2016 SR5 4WD with Grind/Moan Vibration

[a2marian]

Google T-SB-0026-15.

Noise/vibration there in 2wd, not there when in 4wd.

For me, I noticed it was worse when decelerating only but as my ears/butt focused more on the sound/vibration, it became apparent upon acceleration/normal driving as well. Dealer replaced needle bearings as specified in TSB above. Problem solved.

I don't own the vehicle anymore as I traded in the '16 SR5P for an '18 TRD Off-Road. Hope it doesn't plague the vehicle as well.

Best,
am

 

[Kazzy4RNR]

Google T-SB-0026-15.

Noise/vibration there in 2wd, not there when in 4wd.

For me, I noticed it was worse when decelerating only but as my ears/butt focused more on the sound/vibration, it became apparent upon acceleration/normal driving as well. Dealer replaced needle bearings as specified in TSB above. Problem solved.

I don't own the vehicle anymore as I traded in the '16 SR5P for an '18 TRD Off-Road. Hope it doesn't plague the vehicle as well.

Best,
am

Thanks AM. I'll mention this when I take it in.

 

[T4Rawr]

Is this inherent to only the part time 4wd 4runners?
Has anyone heard of this happening in a limited?

 

[seacat21]

bearings...

Had same issue in a 2016 sr5. Ended up being the left front needle bearing. Toyota tech said first he had seen in 4runner but had seen several in a the tacos.

 

[renau001]

Is this inherent to only the part time 4wd 4runners?
Has anyone heard of this happening in a limited?

this particular issue with the front needle bearing is part-times only, as the groan is only there in 2wd

 

[Kazzy4RNR]

My “fix” update

I have a 2016 and no vibes or 4wd issues .. very smooth ..

most of the forum members will not post back how the vehicle was fixed .. so the thread goes on for years ...

post back how the dealership treated you and what they did and found.. that is helpful for many ..

I am still dealing with this. I took my 4Runner to the dealer and explained what I was hearing/feeling. Although I made an appointment and said that I wanted to ride with the tech, I couldn’t wait an hour for a tech to be available and trusted that the problem was so consistent that the tech would recognize it. I also mentioned the needle bearing possibility and TSB. When I picked up the vehicle, I was told that they determined it was not the needle bearing. Apparently, the tech drove it in 2WD & 4WD, felt some pulling, said the vibration happened in 2WD & 4WD, and decided the problem was alignment — which they said was to be resolved by the company that did the lift, etc. (at the direction of the dealer). When I asked to talk to the tech, their whole demeanor changed to a defensive posture. Received a lecture about how driving a lifted vehicle with off-road tires in 4WD has a different feel and sound, blah, blah, blah - to which my response was, “well, I have a 1995 4Runner with a bigger lift and bigger tires and that I’ve driven in 4WD a million times, and I can tell you I know what all that feels & sounds like. This is not the extra grippiness felt in 4WD, this groan is not big tires, and this is not pulling in a direction due to mis-alignment.” But, the dealer punted this to the after-market company that did the lift.

I went to the company that did the lift — extremely helpful — they did the alignment and balance. But, they couldn’t detect the groan/vibration problem. I rode with their tech, but the noise/vibration didn’t happen.

Since taking the vehicle back, the groan/vibration is still happening. My problem seems to be that although I feel like this groan/vibration happens more often than not, there are times when the groan/vibration is absent. As described in this thread, the groan/vibration happens in 2WD and goes away in 4WD.

I feel a bit like I’m WebMD’ing this and/or have convinced myself that the needle bearing IS the problem. But, I’m at a loss.

Any advice on what I do next?

 

[catrains]

thanks for that detailed info.. so it is intermittent . that is odd..

with all your driving with this issue .. what speeds ? type of road pavement and condition .

on my 2016 no lift OEM I find that on some roads vehicle will drift left/right does not go straight .. most roads no issues . wandering issue.. so when I drive on these type roads it will do it all the time ..then on the same road pavement changes no problem .. never had this happen on any vehicle I have owned since 1967.

alignment is perfect and all the tires look exactly the same little wear issues . stock tires ..

