Terrible ride on a 2021 Limited

Very disappointed in the ride and road noise coming off my brand new Limited. Truck originally had vibration issue below 30 MPH that was corrected via a Toyota TSB. However, although the truck only has 750 miles on it, I can't help notice how you can feel every little bump and crack in the road in the seat, floor and steering wheel.....not a nice smooth ride. You feel the road!
Tires are 18" Michelin LTX M/S 2 that are inflated to 29 psi just as door jamb label states. The truck does not have the TRD Off Road Package and therefore no Bilstein Shocks. Frankly, I thought if anything, this truck would ride better than one with a TRD package.
Anyone else feel what I feel and do you think if I change the shocks to Bilstein's it may help dampen what I'm feeling?
Joe G

 

The stock TRD OR shocks can be had for cheap and may give that smoother ride you are looking for. Also the vehicle springs may soften up a tad since the truck is so new.

 

I hate to say it, but did you take the truck for a test drive before you bought it? When I say test drive, I mean something more than the "20 minute around the block with the salesperson beside you" variety.

The OffRoads shocks do provide a softer ride but not everyone will like that either. I find it a bit bouncy as compared to my old 2010 SR5 (which also had Bilstiens)

 

If your psi is as you state. Than the next logical step would be a suspenion change. The OR's do tend to ride a little softer than the other trims.

However your Limited Package equiped truck shares the same OEM suspension as the SR5 trim package tacomas.

At the end of the day its a relatively short wheel base, light duty truck. It will never ride like a cadillac without droping some coin.

What suspension to go with is a whole nother can of worms.

 

It's a truck.

 

I dunno man, maybe its those 18” wheels? Not sure..
Maybe just let a little more air out until you can afford new wheels tires and suspension

 

As for the ride, i complained about the same. You really have to give the suspensions at least 5k miles to settle in some. I had complained to the dealer about mine, and its what i was told. Right now at nearly 9k miles, and a year later the ride isn't that bad. Granted its not plush, and wallows like a wounded rhino as my gen1 tundra did, but its acceptable.

 

The smoothest ride (college car) I ever had was in a '71 Buick Electra 225. It was heavy, wide and long. It floated on the road on a set of H series tires. It probably weighed close to 3 ton.

My point, the Tacoma is a light, narrow, short vehicle designed as a compromise between a hauler and off-roader with a stiffer suspension. So the nature of the truck will be a bit hoppy, bouncy and stiff making a choppy ride.

You would probably get a "smoother" ride with about 600 lbs in the bed.

 

Normal. It's a truck.
If you upgrade the suspension and tires, it will still be a truck.

 

TRD Off Road has the nicest ride. I can already tell you're going to absolutely hate the TRD Sport. I switched out my shocks for the Fox 2.0 and they are great

 

18" rims with less side wall plays into it as well.

 

I certainly hate to hear you have a new vehicle and do not like the overall ride. I have a TRD OR - bought new in 2019 - and I have the same tires as you do. I'm on my 3rd set of tires - went with the original GY Kevlars on the second set - I have 104K miles on my truck (bought new Jan '19). We have quite a few vehicles - including large GMC SUVs and they absolutely ride much smoother than does the Tacoma. My wife thinks my Tacoma is a bumpy/not smooth ride - with stock Bilstine Shocks...I think it is the nature of the vehicle.

I personally do not find the truck bumpy and actually like the old school 'truck like' feel. I do spend a bunch of time in fields (we have a horse farm) and I LOVE the ride it gives out there and the 4WD capabilities in the mud/soft dirt/ river rock is wonderful (our farm is boarded by a river). The truck is certainly not for everyone - but give it a shot...I believe you will either get used to it - admittedly my wife never would - or you'll probably just find another vehicle. If the latter turns out to be the case the Tacoma's resell value will make the move much easier than most other vehicles. I wish you well!

 

I typically always come back to a truck and that's how they are

 

Agree

my 21 TRD 0R rides so much nicer than my 18 SR model.

I have 2900 miles in 72 days of ownership. Loving it

16” + Bilsteins = rides just like FJC TT.

I mean it’s no lexus ls600hl, but I knew that going in

 

OP, what was your previous vehicle? Midsize trucks aren’t really known for superb ride quality. The Bilsteins off of a TRD Off Road will be softer and you can get them pretty cheap. Lots of people selling take-offs on here. The downside will be more body roll and nose dive when braking.

The other thing affecting ride quality is wheel size. The larger the wheel, the less tire sidewall to help absorb bumps. The limited has 18 inch wheels, so you could always go to a 16 wheel and maybe that will help some. In the end though, it will still be a truck and won’t ever ride like a car or suv.

 

Julia, understood. I also have an 07 Tundra and a 2018 Lexus RX350. Neither of these vehicles exhibit the same issues as the Tacoma. I know I'm comparing apples and oranges but I really shouldn't experience what I am after spending 46K on a truck.

 

Agree 100%

after spending 46, you shouldn’t be unhappy.

I never test drove a limited, but I extensively test drove sr5, sport, and OR when I was upgrading my 2018 SR tacoma.

To me hands down OR offered best ride, thus I went with it. Even though I think my OR is the ugliest trim

 

Replace the Hitachi shocks with some Bilsteins and call it a day. Helped quite a bit on my 19 Limited.

 

Food for thought.
Factory tires are garbage. Especially an LT rated tire on these 3rd gens.
Find yourself a nice set of 16" or 17" wheels. There are plenty of factory take-off sets out there, pretty cheap.
Then buy a good quality set of All-Terrain tires, that re-create the same wheel diameter as the factory-stock, to maintain speedometer calibration.
Once you do the above mentioned, your truck will have a much better ride, due to the increased height in side-wall.