Noise from rear end on 3rd gen Tundra

The ring and pinion gear need to run with the correct tooth pattern and the correct backlash. Get it wrong and the gear set will make noise. It’s very much a skill to set a rear differential gear set and not every tech is capable of doing it correctly. At the dealership level it’s not something that is done very often but any dealer tech could remove the centre section and check the tooth pattern.

Here is a quick video to give you an idea. The guy is working with a Ford 9” diff which is similar.
https://youtu.be/_u-s-gPUF2E?si=hQAfo-6juBNoOrf4

Tooth patterns.

 

In your video, is the whining noise what you hear in the cab or from the Chassis ear tool? I was on a road trip this weekend and at about 80+ mph i can hear a slight whine that goes away when i let off the gas but not as loud as you video.

 

Noise in the video is from chassis ear. I wanted to pinpoint exact spot where noise was coming from. It's from the rear differential.

Without chassis ear I can also clearly hear this whining noise when slightly pressing the gas pedal above 76mph. It's a bit quieter at lower speeds

 

if it is already making noise, the gears should be replaced. In theory setting it up properly should eliminate the noise and let it break in again if the mileage is low, but really depends on the amount of wear the mis alignment created. My guess is that modern day dealer techs have no idea how to do this kind of work. Their approach is to replace the whole assembly. Just ask the guys that take their truck to the dealer with a transmission issue due to a $100 solenoid. The answer is always to replace the entire transmission even though the Toyota FSM has 150 pages on how to diagnose and replace transmission components. Our modern throw away society no longer trains folks to repair components. Only specialists do this kind of work now or old school folks that learned back when we actually replaced components.

my guess is that the diff supplier has a QA problem and will need to keep having replaced until your number comes up and get one of the good ones. Setting up diff gears is a laborious process and if you don’t crack the whip on lazy employees you get this problem.

 

Thats the same high pitched whine I hear. Used to be only at speeds above 78 but now I hear at 72 and above.

 

Kap,

Any updates on your situation? I am on Dif #2 and I now find myself driving with the radio off to see if I can here the noise at 50+, 75+. Not sure if my mind is playing tricks on me, but sometimes I swear I hear it faintly other times it seems fine, mileage will tell. I just want to keep this thread alive to see how many of us are out there. As I mentioned, my last visit to the dealer the SA let it slip that they are seeing more of these differential issues not only in Gen 3 Tundra's but also Tacomas

 

I don't think you're crazy about the sound being intermittent sometimes. I noticed last night on my drive home that it was absent. But it was there again this morning.

I have mine scheduled for service at Sparks Toyota to investigate the diff noise when they do the gas tank recall. Service advisor I spoke to was familiar with the complaint and asked what speeds I heard it at.

She was also aware when I reported the tailgate spoiler rubbing through the paint to bare metal on the tailgate handle and each corner of the tailgate.

 

In my case, the rear differential whines whenever rpms are above 2k. It starts whining slightly at 40mph and whines louder at 78+ mph whenever I slightly press the gas pedal and rpms are above 2k.

I don't have any good news to report. I took truck to another dealership to diagnose rear differential noise, paid them $240 diagnostics fee, first day they called me and confirmed the noise, second day after they saw in my truck history that rear differential was already replaced once, they said they noise was normal and comparable to other Tundras they had on the lot and they can't help me.

I then called Toyota Brand Engagement to open a case, they said they'll assign a case manager who will call me back within 2 business days, it's day 4 now and no call yet. Instead the original dealership service manager who replaced my rear differential called and said they can't replace the differential again and I can come in for the same diagnostics and run around as last time - no thx.

So what I don't understand is how everybody else is getting their rear differential replaced 2,3 times no problem but I've been beating them with sticks 3 visits already and they don't want to replace mine rear diff again. They claim that it's such a huge deal, and Toyota will send engineer to confirm, etc etc bs.

 

This sounds like the 3rd gen Tacoma all over again. Toyota was replacing rear diffs left and right at first. Then they stopped doing that as the noise was now deemed normal. Next they issued a TSB for cab mounted parts to make it more quiet. Only for the higher end models though. I bought them and it barely helped. Toyota claimed it was just resonance into the cab. Mine would whine loud enough i could hear it over the radio set to 35-40. Eventually I sound deadened the entire rear of the cab and got used to it.

 

Do you think it might be transmission related because of the sound being prevalent at 2k rpms and different speeds? You mentioned 40 and 78 mph

 

Not transmission in my case.
I put chassis ear on transmission and one on front of the rear differential. Transmission was quiet but rear differential very whiney as per my video above.

Also second dealership I went to first said could be transmission also but then confirmed that it's rear differential (as far as one can trust those quick money making places)

 

On a weekend road trip from SC up to WV I noticed that while descending the steeply graded mountain roads and just letting off the accelerator the noise isn't present. This was in a speed range between 75-85 mph. Any time I would even slightly press the accelerator the noise reappears. You could play a rhythmic tone just by cycling the accelerator pedal on and off. Didn't matter what gear or rpm the truck was in (I downshifted several times on steep grades for engine braking)

IDK what that means troubleshooting wise, other than it only happens while under load. Does that narrow it down to pinion bearing or u-joint since a load is required. Hoping some experts can chime in with some information or maybe another diagnostic step to take.

