Is Toyota still the best?

Long time listener, first time caller. So I have a question, I just purchased a 2021 Tundra with 8,500 miles on it last week. So far the truck is completely stock, going back to the dealer for a leveling kit tomorrow. While taking it on its maiden voyage (for me anyway) on the interstate I noticed a fair amount of steering wheel vibration/shake. After searching the topic I’ve seen all of the rack and pinion issues along with people saying “My leveling kit ruined my entire front end and killed my dog!” (Exaggeration of course) Coming from multiple GMs I know in that community there are many people that regularly run 35s on spacer levels (me being one of them) and now I come over here and if you’re not running coilovers with an anodized finish in your favorite primary color your truck is going to blow up. I guess I rant to ask these questions:
1) Are the Toyota front end and steering components really that weak that a level and one size above factory rubber is hurting trucks?
2) Is Toyota really as picky about warranty work as some mention on this forum? I’ve heard people saying Toyota wouldn’t warranty their rack and pinion when a truck is leveled? (Which is asinine since it’s a common problem even in stock trucks)

thanks! Looking forward to some good times here. Cheers

 

I have nothing to add here. Just wanted to say welcome. Love the username, and the energy you're bringing. Gave me a proper giggle.

 

Dealer I assume is a Toyota dealer? If so and they are doing the leveling kit there should be no issue with warranty claims.

Have them double check the tire balance. I had the same problem when I bought mine. I took the sales rep on a drive with me to experience the fun….. he had the service department check and not a single tire was in balance. After that it ran as smooth as glass.

welcome from Texas.

 

Yes it is a Toyota dealer. They’re not doing the work, but my wife is dropping the truck with them and they’re taking it to the shop down the road. I figure I can get them to warranty it since THEY picked the shop. The warranty stuff was more general than anything.

I was thinking an out of balance tire but then I read the rack and pinion stuff any my mind kind of did a Hiroshima.

 

Welcome

 

Alignment? Tire balance?

Was this vibration noticeable during your test drive?

And with regards to your spacer lift concerns or whatever they may be, you can fit whatever you want under enough hockey pucks. You just become limited in what you’re able to do with the truck (safely) should you choose to do so. It’s probably a good idea to sort out the the vibration issue prior to adding another variable to the problem. YMMV

 

How many mailboxes have you blasted to smithereens with your truck? Do you notice a tendency for the steering to pull towards steep drop-offs/cliffs? After parking your truck do you notice a yellowish glow coming from the transmission area?

 

Elk Hunter?

 

Alignment and tire balance will be done tomorrow most likely (unless they don’t have time). The issue should sort itself out then I would assume. But if not…we got problems.

With this truck? Seeing that I’ve put less than 200 miles on it in a week and a half, none. Now previous vehicles on the other hand…. Let’s say I’m on the leader board. Not at the top! But I’m there. Cliffs? Drop offs? Not many of those in the Arkansas delta. I do look for a dry bridge to jump off of from time to time, just haven’t had the right one on the right day. I did see some yellowish green fluids coming from my dads ‘97 Sierra after I brought it back late one night when I was about 15. Fun times! Just not for my ass.

 

Never seent one in my life. And as a fellow of rather round stature, I have no desire to.

 

My experience: I have had warranty work done and I'm sitting on 7.5" of lift on 35s. I had the majority of the lift after 15k miles. No issues with my steering rack. I'm at about 73k miles now.

 

This is the type of feedback I expected from Toyota owners. I guess the old posts I’ve been seeing the negative folks stood out more. Some I could sort through and realize they truly didn’t know what they were talking about. Others were somewhat convincing.

 

I leveled using 5100’s and went with 33” tires. No issues at all, very smooth, right under 70k miles.

 

They’re just referring previous members who had some rather colorful stories.

 

…a yarn about slapping nipples…

 

I was 33s for like 40k miles and now have switched to 36s , I have no issues. 78k on the truck. 33k was spent stock. I get a little steering wobble in the morn ings but just from sitting overnight. Goes away after a mile or so.

Edit : on leveling struts for 40k , dobinsons kit now newly installed.

 

My 2020 SR5 came new with a 6" lift and 35's and a 6yr 100k warranty from the dealer. A leveling kit should have nothing to do with stress on components.

 

I mean spacer lifts can do some damage to components ....... but that's just the spacer life

 

Sent her a little too hard. It don’t always be like that, but sometimes it do.

 

For starters steering wheel vibration is most likely a tire issue, and some tire brands and models just don't like to stay in balance. The more aggressive and knobby the worse they will be at everything not involving off road driving on low traction surfaces. You can do yourself a favor and say no to mud tires, rock crawling tires etc and just buy a high quality all terrain tire that is competent off road but mostly on road focused. The other thing to look out for is the Tundra uses hub centric wheels, and the wheel lug nut torque actually needs to be in -spec, and torqued in sequence. If not you might have slight misalignment of the wheel on the hub and associated run out, make sure they get torqued to spec in the proper sequence. If in doubt bust out the torque wrench and 22mm socket, set it to 97ft-lbs and do it yourself.... extra credit if you spilt the torque in 1/2 go in sequence and then final torque value in sequence.

Question 1.) A quality level kit properly installed shouldn't compromise front suspension geometry enough to damage anything, nor should properly balanced tires of a larger size or greater weight hurt anything. Again this comes down to quality components and quality work, if you put on a cheap kit and have a mongoloid put it on along with unbalanced load range E tires.... yeah it will ride like hell and probably shorten the life of a bunch of stuff. So don't do that, to any vehicle you care about regardless of brand or type.

Question 2.) Some dealers might want to not honor warranty work for aftermarket related stuff because warranty work doesn't usually pay as much, and of course if the modifications are obviously the cause of damage then Toyota can decline warranty coverage just like any other manufacturer. If you have a good dealer that you have a good relationship with and you're not doing silly shit you should be OK. Otherwise big boy rules apply.

Good luck.

 

Factory TSS wheels and tires, so I wouldn’t think that would be the issue unless one threw a weight. As far as rough tread tires, I’ve had most of the big ones. Toyo’s, Nitto’s (mud and trail grapplers), BFGs, couple others, all load range E (all I buy is E) and all oversized. Never had any ride like these. The leveling kit I understand, but after some reading just didn’t know what to expect. The warranty stuff was the same way. Understand how it works, but reading some of the ignorance that’s been spouted made me question Toyotas integrity.

 

Cheap spacer lift, full droop=vibration if your lucky.

 

Please don't judge my vehicle based on idiots that drive them.

 

Ferrari is the best. Toyota still descent though

 

And how big of a spacer would it take to achieve said “full droop”?

 

A 2" or 3" spacer will do it if you come back down on suspension hard enough without extended bump stops

 

Makes sense. We don’t have many hills or anything of the sort around here to get enough air to come down that hard I wouldn’t think. Speed bump infront of a school? Other than that we’re pretty flat around here lol

 

Think shitty potholes cause that's usually the culprit. That and curb jumps

 

I feel like if this was fairly common the shops around here would try to up-sell you to something more expensive. I think on these forums we see more people like you do in reviews on a website. If they’re pissed off, tell the whole internet! If you’re happy, you’re probably out doing something else. Just think, out of the tens of thousands of spacer lifts sold every year, how many complaints are there? Oh, and you gotta go fast enough to jump the pot holes.