Driveline Vibration Issue & Fix: Replace Rear Driveshaft

[JayTech]

Gotcha. So the truck with issues that developed at 30k km was a different issue?

A truck with driveshaft issues from day one makes sense.

My quirk is that I had zero issues, then from one day to the next my truck developed the shaking/shudder. It's hard for me to fathom how or why a driveshaft would cause that (short of a material failure from fatigue).

It might be a separate issue but it also could have started as a vibration and eventually got worse depending on what is actually failing on these shafts. I was not involved with that one so I do not know all the details of that particular case. Unfortunately we do not have the equipment here to properly inspect the driveshaft because I would love to dig into this and find out what exactly is going on. I can't really send it out to a driveline shop incase Toyota asks for the part back. I am still hopeful Toyota will look into this to get to the bottom of what is causing this problem. Whether its a TSB, WEP, or service campaign(essentially a voluntary recall for non safety related issues).

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[NH Marine]

When you hear back from them, I would let them know other dealers have found a problem with the driveshafts so they can inspect to see if that is the same case for yours. This definitely seems to be an ongoing issue seeing there are MANY complaints of driveline vibrations.

I brought a copy of your first posting on this issue into the Service Manager last week. He read it and agreed to have a tech remove the rear drive shaft, put it into 4 High and check it out. They did that today and what do you know, it was smooth as silk. The shop foreman came to me and said "We had tried all kinds of things on others with this problem, springs, angles, shims and couldn't get it to go away". Wait! didn't you tell me it was normal driving when you went on a test drive with me???????
They ordered a new drive shaft but they weren't available anywhere local. So I am waiting on one to come in.

Thanks a million for your posting! I had been driving around hating my truck every time I was in the 30-45MPH band. I really appreciate your help!!!

 

[NH Marine]

Just got contacted by the Service Manager. The new driveshaft is in. Being installed Tuesday.

 

[NH Marine]

Drive shaft was replaced today. Issue is resolved! Thanks a million Jay Tech!

 

[Tom Sellick]

I work at a Toyota dealer and have been seeing many complaints about a driveline vibration at speeds below 50mph and no one has been able to fix them with the dealers most people have been going to being of no help. It seems most would either say it is normal or try to balance tires with most vehicles vibrations not being fixed.

We had a couple arrive with this issue at our dealer starting with a brand new Trailhunter to be sold on our lot so we started by balancing the tires, swapping the rims and tires with another truck with known good wheels/tires, and then tried removing the shaft and test driving it in 4 High. We found the vibration went away with the rear shaft removed so we have isolated the problem to being the driveshaft. We then tried the same thing, removing the shaft and driving in 4 high on the other trucks and it has solved the vibration for all of them. So far all cases of the vibration problem we have experienced have been Tacomas with the 2 piece rear driveshafts(6ft bed), so there definitely appears to be an issue with the rear driveshafts. Replacing the shafts with new units has solved the vibration concerns in all of the Tacomas we have had in for this problem.

This may also apply to some people experiencing the same vibration in the 5ft bed Tacomas with a single piece shaft but we have not had any in with this concern yet to verify if that is the case or not. One of these trucks the rear shaft pushed the rear end out of alignment so this may also be why some people are seeing the rear end out of spec while also experiencing a slight vibration.

Hopefully Toyota addresses this concern soon and hopefully this will help some of you experiencing this issue and pointing out this being a known issue to the dealers if they try to tell you "this is normal", as this is definitely NOT normal.

I’ve had these vibrations in my TRD Pro since new, between 70-80km/hr. My dealer usually isn’t very helpful when I raise issues. Anyone else having this issue with their Pro?

 

[NH Marine]

It wouldn't. matter if it's a pro or a tr5. It matters if it's a long bed or short bed. The long bed has a 2 part drive shaft. It seems to me that it's a 2 piece drive shaft issue. I met 3 other long bed owners since I bought mine and had this issue that have had the same issue with theirs. And they all were getting the same response that I got. "That's normal ride for the Tacoma".

I was lucky that my dealer Service Manager listened and red what JayTech had written. When they removed the drive shaft and drove it in 4 wheel drive (Really making it front wheel drive) they were amazed at how it fixed the issue. Then they ordered a new drive shaft and installed it yesterday. and PRESTO! Issue gone. Print out this thread and bring it in to your Service Manager!

 

[konga056]

Just had mine replaced it and completely fixed it for me as well.

Interestingly when I brought it in my service manager already knew exactly what was going on and told me right away what needed to be done and that warranty would cover it.

 

[Tom Sellick]

It wouldn't. matter if it's a pro or a tr5. It matters if it's a long bed or short bed. The long bed has a 2 part drive shaft. It seems to me that it's a 2 piece drive shaft issue. I met 3 other long bed owners since I bought mine and had this issue that have had the same issue with theirs. And they all were getting the same response that I got. "That's normal ride for the Tacoma".

I was lucky that my dealer Service Manager listened and red what JayTech had written. When they removed the drive shaft and drove it in 4 wheel drive (Really making it front wheel drive) they were amazed at how it fixed the issue. Then they ordered a new drive shaft and installed it yesterday. and PRESTO! Issue gone. Print out this thread and bring it in to your Service Manager!

I think all the Pros are 5ft bed only if memory serves. Was why I was wondering if anyone with 5ft is having the issue or had it fixed.

 

[Gfenza89]

Some things never change.....

 

[iron.head]

Subscribed to this thread and waiting to see the recall! Thank you!

 

[Capemike]

I work at a Toyota dealer and have been seeing many complaints about a driveline vibration at speeds below 50mph and no one has been able to fix them with the dealers most people have been going to being of no help. It seems most would either say it is normal or try to balance tires with most vehicles vibrations not being fixed.

