2015 Limited Pulls Left- Help!

[rennur]

I purchased my 2015 Limited a year this month. It was a demo with 1300 miles and now has 10,700. This is my 5th 4Runner in 25 years and the worst driving. (2nd gen- 3rd gen- and 2-4th gens) I've brought it to the dealer twice and the vehicle still pulls to the left. On the highway, if I let the wheel go it would eventually pull me into oncoming traffic. Driving slower in town it will cross 2 lanes in less than a block. The steering wheel might be slightly off center when going straight. (very minor) What gives? Toyota says the alignment is good. (They've looked at this twice). I've rotated the tires front-back and across with no change. As much as I love the vehicle, I just hate driving it and find myself taking my 2008 Element with 130K miles when heading out.

No mods, no changes from factory. Suggestions? Solutions? Anyone else with a Limited have this issue?

So frustrated!

 

[samobius]

No issues with our Limited. I would take it somewhere else.

Do you have the Yokohama tires?

 

[BaddaBing]

I have 30k on my 2015 LE and it drives great. Besides the alignment and tires I don't know what would be causing your issue. I would ask dealer to mount new tires for a test drive to see if that eliminates the pull. If it does the dealer should be able to work with tire manufacturer to get issue corrected. Just a thought. Good luck.

 

[nb rob]

you have a printout of your alignment specs?

Here in the whillywhacks, it's recommended that camber be +0.5° different L to R to avoid constantly correcting for the crown of the road. But it sounds like like you've got the opposite thing going on.

Alignment numbers would be a good place to start

 

[rennur]

Yokohama tires. Sorry I don't know to much about the alignment process. I'm in Dayton Ohio and 675 does seem to have a lot of crown, but even around town it still pulls. Frustrating.

 

[sbayha]

I purchased my 2015 Limited a year this month. It was a demo with 1300 miles and now has 10,700. This is my 5th 4Runner in 25 years and the worst driving. (2nd gen- 3rd gen- and 2-4th gens) I've brought it to the dealer twice and the vehicle still pulls to the left. On the highway, if I let the wheel go it would eventually pull me into oncoming traffic. Driving slower in town it will cross 2 lanes in less than a block. The steering wheel might be slightly off center when going straight. (very minor) What gives? Toyota says the alignment is good. (They've looked at this twice). I've rotated the tires front-back and across with no change. As much as I love the vehicle, I just hate driving it and find myself taking my 2008 Element with 130K miles when heading out.



No mods, no changes from factory. Suggestions? Solutions? Anyone else with a Limited have this issue?



So frustrated!

I had alignment issues off the lot. I guarantee you they will take you very seriously on your third visit. It should be a warranty issue. Mine was. They didn't give me alignment printouts or numbers the first two visits. Their tune changed on the third visit. And magically they had a printout that said it actually was pulling right and they actually fixed it. If they can't resolve your issue on the third visit it could be a lemon law situation.

 

[cheerup38]

I asked for the alignment report on the first visit....500 miles in. I had a similar issue with the Tundra and did not want a repeat episode. And I would also try another dealership.

 

[LandCruiser]

You have three choices

-find a tire shop that knows what it's doing
-go to another dealer, and bring the paperwork with the printout that this has happened TWICE
-go to the original dealer and tell them you refuse to take the vehicle back until it's fixed under warranty (but brush up on your state's arbitration laws)

The worst case scenario is that this is a demo and it was wrecked and fixed off the books. Either way, make them pay for fixing it.

 

[rennur]

So took it to dealer today and they didn't find anything off (again) Rode with the service guy and it didn't pull for him. (he never took his hand off the wheel) I drove- took hand off the wheel and pulled to left. Service guy said they couldn't do anything since in tolerances; Thoughts?

following reading:

Front Left Front Right Range
Actual: -.02 CAMBER Actual -.5 -.9 to .7
2.7 Caster 2.9 2.6 to 4.1
.02 Toe .07 -.01 to .14
11.8 SAI 12.2 11,5 to 13.0
11.6 included angle 12.2 10.7 to 13.7




FRONT: RANGE
Cross chamber .3 -.8 to .8
Cross center -.3 -.8 to .8
Cros SAI -.8 to .8
Total Toe .09 .02 to .28
Cross Turn Diff


Any thoughts from anyone?

 

[Saker]

I don't know how much road crown you have in your area, but here is a readout anyway for mine.
Take into consideration that my T4R is lifted 2" in the front so the max caster could not be achieved.
It is an SR5 but that shouldn't make that much difference.
Mine runs straight as an arrow!

You wheel should be centered and you should have as close to 4° caster as possible, your toe may be off as well......

 

[rennur]

Anyone else want to chime in on this?

 

[1engineer]

Anyone else want to chime in on this?

If it does this pulling to the left consistently on EVERY road:

It's not because you have a Limited.

It's not your tires (unless you have super low pressure on your left front and high on your right front or even too low on your left rear)

It's not the wheels.

It's simply the alignment. Take it to a good alignment shop. Tell them your issue and PAY to have it fixed. $150 or so and you will be good to go.

It could be cross caster is too much.
It could be toe is out.
It could be something slightly bent.
It could be your camber.

A good tech will find the problem. Find the good tech.

 

[catrains]

Anyone else want to chime in on this?

my guess is the front driver side camber is off. this will cause the drag on the driver side front tire pulling the steering wheel to the left.

another issue which I have seen is dragging brake caliper.
I doubt it is tire pressures since this has idiot operator sensors in the vehicle.

A properly aligned vehicle should pull to the right slightly , on a road with a normal sized crown . not to the left.

place a good amount of chalk on the tire front treads see if the tire tread chalk wears off the treads evenly on both across the full tread . if not then alignment issue.

my experience with dealerships is they do not do alignments on a new warranty vehicle . you must pay for it . which is why I check this out before putting my cash down on it. when the fix it then I do the deal.

 

[rennur]

Great advice. I think I'll take it to a speciality shop and see what they can do. So disappointing as every 4Runner I've had has been flawless through ownership. That's why I keep getting a new one every 5-7 years! This one? Not so much!

 

[bigbadpoppa]

Unless you remove all 4 tire and inspect clearly .... I wouldn't necessarily rule it out yet.

If you have a tire that's worn differently or has a defect....it'll pull your truck. You can't see this without removing the tires and inspecting them individually. it's not uncommon to have a tire that may have not molded as good in the factory.

 

[catrains]

Great advice. I think I'll take it to a speciality shop and see what they can do. So disappointing as every 4Runner I've had has been flawless through ownership. That's why I keep getting a new one every 5-7 years! This one? Not so much!

my july 2016 T4R new had the bump steering issue . very hard to drive straight on a rough bumpy road . I checked the front wheel alignment the toe was zero . set the toe in slightly passenger side because that side was set out . perfect now . my arms where wearing out with all that steering wheel motion.

holding the wheel straight goes perfectly . also no drift holds straight on flat road @60-80MPH.

I would be surprised if the dealership would do an alignment for free unless the service manager is a family member.