So I've been without my 4Runner for 22 days now and here's the long story short.

Back in April after my 5k service, my steering wheel began a high frequency vibration between 60-65mph and a slight front end wobble @72+mph.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth with the dealer and Discount Tire they finally 100% verified that it was not the wheels or the tires and I wasn't crazy, but Toyota Regional wanted to call it a "natural characteristic" of the vehicle without even looking at the vehicle... Load of BS.

Met with owner of dealership, Dave Edwards, of Dave Edwards Toyota and he helped me get the Regional Tech to actually look at it, lo' and behold, it stumped him and he admitted it was a legit problem with the car.

* Side note: If you live anywhere around the Greenville/Spartanburg area of SC and are looking for a Toyota, Dave Edwards is the place!! He promised me that if Toyota could not fix it and stopped helping me that he would get me out of my car no questions asked. I'm so glad I bought my 4Runner there. *

Speed up to today, 2 techs from Toyota, the same Regional, and North America tech from TX have replaced:
• Power Steering Rack
• Both Axles
• Wheel Bearings
• Front Differential (which I was told today this was replaced due to a completely separate issue... I know... WTF?)

Then about an hour after I got the latest update that they were waiting on the arrival of a 5th gen steering wheel damper, I got a call from Dave Edwards who proceeded to tell me that Toyota had called them and told them to stop working on the car and that they were going to replace it.

SO NOW I NEED ADVICE!!!

• Has anyone ever had their 4Runner replaced by Toyota before?

• What is the process?

• Do I need an attorney?

• Am I going to get shafted in some sort of slick big corporation way?

• What about all of my upgrades that I already made (including buying new expensive tires that we thought would fix the issue)?

• What about my special financing that I got which is no longer available?

• What about some sort of compensation for using 2 tanks of my gas, having my car for 22 days and all the GD anxiety I experienced and probably over 100 hrs of research over this stupid issue (I'm not trying to take advantage of Toyota, but damn.)?

• Do I have to stay in the same trim level?

• Can I at least pick out my new 4Runner?

• Can I take it for a super long test drive (2 other ORPs I drove off the lot during this were had the same steering wheel vibration already, but not the Pro.)?

• Can I move up to a TRD Pro or maybe TRD ORP w/KDSS (seems they aren't having this issue quite as much)?

What questions or what verbiage am I am missing here to get the most I can?

I didn't ask for this, really all I wanted was for them to fix my car and be able to issue a TSB for all the other people have this same issue.

Give me your 2 cents, advice appreciated!!

I would bet you have a credit of that same amount with your dealer and you can now change to whatever configuration you want. It is basically a lemon law and the contract is essentially void but your dealer will likely honor any special deals you had originally. Something similar happened to me with a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

And for the tires, just swap them over.

Let them do their thing and see how you feel about it. I don't practice in this field or anywhere near it, but if I can help I will.

Thanks @pointman

Hopefully like the post above yours they just give me a credit and let me pick out my own car, but I have zero experience with this process, and I haven’t really heard of 5th gens being completely replaced.


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Pain and suffering has a monetary value
Squeeze them as much as you feel comfortable with
Mike

Sorry to hear this! I know itÂ’s a pain because IÂ’ve been there with Toyota before. Back in 2005 (or maybe 2006) I bought a Scion and my had a serious rattle in the rear of the vehicle. Three different dealerships couldnÂ’t figure it out, so I got a lemon law lawyer involved (no cost to me as Toyota ended up paying the bill) and she got Toyota to fly out two national techs/investigators. They determined that my car had three broken pinch welds and told me to pick out a new car. They were going to transfer my loan and financing directly to a new vehicle. Everything stayed the same...just a different vin and obviously a new car with less miles. If I wanted any different options I had to either a) pay out of pocket right then and there, or b) redo my financing to include the add ons.

But Toyota's are the best built cars in the multi verse!

Do yourself a favor and assume nothing, and say nothing. Let them start the conversation. You may be surprised at their initial offer exceeding your expectations.

Whats the going rate for that in an automotive goodwill proceeding?

Good advice, I will follow it, and maybe followed by is that the best you can do since I was w/o my car for 22 days, etc.

It's not often one of us little people gets to "stick it to the man"... Hopefully they don't have any spies on our forum. lol

J/K... I'm not the kind of person that wants something for nothing, I'd just expect them to meet me halfway for all this time, effort and money spent.

Thanks again, good advice.

... and that's why I'm going right back into another T4R.

That's good news to hear... Did they apply all of the payment you had made on the lemon as well? So you basically had one big credit, plus whatever was remaining from your finance?

I hope that's what they do.

That is exactly what they did. I owed like $9k on the lemon. And when I got the new one with 13 miles I still only owed $9k. They even paid for new tax and licensing.

You may be joking, but I've heard sometimes the dealer will include a non-disclosure agreement as part of the deal. They don't always want the terms leaking out so that others can use it to their advantage in the future.

Edit: And yes, they absolutely have people who read through these forums every day. You can bet these companies care about what people are saying on social media.

No worries. If/when it starts getting legal if you need some advice from one friend to another, let me know.
Honestly, be yourself. Again, your kindness and demeanor is what has earned you the ability to even be in such a good situation. Don't stray from that. If you aren't content with their initial assessment then perhaps word it slightly different. Letting them know you need time to think, and perhaps even consult a professional isn't a bad thing. Of course, always with a smile on your face.