We had a couple arrive with this issue at our dealer starting with a brand new Trailhunter to be sold on our lot so we started by balancing the tires, swapping the rims and tires with another truck with known good wheels/tires, and then tried removing the shaft and test driving it in 4 High. We found the vibration went away with the rear shaft removed so we have isolated the problem to being the driveshaft. We then tried the same thing, removing the shaft and driving in 4 high on the other trucks and it has solved the vibration for all of them. So far all cases of the vibration problem we have experienced have been Tacomas with the 2 piece rear driveshafts(6ft bed), so there definitely appears to be an issue with the rear driveshafts. Replacing the shafts with new units has solved the vibration concerns in all of the Tacomas we have had in for this problem.

This may also apply to some people experiencing the same vibration in the 5ft bed Tacomas with a single piece shaft but we have not had any in with this concern yet to verify if that is the case or not. One of these trucks the rear shaft pushed the rear end out of alignment so this may also be why some people are seeing the rear end out of spec while also experiencing a slight vibration.

Hopefully Toyota addresses this concern soon and hopefully this will help some of you experiencing this issue and pointing out this being a known issue to the dealers if they try to tell you "this is normal", as this is definitely NOT normal.

I have a 2019 Tacoma SR 4x4 and had been experiencing a vibration sunce the day I bought it. I had balanced the tires seven times, at three different places, and with force balancing. Had an alignment done, rotated the tires, even swapped out the tires/rims from another vehicle, and it still did it. Took it back to the dealer for trip number three, they tore the rear end apart and found minor shavings mixed in with the gear oil, which I thought was somewhat normal as it wasn't even broken in yes and hadn't had its first fluid changed yet.
Later I found excessive play in the left front needle bearings, so the dealership replaced the short shaft to the wheel and the needle bearing joint. The vibration felt Like it went away, but I couldnt be 100% sure. That was last fall, and now I definitely feel the vibration again. I was thinking drive shaft for some time, but didn’t want to believe it. So my plan is to remove the rear drive shaft and take it out on the highway in 4 hi to see if that eliminates it.
When GMC came out with the Colorado around 2004, I bought a new one. As I drove it of the lot you could feel the vibration. On the highway you could see the rear fenders shaking in the side view mirrors. I did some online research and found they had a bad batch of drives shafts that year. The dealer ignored me, we got into a fight, almost physical, and it ended going to a third party to verify the driveshaft. They put it on the lift and you could see the shaft dancing around like Richard Pryor on fire. So they ordered another but there wasn’t one to be found in the continental US or Mexico. Guess I waited to long to force my claim and all the good driveshafts were already used to replace the bad ones. I traded it for something different.
So is it safe to run mine without the rear shaft in 4x4 hi to eliminate the vibration coming from that?

 

[TacoKiwi]

Yes it is safe for a short distance to test. You will feel it a bit of a waggy tail end as the truck was not designed as a front wheel drive. One of the things to ensure is that the driveshaft length is not too long as that causes binding in the spline that allows the diff to travel up and down without pushing that spline in too far as that would cause a vibration. Forget the wheels folks as they don't vibrate unless you are doing near 140mph. They just go unbalanced or have flat spots/shifting belts in the tires which does feel bad. Just for reference a story - back in the mid 90s I was moose hunting with 6 others. 3 of us travelled in a 86 Ford F150 with a camper and flat deck trailer about 600 miles north. Up at camp on rough ground a driver bounced the truck on a track with a high center longitudinally that caused the front camper support cross bar to crush into the driveshaft and totalled the shaft. We took it off and made the truck FWD and had that camper, 3 moose and two quads on the trailer and drove that sucker 600miles back with FWD but real slow. It can be done but I would not make a habit of it.

 

[Lennyz1]

Had similar issue on a RAM 1500 where at about 60 - 70 MPH only I had a vibration that felt and sounded like it was in the front. It went years until at about 50K when I finally replaced tires and the vibration never went away. It had been at the dealer no less that 10 times trying to find this vibration. After the tire replacement I had them pull the front drive shaft and took it for a ride. No difference. wheel balance again and no change. I finally told them I was not driving the truck until they found the issue. The service advisor sat in the truck as they put it up on the lift. They put it in 4WD and ran the drivetrain up to 70 MPH. I was told that the rear drive shaft was wobbling so bad that it almost took the truck off the lift. So $1000 later my truck had no more vibration. I was pissed with Dodge since this was reported since it was new and they had replaced pinion seals twice already which was most likely due to the violent shake of the drive shaft.

 

[jonas]

This is the kind of troubleshooting information owners appreciate. You didn’t just swap parts you isolated the issue by removing the rear shaft and confirming the vibration disappeared in 4HI. That’s a much stronger diagnostic approach than repeatedly balancing tires and calling it normal.
The fact that you’ve seen multiple 6 foot bed Tacomas respond to driveshaft replacement suggests there may be a manufacturing or balancing issue with at least some of the two-piece shafts. It also explains why so many owners report vibrations that don’t change after tire work
It’ll be interesting to see whether Toyota eventually releases a TSB or updated part number if enough cases are documented. In the meantime, owners experiencing a low speed driveline vibration now have a specific area to ask their dealer to investigate rather than getting stuck in the tire balancing loop.
Thanks for sharing your findings and the diagnostic process behind them.

 

[YourOnlineHero]

Also following this thread for any updates from users or recalls from Toyota. Due to litigation, I'm unable to dive into specifics of my issues at this time. However, once litigation is completed, I will share my exact experience as well as what issues occurred.

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