gman72
New member
I'll try to keep the story short, but it's really been a nightmare so far, any input to help them get this damned thing fixed right would be appreciated:
- December: Slammed into a coyote going about 60-70mph at night, raining, front right. The impact was pretty severe, front right bumper was a mess, headlight even cracked, foglight ruined, ripped out the entire inner fender. Startled the hell out of us, ended up off the side of the road in a ditch, front right and side resting on some huge rocks. Was able to back up out of the mess, but the damage was done.
- Insurance covered everything, didn't seem like much more than cosmetic damage at first, but the bill ended up being some $9k worth :jaw drop:. New passenger front door, new bumper, headlight, running board, skid plates, etc etc. One of the biggest expenses was the Christmas tree of lights on the dash after the wreck, which turned out to be ABS wire to the front right wheel (although the shop that worked on it first replaced the wheel sensor, then the entire computer, and THEN replaced the wire which finally fixed the prob....of course billing State Farm the entire batch, intersting.)
- Then the "State Farm Approved" body shop botched the paint job among about 15 other ridiculous things I complained about (including stealing my license plate registration sticker WTF), told them my A/C wasn't working right, they said could have "NOTHING TO DO WITH IT" but turned out they disconnected the damn cabin temperature sensor and never reconnected it.
- I complain about vibration in the front and pulls to the right since the wreck, they send it to a shop to check alignment, all supposedly good.
- Took it to Big O where I bought the tires originally, they rebalance and check alignment for free, "all good." Yet drive away and still steering wheel vibration + pulling to the right.
- Called State Farm, complained, they say take it back to the shop that worked on it originally. I say, NO, I do NOT want them to work on it, referenced the nightmare problems thus far. I want the dealer to check it out. They say fine, tell the body shop that you want the mechanical checked out by the dealer.
- Truck goes to the dealer, they take off my wheels and tires, put on a set from another 4Runner, test drive, claim all is "smooth, it's your tires causing the problem...those oversized (265/70/17 BFG AT KO's) are causing it." I say, hmmm, never shimmied like that before the wreck, nor the pull to the right. I go down there, test drive with other 4Runner tires/wheels on, seems much better, but still a slight shimmy and pull. Dealer: "well, these are from a used 4runner, so they're not brand new tires, you can expect that, but it's definitely better no?" Me: "I guess.. granted we've only gone a few miles"
- Take it back to dealer, they insist it's gotta be the tires. "Those 'oversized' offroad tires and all! Big-O must not have balanced using lug-centric adapter" I pay ~$100 to rebalance tires @ the dealer re-check alignment. "All good" says dealer, "however we notice radial pull and your steering wheel is a bit off"
- Shimmy seems a bit better, but still there, especially at ~60-70mph. Dealer: "that's the best we can get it with those tires"
- I conclude OK, screw it, tires must be bad, I'm over it. Went to Costco today, had them slap a set of Michelin LTX AT2 265/70/17's on, they balance with the lug-centric adapter, and tell me "hey, you've got a bent rim here!!" I have them shove the bent rim to the spare, maybe problem finally solved!
- Drove off, hit the freeway, low and behold STILL shimmy and pulling to the right, UGH! Now I'm out $100 re-aligning and testing + $1100+ new tires, and still have the problem. My BFG's were probably fine the whole time.
SOOOOOOOOOO, bottom line, am I crazy thinking something is has to be JACKED with the suspension? What the heck could it be? Another alignment? Bent axle? Steering rack messed up from the wreck? Something's definitely wrong and I'm going to take it back to the dealer again, but if you have any ideas where I should point them I'd appreciate it. This whole mess has been a nightmare ... my once luxury vehicle is now unpleasant to drive, and I'm about to drop a dime to the CA Bureau of Automotive Repair about this crap. State Farm has been nice thus far, except for the letter I just received saying their "investigation shows that YOU were at fault for the accident for 'failure to properly pay attention'" or some crap like that .... will definitely be appealing that junk as well.
