Road drifter.

Does anyone know why my truck drifts on the road? I have stock bridgestone 17 duelers. I had the rear tsb done but it did it before I believe. Its starting to get on my nerves at 5000 miles.

 

Have you owned a truck before? You may not be used to the lack of weight in the back. Just take the turns slow and gentle and you should be fine.

Is all the Traction control and vsc turned on or off to your knowledge?

 

2nd Gen Tacomas are somewhat notorious for wandering on the highway. Gets worse if you lift it and add bigger tires. I finally got my alignment dialed in just right so mine is pretty good now, do a search and you'll find several threads discussing this subject.

 

Oh I think I misunderstood your problem. I thought you meant the back was slipping out when you turn hence drifting. I consider your problem wandering and yeah it probably needs to be aligned.

 

Alignment, proper tire pressure are both your friends.

Trucks do not hold themselves in line as well on the interstate as other types of vehicles. They're tall, have a high center of gravity, a lot of wind resistance and crosswind, and have a light ass. An even lighter ass in the case of the Tacoma, with the composite bed.

This is just trucks...some are worse about it than others, but it's never going to drive like a car or SUV.

 

With 5000 miles on your truck you should just take it to the dealership and get it fixed under warranty. The alignment shouldn't be off with 5000 miles on your truck.

 

Your alignment could be off with 2 miles on the truck if you hit a major pothole or whacked a curb, this is why alignment isn't covered under warranty.

 

Mine has wandered on the freeway since day one. There's a lot of "give" in the steering shaft assembly. A TSB for that has been discussed here, but I don't know if anyone's had it performed yet & if it helps at all. (http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/96634-steering-column-rattle-tsb.html)

It has improved a lot since I modded the rag joint, but it still could be better. (http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/96634-steering-column-rattle-tsb.html)

I'm planning to do an improved rag joint mod today. I'll post the details if it helps.

 

I have the same vehicle with 2k miles, except in Access Cab flavor. And I have the same Issue. Highway driving @ 65mph+, constant correcting left, then right, then left, seems like every few seconds. Tired after 10 miles. Brought to Dealer for that, plus Shudder, Tranny Hesitation, Leaf Springs/Harsh Ride. Both Service Tech and Service Mgr. Test drove it. Both put the truck on the "Crown of the Highway" and let for of the wheel. Damned if the truck didn't go Straight as an Arrow !!!. They found no problem with the steering. They also found no abnormal shudder, but I could feel it every time they accelerated. I Did get the Tranny TSB, and the Leaf Spring TSB done. The Spring TSB included a Post-Spring Install Alignment. I got the Printout. Alignment was perfect before and after.
I attribute MY truck's wandering (Drifting) to a couple things.

1) My 1st 4WD
2) Maybe a little slop in the steering
3) Maybe holding the wheel to tight, anticipating the wandering

I don't seem to notice it that much any more or I'm not driving on the highway that much.

Try letting go of the wheel on the Flat or on the Crown to see what happens, if you haven't yet. If it Wanders badly, get it aligned

I posted the same question a while ago and really didn't get much response or a resolution

Good Luck with it

 

Same requirements I look for in women! Score!

 

I had a 2008 frontier that held itself in one spot while on the highway. The taco drifts right or left without wind. If you take your eyes of the road for a second sometimes your in for a surprise.

 

If you hit a curb, then there would be damage to the truck to show that. Otherwise warranty should cover it for 12,000 for adjustments. (I work at a dealership and have done MANY warranty alignments) I know not all dealerships will do it, but hey it's worth a try for a FREE alignment, right?

 

My truck wanders too. Alot of this is caused by the ruts in the road from tire chains and studs where I live. On a freshly paved road my truck tracks straight as an arrow. On roads with ruts if I drive close to the center line the truck pulls to the left and if I drive close to the shoulder it tracks to the right. The truck did it before and after the lift, and after 3 alignments it still happens. I had the dealer drive it and they blamed it on the ruts. It does drive straight on good roads so I really think in my case it's a problem between the wide wheel base of the truck catching the ruts.

 

"Some are worse about it than others"

 

Yeppers!!

 

Well, my rag joint mod didn't happen. The rubber piece I wanted to use wasn't quite large enough.

But I just did a high speed jaunt down the freeway yesterday, and I assure you that after the mods I did this truck wanders a lot less than before.

Hopefully this new steering shaft TSB will straighten this out for people under warranty, but I'd sure like to come up with a good cheap fix for people whose warranty is expired.

What I've done so far is cheap & it's a step in the right direction, but it is not enough.

 

the grooves worn in the road. i bought my 08 -drove perfect out the box! lifted it 6in, aligned -perfect. no steering problems, no trans, suspension problems.
its a truck not a cadi or bmw, drive it like one. otherwise just trade it if u dont like it.

 

This is my third Toyota truck and the most expensive so far. My wife has @ 4 runners and non of them wandered or drifted so much on the road. Drive it like a truck? Get real dude !!! This is 2010 not 1910 !!

 

Love it or leave it, eh? "Don't dare criticize what I bought," or bother to improve it...

Look I've been driving over 40 years. Judging by the way you type, I suspect you're probably still a teenager. How the hell would you know if anything "drove perfect" or not? I've driven way over 100 different vehicles in my life. I say the new Tacomas steer like a lump of rubber!

Also, I've been an engineer since 1975, I've examined the steering, and I know why they steer like a lump of rubber. When they jacked up the truck they put spacers in the rag joint instead of lengthening the steering shafts. It was a cost-savings measure, and it flopped. It steers straight as long as there's no side pressure on the tires, or side wind against the body. Once there is, the rag joint deflects & the steering "turns to rubber."

They took a reasonable design, and modified it incorrectly, and now it's a failure.

Now go back to your Playstation, and some day when you've driven 50 or 60 different trucks over a million miles of roads, come back and tell us us old farts how well something drives.

 

Hah. A grouchy old fart! 'At's a good thing...