Rubbing Tire on 2021 TRD Pro

[FourT6and2]

When I turn wheel full lock to the left, while backing up, front driver's tire rubs wheel well. I think it's hitting the head of a bolt and/or the edge of the plastic fender liner. While in for an oil change last year at a dealership in SLC (I was on the road), I asked them to have a look.

The service manager told me he wouldn't look at it because I have aftermarket tires on the car and I had lifted it. But the tires are the stock Nitto Grapplers and the "lift" he claimed I did was just the OEM Fox shocks because it's a TRD Pro. I looked at the guy like he was an alien and tried to explain that the car was completely stock. He told me, "I've been working for Toyota for 40 years and I've NEVER seen a stock 4Runner with these tires and these shocks. You clearly lifted the car and put aftermarket tires on it." I had to pull up Toyota's website to show him and instead of just owning his mistake, he walked away from me mid-sentence.

This was at Karl Malone Toyota in SLC. The guy was extremely rude and refused to honor Toyota's warranty or even have a look.

Anyway... Is this kind of rubbing normal? I guess I'll have to take a heat gun or saw to the fender liner to fix.

 

[bobdacat]

LOL,, had the same thing when I brought my 2013 trail into my local for free oil change, the service adviser liked what i did to my 4Runner. Trail editions were rare in the NY/NJ/CT area. When I told him it came like that its the Trail edition, he said oh he never saw one before. No tire rubbing with the stock dunlaps, but same size tire in the Cooper STT Pros those rubbed when turned all the way. Glad to see a more off roady stock tire for the 4Runner.

 

[rageandlove]

When I turn wheel full lock to the left, while backing up, front driver's tire rubs wheel well. I think it's hitting the head of a bolt and/or the edge of the plastic fender liner. While in for an oil change last year at a dealership in SLC (I was on the road), I asked them to have a look.

The service manager told me he wouldn't look at it because I have aftermarket tires on the car and I had lifted it. But the tires are the stock Nitto Grapplers and the "lift" he claimed I did was just the OEM Fox shocks because it's a TRD Pro. I looked at the guy like he was an alien and tried to explain that the car was completely stock. He told me, "I've been working for Toyota for 40 years and I've NEVER seen a stock 4Runner with these tires and these shocks. You clearly lifted the car and put aftermarket tires on it." I had to pull up Toyota's website to show him and instead of just owning his mistake, he walked away from me mid-sentence.

This was at Karl Malone Toyota in SLC. The guy was extremely rude and refused to honor Toyota's warranty or even have a look.

Anyway... Is this kind of rubbing normal? I guess I'll have to take a heat gun or saw to the fender liner to fix.

No, that's not normal. I wonder if it is as simple as that part of the bumper isn't properly seated. I'd take out the three bolts and verify it was fully clipped in to start. TRD John has a good youtube video on how the bumper is attached that you might want to look at.

And find a dealer that's less of a tool

 

[NW.OH.T4R]

It’s possible that your bumper wasn’t trimmed at the port. It’s part of the Pro installation procedure to convert from an ORP. There’s an open TSB for this.


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[FourT6and2]

It’s possible that your bumper wasn’t trimmed at the port. It’s part of the Pro installation procedure to convert from an ORP. There’s an open TSB for this.


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Oh wow, I hadn't heard of this. What needs to be trimmed? And any more info on the TSB? If I approach my dealer about this, they are just going to say they've never heard of it.

 

[Old 97]

Oh wow, I hadn't heard of this. What needs to be trimmed? And any more info on the TSB? If I approach my dealer about this, they are just going to say they've never heard of it.

You'll probably want to move your fender liner forward, away from the tire. This involves removing the screws, moving the liner and screwing the liner in the modified position. Check here for more.

Once that's done, I suggest you get a friend to stand by the tire while you crank the wheel and back up, in order to identify what part of the actual fender you're hitting.

