Noise from rear end on 3rd gen Tundra

Howdy fellow owners! I recently purchased a 2024 tundra about a month ago and I love the truck so far except for one thing, the annoying noise coming from my rear end! It is only during acceleration and gets worse the faster the truck goes. Terrible on the highway! I only have 1,000 miles on my truck and it seems to be getting slightly worse as I put more on. I took it to a local Toyota service center since it’s under warranty and they agreed that there is an unusual noise coming from the rear end. Due to the fact the truck is under warranty the dealership needs permission from Toyota to perform any kind of fix or even check my diff fluid! Toyota told my local service center today that the noise is normal and the truck should be sent home with me. I called Toyota hq and complained and it seems like they will give in, I have a phone call with a higher up Toyota guy about it tomorrow. Does anyone else have rear end noise issues in 22+ tundras?

 

Yes, my new rear diff is on national back order. Few more folks mentioned it here https://www.tundras.com/threads/whistle-above-65-mph-not-wind-noise.125509/page-2

 

Go to a different dealer. It's bs that they can't do basic diagnostics and checks such as check fluids etc.

Post in the main thread regarding this issue and tell us what speed the issue starts at

https://www.tundras.com/threads/whistle-above-65-mph-not-wind-noise.125509/page-2

 

Im having mine looked at monday for my next service.

 

Mine started doing the noise about two weeks ago at 3,000K. Awesome.

 

What is the noise?

 

I've took a 2024 SR5 for a ride and really liked it but all these issues are making it hard for me to trade in my Gen 2.5. Axle noise and engine failures are major issues. The early turbo issues I consider just annoying.

 

My Limited had a loud whine from the rear at 1,100 miles. Dealer inspected and found metal shavings in the rear diff gear oil and the oil smelled like it had 100,000 miles on it. They called Toyota, sent pictures and escalated the parts for a rear differential replacement. Took two weeks total for replacement and now she’s quiet.

 

I would wait for the 2026 refresh personally, or just keep your 2016 for several more years!

 

There's a refresh in 2026? I'll probably wait, my 2016 only has 30,000 miles on it.

 

Believe me, as was the same with my 16 Plat, no issues so far at all...not even the wind noise but only have a little over 4k miles and 6 months owning. This truck is solid, but if didn't run into exact truck I wanted at MSRP or lower then would still be in 2016 or more than likely a last year gen5 4Runner.

Just had 230 mile (460 ttl) road trip and going 75-85 mph avg 16.5 mpg on way back followed semi doing 60-68 mph and got 23.5 mpg ...no way the 16 could do those numbers. Also just a pleasure to drive but if have problems will utilize my warranty and let Toyota fix it. Really think this truck will last the 10 year/125k easily and will see what's available in 2034 or just keep this struck depending how it holds up

 

Just bought a 2024 SR5 TRD Sport in May, now have 3500mi on her, noticed the rear end "howl" at 50ish MPH, stopped as soon as my foot was off the gas, started the second I feathered the gas. Service manager took a ride with me and said, "Yep, sounds like a pinion gear". Made an appt, dropped it off and 24hours later picked it back up with a new carrier assembly. I asked the serv manager what they found, he said they send the whole unit back to Toyota for warranty inspection. He also mentioned that mine was the 3rd one they had with this issue. So far, so good with the new one nice and quiet.

 

Is the "pinion gear" part of the rear differential assembly? Mine was replaced entirely but the whine is still there...

 

Yes they replaced the whole assembly, the pinion is part of the rear diff. I have read a couple of posts here where the replacement was defective, and had to be done 2x

 

Had my differential replaced this week. I had a whine that started at about 75mph and increased the faster I went. Only on load. Took it in on Monday morning for diagnosis. Went back on Wednesday for the replacement. They had it done Thursday mid-morning. No more whine! Hopefully this one will hold up.