IMO I think your problem is that bearing .. did they check the front diff axles for excessive play ? did you ? each side should have the same amount of movement ..

 

[Kazzy4RNR]

thanks for that detailed info.. so it is intermittent . that is odd..

with all your driving with this issue .. what speeds ? type of road pavement and condition .

on my 2016 no lift OEM I find that on some roads vehicle will drift left/right does not go straight .. most roads no issues . wandering issue.. so when I drive on these type roads it will do it all the time ..then on the same road pavement changes no problem .. never had this happen on any vehicle I have owned since 1967.

alignment is perfect and all the tires look exactly the same little wear issues . stock tires ..

IMO I think your problem is that bearing .. did they check the front diff axles for excessive play ? did you ? each side should have the same amount of movement ..

The groan/vibration is most noticeable at 35-40 mph, and most noticeable as I am decelerating. But I can start to hear/feel it at 20ish mph. The groan gets “faster” and “slower” as speed increases and decreases. It happens on every road surface and is easiest to detect on very smooth roads (smooth pavement). And, seems to be prevelant on colder days (haven’t had many warm days in St. Louis lately). The company that did the lift, etc. did an alignment last week in an attempt to fix the issue, so I’d say that the alignment is (or should be) perfect.

I do not know if the dealer or after-market company checked the front diff axles for excessive play. I can check with them. I did not check (I’m not mechanically inclined, but hoping to be, so do not know how).

Thanks, I really appreciate your help with this!

 

[catrains]

with that info you give the diff bearings are a problem .. possible the front hub bearings .

 

[Kazzy4RNR]

with that info you give the diff bearings are a problem .. possible the front hub bearings .

Thanks, Catrains. My next step is to go back to the dealer and ask them to check the diff bearings and hub bearings. It is definitely a problem in the front. It’s still under warranty too. Hopefully my next post on this topic will be the final resolution.

 

[Kbike230]

2015 TEP I have the same noise. 52,000 miles and it's gotten more consistent but not a whole lot louder. I can pick it out even after a long highway drive where the truck has warmed up plenty. The dealership couldn't hear the noise and due to my work schedule I cant waste a day sitting in the waiting room to go for a ride. I'm also not particularly impressed by my dealership's workmanship and the next closest one has burned me to many times to go back. I'm thinking about doing the ECGS bushing but I'd like to put off the repair a little while longer so while I'm under the truck I can install a lift at the same time. Anybody know if I'm going to cause any more damage to the differential gears by letting this problem go? I sure don't want to walk into a catastrophic failure of the front end.

 

[sting555]

I noticed a strange noise a while back while in reverse. Turns out it was mud stuck to my drive shaft. Once I gave the truck a nice bath, no more strange noises. Get under there and give it a good pressure washing and see if that helps.

 

[Kistle]

I am having this issue with my 2011 SR5. Made it to 91K miles before it appeared, so I don't feel as bad as the guys here with newer rigs.

Interesting that my issue fits the description of what is being reported to a T. Low frequency gear/bearing growling noise that is most apparent 35-40 mph, and can be heard increasing or decreasing in a linear fashion with accelerating decelerating. I talked to ECGS and read the TSB. Both made very specific reference to this only occurring in 2HI, and it going away in 4HI. And based on the issue that the ECGS bushing addresses, that makes sense.

But, my noise continues unchanged when in 4HI. Easy to dismiss it as it must be something else, but it sure sounds like the EXACT same issue.

The TSB suggests having a dealer use a ChassisEar to diagnose/confirm. Do they really do that? Is the dealer really the best place to get this addressed? Or would a local, trusted axle/gear repair shop, if one could be found, be better positioned to deal with a repair like this? Pretty sure a Dealer will only replace the entire diff, which really doesn't address the root cause.

Anyone have, or heard of this issue occurring also in 4HI?

Thanks,

JA

 

[Kazzy4RNR]

I am having this issue with my 2011 SR5. Made it to 91K miles before it appeared, so I don't feel as bad as the guys here with newer rigs.

