2017 Tundra SR5 Questions

The previous owners registration was still in my 14's owners manual. Not once would I consider contacting him even though I would like to get some info. Just not right without permission

 

They're right about the dealer giving up the previous owner's info...not going to happen.

Have you asked the dealer about providing a CarFax or similar report? Even if you have to pay for it, accident repair, the ownership history, when registered, and when the title was transferred is sometimes on those reports. I probably wouldn't bother the previous owner, that could be tricky.

 

I just texted the salesman for the Carfax in the morning.

Just sitting here looking at the pics on the shock mounts, to see if I can find damage.

 

Is the truck at a Toyota dealer? If so, I’d ask the sales manager directly if it ever had any paint or body work. Whoever appraises cars there can spot paintwork from a mile away. Way back in the day, I worked at a Ford dealership and we’d go to the auction to drive cars back. There were 2 appraisers who bid on the cars... that’s all they did. And honestly, I don’t think a legit Toyota dealer will lie to your face if they know the truck has been repaired and you ask them directly. Hell, have them walk around the truck with you and ask them if they see any evidence of paint or body work if you’re worried. Point out the whiteish substance on the frame and ask them what’s up with it... from the pic tho that doesn’t look like overspray to me. I’d wipe my finger across it... because it looks like detailing spray. That’s why the rest of the frame looks like it does. If it’s close to me, I’d be willing to take a look. I’m pretty good at spotting paint repairs.

 

It is at a dealer. I showed them the tires and they offered to give me a free set.

I did wipe my fingers over it and it didn't come off easily. But, I didn't try a spit and shine either.

I wish it was closer...I'm trying to buy a truck before the end of the year and it's a PITA. I had been looking at Tacoma's, but have shied away from them due to the transmissions, and admittedly my wife and kids think the larger truck will serve my purposes better (even with less MPG). It's going to be a work/everyday truck where I will put about 15-20k per year on it. I will work, camp, hunt, fish, and household things out of it. Right now, working out of my 4runner and swapping all my crap over to the 250 for everything else...I work to hard and just need one multi-purpose truck.

Thanks for the offer, and I do wish you were closer. I am in VA.

 

Dunno. If a fender was repaired, I don't see why the wheel well would have been painted. If the damage was bad and replaced, the fender would have been painted before going back on. I suspect something got slung up inside the wheel well like road paint. There is a better car check site but it escapes me. Just get em to knock off another grand or so. Are they willing to certify this vehicle?

Not rotating tires doesn't help either. Get the new set and have them aligned. Seems like they are willing to work with you. A 4 wheel alignment would reveal if there was something bent out of spec.

People replacing components with junk yard pulls, you'd be seeing more wear on the flats of the large fasteners. That front end looks uniform

 

Try a car history on AutoCheck. I’ve found it to be better than Carfax in the past, but maybe that has changed since it’s been a few years since I’ve used either.

 

It's not that uncommon if the fender is painted on the car, which is SOP imo. Painting off the vehicle leads to all kinds of problems matching the vehicle paint and post paint installation damage. Paint overspray inside the wheel well results from lazy or no masking. A shop that does quality work would cover the overspray by repairing the wheel well blackout after the vehicle is painted.

On second look, @WNY PAT may be right. That could be black detailing spray, poorly done. I thought I was seeing a shadow of primer/paint behind the wheel well skirt when blackout was repainted, but the black doesn't follow the skirt contour perfectly. Not clear to me how the frame got the white substance on it if it isn't primer or white paint.

 

Looking even closer... I think it might just be how the sun is hitting it. Look at the other side of the tire as well.

 

I have the TRD Sr5 no rear sway bar. You buy that on sale for $120 or so. That one is red!

 

There definitely is a substance on there...what it is, I dunno. I can't find any accident reports on AutoCheck.

 

I agree with this. When I used to time trial my car, the tires looked exactly like this.


Question: Will he let you take the truck off the lot and have another professional inspect it?

 

I'm either on the hard cornering fence, or poor tire rotation coupled with a bad alignment. The fact that the tires are wearing evenly on the outside, leads me to poor rotation and a bad alignment at some point. My F250 with BFG MT wore like that on all four tires, even with rotation. So much so, I just ended up flipping the tires to even it out. But, I also ran the air a little high all the time unless in the sand at the beach.

I'm sure they would if I asked. I just sent them an "offer" so we will see. I am going to see if they have a 7 day return policy and get it checked out. I am trying to utilize the end of year to get a deal though.

 

Well, pulled the service records...according to Toyota service records, tires were rotated at 5k, 10k, and 15k...with not rotation for the last 15k per Toyota. So, then we are back to underinflated and aggressive corning, or a true alignment problem.

