Brand New 1GR-FE Runs Rough

I test drove a 6spd Access Cab, 4x4 TRD Off Road with the 1GR-FE yesterday, and ended up not buying. I felt a pretty strong vibration coming from what I believe was the engine. I have heard complaints about a driveline vibration, but this vibration varied with RPM, leading me to believe it was coming from the engine. After the test drive, I drove my 3FZ-VE 4Runner for comparison, and it was as smooth as could be.
I know engines can smooth out with age, but this was pretty rough. Has anyone had a similar issue? Are these engines notorious for running rough when new?
Forgive me if this has been posted somewhere, I searched 1GR-FE and looked through the ~60 result titles, but nothing seemed relevant. If this topic has already been covered, please point me to the correct thread.
Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

There are a lot of complaints but I don't think that's been one of them. Can't please all of the people all of the time mine is fine.

 

Did they have another one you could test drive?

 

I didn't think about that until after I had left. I am going to another dealer today to drive one for comparison, it's not the configuration I want but at least it will give me some reference. I have driven an '08 6spd V6, and didn't remember it being rough. I was curious if maybe some start off rough or something. The dealer said he didn't feel anything, and I know dealers sometimes aren't very eager to do warranty work until something actually breaks.

 

I would find one in the exact same configuration you want, that way you are comparing apples to apples

 

That's probably best. I'm not sure if they have a V6 Access Cab 6spd TRD Off Road though.. I'm at least going to try to find a V6 6spd. Jester243, did you buy your Doublecab 4x4 new and did you notice any roughness at first or it getting any smoother after break-in? (I'm guessing it's a V6)

 

Mine seems to have smoothed out a little over 10K miles. These motors seem a bit agricultural, but I wouldn't really describe it as "rough".

I'd check the motor mounts.

 

my 2014 AC 6speed Sport engine is loud and and has been from the beginning. I sometimes get vibes in the pedals but not without moving. I have gotten used to it, but it hasnt gotten any better

 

it has never been silky smooth but no I have not had any vibrations from it when new. I have a bit of rough idle now but I need to change the plugs so that's entirely my fault.

 

wait for the 2016's no point to buy an antiquated 2nd gen at this point being so close to the time when 3rd gens are releasing.

 

Thanks for all the info and suggestions; people here are really helpful. I'm leaving in about an hour to drive another one. I'll post an update. I'm also going to talk about pre-ordering a 2016.
I seem to remember people here discussing pre-ordering. From what I gathered, it seems you basically give a deposit or down payment, and the dealer orders the configuration you want. I've spoken to a few dealers about this but they keep saying they know nothing about the new ones so that is not possible. But one of the dealers that said that also said they had in fact ordered a few already. I really hate dealing with dealers.

 

Just got back from the dealer. He said they didn't have anything remotely similar so I didn't drive anything, but they are having one transferred from another dealer for me. I will drive it in a few days after it arrives. I requested he not order the one I drove at the other dealer and he agreed.

We spoke briefly about the 2016s as well. He was saying they would have > 300hp(!), get 25mpg(!), and cost > $3k more MSRP(!). It's funny they say things like that right after they admit they don't know any specs at this point so they can't place any orders. He also said they weren't going to be very flexible on price and there would be a big waiting list, but I could not get on that list yet. It seems like a lot of what he said was to sell me the 2015, although it's not like it is one that has been sitting on his lot for a while and he's trying to get rid of, since he's ordering it.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the 2015, if they can offer me a great deal. I can always sell it in a few if I really like the 3rd gens, by that point I feel they will have the bugs worked out and possibly be offering more packages and be more willing to make a deal after initial demand has decreased. MSRP for the 2015 is ~ $32,150, TrueCar lists an exceptional price as < $29,800, so if they get close to that I'll probably buy.

 

I have a 2008 with the 4.0 liter and manual transmission and mine has noticeable engine vibration. I have 120,000 miles now and the vibration hasn't worsened or improved and I've experimented with 6 injectors, 6 coils, and a larger fuel pump with no improvement. After I eliminated the drivetrain vibrations the engine vibrations were more noticeable. The only thing I found to mask the symptom was to string line the driveline for alignment, and then shove it the opposite direction as far as the slots will allow and this absorbs a lot of the vibration from the engine.

 

Obviously I don't have facts straight from Toyota. But I don't doubt anything the salesman told you. With the 3.5L engine a 25mpg in my mind is reasonable (from our 21mpg max). A bump in MSRP of $3k makes sense to me. A 2015 Chevy Colorado/Canyon is $3k-$4k more than a 2015 Tacoma similarly equipped. Since Toyota is the superior product overall why wouldn't Toyota bump their prices? And the story with the new engine is smaller displacement, higher horsepower, better MPGs.

With the hype around the entirely redesigned truck could there be a waiting list? Perhaps. But it'll probably be more to do with production and not necessarily demand in my thoughts. Although the current 2nd Gen Tacoma leads it's class for sales by a long shot as I've heard.

Again - everything I'm saying is purely speculation based on my own biases and experience.

 

That sounds pretty innovative, but I'm not quite understanding what you did with your driveline though.. So if I understand correctly, (and please correct me if I'm wrong) you ran a string to align the driveline from the transfer case output to the pinion. I'm not understanding what you mean when you say you shoved it in the opposite direction, I'm trying to think opposite direction of what? I'm not a mechanic so my knowledge is pretty limited. But thanks for all the info so far.

I'm really hoping that when the Taco the dealer has transferred comes in it runs more smoothly. My '96 4Runner V6 (3FZVE) is just so ridiculously smooth.

 

I've heard about the engine (7GR, or whatever the current speculation is) making more power, but over 300 seemed like a lot to me; I would assume significantly less low end torque to reach a figure that high, but what do I know.
Yeah, I feel the same way, lot's of hype and everything we hear is all speculation at this point.

 

I bought a 2015 recently and haven't regretted it one bit. I will drive it for the next couple years and see how the 3rd gens pan out and if people are happy with them. If I feel so inclined I could sell or trade in the '15 on a new one at that time. These things hold their value so well you really can't lose. I think people will still be seeking out the 2nd gens even after the 3rd gens are mainstream.

 

I totally agree. I liked just about everything about the 2015 I drove. Just wish 6th gear was a little taller, but then again bigger tires would fix that.

I was looking into getting a TRD Supercharger (really like the warranty). Dealer said that was no problem, even though he confirmed they are being discontinued. He made a comment that a supercharger increases resale. I was thinking the opposite. Anybody have any $.02 on that?

 

You're correct on how I aligned it which in my case shifts the center carrier bearing to one side of the slots against the bolt sides. So in my case the center bearing is shifted to the drivers side as far as the bolts will allow when everything is in alignment. I shifted as far as the bolts will to the passenger side to absorb the vibration which by the way is how Toyota had it set from the factory.