 

Noise on acceleration at a specific speed that isn’t present on deceleration is very likely a poor tooth contact on the load side of the pinion. A bad U joint will not have a specific speed that you can hear it and just gets more pronounced the faster you go.

 

+1
Likely in the teeth interface, but a bad bearing, pinion or carrier, can also do this.

 

A failing pinion or carrier bearing will make noise all the time and increases with intensity with speed. The noise can change with acceleration and deceleration but will always be present.

A pinion and ring gear with a poor tooth contact will make noise at specific speeds. On acceleration the noise can be present and gone on deceleration. It can also be the opposite depending if the the bad contact pattern is on the coast side or load side of the ring gear.

 

So hypothetically this is the issue that most of have

What are the options to fix it? Do we need to replace the whole assembly again or an independent shop can replace only the bad parts and get this fixed?

 

There isn’t any bad parts. Once the ring and pinion have been set with the proper tooth pattern the noise will go away. I have no idea why the Toyota techs are not removing the faulty rear differential center section and checking the contact patch. Toyota corporate is deciding to just send out a whole new diff and replacing it rather than digging in further and see what the cause is. Techs don’t get paid to look at the old diff so the issue persists. I’ve seen this before. On the 2nd gen Tundras they had an issue with noise in the front diff that was caused by a left outer CV axle support bearing failure. Instead of just replacing the bearing, Toyota would replace the whole front differential which took longer from a labor dollar standpoint.

You could take it in to a private garage who specializes in driveline repairs and has experience in setting up rear differential which is kind of an art in itself but why should the owner have to pay for this when the truck is still under warranty.

 

Hey all,

Having the same issues here. Got a 2025 Tundra SR5 last month and noticed it right away but it’s been getting a bit louder. Can hear the whine from 40-45mph and then it gets really loud when accelerating from 78-85mph. Doesn’t happen when i let go of the acceleration. It’s weird, because above 85 it completely stops. What gives?

 

The whine / howl and at speed ranges you are observing are EXACTLY what most with this issue are seeing. I would get it back to the dealer ASAP, have them check the rear diff fluid, most likely full of metal shavings. If that is the case, they should replace the Rear Carrier Assembly under warranty which is what happened to mine 2X. I am not convinced that #3 will be a permanent fix either, clearly some either set up issued with the ring and pinion or manufacturing issues ( metal quality, heat treating, etc.) on these assemblies

 

so is there anything that is a permanent fix to this? seeing from the thread it seems like people are getting things replaced and still having issues.

 

service center said, they wouldn't be able to replicate the sounds because they wouldn't get able to go 75+ mph on the freeway lol. he told me its definitely the rear diff, but since its so new it could be a design error / wait until it gets louder at lower speeds then bring it in. sooo i guess ill just wait til it gets louder? said it could be perfectly fine like that for its entire lifespan, annoying? yes. but should be fine lol..

 

Tell them you'll drive while the technician rides along

 

+1 that's what I had to do 4 times with various techs...

Find good route near the dealership that'll allow you to show them the noise easy

 

Thats the thing, its not quite as loud at 40-45 as it is at 75+ mph. Here in Arizona Freeway speed limit is 65 so even if I tried, they said I can't go 75+ mph to replicate it. I will wait a bit to see if it gets worse then bring it in when I have more time. It sure is annoying, but what can ya do. Doesn't seem like anyone has solved a fix for this yet.

 

Just tell them it's at 65mph then when you test drive with the tech go up to 75+ mph where it's happening. Not a huge deal, they'll just document that issue is at high speeds to cover their ass...

 

sounds good will do, thanks again. hopefully it all gets resolved eventually. ill keep up with the thread. i saw your chassis ear video, is it actually that loud or was a majority of that sound from the ear? because mine is loud but not as extreme.

 

Is there a process to report this direct to Toyota Corporate?

I'm wondering if there is any visibility from the engineering side to determine if this whining noise is just an annoyance experienced mainly while exceeding legal speed limits.

Or is it indicative of a more serious problem that could result in a catastrophic breakdown of the rear axle components that results in a vehicle accident. I don't need the frustration of an unexpected breakdown in the middle of nowhere, not to mention possible injury from a vehicular accident.

 

Update:

Sound is gone, I will continue to monitor it. But man, it feels so damn nice not hearing it no more. Glad I brought it in too, they found out one of my shocks were bad. Weird cause the truck has 1800 miles on it but they replaced that too. Said it was leaking tons of oils out the strut. Anyways, glad it is all fixed. Thanks for all the help, hopefully i'm not back.

 

What did they do to eliminate the noise?

 

I had/have this on 24 TRD sport. Dealership changed my rear differential around 5k. Now I’m at 15k and noise is coming back