We have answers from Toyota about the solution to the problem we encountered with our 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-road and the truck’s front differential failing. We had a part of the front differential fail while we were testing it on a snowy and icy Iron Clads trail in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
The failure occurred when Roman was driving the Tacoma up the snowy “steps” obstacle. The 4WD system was in low-range 4LO transfer case setting in Multi-Terrain-Select Rock Crawl mode. The rear differential was locked as well. After all, we were driving up rocky and snow-covered terrain.
Our off-road driving philosophy is: use all the tools at your disposal BEFORE you tackle a tough obstacle, not AFTER you are stuck on that obstacle.
A part inside the front differential broke. It’s a shaft that is part of the ADD (differential disconnect) system that allows you to engage 4Hi from 2Hi while moving. After the failure, we drove the truck in 2WD to our home office and then to the dealership. The issue did not cripple the truck.
The condition we encountered was such:
- Both rear tires had near zero traction, all of the power was sent forward.
- The driver side wheel had near zero traction, all the power went to the passenger front wheel.
- The MTS system decided to use the brake to clamp down on that one wheel, and this caused a part failure inside the front differential.
- The forces involved exceeded the hardware capability by 1.7%, according to Toyota.
According to Toyota, the company did not see another such failure in any of the other 43,000+ new 2024 Tacomas that are currently out there (including customer complaints or warranty claims).
The solution is to create a “software logic change” to prevent this situation from happening. This MTS software logic change is already applied to all 2024 Tacoma I-Force MAX hybrid trucks that have left the factories in Mexico. If you are buying a Tacoma Hybrid, this correction is already there. If you own a 2024 Tacoma non-Hybrid with MTS, then a software change will be applied to it at a future time. Toyota has not yet established how or when this software change will be applied. At this time it does not warrant any type of recall. This will be announced a bit later this year, or your dealership will apply this software update at your next regular maintenance appointment.
We want to thank the Toyota team and Tacoma Chief Engineer – Sheldon Brown – for their work to identify the cause of this problem and create a solution that will be rolling out to existing customers soon.
Watch the chief engineer interview below.
