First experience with Toyota service. Not looking good.

[Burgi]

Since the moment I drove my new 4Runner off the lot my steering wheel has been off centered and slightly pointed to the right. It’s still driving straight so I don’t think k it’s an alignment issue. I take it back to the dealer I bought it from and they said sorry we can’t help you we don’t have alignment specs.

I take it to a different dealer and they give me the same story. The car probably just needs a slight tie rod adjustment to straighten the wheel. Do I really need to crawl under my brand new $50k vehicle and do this myself?

this wholes situation is leaving a sour taste in my mouth and I’m not feeling confident about if I ever have some serious problems with the vehicle.

what would you guys do? It’s not a huge issue but is it too much to expect a centered steering wheel on a brand new vehicle?

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[nubbins_]

what would you guys do? It’s not a huge issue but is it too much to expect a centered steering wheel on a brand new vehicle?

It shouldn't be like that, but having dealt with countless dealer service depts and tire shops in the last 10 years, it's more or less what I expect. Somehow ensuring the steering wheel is centered is a task that is either impossible or magnitudes more difficult than doing the actual alignment, according to those people.

I would keep trying other service depts, escalate with Toyota corp, or just go to an actual alignment shop.

 

[HVLA]

Take it back to the dealer you bought it from and demand they pay to take it somewhere that can fix it. It isnt your problem they dont know how to align it.

 

[Stormie_SS]

Wonder if the steering angle sensor needs to be reset. On my Chevy my steering wheel was off center a little bit and I had to have the sensor reset to straighten it out.

 

[Burgi]

Take it back to the dealer you bought it from and demand they pay to take it somewhere that can fix it. It isnt your problem they dont know how to align it.

yup I’m going to call corporate first and go from there.

 

[Burgi]

Wonder if the steering angle sensor needs to be reset. On my Chevy my steering wheel was off center a little bit and I had to have the sensor reset to straighten it out.

Yea I was thinking something along those lines could be the issue but alignments are easy to rule out. I have the 4th gen tacoma service manual and will look into the sensor.

 

[Chris_4Runner]

Really appreciating this forum — the more owner experiences I read about the new 4Runner, the more hesitant I am to spend a dime on the 2025 model.

From squeaky brakes and misaligned steering wheels to gaps in the wheel moldings... what else should we expect? I know the moment the dealership gets the signoff and payment, any issues instantly become my problem to chase — and they’ll take their time addressing them, no rush whatsoever.

And based on past experience with the ECP program, I wouldn’t place too much faith in that either.

 

[JR1]

Really appreciating this forum — the more owner experiences I read about the new 4Runner, the more hesitant I am to spend a dime on the 2025 model.

From squeaky brakes and misaligned steering wheels to gaps in the wheel moldings... what else should we expect? I know the moment the dealership gets the signoff and payment, any issues instantly become my problem to chase — and they’ll take their time addressing them, no rush whatsoever.

And based on past experience with the ECP program, I wouldn’t place too much faith in that either.

Depends on the dealer actually. There. ARE some good dealers out there believe it or not. My dealer has been very good to deal with throughout my purchase. I only have 1200 miles on my Sport and so far it’s been perfect. People that don’t have problems usually don’t post that. Those with problems do post their problems. This is human nature.

 

[zgreen]

Really appreciating this forum — the more owner experiences I read about the new 4Runner, the more hesitant I am to spend a dime on the 2025 model.

From squeaky brakes and misaligned steering wheels to gaps in the wheel moldings... what else should we expect? I know the moment the dealership gets the signoff and payment, any issues instantly become my problem to chase — and they’ll take their time addressing them, no rush whatsoever.

And based on past experience with the ECP program, I wouldn’t place too much faith in that either.

Hey Chris. In my opinion, the forums can be great, but are also not a true representation of what is actually going on. After a certain point, most people who are posting, are posting issues that they have and not how much they love their vehicle and that there’s nothing wrong with theirs. If you take a look at Rivian’s forum, you would think 95% of Rivian’s are defective and 100% of people have issue with their service visits. Obviously that’s not true.

