No Bass in JBL Rear Subwoofer & Rear Door Speakers

[6thGen1419]

Just from my experience, the sound I get in my premium is about average from a dealers premium system.

My bronco is the same way and I see the same thing in the bronco forums.

Sadly, I don’t think premium really means PREMIUM. It’s just a marketing term that means “upgraded from base system.

I agree with OP that you shouldn’t have to immediately upgrade a system called premium, but there are a couple of relatively easy upgrade options for the JBL system. There is an amp and sub control knob system that’s available for a few hundred$$ and can be installed in less than an hour.

It's more possible, that some people's personal preferences and expectations regarding how a properly designed audio system should sound do not conform to the way a good system actually should sound.

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[6thGen1419]

Just from my experience, the sound I get in my premium is about average from a dealers premium system.

My bronco is the same way and I see the same thing in the bronco forums.

Sadly, I don’t think premium really means PREMIUM. It’s just a marketing term that means “upgraded from base system.

I agree with OP that you shouldn’t have to immediately upgrade a system called premium, but there are a couple of relatively easy upgrade options for the JBL system. There is an amp and sub control knob system that’s available for a few hundred$$ and can be installed in less than an hour.

I find it funny that: it's a car, not a sound studio. Frankly, the obnoxious booming from other cars is not the mark of a good quality audio system in that car.

 

[Brian Day]

The dealer replaced both the subwoofer speaker and the amp today . I now have sound coming from the speaker . Still not right . I get better low frequencies from the door speakers than the subwoofer . Dealer sent a ticket to Toyota .
I see an upgrade in my future .

 

[6thGen1419]

Mine puts out mediocre bass, i dont think its amplified from factory so i added a 1000w 12inch sub. Lots of bass now

Pictures? I'd love to see where you put it all and how it looks.

 

[Timmbo23]

Hi all,

TRD Sport Premium. There is NO bass coming out of the rear subwoofer & NO bass coming from the rear door speakers. I've checked all audio settings & all is as its supposed to be. Anyone out there having this problem & have any easy suggestions of how to fix it?

Thanks!

I can say this……when I first picked up my Pro I was not exactly impressed with the sound system. At some point I was messing around with the tuning and found what I feel is ideal settings. These settings make the bass sound quite impressive and overall I am super happy with what I hear.

Sounds funny, yet very simple. BASS: all the way up, TREBLE: all the way up, and MID: all the way down.

Lots of bass, sounds great! Give it a shot and see what you think.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

Mine puts out mediocre bass, i dont think its amplified from factory so i added a 1000w 12inch sub. Lots of bass now

Yeah I bet it's thumpin' now! Enjoy your upgraded “premium” sound.
Personally I don't really want to delve into adding any other sound components & risking the installers messing something up especially while it's under the factory warranty. I just want my existing rear speakers to perform like “premium" speakers.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

I can say this……when I first picked up my Pro I was not exactly impressed with the sound system. At some point I was messing around with the tuning and found what I feel is ideal settings. These settings make the bass sound quite impressive and overall I am super happy with what I hear.

Sounds funny, yet very simple. BASS: all the way up, TREBLE: all the way up, and MID: all the way down.

Lots of bass, sounds great! Give it a shot and see what you think.

I'll try it. Thanks for the suggestion. But where do you have your fader set?

 

[C's6G4RTRDPro]

Hi all,

TRD Sport Premium. There is NO bass coming out of the rear subwoofer & NO bass coming from the rear door speakers. I've checked all audio settings & all is as its supposed to be. Anyone out there having this problem & have any easy suggestions of how to fix it?

Thanks!

I have the same issue in my TRD Pro. Very little sound coming from the rear, front sounds good but not loud enough.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

I have the same issue in my TRD Pro. Very little sound coming from the rear, front sounds good but not loud enough.

Thank you for sharing your experience here. I'm sorry to hear that you're also having the same issue that I & some others are having. If you find a resolution please let us know here.

 

[Timmbo23]

I'll try it. Thanks for the suggestion. But where do you have your fader set?

Dead center, if I fade all the way to the back it sounds like ass. Clearly the sub is powered by the front.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

The dealer replaced both the subwoofer speaker and the amp today . I now have sound coming from the speaker . Still not right . I get better low frequencies from the door speakers than the subwoofer . Dealer sent a ticket to Toyota .
I see an upgrade in my future .

Thank you for letting us know. Disappointing that it's not the improvement it should be. If Toyota gets back to you please let us know here.

 

[sftonyc]

I spent some time experimenting with my JBL system tonight (recent Limited trim) and looks like same issue as others here. Everything sounds fine when fader is set to middle or forward, but sounds like there’s no bass when fader set to rear. Listening from the rear hatch, I can hear the subwoofer playing and it sounds good when fader is set to middle, so it seems like the subwoofer is at least functional.

Definitely an issue of some sort, would hope its software given relationship to fader setting, but given similar Lexus Tx/Gx issues it could be firmware on amps too.

Worth continuing to report to dealers and Toyota, and hopefully they’ll look into it.

 

[The_Dark_Knight_Forever]

I spent some time experimenting with my JBL system tonight (recent Limited trim) and looks like same issue as others here. Everything sounds fine when fader is set to middle or forward, but sounds like there’s no bass when fader set to rear. Listening from the rear hatch, I can hear the subwoofer playing and it sounds good when fader is set to middle, so it seems like the subwoofer is at least functional.

Definitely an issue of some sort, would hope its software given relationship to fader setting, but given similar Lexus Tx/Gx issues it could be firmware on amps too.

Worth continuing to report to dealers and Toyota, and hopefully they’ll look into it.

Thank you for sharing your experience & conforming there is an issue (at least for some of us). Makes no sense to me that the rear door speakers & the rear subwoofer perform half ass but the front speakers perform well.

 

[Bernie]

I have my fader set mid-cabin. It sounds pretty good, but I’d agree that the bass underperforms. I’m going to try treble and bass on high and mid on low and see what happens

 

[6thGen1419]

I spent some time experimenting with my JBL system tonight (recent Limited trim) and looks like same issue as others here. Everything sounds fine when fader is set to middle or forward, but sounds like there’s no bass when fader set to rear. Listening from the rear hatch, I can hear the subwoofer playing and it sounds good when fader is set to middle, so it seems like the subwoofer is at least functional.

Definitely an issue of some sort, would hope its software given relationship to fader setting, but given similar Lexus Tx/Gx issues it could be firmware on amps too.

Worth continuing to report to dealers and Toyota, and hopefully they’ll look into it.

You all are assuming you think you know how the JBL sound system in the Toyota is designed to work. It's not as you expect:

On Toyota/JBL systems (including current 4Runner, Tacoma, Tundra, Sequoia):
• The subwoofer is tied to the “front” audio stage, not the rear channels.
• When you move the fader fully to the rear, you aren’t just shifting the mids/highs — you’re effectively telling the system to focus audio output on the rear channels only.
• Because of that, the amplifier reduces or completely cuts subwoofer output when the fader is moved to the rear.

So:

Middle or forward fader = full system, including subwoofer

Rear fader = primarily just the rear door speakers, subwoofer mostly disappears

This is intentional by design. Toyota/JBL stage the system around the front seats, since that’s where the driver and most listeners are. Bass is part of that staging.

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