Loose steering - wander - common complaint

Does your Tacoma suffer loose steering? Does it wander, particularly on uneven pavement? Does your truck pull away from you when it encounters bumps or undulations on the road? Is your vehicle under warranty?

Most likely you have bad steering rack mount bushings. This is very common in newer model Tacomas, and the dealerships are being trained to deny the problem.

The tell-tale symptom is easily shown. Have your tire shop jack your vehicle up with the front tires planted on the rack (as if parked; not free swinging). Have one person articulate the steering wheel and watch the steering rack assembly. If the steering rack assembly moves independently of the frame it indicates the bushings are bad.

The fix is not as easy as adding new bushings - the factory toyota steering racks have the bushings built into them. A whole new rack assembly is required, at a cost of in excess of $1200.

 

Wheelers sells poly rack bushing kits made by Energy Suspension for around $50. You dont have to buy a new rack assembly.

 

How long to the stock ones typically last? Any pictures of where these are located so I can take a peek at my own?

 

I think longevity depends a lot on conditions and how the truck is used. If you get under there you can see the bushings on the rack, they are rubber with bolts going through. Have someone move the wheel back and forth aggressively with the truck off, and you should be able to tell if they are shot or not. You may want to price install before you buy though, I'm not sure what a shop is going to charge. I dont think they are all accesible without removing the rack.

 

Here is a photo of the rack. Note black bushing.

 

You are correct you can buy and fix for not that much. But the key is, Toyota doesn't make those parts. So instead of fixing the problem, or even owning up to it (which would require a fix if under warranty) they train their shop people to deny any issue exists. At least as long as warranty is in force.

Beware, and don't take the b.s.

 

I'm curious how many other people have had this problem. I don't see or hear much about it.

 

I'm curious as to your reasoning for starting this thread. Did a dealer try to tell you that you needed a whole new rack out of warranty because the bushings were bad?

 

The dealers (more than two) have denied any problem with several vehicles I am aware of. Each of these vehicles had less than 15,000 miles when they exhibited significant wandering and irregular handling. The vehicles were taken to at least one authorized Toyota dealer each for warranty service, each in excess of one visit. The customers are being told there is no issue whatsoever - and no fix. Independent shops have found, however, that in each instance the steering rack bushings were defective. Because Toyota does not manufacture and stock the bushings alone, but only sells the entire rack, the dealers are being trained to deny the obvious. And hope the warranty expires before it becomes responsible for the problem. If you have any more questions, I will be happy to take your details and contact you further.

 

I have the exact same problem on my 2015. I remember the first time I went on a unpaved road and literally had my steering wheel kick to one side really bad. Then I searched on this forum and had people experience the samething. Not even my 2001 civic would do that on the same road. Kind of bummed me out.

 

My 2007 does this to some degree but I guess I've gotten used to it. On ice it's scary tho when the truck decides it wants to go its own way. The energy suspension bushings are on the to-do list if I keep this truck. I'm hoping that changing them on the 4cyl is easier than the v6. From what I read, the 4.0L guys have issues getting the bolt past the A/C compressor.

 

The bushings built into the rack for these trucks are absolute shit. Mine has been wandering from the get go since I bought it and I could never get the toe quite right on it nor the steering wheel perfectly center. Surely it is because of these bushings. I see as much as 1/4 play side to side when moving the wheels back and forth. It's pretty sad.

I got my bushings ordered and on the way. I have put off fixing the issue and replacing these for too long.

 

Please do a writeup when you install them. The rest of us want to see it.

 

This is not accurate. Dealers do not get trained to ignore an issue, dealers are independently owner and operated. They replace parts and get paid to do it. In fact when they don't find anything wrong they do not get paid so it behooves them to find something wrong.

There should be some movement in the rack that is why it is mounted with rubber bushings and not hard mounted. Wondering or other undesirable steering conditions could be caused by several other issues most due to a poor alignment geometry.

 

Sometimes I am horrible with doing write ups. My hands start getting sirty and then I'm like, hmm... I should stop and take a picture, but that would get my phone all trashed up. So no guarantees. Lol.

 

So how hard is it to put just the bushings in?

 

Here is the only writeup I've seen. Its pretty involved, more than i would want to tackle myself. I've seen guys say you can get them out without removing the rack, but its a real bitch.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/05-v6-tacoma-steering-rack-bushing-replacement.289436/

 

I couldn't help but think of Ron White when I read this.

 

I got the exact same symptoms as below. Has anyone been able to solve this?

 

I bought this bushing set from Wheelers, and the dealer was nice enough to put them on for free when they did the frame swap. It didn't totally solve the wandering problem, but it took care of it enough that it doesn't bother me anymore.