04 4runner "leaning"

[ssolley]

I recently purchased an 04 4runner. My husband noticed it seemed to be leaning more on one side. He measured it and it was in fact higher by 1/2 an inch on the passenger side. We took it to the service dept. and after alot of investigation they determined that it was off by 1/2 inch and so were the majority of the new 4runners on the lot. They could not fix this problem. The owner of the dealership offered to buy back the car or replace it with one that was straight. We love the SUV so we opted to replace it. The new/replacement vehicle was off by 1 inch. It seems the Sport models are straight because they have a different suspension than the reg SR5 2WD. We are now going to arbitration because our local dealership cannot find a straight one and cannot fix this problem. Please let me know if anyone else has this problem.

 

[rando]

I never noticed it. Is it just the 2wds?

 

[ssolley]

I haven't measured the 4WD's. But I, personally, couldn't visually see the slant. My husband is meticulous with his vehicles and was the one who noticed the difference. He is concerned that the tires will wear differently and doesn't know what other long-term effects the 1/2" difference will make.

 

[NoDak]

most likely i think you will find all 04 runners that dont have the xreas system will have this slant due to the fact that when on the boat from japan, whoever cranks down on the tie downs for shipment is not doing this evenly and the only ones that dont get this slant is the xreas due to how system compensates for this uneven load.

this is only my thoughts about this since the 04 4unners are made in japan atm, and due to the long boat ride having the suspension under this load for such a long time may cause this.

then again i could be completely off on this, maybe GG or Thai could pipe in with comments.

 

[02sport]

which side is the gas tank on the 4th gens?.......could it possibly be different "spring rates" to compensate for a full tank of gas? i dunno just a thought.....
i find it weird that a bunch of em were like that on the lot

 

[JGRIMBALL]

which side is the gas tank on the 4th gens?.......could it possibly be different "spring rates" to compensate for a full tank of gas? i dunno just a thought.....
i find it weird that a bunch of em were like that on the lot

Gas is on the drivers side and this is most
likey what is causing the tilt.

 

[ssolley]

The 1/2 " difference is unchanged with a full or empty tank. But I do appreciate you troubleshooting this with me.

 

[rando]

I don't have XREAS on my 4x4 V8 SR5. Just the same I have not noticed any slant. I'll give it a close look tonight.

The gas tank was a good theory. I'm not sure I believe the tie down explanation. I'd like to think that loading the suspension for an extended duration WOULD NOT weaken the springs. I better make sure not to leave any heavy cargo in the back for too long. I wouldn't want my rear bumper to permanently drag.

 

[NoDak]

well you have to think that on the transport ships, they bob up and down somewhat on the high seas, so i imagine they have to crank down on the vehicle to make sure it doesnt have a chance to move around in the cargo hold. you can imagine if one vehicle came loose inside a hold how many vehicles it could destroy on a 15-30 day voyage from japan to usa.

also think about having a spring compressed for 15-30 days and on top of that, the vehicle loading and unloading the springs for that amount of time on top of the already compressed springs when the ship bobs up and down in the ocean.

its one avenue to think about, not the only one. im just sugesting this theory since all new 4runners come from japan on cargo ships and the common thread is that they are all tied down in the ship for extended period of time.

once off the cargo ship the only other time the vehicle is tied down is during transport to either the region distributor or to the dealer, but that would only entail about 4-7 day trip and they usually dont tie them down quite as hard as the ship transport.

 

[4Runner4UGA]

I noticed this about my 4Runner last week, it was sitting in the driveway and I swore it was leaning, but I did not measure I need to measure it to see if it is leaning. It sounds like one of those things that make you go hummmm.......

 

[peter78]

Just for kicks, I decided to measure my 3rd generation 4Runner. I was getting a 3/8 to 1/2" difference until I got serious and measured at one spot over and over, there was no difference between left and right. But the bottom of the bumper is 3/8" off. My feeling is their will be differences and I think 1/2" seems to be quite minor. Actually I am surprised the dealer offered to buy back the car.

I find it interesting that you have gotten some good responses, but no one has measured their vehicle. It would be interesting to see what other people measure. By the way, it is hard to acurately measure the bumper, I finally went to the deepest part of the wheel well and measured both sides.

