2015 4runner steering problems

4

4runner camper

New member
New guy here,

Got a 2015 4runner, have about 6000 miles on it now.

I put a 3" old man emu lift on it with bigger tires: 265/70/17 to 285/70/17


At highway speeds, I occasionally find myself having to concentrate and use two hands to control the vehicle. It particularly happens during wind gusts or mildly uneven pavement. Sometimes even the white paint stripe on the road will rob some of my control, of course the drunk rumble stripe does too. My alignment has been checked and is fine, my tires are balanced.

I'm not sure what to try next?
 
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4runner camper said:
New guy here,

Got a 2015 4runner, have about 6000 miles on it now.

I put a 3" old man emu lift on it with bigger tires: 265/70/17 to 285/70/17


At highway speeds, I occasionally find myself having to concentrate and use two hands to control the vehicle. It particularly happens during wind gusts or mildly uneven pavement. Sometimes even the white paint stripe on the road will rob some of my control, of course the drunk rumble stripe does too. My alignment has been checked and is fine, my tires are balanced.

I'm not sure what to try next?
Click to expand...

You need new upper control arms. The OEM arms do not have the caster to keep a good alignment after any more than 2" of lift. It will be a bit squirrely on the highway especially until you get new UCA's.

I'm in Austin too. if you have any questions or need install help hit me up!

EDIT: [MENTION=123978]4Surfin[/MENTION] beat me to it!
 
Last edited:
Who did your alignment? What were the caster values?

Some shops don't even check caster as it has no impact on tire wear.... It does however greatly impact how a lifted truck drives...

You want more caster for sure. Sometimes stock UCAs will provide enough.
 
Same?

Hey all --

I'm having a similar problem with my 2015 SR5, but I haven't done any modifications to it. I previously had a Subaru Outback, so I'm aware there's a significant difference in steering between the two vehicles that I still need to adjust to, but I'm having a really difficult time steering my 4Runner.

To drive straight, I typically have to turn the steering wheel slightly to the right. I thought it was just me, but I had a friend drive and it and he couldn't get over how the steering wheel itself can't be center aligned and still drive straight.

Also, the steering seems to be pulling to the right when I go over bumps. For example, if I'm slowing down to stop at a red light and there are bumps in the road, the steering wheel sharply pulls to the right.

Is this an alignment issue? The car has less than 2k miles, so I have no idea how that could be the problem, but... stranger things have happened. Or is a tire balancing or pressure issue?

I'm scheduled to take it back to the dealer to get fixed but I'd like to come in with suggestions. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
gogetter said:
Hey all --

I'm having a similar problem with my 2015 SR5, but I haven't done any modifications to it. I previously had a Subaru Outback, so I'm aware there's a significant difference in steering between the two vehicles that I still need to adjust to, but I'm having a really difficult time steering my 4Runner.

To drive straight, I typically have to turn the steering wheel slightly to the right. I thought it was just me, but I had a friend drive and it and he couldn't get over how the steering wheel itself can't be center aligned and still drive straight.

Also, the steering seems to be pulling to the right when I go over bumps. For example, if I'm slowing down to stop at a red light and there are bumps in the road, the steering wheel sharply pulls to the right.

Is this an alignment issue? The car has less than 2k miles, so I have no idea how that could be the problem, but... stranger things have happened. Or is a tire balancing or pressure issue?

I'm scheduled to take it back to the dealer to get fixed but I'd like to come in with suggestions. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

I went back to my dealer 3 times for them to fix the alignment. The steering wheel was always slightly turned to one direction or another. The final time, I went with them on a road test and demonstrated it to the tech, then he went back and fixed it and since then it has been golden. You can also ask them to increase caster to help with the drivability if you feel the car is too flighty.
 
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