- December: Slammed into a coyote going about 60-70mph at night, raining, front right. The impact was pretty severe, front right bumper was a mess, headlight even cracked, foglight ruined, ripped out the entire inner fender. Startled the hell out of us, ended up off the side of the road in a ditch, front right and side resting on some huge rocks. Was able to back up out of the mess, but the damage was done.
- Insurance covered everything, didn't seem like much more than cosmetic damage at first, but the bill ended up being some $9k worth :jaw drop:. New passenger front door, new bumper, headlight, running board, skid plates, etc etc. One of the biggest expenses was the Christmas tree of lights on the dash after the wreck, which turned out to be ABS wire to the front right wheel (although the shop that worked on it first replaced the wheel sensor, then the entire computer, and THEN replaced the wire which finally fixed the prob....of course billing State Farm the entire batch, intersting.)
- Then the "State Farm Approved" body shop botched the paint job among about 15 other ridiculous things I complained about (including stealing my license plate registration sticker WTF), told them my A/C wasn't working right, they said could have "NOTHING TO DO WITH IT" but turned out they disconnected the damn cabin temperature sensor and never reconnected it.
- I complain about vibration in the front and pulls to the right since the wreck, they send it to a shop to check alignment, all supposedly good.
- Took it to Big O where I bought the tires originally, they rebalance and check alignment for free, "all good." Yet drive away and still steering wheel vibration + pulling to the right.
- Called State Farm, complained, they say take it back to the shop that worked on it originally. I say, NO, I do NOT want them to work on it, referenced the nightmare problems thus far. I want the dealer to check it out. They say fine, tell the body shop that you want the mechanical checked out by the dealer.
- Truck goes to the dealer, they take off my wheels and tires, put on a set from another 4Runner, test drive, claim all is "smooth, it's your tires causing the problem...those oversized (265/70/17 BFG AT KO's) are causing it." I say, hmmm, never shimmied like that before the wreck, nor the pull to the right. I go down there, test drive with other 4Runner tires/wheels on, seems much better, but still a slight shimmy and pull. Dealer: "well, these are from a used 4runner, so they're not brand new tires, you can expect that, but it's definitely better no?" Me: "I guess.. granted we've only gone a few miles"
- Take it back to dealer, they insist it's gotta be the tires. "Those 'oversized' offroad tires and all! Big-O must not have balanced using lug-centric adapter" I pay ~$100 to rebalance tires @ the dealer re-check alignment. "All good" says dealer, "however we notice radial pull and your steering wheel is a bit off"
- Shimmy seems a bit better, but still there, especially at ~60-70mph. Dealer: "that's the best we can get it with those tires"
- I conclude OK, screw it, tires must be bad, I'm over it. Went to Costco today, had them slap a set of Michelin LTX AT2 265/70/17's on, they balance with the lug-centric adapter, and tell me "hey, you've got a bent rim here!!" I have them shove the bent rim to the spare, maybe problem finally solved!
- Drove off, hit the freeway, low and behold STILL shimmy and pulling to the right, UGH! Now I'm out $100 re-aligning and testing + $1100+ new tires, and still have the problem. My BFG's were probably fine the whole time.
SOOOOOOOOOO, bottom line, am I crazy thinking something is has to be JACKED with the suspension? What the heck could it be? Another alignment? Bent axle? Steering rack messed up from the wreck? Something's definitely wrong and I'm going to take it back to the dealer again, but if you have any ideas where I should point them I'd appreciate it. This whole mess has been a nightmare ... my once luxury vehicle is now unpleasant to drive, and I'm about to drop a dime to the CA Bureau of Automotive Repair about this crap. State Farm has been nice thus far, except for the letter I just received saying their "investigation shows that YOU were at fault for the accident for 'failure to properly pay attention'" or some crap like that .... will definitely be appealing that junk as well.
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