Interesting that my issue fits the description of what is being reported to a T. Low frequency gear/bearing growling noise that is most apparent 35-40 mph, and can be heard increasing or decreasing in a linear fashion with accelerating decelerating. I talked to ECGS and read the TSB. Both made very specific reference to this only occurring in 2HI, and it going away in 4HI. And based on the issue that the ECGS bushing addresses, that makes sense.

But, my noise continues unchanged when in 4HI. Easy to dismiss it as it must be something else, but it sure sounds like the EXACT same issue.

The TSB suggests having a dealer use a ChassisEar to diagnose/confirm. Do they really do that? Is the dealer really the best place to get this addressed? Or would a local, trusted axle/gear repair shop, if one could be found, be better positioned to deal with a repair like this? Pretty sure a Dealer will only replace the entire diff, which really doesn't address the root cause.

Anyone have, or heard of this issue occurring also in 4HI?

Thanks,

JA

Well, I am having this problem again. As I posted previously, I asked the dealer about this. Their tech couldn’t detect the groan/vibration & the dealer insisted that I get an alignment (done by the company that did the aftermarket lift on behalf of the dealer). This was done, but the company also couldn’t detect the groan/vibration. After months of warm weather, we’re now experiencing cold weather & the issue has returned. As others mentioned, it seems to be a cold weather thing for me as well. I’m going back to the dealer next week to get this addressed & hopefully resolved. When I get this resolved I’ll post the problem & resolution.

 

[thevanillagorilla]

I was having this problem. 2016 TRDP with 46,700 on the clock. Had a groan/grinding you could hear, especially between 25-40 mph, and you could feel it through the floor and in the steering wheel. When you’d engage 4H it would immediately go away and be smooth and silent. Popped ECGS bushing in, and all is well now. Smooth and silent at all speeds whether in 4WD or 2WD.

 

[Cwright26]

2017 SR5 48k Miles. Will keep an eye on this. Good info as always.

 

[Salvo Jimmy]

Here is a summary of the TSB that covers this off The NHTSA site

June 8, 2018 MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION NUMBER: T-SB-0026-15_REV
Components: POWER TRAIN
NHTSA ID Number: 10142876

Manufacturer Communication Number: T-SB-0026-15_Rev

Summary

TSB: REVISION NOTICE June 8, 2018 Rev2: ? Applicability has been updated to exclude 2016 ? 2017 model year Tacoma vehicles.

? The Repair Procedure section has been updated. May 15, 2017 Rev1: ? Applicability has been updated to include 2016 ? 2017 model year Tacoma and 4Runner vehicles. ? The Introduction section has been updated. Any previous printed versions of this bulletin should be discarded. Some 2004 ? 2017 model year 4Runner vehicles, 2007 ? 2014 model year FJ Cruiser vehicles, and

2005 ? 2015 model year Tacoma vehicles equipped with part-time 4WD may exhibit a cyclical groaning or grinding noise coming from the front differential in 2WD that goes away when operated in 4WD. This noise can be addressed by replacing the needle bearing on the left side of the front differential. Refer to the Repair Procedure for needle bearing roller replacement instructions.

 

[renau001]

I was having this problem. 2016 TRDP with 46,700 on the clock. Had a groan/grinding you could hear, especially between 25-40 mph, and you could feel it through the floor and in the steering wheel. When you’d engage 4H it would immediately go away and be smooth and silent. Popped ECGS bushing in, and all is well now. Smooth and silent at all speeds whether in 4WD or 2WD.

I can’t wait to see a DIY on installing the ECGS bearing. I need to get this done.

 

[thevanillagorilla]

I can’t wait to see a DIY on installing the ECGS bearing. I need to get this done.

These two should get you there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WnA_R3gFf2s&time_continue=11

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/pdf/37734

 

[renau001]

These two should get you there.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WnA_R3gFf2s&time_continue=11

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/pdf/37734

Thanks, I had watched that video at some point, of course they assume if you're doing this job that you have a removed a cv axle before. It would be the first time for me. I've removed a rear axle on a basic limited slip rear diff, but that's about it. I'm also not sure I wanna assume the risk of dropping something in my diff, we'll see. I need to find a good writeup on removing the axle.