No Bass in JBL Rear Subwoofer & Rear Door Speakers

[FoozGrind]

just fyi this morning while driving I set the audio all the way to the back and it sounded like no bass at all even turned up. When I moved the base level all the way up I heard some bass when I readjust to center it sounded great so I dunno.

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[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

just fyi this morning while driving I set the audio all the way to the back and it sounded like no bass at all even turned up. When I moved the base level all the way up I heard some bass when I readjust to center it sounded great so I dunno.

Thanks for doing that & reporting back. I think that it's something worth looking further into. There are a few people in here that have the issue so far. I'm wondering how many people have even played with the audio settings & found that there is practically no bass in the rear but don't realize it because the bass in the front drowns out the rear. From an audio sound stage standpoint I believe that the bass should be in the rear while the mids & highs should be toward the front due to how lower end frequencies travel. Scientific stuff you know.

 

[FoozGrind]

Well, lol with all the other issues I’ve had I am thinking mine is broken hah. Later today I am gonna sit in the back and turn the radio on and see how it sounds, I’ve never done that yet and my wife and kid probably wouldn’t have even noticed.

 

[6thGen1419]

I've tried FM radio & Spotify via Bluetooth as that's what I have available to me. Both sources are the same result. It's like only the bass in the rear door speakers and subwoofer have been filtered out even with the infotainment bass setting maxed out. I can't find any other settings that would be causing this issue.

Not saying you don’t have an issue, but consider this from AI:

• Subwoofers produce very low frequencies — typically 20 Hz – 100 Hz. Those are long sound waves — many feet long (for example, a 40 Hz wave is about 28 feet long!).
• Because of that wavelength, you don’t perceive those sounds well when you’re right next to the driver. Your ear might only catch air movement or vibration rather than an audible tone.
• Low frequencies need space to develop — the sound pressure waves combine and reflect off walls, floors, and ceilings before your ears interpret them as that deep bass “thump.”
• Up close, the pressure changes are more uniform, so your eardrum doesn’t register a clear “sound.” Step a few feet back, and you start hearing the bass properly.

Also, sometimes what you feel as bass is as important as what you hear — the chest vibration and room resonance are a big part of the perception.

So yes — if you put your ear right up to a subwoofer and hear nothing (or just air movement or a faint rumble), that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s broken. Try moving several feet away, and you’ll probably hear (and feel) the bass kick in.

 

[Nodak]

this sounds like the jbl fiasco with the 2018 tundra's.

had this same issue in our 2018 platinum tundra, and it was a standard issue across the whole refresh on the 2nd gen tundra (aka 2.5 gen as some would call it)

it was resolved on the 3rd gen tundra jbl system. the bass is noticeable now vs the 2018 tundra we had.

all the jbl systems we had in our 2014 4R limited, 2016 taco, 23 tundra the bass was noticeable only the 2018 had the no bass issue.

havent noticed in my 2025 platinum, but i guess i can go test to add to the list.

 

[6thGen1419]

this sounds like the jbl fiasco with the 2018 tundra's.

had this same issue in our 2018 platinum tundra, and it was a standard issue across the whole refresh on the 2nd gen tundra (aka 2.5 gen as some would call it)

it was resolved on the 3rd gen tundra jbl system. the bass is noticeable now vs the 2018 tundra we had.

all the jbl systems we had in our 2014 4R limited, 2016 taco, 23 tundra the bass was noticeable only the 2018 had the no bass issue.

havent noticed in my 2025 platinum, but i guess i can go test to add to the list.

My 6th gen TRD Off Road Premium JBL system sounds great ... bass, woofer, highs are all good.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

this sounds like the jbl fiasco with the 2018 tundra's.

had this same issue in our 2018 platinum tundra, and it was a standard issue across the whole refresh on the 2nd gen tundra (aka 2.5 gen as some would call it)

it was resolved on the 3rd gen tundra jbl system. the bass is noticeable now vs the 2018 tundra we had.

all the jbl systems we had in our 2014 4R limited, 2016 taco, 23 tundra the bass was noticeable only the 2018 had the no bass issue.

havent noticed in my 2025 platinum, but i guess i can go test to add to the list.

Yes please do test & let us know. Thanks!

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

My 6th gen TRD Off Road Premium JBL system sounds great ... bass, woofer, highs are all good.

So the bass in the rear doors & subwoofer in yours is the same as it is in your front speakers?

