Toyota Tundra Bed Bounce: Owners Survey
Jason Lancaster | Sep 22, 2007 | Comments 25
When we received Toyota’s response to our bed bounce email we realized a few things. In no particular order, here’s what we think:
1. Toyota can’t officially acknowledge the problem until they’re prepared to act.
2. Until the current owner community publicizes the problem, Toyota has no reason to acknowledge it.
3. There is no independent data to verify the size, scope, and severity of this problem.
We decided the best way to make Toyota acknowledge the problem (and therefore do something about it) is to gather some hard data. To that end, we’ve created a Toyota Tundra Owners Bed Bounce Survey. The results of the survey will be published on an ongoing basis once we’ve received enough responses to create some statistically significant data.
In order to make sure the data we gather is accurate, we’re going to verify owner responses a few different ways. First, we’ve got a VIN number checker that will make sure the VIN number entered is accurate and is comparable to the stated equipment on the vehicle. Second, we’re going to verify your email address by sending you a quick note. Third, we’ve got some measures in place to keep people from entering multiple surveys, etc. Hopefully all of these efforts will deter anyone intent on entering false info.
Just so we’re clear — your name, email, and VIN number are for verification purposes only. We’re not going to share this info with anyone, ever, under any circumstance. We’re not going to use your info for marketing purposes or mailing lists or any of that business — we just want to get an accurate picture of Tundra Bed Bounce that we can share with the community. Your responses will be tabulated and published on an ongoing basis.
So, in summary, if you or anyone you know has experienced “bed bounce” with their new Tundra, please complete our Tundra Bed Bounce Survey. If you’ve never experienced bed bounce, please don’t complete a survey. We’re only collecting data from people that have actually experienced the problem so we can determine the severity, frequency, and geographic location. We intend to provide all this information to the public
Finally, if you or anyone you know hasn’t contacted Toyota’s customer service department, please consider doing so. You can send Toyota an email or call them at 800-331-4331 to make an official complaint. Making an official complaint increases the likelihood that Toyota will address the problem.
Tell everyone you know about this survey — we want to have as much data as possible the next time we contact Toyota.
Filed Under: Tundra News • TundraHeadquarters.com
There was an error with the survey — one of the required questions was improperly formatted. The error has been fixed and anyone who tried to complete the survey while it was broken has been emailed. If you were one of these people, make sure to check your in-box.
Thanks to all of those who contacted us and told us about the problem.
[…] a minute to complete. If you follow the link, they share their exchanges with Toyota on the issue. tundraheadquarters.com
[…] that info to Toyota to gauge the scope of the problem. It takes just a few minutes to complete. tundraheadquarters.com
I get bed bounce on freeway speeds of around 50-75 mph.
It isnt smart to give someone you dont know your full name, zip code, and the full VIN of your vehicle!
Please make another survey that does not ask for personal identifying information.
Very biased and unscientific survey. I guess Tundra HQ has no interest in new Tundra owners without your so called bed bounce.
Bugchucker has a valid point, the survey should include trucks without the problem, this could possibly help isolate what the problem is (ie truck model or driving condition).
Unfortunately I agree with off duty cop and will not be participating because too much personal information is requested.
I like the survey as is. Many people who claim they don’t have the problem simply haven’t driven on stretches of road that cause it. Also, you’d get Tundra zealots who would never admit there might be a problem with their truck.
If you don’t ask for VIN, then you’ll get all sorts of invalid, bogus entries. However, you need to delete this information once the survey is over.
One more important note about privacy. I recommend that you encrypt the survey pages, because of the private nature of the data. Surely this site makes enough money to purchase a certificate. 🙂 Also, you could be held liable if this data was ever hacked.
In regards to privacy, here’s how we reconciled the issues with collecting this information:
1. Your VIN number, while certainly unique, is hardly private. Any time you park your vehicle outside, anyone can walk up to your truck and read it off the plate on the driver’s side of the dash. “Off Duty Cop” should know that better than anyone. As for the ZIP code, it’s hard to imagine any privacy problem here. Many retailers ask for this info as part of their normal sales process.
2. As Marc said, if we didn’t require a VIN number we could be inundated with fake surveys from Tundra naysayers.
3. Marc also made a good suggestion in regards to encrypting the survey. The change has been made. You will now see a lock icon and the link is now “https” instead of “http”.
4. As the survey and the article clearly state, this information will be kept completely private.
5. Considering your name and email address is submitted anytime you comment on this blog, and considering your VIN # is visible to anyone standing next to your truck, we’re not sure what makes everyone nervous about our simple survey.
6. Finally, in response to BugChucker, we’re only collecting info from people that have experienced bed bounce. The idea was to make the survey data more manageable. Sorry we didn’t include you.
I hope this response makes everyone more comfortable. Our only goal here is to bring this issue to Toyota’s attention — the fewer survey responses we get, the less likely Toyota is to pay attention.
The real problem I had was giving out my full name and the VIN. While the VIN could be public by looking through my windshield, my name is not. I have worked auto theft cases where the crook stole the car and was able to sell the car using a fraudulent pink slip (ownership title) and put it in someone else’s name because the fake title was signed by the registered owner. Again, it isnt smart to give out too much information even though some people think it is public anyway.
Well, I can promise you that the information we collect won’t be shared with any car thiefs. However, if you want to give a fake name (and a real email address and VIN#), that would be fine I guess.
Dear admin,
That’s a huge promise for this day and age, in past years there have been many companies and goverment agencies that have lost important personal information to criminals … anyways back to the issue …
My local Toyota service manager said Toyota is aware of the problem and will be producing a damper to mitigate it … can anyone confirm this?