I had a similar issue when I went up to 275/70/R17s with a 1.75" lift up front. I did the fender liner mod, then used a dremel sanding bit to sand off about 1/16" from the inside lip of my fender where the tire would hit when reversing a full lock. It make a clacking sound, kind of like having a stiff playing card in a bike tire.

Fortunately, it's a pretty simple fix most of the time.

 

[NW.OH.T4R]

Oh wow, I hadn't heard of this. What needs to be trimmed? And any more info on the TSB? If I approach my dealer about this, they are just going to say they've never heard of it.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10162789-9999.pdf


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[FourT6and2]

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10162789-9999.pdf


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Fantastic. Except for two things. That TSB stops at 2020. Mine is 2021. But I'm willing to bet there's an updated one for my year. And also... after reading that doc, I'm not sure I would trust a Toyota dealership to do any of this work.

 

[rageandlove]

That's wild. Had never heard of this.

I just went and looked at mine (2019) and yup, you can see where this mod has been done by the port. And the cut is nice and smooth, just like the instructions.

These things have endless surprises.

 

[NW.OH.T4R]

Fantastic. Except for two things. That TSB stops at 2020. Mine is 2021. But I'm willing to bet there's an updated one for my year. And also... after reading that doc, I'm not sure I would trust a Toyota dealership to do any of this work.

I would put more faith in most dealerships than I would some random person at the port. As for the MY threshold, it’s easy to check if this has been done and it applies to all Pro’s because it’s not like Toyota released an updated bumper for the MY21/22 Pro.


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[FourT6and2]

I would put more faith in most dealerships than I would some random person at the port. As for the MY threshold, it’s easy to check if this has been done and it applies to all Pro’s because it’s not like Toyota released an updated bumper for the MY21/22 Pro.


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No I know that. But a dealership is going to say sorry it doesn't apply to your year, pound sand. Especially when they refuse to even check for a TSB in the first place. I asked my local dealership about the rubbing in the past as well. And they said it was normal for TRD Pros. They didn't even want to discuss it. But I'm going in for an oil change today so we'll see what they say.

 

[Charles Bronson]

We have a 2020 ORP and shortly after purchase, we installed the same wheels and tires as a stock Pro. It was side impacted back in November and it required replacement of the front passenger side fender. The shop had to remove the bumper cover to replace the fender. The night we got the truck home, I backed out of the driveway with the tires at full lock and I heard a grinding sound. I knew it was the tire hitting the liner. The body shop didn't get one of the bolts situated through one of the holes on the liner correctly (one of the holes noted in the TSD) and it caused the liner to push inwards toward the tire maybe 1/4". That's all it took to create a clearance issue. I got the liner situated correctly and the sound went away. I had never paid attention to just how tight fender and tire clearances are in the front.

The main reason this becomes as issue on the Pros is because the Pro wheels have 10mm more negative offset and push the wheels further out from the body. This can cause a clearance issue due to the offset vs castor relationship.

It's quite easy to figure out the issue. Turn the wheels to full lock, put in park, and check the clearance of the tire to the fender liner on each side. Where it will rub is noted on the TSD and likely you'll see a faint mark on the fender liner were the tire has touched it.

 

[Charles Bronson]

No I know that. But a dealership is going to say sorry it doesn't apply to your year, pound sand. Especially when they refuse to even check for a TSB in the first place. I asked my local dealership about the rubbing in the past as well. And they said it was normal for TRD Pros. They didn't even want to discuss it. But I'm going in for an oil change today so we'll see what they say.

If it were me, I'd figure out the contact point on the fender liner and circle it in chalk. Take the truck back with the TSB in hand. Talk to a different service advisor and get the issue fixed. Then ask for dealership's manager and tell them the original service advisor is punk and shouldn't treat customers like he did and it shouldn't be your job to troubleshoot issues on a stock, under warranty, Toyota truck.

 

[bzizzi]

Fix rubbing

My 2020 TRD ORP rubs with stock size tires on aftermarket rims, I loosened fender liner bolts and pushed liner back and tightened back down and no more rub.