Normal Transmission Sound?

Hello, I own a 2016 Toyota Tundra that is mainly driven in the city. For a while now, I've noticed that the transmission is very creaky, only when shifting from reverse to drive, and a little more so when going drive to reverse. When my brakes are applied and I shift, this is enough to moderately jerk the entire truck. Other than that acceleration is smooth, transmission is great all around while driving. Its only the creaking sound in these scenarios. I was just wondering if anyone else noticed the same thing and its maybe just a characteristic of the transmission? Originally I thought maybe my transmission fluid could be low (we cant check it can we?) but then I thought this would cause problems even when driving.

A little peace of mind would be awesome and ANY input is HIGHLY appreciated!

 

When shifting into gear its pretty normal to have a little creaking from either the brakes or suspension, i doubt the noise is coming from your trans. If you're really worried about it you could post a vid of the noise here and others will be able to give you a good diagnoses. Hope this helps.

 

Honestly it could just be the gear shift pushing on the brakes. However, the sound sounds like its from the back. I guess this could be the rear brakes or the transmission. Should the transmission itself have any creak sound? In response to the car jerking is that normal? I feel like shifting sometimes you can really feel it inside the cabin?

 

This. Not so much in my Tundra, but noises like this were really noticeable in my Jeep Wranglers. Mostly it was from the brakes. I figured it was due to my tendency to apply just enough pressure to stop/hold, thus shiftimg through N to either R or D allowed slight movement which made brakes groan a bit. Kinda like when you just barely move a door and the hinges squeak a little.

 

The more I looked into it, it actually seems the sound is completely isolated to the rear, where as the transmission is right below the gear box. The recording device was placed at the end of the cabin where the cabin meets the bed. https://streamable.com/unhsz1

 

That's a tough one for sure as the sound of a rubber bushing flexing and brake groan can sound so similar on tape. I'm leaning toward a bushing noise as the engine torques slightly on the mounts when you put it into gear. You might have to have someone else do the shifting so you can get a closer look at the area making the noise. Be careful, block the wheels, put the e-brake on, etc.

 

I was thinking about going to the dealer and getting it evaluated under powertrain warranty? I still have a year on that and in addition, I have an extended warranty.

 

try holding the brakes way harder than you usually would and see if it still does it. Mine does the same unless i'm harder on the brakes than i am in the camry. I just chalked it up to having tons of power and convinced myself to be happy with it. Hope i'm not wrong..

 

Press the brake pedal harder and see if it still does it.

 

I ended up giving it a test by pushing down on the brakes all the way and I found the sound was extremely minimal if not fully gone. So I guess it’s just the brakes. Do you all think it’s worth switching brakes? I only have 20,000 miles in 4 years of ownership. City driving only. Thanks.

 

Nah, it's not hurting anything. It's normal. Mine does it too, I just think of it as that awesome torque manifesting itself in another form because it's so difficult to contain.
Off an a tangent. Some years ago a friend asked my why it seems like the brakes on a lot of commercial vehicles squeak. I replied that ALL brakes squeak, it's just that the ones you don't hear are outside the human range of perception. It's like when your windshield wipers bounce across your windshield, it only bothers you at certain frequencies. They still do it when you may think they're fine, they just do it at a high enough frequency that it's imperceptible to humans. Imagine what it's like for your dog...

 

I call em power noises. Like the grunts I make when I stand up these days, power noises LOL.

 

For me those are old man noises...