Hissing noises at low speed and rpm

[7foldedsteel]

2026 Limited here

I can also confirm a constant subtle hissing/whistling leaky air noise whether I’m on the throttle or not. It’s most noticeable when the music is off and I’m coasting 20+ mph foot off the gas. But once I hear it I can’t stop hearing it and it drives me nuts.

Also, I actually don’t hear it until I’ve driven the car for a couple of miles and it’s warmed up. The sound goes away when I drop to under 10mph and come to a stop.

Air dam is still on so it’s not the whistling from the holes in the control arm that some Tacoma owners have noticed

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[SummitSeeker]

Yes, noticed for first time yesterday. Light throttle, low speeds. Goes away as soon as I cost or speed up. Sounds a bit like crickets.

 

[Vincenzo]

It’s not uncommon to hear crickets when you are driving by woods

 

[Scrappopatamus]

I drove mine yesterday and failed to hear anything. I said something to Julie and she hasn't heard anything in hers. Keep in mind I'm the guy who's had a smoke detector chirping going on a year and am constantly reminded when someone drops by. I doubt I would ever notice something like the hissing noise. If something goes boom with an associated trail of smoke, I'm definitely your guy. Good luck

 

[Tarekith]

2026 Limited here

I can also confirm a constant subtle hissing/whistling leaky air noise whether I’m on the throttle or not. It’s most noticeable when the music is off and I’m coasting 20+ mph foot off the gas. But once I hear it I can’t stop hearing it and it drives me nuts.

Also, I actually don’t hear it until I’ve driven the car for a couple of miles and it’s warmed up. The sound goes away when I drop to under 10mph and come to a stop.

Air dam is still on so it’s not the whistling from the holes in the control arm that some Tacoma owners have noticed

UPDATE! The noise I've been hearing from the front of my 4Runner above 30mph has slowly gotten worse, and now that it's very warm every day (and thus louder) I decided to try the dealership again. Drove for an hour first to make sure the noise was very noticeable, and FINALLY the service manager could hear it right away when we went for a drive.

He said he's had a couple vehicles in for this issue, and that it's a needle bearing in the front differential that needs to be replaced. If you put your 4Runner in 4Hi when the noise is happening it will instantly go away, and then come back once you put it back in 2Hi. Something I never noticed before.

I need to bring it back next week so they can record some audio and submit it to Toyota to see how they want it handled, either just replacing the bearing or possible replacing more depending on what HQ says. Either way I'm soo stoked that this is finally going to be addressed, it's been a major annoyance for me since day 1 with the vehicle.

Posting this to a few threads about the issue in case it helps other people troubleshoot and resolve it.

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