Steering Issues - New Trail 4Runner
- Thread starter Jokulsarlon
- Start date
bluebullet
New member
Safety issue with nose dive is loss of visibillty at night. Headlight distance reduces to less than 50 feet. It is really spooky when can no longer see what you about to run into.
74huggerorange
New member
I am pretty sure my front bilsteins were around $150, I removed the coilovers and took them to a tire shop and they swapped the shocks...then I put em back on and went and got an alignment...problem solved for less than $300 easily with a few hours work AND I now have a leveled T4R :trophy:
How long are u nose diving for? I guess I just don't see that being such a big deal as the nose dive only last several seconds. It stops when I move forward or come to a complete stop after slamming on the brakes.
bluebullet
New member
Headlights dip for 2-3 seconds. Depends on speed and brake pressure applied. @45MPH you are going 66 feet/sec when you start to brake. If a fox is 150 feet away at that speed, he/she is lost from sight for about 120 feet due to the nose dive. I almost hit one a few weeks ago in pre-dawn darkness. It is unnerving not to be able to see if you are going to hit something or not. You don't know how much brake pressure to apply if you cannot see the target.
You are right. It's not a big deal unless you hit something you cannot see. I felt as though I was in an unsafe situation. I have never had that experience before in almost 50 years of driving. In that time I guess I have had to do a hard brake at night 5-6 different times. In none of those cases did the headlights disappear.
I learned years ago riding dirt bikes you should ride no faster than you can safely stop. I would practice panic stops to determine what that speed is. It is probably a good idea to do the same thing with the 5th gen. 4Runner at night.
bluebullet
New member
I was going by the 5K Toyota Inspection Form. The mechanic penned in 42 lb for each tire. I just checked them with my highly accurate pencil gauge. They are all at 37 lb. Metal plate affixed to the door jamb says 32 lb for front/rear. I don't know if the extra 5 lb would have an effect on the emergency handling.
I see others running 42PSI on this forum, but they are doing that on load range E tires rather than the stock passenger tires which I imagine are load range C tires.
Yea the E rated usually run around 44 PSI I believe.. Weird the mechanic put 42 on them.. I would imagine - in theory anyway - the more pressure you put in a tire beyond it's recommended PSI the smaller the contact patch would be with the ground. Though you may need a lot of pressure for that to be significant..
Hello about the stering vibration I do have a 2003 4 runner limited v8 and since Ii bought this car this was the main complain and is very annoing 112000 miles later still the same , toyota after several time to fix the problem (new tires , speed balance etc... ) they say is how toyta truck drive .....well got used to this problem , tell you the truth i very close to buy another car and because of this problem i am hesitating to buy another toyota 4 runner , I do hope they fix your car
Tire vibration
[Oh no, only 3600 miles on my new 4Runner and I'm already complaining!]
I too have the vibration in the steering wheel between the low 60's and about 68. I never drove on the OEM tires as I had Dura Tracs put on before I even picked the vehicle up. I noticed the vibration almost immediately, but also noticed that it was not constant. It seemed to come and go, depending on the road surface. I drove the new TE back up the Alaska Highway from Seattle to Anchorage and, again, the vibration came and went. It was minimal enough that I was not able to accurately determine what might be causing it, or what might be contributing. Airing the tires up to 40 pounds seemed to help.
I just got studded snow tires on steel rims, and noticed the vibration on the way home. These tires are supposed to also be at 40, but I'll check them tomorrow to make sure. And I'll attempt to determine when and how the vibration returns. On the other hand, if this is the worst problem I encounter with the 4Runner, I think I'll still be happy!
[Oh no, only 3600 miles on my new 4Runner and I'm already complaining!]
I too have the vibration in the steering wheel between the low 60's and about 68. I never drove on the OEM tires as I had Dura Tracs put on before I even picked the vehicle up. I noticed the vibration almost immediately, but also noticed that it was not constant. It seemed to come and go, depending on the road surface. I drove the new TE back up the Alaska Highway from Seattle to Anchorage and, again, the vibration came and went. It was minimal enough that I was not able to accurately determine what might be causing it, or what might be contributing. Airing the tires up to 40 pounds seemed to help.
I just got studded snow tires on steel rims, and noticed the vibration on the way home. These tires are supposed to also be at 40, but I'll check them tomorrow to make sure. And I'll attempt to determine when and how the vibration returns. On the other hand, if this is the worst problem I encounter with the 4Runner, I think I'll still be happy!
Jokulsarlon
New member
Yeah, the steering issues are just really strange. I drove over 400 miles this weekend in northern Minnesota on all kinds of roads (dirt, gravel, brand new highway concrete, asphalt, etc). The pulsating/vibration comes and goes....always at 60 to 75MPH. I know about the FJ's having issues, as my Toyota dealer said that Toyota told them that some FJ's and Lexus models were reporting similar problems. Its just odd as its only on some TE's, and not on all. I'm happy to hear though, that there are many happy TE owners.....maybe there's hope for my TE yet! Like I mentioned earlier, I really like the truck, just hope they can resolve the issues.
-JD-
New member
I'd suggest high beams.
I guess i just see it as, you have no reason to jam on your brakes unless you've seen something. If you've already seen it then you should know where it is....
icsa
New member
Some have the shaking brand new
One '11 TE w/ KDSS I test drove brand new had a very visible steering wheel shaking at 60 MPH. I would take my hands of the wheel and it would shake left and right about 1/2 inch.
The other TE next to it had no shaking on the same road and the same conditions.
If the dealer can't fix it for you, you should ask for a replacement.
One '11 TE w/ KDSS I test drove brand new had a very visible steering wheel shaking at 60 MPH. I would take my hands of the wheel and it would shake left and right about 1/2 inch.
The other TE next to it had no shaking on the same road and the same conditions.
If the dealer can't fix it for you, you should ask for a replacement.
ru108
New member
'11 TE w/KDSS here as well. Had no shaking with the stock Bridgestones that came OEM, but started getting the random vibrations after switching to GYWSA. They've been balanced three times, once with Roadforce, and still no resolution.
Agreed that its annoying, but the same tires are on my GMC work truck and it happens there as well. Personally, I think it just depends on the tire as I've got BFG T/A's on my Xterra and haven't noticed any shaking over what is normal for an AT tire. My .02
Agreed that its annoying, but the same tires are on my GMC work truck and it happens there as well. Personally, I think it just depends on the tire as I've got BFG T/A's on my Xterra and haven't noticed any shaking over what is normal for an AT tire. My .02