When will the results/analysis of the survey so far be posted? It would really be nice to see a daily or more frequent report on the entries.
I recently added a ReadyLift leveling kit to the front end of my 07 Double Cab Tundra. Along with a look I like better I seem to have gained the extra benefit of less bed bounce. My guess it is similar to my snowmobiles in that raising the front end changes the weight distribution putting more weight on the back end. I drive the same 37 mile route to work everyday; some concrete highway and speed bumps in the parking area. There is a noticeable difference after installing the lift. Love the truck…
That off duty cop makes me laugh. How about this the way my Tundra drives bed bounce/vibration issue.
PLEASE COME STEAL MY TRUCK IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. ILL EVEN PUT A FULL TANK OF GAS IN IT AND LEAVE THE KEYS IN THE IGNITION.
Well boys it seems the vibration or bed bounce, what ever you want to call it is getting worse for me as the temperature decreases. I sense it is going to be an extra bumpy winter here in Canada.
I hope Toyota is going to fix this soon. I really like the truck but the vibration is really bothering me. I’m already starting to think about selling my Crew Max.
Let me tell you, once I take a big hit money wise unloading this truck, Toyota is going to be my last choice when it comes to purchasing another vehicle (or a personal robot LOL) for at least the next 15 years (I hold grudges).
I will also make sure that everyone I come in contact with thinking about buying a Toyota product hears how I got burned.
Furthermore, since I bought the truck I have had at least 15 people approach me right of the street and ask me what I thought.
Needless to say you Tundra owners out there, we have more power then the manufacturer thinks. After all Toyota got so big and popular not because of their media advertising but because of word of mouth endorsements. So at this point if we the customers are not happy others are surly going to hear about it.
TOYOTA FIX MY VIBRATION!
Hello everyone. I am the owner of a 2007 Tundra double cab 4X4 with the 5.7 engine. I have noticed the bed vibration since shortly after purchasing the truck in July. I had some time on my hands the other day, so I got up under the truck to see if I could identify the sourse of the vibration. Those of you who own this truck can go and grab the rear bumper and shake it up and down vigorously and you will observe independent motions of the bed and the cab. I began to realize that the frame has a harmonic frequency with a pivot point between the engine/transmission area and the rear axle area of the frame. (Visualize a guitar string.)You can get into the bed of the truck and stand directly over the rear axle and jump up and down, and you will find that it is almost impossible to make the same vibration that you can easily achive by applying pulsating pressure to the bumper or open tailgate. I thought about the idea of attaching some sort of weight to the rear bumper area, but as I considered the idea, I realized that this would only change the frequency of the vibration, but would not dampen it. It might even make the vibration more intense in the cab. So I thought about the idea of somehow canceling out the harmonics of the frame by creating a dampening device with a slightly different harmonic frequency attached to the area of the frame behind the rear axle as close to the bumper as possible. The logic here is that if you could CAUSE the frame to vibrate from this point, then it should be possible to DAMPEN the vibration from the same point. I decided to use the spare tire for this purpose so as not to ncrease the weight of the vehicle. I lowered the spare tire a few inches from the frame, and I cut out two peices of high density rubber foam and placed them in between the tire and the part of the frame that the tire is pressed against. I then retightened the tire to where the foam was snug between the tire and the frame. (The tire should be tight enough that it does not rattle.) This setup allowed the tire to “jiggle” slightly up and down, but at a frequency slightly higher than that of the frame harmonic. This effectively canceled out the frame harmonic and made for an amazingly smoother ride over rough, or washboard surfaces. It is also much more difficult to “shake” the truck from the tailgate area. Likely, when Toyota comes up with some sort of fix for this problem, it will use this, or a similar principle. In the meantime, the ride quality of my truck is much better. You can rest assured, that the springs are not too stiff, the shocks are not defective, the frame is not weak,and the tires do not cause this as long as they are properly balanced, and not out of round. (An out of balance or defective tire could easily magnify the problem, especially at the speed when the RPM’s of the tire match the frequency of the frame harmonic) Hopefully some of you will find this information helpful.
Thanks Mathew
I cant wait to try it on my cremax
except I’m going to get the dealer to do it
D
Hello everyone. Proud owner of a 2007 4X4 5.7 double cab… instead of using a knee pad foam, i used a 2″ 26″ bicycle heavy duty intertube….. i know it’s not a complete cure, but it helped a lot!!!
Thanks, Ray J.
other thought, is to add a tube between the bed and the cab….
Thanks to Mathew Davis for the idea regarding the foam pad!!! “thanks again!!!”
I have an 07 5.7 double cab with a 2.5″ lift in the front, air bags in the back (low pressure when not towing) and tonneau cover. I have only periodically experience the “bed bounce syndrome” and even then it was not extreme. I did notice that any bounce I had went away when towing or hauling a load. For now I have thrown 240 lbs of sand bags in the bed just over the wheels (they never move with the spray in liner). I don’t consider sand bagging a perfect solution, but those in combination with the lift and air bags (10 psi) I have a great ride (considerably smoother than the day I drove it off the lot).
Doesn’t the high density Foam eventually set (similar to memory foam) thus reducing the dampening effect?
B.davis – Short answer, yes. Unfortunately, you’ll need to replace it every few months.
Thanks for the info.. I’m curious if anyone has tried any other type of device in place of the high density foam.. something that will not need replacing every few months that would offer the same functionality.. perhaps a small innnertube partially inflated?