I’ve had my Black TRD Pro for a month now. It had some serious paint issues when I took delivery. My local dealership paid to get the hood repainted and paid for a full body paint correction as well. Amazing customer service and I feel fantastic about it all. In the 1,000 miles I’ve driven so far, I have absolutely no complaints. In fact, I think it could be the best vehicle I’ve owned so far out of the 12 or 14 cars/SUV’s I’ve had.

I would perhaps take a lot of all of our posts with a grain of salt and go with what you want. Take a test drive and see what works for you. My guess is 95% of people who have the new 2025 4Runners love them and have had no issues. Good luck and have fun finding your new ride!

 

[Chris_4Runner]

Hey Chris. In my opinion, the forums can be great, but are also not a true representation of what is actually going on. After a certain point, most people who are posting, are posting issues that they have and not how much they love their vehicle and that there’s nothing wrong with theirs. If you take a look at Rivian’s forum, you would think 95% of Rivian’s are defective and 100% of people have issue with their service visits. Obviously that’s not true.

I’ve had my Black TRD Pro for a month now. It had some serious paint issues when I took delivery. My local dealership paid to get the hood repainted and paid for a full body paint correction as well. Amazing customer service and I feel fantastic about it all. In the 1,000 miles I’ve driven so far, I have absolutely no complaints. In fact, I think it could be the best vehicle I’ve owned so far out of the 12 or 14 cars/SUV’s I’ve had.

I would perhaps take a lot of all of our posts with a grain of salt and go with what you want. Take a test drive and see what works for you. My guess is 95% of people who have the new 2025 4Runners love them and have had no issues. Good luck and have fun finding your new ride!

Zach, thanks so much for the reply — really appreciate it! And yes, I’m definitely taking everything with a grain of salt.


I’d absolutely love the chance to do a test drive if there’s a demo unit available! Since you're one of the lucky few to get your hands on a TRD Pro, would you mind letting me know if yours is a Canadian-spec vehicle — and whether it came with an alternator installed?


Thanks again!

 

[CrispyTacoLover]

Since the moment I drove my new 4Runner off the lot my steering wheel has been off centered and slightly pointed to the right. It’s still driving straight so I don’t think k it’s an alignment issue. I take it back to the dealer I bought it from and they said sorry we can’t help you we don’t have alignment specs.

I take it to a different dealer and they give me the same story. The car probably just needs a slight tie rod adjustment to straighten the wheel. Do I really need to crawl under my brand new $50k vehicle and do this myself?

this wholes situation is leaving a sour taste in my mouth and I’m not feeling confident about if I ever have some serious problems with the vehicle.

what would you guys do? It’s not a huge issue but is it too much to expect a centered steering wheel on a brand new vehicle?

It wasn’t like this on your test drive?

 

[zgreen]

Zach, thanks so much for the reply — really appreciate it! And yes, I’m definitely taking everything with a grain of salt.


I’d absolutely love the chance to do a test drive if there’s a demo unit available! Since you're one of the lucky few to get your hands on a TRD Pro, would you mind letting me know if yours is a Canadian-spec vehicle — and whether it came with an alternator installed?


Thanks again!

No worries! I am in Montana, so I don’t think it’s Canadian spec’d. As for an alternator, I assume it has one to charge the 12 volt, but are you asking if it has another one?

 

[Chris_4Runner]

Yes a mechanical one as per the car care nut latest review video

 

[tomter]

Depends on the dealer actually. There. ARE some good dealers out there believe it or not. My dealer has been very good to deal with throughout my purchase. I only have 1200 miles on my Sport and so far it’s been perfect. People that don’t have problems usually don’t post that. Those with problems do post their problems. This is human nature.

I have over 2,000 miles on my ORP in just over a month and everything is outstanding. Just had a few glitchy things related to the CarPlay. I do prefer Ford's SYNC infotainment over Toyota's, but it's just a slightly annoying thing. Oh, and I am having issues with the stupid kick sensor for the rear hatch. I can't figure it out. Probably operator error!

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