3rd Gen Steering Rack Leak

Just noticed a small puddle of fresh oil under my truck this morning. Crawled under there and saw that my tie rod boots were soaked in oil and after wiping everything clean I see that the little rubber seal on the steering rack is fully saturated with PS fluid. Checked the PS reservoir and sure enough it was right at the min cold line.

Is this a common issue on the 3rd gen? I searched and mainly saw threads for the earlier gens but nothing on a truck this new. The truck is a 2021 TRD OR and I barely have 1k miles on it. I already made an appointment with dealer to have them inspect it.

 

Doesn't seem to be a common issue, no. I suspect, unfortunately, you just got a bad rack out of the box. On the upside, other than a little inconvenience, it should all be quick and easy.

 

It's a common issue affecting older 2nd gens that Toyota hasn't fixed on 3rd gen. Unusal to see it while still in warranty period. Just take it in for warranty rack replacement.

 

Ill be interested in hearing what the dealership says.

 

Took it to Toyota today. They verified that it was indeed a defective steering rack. They are replacing the whole assembly.

 

Lucky you. My rack has been leaking for 2 years or so now. Never dripped though. My boots are well lubricated at this point.

I unfortunately never noticed until I was post warranty or else I would have let the dealer deal with it. At this point I am curious just how long I can go before it needs dealt with.

This seems to be a somewhat common issue with Tacomas.

 

I guess I am glad I caught it before the 2 year warranty but at the same time it sucks that my brand new truck already needs major surgery. I did read through a bunch of threads detailing the failure of the steering racks on 1st and 2nd gens but nothing on 3rd gens.

Hopefully this brings the attention to other owners to check their own steering racks for failure before it is too late.

 

It's a rack. Not major surgery. Enjoy the truck man.

 

It is only major surgery if you are going for a bigger rack!!

 

FYI You have a 3 Year/36K Mile warranty. More than likely just a fluke.

 

You didn't read enough here then. It's a pretty prevalent problem as it simply just another carryover issue from the previous gens.

Swapping out a rack isn't a big deal, just expensive on your own dime. I get it sucks to have a problem with a new truck, but as the owner of a 17, I chuckle at the idea that this is a big deal.

 

I thought mine was leaking or seeping once as i saw some type of fluid like stain on the bottom of the rack assembly but then i saw the same stuff on my starter and then all over the wheel wells. And seeing that it did not attract dirt i realized it was unwashed soap from the automatic car wash.