing has to be cost and not what they would have charged me if I was paying for it all.

Interestingly the paper work after the fix, has the tech notes in which they stated my lift voided the warranty. Which this dealer sells a lot of spacer lifted new 4Runners and Tacos, plus is a a Toytech dealer, which is the lift I have. And which they on a previous visit could not do an alignment because they only had 1 tech who knew how to work with SPC UCA's. They jacked around with it for an hour, before coming back and saying they didn't know how to align it. Which I asked what do they do when they sell a new lifted 4runner since they are a Toytech lift dealer, all they could say was "I don't know".


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Drillzzz said:
I consistently get 18.9 miles. I drive very conservatively though
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Actually there are, there's a ton of other threads with all kinds peeps with this problem. It's been going on for a very long time with 4Runners, Tacos, Fj's etc. Enough people complained and they added the 2016 and 2017 4Runners.

I'd bet there gonna have to add 2018 & 2019, as the parts didn't change and there's 2018 peeps who have already had it fixed.

If you let it go long enough it'll eat the race after the bearing is gone, then your gonna need a new diff.

I got new needle bearings which I suspect is just a short term fix.
 
Disappointed - I guess

This needle bearing replacement seems like a common problem. I was getting ready to trade-in my 16 SR5 for a 19 ORP. Now, I don't know? How can this be off the radar when it comes to reliability of these trucks? What get's me is that now I have to argue with the stealership and convince them to do the repair. With 41K, seems too early for these types of issues(no lift). I think I am noticing it more now that it is -25F here in the Midwest.

I guess the auto show is just around the corner for us... With this noise and the constant hum from the rear diff at 68mph, may have to part ways and find something else.
 
4Rman said:
This needle bearing replacement seems like a common problem. I was getting ready to trade-in my 16 SR5 for a 19 ORP. Now, I don't know? How can this be off the radar when it comes to reliability of these trucks? What get's me is that now I have to argue with the stealership and convince them to do the repair. With 41K, seems too early for these types of issues(no lift). I think I am noticing it more now that it is -25F here in the Midwest.

I guess the auto show is just around the corner for us... With this noise and the constant hum from the rear diff at 68mph, may have to part ways and find something else.
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Yea, kind of ridiculous if this is going to be an every 25k mile fix... And who am I kidding, I first heard it closer to 20k miles.
 
I’ve come from 2 door coupes so this is my first suv which has more aggressive tires. I do hear sounds especially from the back but expected it to be the tires.

How can one differentiate the noise? Anyone in Denver/ Colorado Springs area willing to have a listen?
 
Drillzzz said:
I’ve come from 2 door coupes so this is my first suv which has more aggressive tires. I do hear sounds especially from the back but expected it to be the tires.

How can one differentiate the noise? Anyone in Denver/ Colorado Springs area willing to have a listen?
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For me, the the rear diff noise is very pronounced at 35, 60, 68mph. As you let go of the gas paddle in no-load situation like going down grade. It started at around 11K so I took it to the dealer for evaluation. They had me ride along in another used 4runner 5th gen with 30k miles and sure enough, that one had the same exact rear differential noise. Long story short, they told me that it is normal. Why then does it not do it from factory? Toyota is being arrogant by not addressing it at factory and keeps producing the same parts for close to a decade now.

This new noise from the needle bearing started last fall. It is a cyclical noise/feeling combination that you will most likely feel in your foot well and hear from the left front at low speeds 25-45mph.
 
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I had my needlepoint bearing replaced about a month ago. It still makes the same noise - maybe worse. Going to try and bring it back and offer to buy the ECS bearing. A bit upsetting.
 
Accelerate to 40 and let off gas and then can feel/ hear it, its cyclical so not constant. If you think you have it, shift into 4x4 on the fly when coasting down from 40ish, it will suddenly feel much much smoother while rolling.


I am bummed out thinking that the new bearings will eventually end up the same and I'll have to go fight this all over again. I was told by dealer the fix has a 1 year warranty.

Good luck all.
 
Had the front needle bearing in the diff replaced last year. Noise came back a few months ago. Will be going to get whole diff replaced shortly. Hopefully that fixes it for good!
 
Crocket said:
Had the front needle bearing in the diff replaced last year. Noise came back a few months ago. Will be going to get whole diff replaced shortly. Hopefully that fixes it for good!
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What’s to say the same old needle bearing is not in the new diff
 
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