 

When I bought my 17 DC, I only got 40K out of the stock tires. Mine looked like those, rolled on the outsides. I commutted 52 miles each way to work as a driving (CDL) instructor and used the drive to work and home as a warm up to qualifying. ( I drove the snot out of it everyday). White spray/fading in the wheel well could be overspray from detailing spray that wasn't rinsed off. Heard that bleach white for tires will fade paint if not rinsed off. Just a thought.
Brake calipers don't look like they have been replaced. All the surrounding parts (suspension) look original with no repairs. Can't think of any type of accident that would require a caliper replacement and no other parts. And if they were defective, no dealer would use junk yard parts to replace, especially for brakes.

 

No red sway bars on the TRD Off-road Package. TRD Off-road package includes Bilstein Shocks, Aluminum 18” wheels, and front and fuel tank skid plates. I believe they didn’t offer red sway bars on any standard package until the TRD Sport Package in 18’, at least to my knowledge. They were offered after market and on special builds (to my knowledge). I’ve had a 2014 SR5, 2017 SR5 w/TRD Off-road Package and 2018 Limited.

My Michelin factory tires only got 30,000.

 

I said &&*# it and went it and looked it again (it's an hour drive). It is definitely something on there, but I think it was either overspray from detailing at some point or from the factory. The difference might be where the dealership detailed it with black paint like they so often do or maybe the factory missed their black paint. i looked at another truck the other day, older Tacoma with low miles, where they just painted black over a 1/4" of silt on the frame rails, shock towers, and anything else that had it. It was a Northern truck or more likely a flood truck (the hinges on the extended cab were rusted on the bottom hinges but not on top) and they didn't even take the time to clean the silt off the frame rails.

Either way, I have looked at so many trucks over the last month and this was the cleanest rust free truck that I have seen (with other similar mileage trucks). No rust on the pumpkin or rear where others were ate up along the seams/welds.

I agree, and with the clean bolts and other parts I'm chalking this up to a driver issue, tire pressure issue, or tire manufacturer issue. It drives straight and tracks fine as of now. Nonetheless, I requested an alignment from the dealer.

 

If the tire tracks are straight after driving through water, (2 tracks, not 4), buy it and drive it like you stole it.

 

Evening all,

Just wanted to say thanks for all of the information everyone has provided me during my Tundra search. I ended up purchasing the truck in question, it was the best condition truck I could find for my parameters, even though I paid more than I wanted to spend. But, given the transmission issues of the 2016 and newer Tacomas, Tundra's have become rare in lower mileage used condition, at least in my area. So, now begins my journey of owning my first Tundra for the next 20 or so years.

Now off to read about mods and what I can do to the truck!

Thank all of you very much.
Rick

 

Congratulations on your Tundra. Odds are it will serve you well. Without knowing the history, I would probably do a ATF "drain and fill" sometime in the near future. I would set the ATF level properly, and send a ATF sample off for oil analysis. If the sample comes back clean (no water, new condition), I would resume an ATF service schedule according to it's duty (60K interval for towing, 100K+ for daily driving.) If the dealer did an oil change, the only other thing to do would probably be a brake fluid flush and bleed (unless the dealer did that too, inspection of the MC reservoir should tell the tale).

It is definitely not from the factory. A Tundra's life begins with clean, new chassis components being bolted on a clean, freshly painted frame. The frame paint will always be a uniform satin black, and that's pretty much SOP for any car maker. I suppose something could have sprayed onto the frame during shipment, but that is highly unlikely in my opinion. A shipment of many frames probably arrived at TMMTX in an enclosed rail car.

Now that you've committed, it is irrelevant, but there is one more thing you could do to solve the mystery. The pics you posted show the truck was definitely driven a lot in wet road conditions. The substance on the frame may simply be road film from frequent wet road driving. Try scrubbing the lighter areas on the driver side rear wheel well with a toothbrush, soap and water. If the deposit is water soluble, and comes off, it's environmental from use. If the deposit is unfazed by soap and water scrubbing, it's paint overspray.

Good luck with your Tundra.

 

If you don't like all the safety stuff ( adaptive cruise control, lane assist ) and the having the dealer adjust and fix. You WILL love the 17. I love my 17 for the basics. My neighbor had a 15DC and thats the reason I bought a new one couple years ago. Then he had to go buy a new 19 Crew Max. He loves the truck but has been to the dealer a few times, All the sensors are acting up here and there since he went with a 6" lift. Toyota will get it figured out but just a time suck.

 

I concur, I really wanted to stay away from all the sensors and stuff. The 17 was where I wanted to be after all the research I did online...then with this great forums input.

I have a lifted F250, lifting does all sorts of things to a truck! But, its a tank...gas guzzling tank and not for everyday driving kinda tank.