Howdy folks! Well after months of slobbering over two very different vehicles, posting on
www.titantalk.com and lurking on here (great site BTW), I purchased a 2004 Sport Edition V8 4x4 in late March. I tow a ski boat about once a week during the ski season on a dual axle trailer, so torque and turn radius were prime considerations.
I love the truck - this is the first new vehicle I've ever owned, and the first Toyota after two Chevy Blazers (I don't plan on owning a domestic vehicle again).
Naturally after owning GM products, I'm hypersensitive to rattles, whines, clunks, thumps, etc. My 04 4Runner was quiet and solid as a $30k Toyota should be until recently. Having such a new, wonderful ride come down with problems this early (not even 4000 miles) is like getting punched in the stomach
.
I have a couple of questions - one regarding something stupid I did, and two others regarding other problems.
The Stupid Thing I Did - Our driveway slopes up to the garage. The other day I was reversing down the driveway to better line up with the door. Old, bad, manual transmission habits die hard, and I moved the gear selector from reverse to drive before I had completely stopped going backwards. There was a nasty ticking noise and vibration directly under my feet, and some dash light blinked a few times accompanied by a chirping noise. This has happened to a lesser extent one other time. Anybody know what I did to my new ride
, and if I should be worried? I'm not an auto mechanic, but I'm a bicycle mechanic and engineer, so I'd love a technical explanation if possible. I don't remember my Blazer being this sensitive.
The Other Very Worrysome Thing - While putting my boat in or taking it out, I initially found that the Hill Start Assist was an excellent feature. It allowed me to take my foot off of the brake and move it to the throttle without the truck trying to roll backwards down the ramp. That is until the last two times I launched my boat. Both times, when I took my foot off the brake and (quickly) moved it to the throttle, there was another nasty ticking noise, vibration, dash light, and chirping, and the truck actually started rolling backwards. Obviously the Hill Start Assist couldn't hold the truck, trailer, and boat on a relatively modestly sloped boat ramp. This scared the crap out of me and has really got me wondering if I bought the right truck and how much I've screwed it up. I hate the thought of having damaged my new ride.
The other two questions are relatively minor. I have to regularly drive over some pretty sharp speed bumps in a parking garage. I take it easy, because I know what havoc they can cause for shocks, batteries, etc. The last time I drove over them, the usually perfectly quiet and solid X-REAS suspension gave off a loud clunk every time the right rear tire went over a bump. Like I said, I'm not mis-treating the truck. Any ideas what is up? This is frustrating.... I bought a Toyota so I wouldn't have to put up with clunks and rattles!
Finally - the same day I heard the new suspension clunk, the brake pedal developed an audible and tactile click, sometimes while applying the brakes and sometimes while releasing them. It feels like a cable or something is sticking or mis-aligned. Again, any suggestions or ideas would be very much appreciated.
Thanks a bunch for your time folks. It's going in for its first service soon, and maybe sooner depending on your responses. I changed to Mobil 1 at 1500 miles, but it's almost ready for it's 5,000 mile service.
Thanks!
Justin