 

Well, the howl is back at 50+mph, the second I take my foot off the gas it stops. Feather the gas again and it resumes......Made a service appt for next week to have them look at it again, I am sure I will have another rear diff carrier assembly in my future. Original was replaced at 4K, I now have 9K on the truck, so I am going through a rear carrier assembly every 5K?!?!? I really want to love this truck, but since I bought it I have had:
1) Rear Carrier Assembly Replaced (1x so far)
2) Front Brakes and Pads replaced under service bulletin for excessive noise ( Squeaking when backing out of driveway in AM)
3) Rear window Trim was loose from Day 1, Toyota replaced that
4) Front window shudders when opening and closing when wet / cold ( Having this addressed next week)

I really am shocked at the build quality on these Tundras, my dealer has been great but what happens when this is out of warranty?? C'mon Toyota get it together

 

You'll be lucky if they even want to replace it the second time for you, they didn't want to do it for me

 

By the way, how do they know it's the rear that's making the noise?
Did they used chassis ear or how did they identify that the sound is coming from the rear diff?

I'm asking because both yours and mine full rear diff was replaced and sound is still exactly the same.

What if it's not the rear differential issue, but something else? Such as maybe out of alignment drive shaft, etc? And our dealers are just being lazy to do proper diagnostics and trying to do a $5k diff replacement to happily charge the Toyota warranty

 

For mine when they replaced the carrier assembly the truck was quiet for ~5k miles then same symptoms started again. Guessing it’s the same issue, will post results after dealer looks at it Wednesday. Will be talking with service manager

 

I picked up the truck today. It was, in fact, the rear differential again. The dealership service manager opened a ticket with Toyota as this was the 2nd bad rear dif, apparently this is quickly becoming an issue not only with the 2024 Tundras, but they are also seeing this in the 2024 Tacomas. They replaced the rear carrier assembly in mine for the 2nd time, road tested it ( service manager took it home overnight) put some highway miles on it, they then drained the rear diff again to check for any shavings / debris. and then replaced the fluid. It seemed really quiet at all of the old touchy speeds, 50+ & 76-80. Fingers crossed that they have it fixed for good this time, we'll see what happens in another 5K miles

 

Are all these rear diff problems on lifted trucks?

Just curious, because it's well known that lifting changes the pinion angle. If the lift doesn't compensate for that (many don't), it will eventually lead to pinion gear damage. Been there done that on a previous truck.

 

I’ve seen many spacer lifted rear axles on the previous gens and it was very, very rare to ever change the center section out because of a bad pinion/ring gear set. Noise from a gear set at a specific speed is usually caused by improper pinion/ring gear tooth pattern so I suspect the diffs are just not set up properly when assembled.

 

My truck is a stock SR5 Sport with original suspension and tires. I originally experienced the howling noise/high pitch whine at speeds over 78, but today noticed it starts at 74. I guess I need to take it to the dealer and have them investigate while they do the permanent gas tank fix.

 

Mine is a bone stock TRD Sport. I would think all the tolerances for pinions etc are set at the factory. If I had to guess what MIGHT be going on with these is either 1) Pinion Depth is improperly set at factory or vendor that supplies their rear ends. or 2) The heat treating process for ring / pinion gears is flawed and the gears are wearing prematurely under stress/heat of long trips or towing. purely a guess. mine seems OK for now after the 2nd carrier assembly replacement

 

I bought the truck off my father in-law last year. He actually bought it new in 2016 from the dealership I worked at. The truck only made the garbage dump run once a week. When I bought it it had about 18K for mileage.

 

I've mounted a Chassis Ear tool on the rear differential to confirm that the whining noise is indeed the noise from my newly replaced rear differential, and yes it definitely is.


https://youtu.be/Ow1GYBPjYtU?feature=shared

 

+1

lifting without addressing pinion angle stresses the u joints not the pinion bearing. Those bearings are very robust! As mentioned here, the noise is due to poor alignment of the pinion gear and ring gear.

 

Both of you, for non mechanic crowd, so what does that mean?
Even though new diff was installed and is still making noise, can an experienced tech take it apart and put it back together to make sure "pinion gear and ring gear are aligned correctly now" so it stops making the whining noise?

Or the whole diff assembly needs to be replaced again?