 

[FoozGrind]

Ok I am currently sitting in the backseat and chilling and the music is sounding fine for a rear seat.. I hear the base from the back and the front. But if I sit in the front and fade it to the back I hear nothing but centered it sounds fine.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

Not saying you don’t have an issue, but consider this from AI:

• Subwoofers produce very low frequencies — typically 20 Hz – 100 Hz. Those are long sound waves — many feet long (for example, a 40 Hz wave is about 28 feet long!).
• Because of that wavelength, you don’t perceive those sounds well when you’re right next to the driver. Your ear might only catch air movement or vibration rather than an audible tone.
• Low frequencies need space to develop — the sound pressure waves combine and reflect off walls, floors, and ceilings before your ears interpret them as that deep bass “thump.”
• Up close, the pressure changes are more uniform, so your eardrum doesn’t register a clear “sound.” Step a few feet back, and you start hearing the bass properly.

Also, sometimes what you feel as bass is as important as what you hear — the chest vibration and room resonance are a big part of the perception.

So yes — if you put your ear right up to a subwoofer and hear nothing (or just air movement or a faint rumble), that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s broken. Try moving several feet away, and you’ll probably hear (and feel) the bass kick in.

Thanks for the information. In my younger years I was very much into car audio. I remember having 8s & 10s that bumped hard & were clearly louder than the issue I'm having with my 4Runner's rear speakers. I'm just having trouble believing that the rear speakers are supposed to have practically non-existant bass in them especially compared to the front speakers. That and the fact that when I bought it months ago the bass was thumping. Usually I have the EQ bass turned up to 3/4 but having it set just above 1/2 when I bought it was quite strong. At some point though the bass was lost in the rear door speakers and the subwoofer but admittedly I didn't notice too much because it's strong in the front speakers & I haven't spent time behind the front seats until recently. I was loading the rear recently with the music playing & I then noticed that the subwoofer didn't sound like it was working so I then discovered there's very little if any bass in the rear door speakers & the subwoofer.
My 4Runner has been in the shop for months for PPF install, ceramic coatings, window tint & damage repairs caused by adding those things (long story there & a total nightmare) but there wasn't anything done that should've had anything to do with the speakers or audio system.

 

[Nodak]

Thanks for the information. In my younger years I was very much into car audio. I remember having 8s & 10s that bumped hard & were clearly louder than the issue I'm having with my 4Runner's rear speakers. I'm just having trouble believing that the rear speakers are supposed to have practically non-existant bass in them especially compared to the front speakers. That and the fact that when I bought it months ago the bass was thumping. Usually I have the EQ bass turned up to 3/4 but having it set just above 1/2 when I bought it was quite strong. At some point though the bass was lost in the rear door speakers and the subwoofer but admittedly I didn't notice too much because it's strong in the front speakers & I haven't spent time behind the front seats until recently. I was loading the rear recently with the music playing & I then noticed that the subwoofer didn't sound like it was working so I then discovered there's very little if any bass in the rear door speakers & the subwoofer.
My 4Runner has been in the shop for months for PPF install, ceramic coatings, window tint & damage repairs caused by adding those things (long story there & a total nightmare) but there wasn't anything done that should've had anything to do with the speakers or audio system.

yeah another person on the forums had this same issue. a non related mod affected something and they lost functionality to something, cant remember exactly what it was.


will try to search and find that post ...

 

[Nodak]

i found it, funny part the person had tint installed and lost functionality to the rear door close function

https://www.4runner6g.com/forum/thr...s-after-tint-installed.4907/page-2#post-63366

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

Ok I am currently sitting in the backseat and chilling and the music is sounding fine for a rear seat.. I hear the base from the back and the front. But if I sit in the front and fade it to the back I hear nothing but centered it sounds fine.

Yeah that's the thing though...the bass is strong in the front that it sounds pretty good but when you fade it to the rear speakers only the bass is practically inaudible from behind the front aeats. In my opinion the bass should definitely be audible from the subwoofer at least (that's assuming that a mids & highs frequency filter is used for the rear door speakers & a low pass frequency filter is of course used for the subwoofer).

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

yeah another person on the forums had this same issue. a non related mod affected something and they lost functionality to something, cant remember exactly what it was.


will try to search and find that post ...

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

i found it, funny part the person had tint installed and lost functionality to the rear door close function

https://www.4runner6g.com/forum/thr...s-after-tint-installed.4907/page-2#post-63366

Thanks for finding that. Now it's got me wondering about that... But it's odd that the mids & highs are working fine...just not the bass.

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