Handling issues 2015 platinum.

Bought a 2015 platinum with 41k miles.

Didnt notice the quirkiness of the handling/steering/alignment until having the truck a few days. Every bump I go over, any road imperfections, roadway ruts, will make the truck pull very hard to one side or the other. The truck pulls very hard to the right most of the time. It's like a workout to keep it straight and meanwhile I'm drifting in my lane trying to keep it straight.

I had a 2008 tundra leading up to this that was easy to control on the road, wasnt scary to drive fast, didnt pull me all over the road. I'm pretty pissed off at this point, but that won't help so I'm just trying to fix it.

The truck had autonation 125 point inspection, I've taken it to the local highly rated shop who did an inspection and said it was tight and didnt charge me anything.

I just took it to Les Schwab and they did an alignment test and check it out and said everything looks tight and in spec and didnt charge me anything.

Attached is the readout from the alignment test.

What should my next step be?

Ty!!

 

I'm thinking the steering?

20 inch wheels vs 18?

Shitty tires? They are Michelin 275/55/r20 Ltx ms2. They seem to have good ratings online.

$299+ Michelin LTX M/S2 Tires

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=LTX+M/S2&partnum=755HR0LTXMS2

 

Why don't you get a mechanic to drive it and give you his opinion?.

 

This ^^^.

 

Ty, was thinking this.

 

If it is, it wasnt disclosed. Looks stock and I measured the height and it appears to be stock.

 

Les Schwab just set them at 30 psi

 

too low!
I have the newer version of that tire, same size, same truck. I run at 36 psi front 34 psi rear.

Here are the alignment numbers I use, taken from another forum *not my work* .
"In the green" isn't good enough. I tell them to match these numbers. I've run this on two trucks, one lifted, one upgraded suspension, and won't go back to "in the green" numbers.

STOCK TRUCKS:
Camber: +.1 degree camber on both sides.
Caster: As much as possible without sacrificing +.1 degree camber or causing a cross caster pull.
Toe: +.12 degrees per side for a total toe of +.24 degrees. (some guys have had to drop toe to +.04 to +.5 per side/+.08 to +.10 total toe)

 

Agree. Air pressure is too low.

 

Ty! I will try this!

 

Could this issue be the tie rod ends?

 

Could be a tie rod end, but I'd expect a mechanical inspection to reveal this or excessive ball joint play readily. I also assume you don't have a brake pad hanging up or problems with abs wheel speed sensor. I also agree tire pressure is too low. A broken belt in a tire can cause the symptoms, but the inspection didn't identify this. Have a mechanic drive the truck and ride with him / her.

 

Hi! Thanks lot for attached link and will try take product as on required. it's appreciated always from end always.

 

UPDATE:

I took this into Toyota and had them do an alignment test. This is the printout and it seems fairly similar the the Les Schwab one from a few days earlier.

I had a mechanic at Toyota ride with me and even though I could see it pulling on the guy and pointed it out to him he told me me that "it drives like a tundra". I didn't feel as though he was being 100% with me as I had bought the car there and it's under their 4 month 0 deductible warranty. He also would not align my truck to the specs that others in this thread have stated to ask for. He said it was a liability issue.

I went to another Toyota dealership and found a nice salesman who I told my story to and they let me test drive a 2019 to see if it felt different or pulled.

The 2019 drove straight as an arrow. No pulling sensation. The steering felt tighter. My steering wheel on my 2015 feels much more "loose" and continues to pull to either side, mainly the right depending on the road surface. The 2019 did not do this at all, felt like a normal truck tracking straight down the road. So I know it wasn't the wheels now... my tires have decent tread left, but they are the original tires that came with the truck, so they have 42000 miles on them. Maybe it's all the tires?

I guess my next option is to take it to the friendly Toyota dealership and have them spend a couple billed hours diagnosing and hope they find something my warranty covers to fix?

Thanks all!

 

What size wheels was stock? Are the wheels aftermarket?

I have the same problem with my new '18. Toyota has aligned to spec but it still has a pull. I haven't had time to do it but i'm going to a local shop and let him drive it to see how it is. I think toyota doesn't account for wheel size change when they plug in the numbers.

 

Wondering. If you bought it used (with 41K on it) then we really don't know for 100% sure that it hasn't had any sort of frame damage. Toyota allows so many millimeters out of perfect frame alignment and still be, technically, "within spec."

In my 1997 T100 I hit a curb pretty good. It knocked the frame over. It measured 6mm out of perfect frame alignment. Toyota "allows" 5mm. I left it. With a perfect wheel alignment and some adjustment of the torsion bars it still has a slight pull to the right that I have to actively resist with the steering wheel.

A decent body shop with a frame machine should be able to measure it, give you a printed report and provide comments for $100 - $150.

I'm just spitballin' here.

 

Increased caster helps a vehicle track straight and the steering wheel return to center. I find that .5* more caster on the right helps compensate for road crown and your caster is higher on the left side.
It's easy to jack up one front wheel at a time and try to move the wheel to check for bad tie rods and/or BJs. Maybe check the BJ at the spindle to UCA while there. Then the rack bushings kinda take 2 people to inspect. 1 person, with the truck on the ground, moves the steering wheel back and forth a little while the other person looks for movement of the rack.