 

[toyo]

This topic has been brought up before. I wonder what Toyota tech support syas about this. I wonder how they can properly align a car when it doesnt sit level on an alignment rack. If somebody has a service manual it will have the hieght spec range in the alignment section.
BTW they do not "tie down" the cars on the boats. They line the cars up pretty good, all brakes on, in park. If you have ever been on a large cruise ship, you will notice how little those ships rock, and the vessels that move cars is even bigger than the cruise ships. I would worry more about the truck transports going to the dealers.

 

[Mark86]

Do these 4Runners that lean have the air ride suspension? If they do, that could be causing the problem. Had an experience like that with a car that had that feature but it was not a 4Runner. I never noticed any lean my own vehicle or any that I test drove. These models ranged from SR5's to Sports. My Sport with the XREAS has no lean and neither did the SR5 without the XREAS. I am one who pays close attention to every detail on the car too!

 

[snowjay]

Having a vehicle lean to one side really isnt a big deal. It's very common to have the drivers side sit a little lower than the passengers. There is more weight on the drivers side in most cars, steering, brake booster, gas tank and even battery, plus the biggest weight is the person that sits in the seat! If Toyota is using the same spring rates for each of the pairs then it's easily seen why this can happen. Even in my Dodge where the driver side spring up front is heavier than the passengers side it sits 3/8" lower. Been like that since I got it and it has never changed. Just a couple of hundred pounds sitting and bouncing on new springs will 'set' then differently than ones that dont have that same weight.

As far as alignment goes vehicle lean has no effect on it, unless it is forever changing. When the truck is on the rack for an alignment the wheels are set to spec at ride height, so if the ride height or each side is different than so be it, the wheels are set according to that. Straight axle 4wd vehicles are even easier to align because ride height has no effect on tire camber.

 

[NoDak]

BTW they do not "tie down" the cars on the boats. They line the cars up pretty good, all brakes on, in park. If you have ever been on a large cruise ship, you will notice how little those ships rock, and the vessels that move cars is even bigger than the cruise ships. I would worry more about the truck transports going to the dealers.

hmm, i guess i stand corrected. btw if they dont tie down the vehicles anymore, then why do they mount tie down hooks on oversea vehicles? it cant be just for transport containers/trailers once it hits mainland states? or are they carryovers from the older days. it would seem a waste of money just to mount those tie downs if they are no longer used for the initial purpose.

 

[Oscarz]

I complained about this 5 months ago and hardly got a response. If it's any consolation, the vehicle has settled a bit. Sometimes it appears to be be tilted a little and other times does not. The FST from denver says most of them are like this and doesn't know why.

 

[4Runner4UGA]

Last night when I went home I measured the difference that my rig was leaning. It is leaning 1/2 inch toward the drivers side. I measured it as an average of from the bumper to the ground right below the fog lamp, and from the edge of the tire to the top of the fender well with a combination square so I am sure that I was level. This is very interesting, I never noticed any other vehicle I owned lean to the side like this, but it does not seem to cause any problems. With the performance or tire wear, I do have 12k on my four month old 4Runner , but I will keep you guys posted, if you would like me to look at anything else just let me know.

 

[toyo]

They tie down hooks are not tie down hooks. Did that make sense. LOL. They are for pulling the vehicle in such situations that would be needed. Now on German cars, and some Japenese are starting to do this: Look at the bumpers, you will see plastic plugs. A long screw goes in there, it is stored in the trunk. My m3 is like that. Whenever it needs to be towed, you are supposed to install these hooks.

Also, to the other poster. I was under the assumption that we had independant suspension, not live axle in the front.

 

[NoDak]

would be great if we could get input from someone that actually unloads toyota vehicles from cargo ships from overseas and how the vehicles are actually stored for transport.

this next part is directed at toyo

since i see on a lot of toyota vehicles with these tie/tow eyelets (and these eyelets have been on toyota' since at least the 80's or more), and they usually sit behind the front/rear valance and above the lowest point on the vehicle. if you hooked up a tow rope or something, you usually end up cracking or damaging the valance since it sits lower than the actual eyelets, since i have never seen these punch outs on toyota's.

another thing, if i remember correctly, on the new FT 4WD 4runners, you cannot tow them in the old conventional way, but must use a flatbed tow truck. if that is the case, then the tow hooks are never used for the reason they are intended.

one final thought, are these eyelets only used for trailering from the region distributor to the dealer then? maybe thats the only reason they are on the vehicles.

 

[toyo]

Im not really sure NoDak. I just know that I have used the eyelets to pull my stuck trucks out before. No, you dont tow like old days, but onced it is on the flatbed, the driver can use the hooks to "hold down" the vehicle.