Steering angle display - for what?

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kaitlyn2004

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My 2020 4runner has two "wheel" info displays - steering angle and PSI.

PSI very useful, of course. But what on earth is the steering angle for?

It's not even that sensitive/accurate. What is the reason it exists?
 
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I guess it could be a tool for off roading, but it's so imprecise that it's pointless to use for nearly any circumstance. I guess if you're ever not sure if your wheels are turned a whole lot in one direction and you can't tell inside by the steering wheel alone, you could look it up (my dad leaves my 4Runner like this sometimes), but it's a mostly pointless feature.

It's like an even lower tech version of the extra off roading cameras on the Tacoma TRD Pro. Those are so low resolution and low framerate that you can't even see a log in front of you. No kidding. Watch the video.

Now The BEST Midsize Truck? 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD PRO Review - YouTube
 
As mentioned, it is to show you what direction your front wheels are pointed. In reality, of minimal value.

If you are in a dicey situation, where you are in deep doo doo if you take off forward or backward and drop off a cliff or steep incline, it might be useful especially if you aren’t sure which way your rig will go because you’re not sure if your wheels are straight or at the angle you need to stay on the trail.

But if you’re in that situation with white knuckles on your steering wheel, the last thing you are going to think of is scrolling through the menu until you find it.

Needless to say, I never use it. But maybe one day. :lookout:
 
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kaitlyn2004 said:
My 2020 4runner has two "wheel" info displays - steering angle and PSI.

PSI very useful, of course. But what on earth is the steering angle for?

It's not even that sensitive/accurate. What is the reason it exists?
Click to expand...

Assistance for the driver when backing up trailers perhaps. It is easy to become disoriented I suppose, maybe you have done a few back and forths already, you are backing it into a tight space and you're not 100% on what angle the wheels are at and perhaps there is an inch between the bumper and the trailer now, glancing at that may tell you the wheels are facing the wrong direction and one more foot backward will punch a hole in your bumper.

My buddies Sienna has a few impact marks from this exact same scenario. So I dunno - maybe thats the reason it is there, just guessing....
 
imagine slowly crawling over obstacles offroading, then stopping for awhile to take a break or wait for someone in front to get past an obstacle etc... and not realizing your wheels are turned a full rotation in another direction and slipping off your line when you set off

it doesn't need to be precise, it only needs to be precise enough is to show you if you are a full steering wheel rotation+ from what you thought it was (i.e. the steering wheel is straight ahead, are my tires straight ahead or have I made a full rotation and they are actually pointing well to the right or left)

what's taught and what you're supposed to do is look out your window to see where your tires are pointed before moving, but having the little display is a lot easier
 
Using that display for offroading is like using the GPS display for driving in a snowstorm with zero visibility. I don't see how it would be useful at all for that.
 
The data is used internally for the VSC system, I agree it's useless for a driver to view.

Off road a piece of red tape at the top center of the steering wheel can be helpful. I wished I had one when I was slipping down a dune and was not sure which way the wheels were pointed.
 
In my last post I mentioned the issue of scrolling through the menu to bring up the display possibly being stressful when in a bind. But today I realized there is a quick way. Simply pop your door handle so that the door opens slightly ajar and the screen will change to show your door is open. It will also show your wheel angle. I realized that today when I was waiting for someone to come out of their house and I had the door ajar and the wheels turned.

Of course, that may not be a good idea if you’re on a 45º sidehill with the driver’s door on the downhill side ...:faint2:
 
Because the same people that need a digital tire pressure display to know if a tire is low on air also need help knowing when the wheels are straight.
 
GripT4R said:
Because the same people that need a digital tire pressure display to know if a tire is low on air also need help knowing when the wheels are straight.
Click to expand...

I disagree to hate on the digital tire pressure display; I actually hated that this was missing from earlier 4Runners.

I actually was able to watch a tire that had picked up a screw going down in real time this year on a drive up to Salt Lake City for a ski trip. Was able to figure out the rate it was losing air and figured I could make it up without any major problems (and deal with it the next day).

I don't know how this is worse than the alternative of having a warning light come on with no idea which of 4 tires was low when it was all of about 20 degrees outside...
 
GripT4R said:
Because the same people that need a digital tire pressure display to know if a tire is low on air also need help knowing when the wheels are straight.
Click to expand...
I love the tire pressure monitor! I found a tire with a slow leak (a screw) before the pressure got too low when I noticed it was 5 psi lower than others.
 
DAW89446 said:
In my last post I mentioned the issue of scrolling through the menu to bring up the display possibly being stressful when in a bind. But today I realized there is a quick way. Simply pop your door handle so that the door opens slightly ajar and the screen will change to show your door is open. It will also show your wheel angle. I realized that today when I was waiting for someone to come out of their house and I had the door ajar and the wheels turned.

Of course, that may not be a good idea if you’re on a 45º sidehill with the driver’s door on the downhill side ...:faint2:
Click to expand...

You can program a favorite “page” to a button on the steering wheel. Hit that button and it instantly goes to that display info. If there’s something useful you go back to time and again, make it the favorite and done.

Of course that doesn’t have to be tied to the wheel angle display which I haven’t found a use for yet.
 
jp.vegas said:
You can program a favorite “page” to a button on the steering wheel. Hit that button and it instantly goes to that display info. If there’s something useful you go back to time and again, make it the favorite and done.

Of course that doesn’t have to be tied to the wheel angle display which I haven’t found a use for yet.
Click to expand...

What?! Which button? How do you do it?? This is the greatest thing I've read here.
 
pointman said:
What?! Which button? How do you do it?? This is the greatest thing I've read here.
Click to expand...

On my ‘20 it’s under “meter settings in the driver information display. There’s a thing called switch settings and you can program the steering wheel button that looks like pages to one of the display screens.

It’s in the owner’s manual, page 96 of the version in the Toyota app.
 
jp.vegas said:
On my ‘20 it’s under “meter settings in the driver information display. There’s a thing called switch settings and you can program the steering wheel button that looks like pages to one of the display screens.

It’s in the owner’s manual, page 96 of the version in the Toyota app.
Click to expand...

Incredible. Game changer. Thanks a ton!! Worked perfectly. So good.
 
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