Noise above 30mph

[Tarekith]

I've had neighbors tell me they could hear it when I drove past on really hot days last summer. I don't have the air dam on my 4R, so it's not that. I'm 100% sure it's not some kind of wind noise, it has a very metallic quality to that sounds more like a bad bearing or belt pulley. And it doesn't get that much louder at higher speeds or with a crosswind.

Very high pitched, like nails on a chalkboard frequencies. 4-6kHz

We're just getting into a real cold snap where I live, but I'll try and record some video of it once things warm up. There's been other posts here where people used their phones to capture it from inside the 4R when they were driving too.

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[kehyler]

I wonder if it's at wheel speed, driveline speed, or airspeed...

 

[watchbuzz]

I’ve noticed something similar. Maybe the same. I assumed it was wind noise. The sound persists when the car is on or off throttle. Most noticeable at 35mph. Tapers (or get drowned out) around 55mph. I can still hear it even when costing in neutral, which should rule out the drive line.

I am thinking it's something in/around the brakes. I haven't tried a light application of brakes at speed... that would be the tell there.

For bearings, I guess at speed swerving back and forth would be the test to run.

 

[Tarekith]

Applying brakes lightly here doesn’t change anything, it happens no matter what I do when it’s warm out and I’m over about 25MPH.

 

[Van Solo]

Does anyone here have their air dam?

Tacoma folks have an issue. They talk about a hum though.



**Someone needs to record a drive by to see if you can hear it from the curb

Those are drain holes (?) Not sure we should be covering them up ?

 

[watchbuzz]

I was wondering. I guess in California it wouldn’t matter much.

 

[kehyler]

No change with engine rev in neutral, no change in neutral, and no change in light brake application for me.

Who wants to jack up all 4 wheels and put them on 30 mph to rule out wind? ha.

 

[bradmtb]

New to the group here. My 2026 SR5 makes the exact same noise as Reyneon. As far as I can tell, it's coming from the driver side front and can hear it clearly when driving next to a wall. I'm going to wait to take it into the dealer until it gets noticeably worse or I'll put some ChassisEars on it at work. I took the air dam off and no change either. I've only got 850 miles on mine so plenty of time for warranty coverage.

 

[Tarekith]

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.

 

[Nodak]

well at least you didnt get the dreaded CND from the tech.

good info for those that have PT4WD vehicles (which will be all except the limited/platinum with FT4WD)

 

[Tarekith]

This was my third trip to dealer for this, last two were CND. I’ve never been so happy to have confirmation there something wrong with my new(ish) vehicle.

 

[kehyler]

If it fixes it, keep us posted with any TSB numbers or part numbers that were replaced etc. Whatever you can document will help the rest of us.

 

[Tarekith]

Just wanted to update everyone who's been having this same issue. At long last after almost a year to the day, the issue is finally fixed. I hope

The dealer needed to keep the 4Runner for a few days to get a recording of the noise, and were having trouble actually hearing it again. Asked me to stop by and drive it to see if it was still doing it, and within a couple minutes of driving I could hear it while they couldn't. Eventually I asked why they weren't using Chassis Ears to find the issue, since that's what they are designed for. They agreed to try that and a few minutes after could hear it clearly

They submitted the claim to Toyota to make sure they would be reimbursed for the warranty work, and Toyota asked them to do some electrical tests to rule out other issues. So I had to drop it back off at the dealership again, though luckily this time it only took a day to run the tests. After that Toyota HQ approved the work, and told them to replace the whole differential. Only took a couple days to get that in stock and replaced, and as far as I can tell so far, it's no longer making that weird squeaking grinding noise.

Took 4 trips to the dealer and them having it for 8 days, but it's so worth it to finally be able to drive without that nails on the chalkboard noise anytime I'm above 25MPH. Shop notes and part numbers below in case it helps anyone else.

 

[morsk]

ChassisEar, never heard of that before. Cool!

And glad you got it fixed!

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