24 Taco TRD ride quality is awful. Help?

Hey all, new to TW, new 1st time Taco owner, 1st time truck owner period, 1st post on this platform, searching for answers that 2 Toyota dealer shops think is normal. I bought a 24 TRD white cap, cockpit interior fresh off the delivery truck in November. I had to drive to another state to pick this up so I didn’t test drive before signing the paperwork. Mistake. As soon as I drove it off the lot and on the street and hit 30-35mph, it felt like I was hitting constant bumps on a flat road. The seat was jolting, vibrating, and truck shimmering. The first Toyota dealer I took it to thought it was defective OEM tires (Wrangler Territory RT). They replaced 3 tires that had excessive road force ratings in the high 20s. But that didn’t fix the issue. I go to another Toyota dealer in my hometown, they run diagnostics, test drive it, check balancing, everything is “normal” and they say it’s expected with off-road tires and suspension. I still feel this awful ride thinking this can’t be what Toyota had intentionally designed for a $70k midsize pickup. I have my local dealer have their FTS (field tech specialist with 20yr experience) come test drive this truck (only 600 miles on it at this point) and he runs all the tests and says it’s “operating to manufacture specifications”. The vibration and bouncing is in the wheel, foot pedals, my seat, the door, and this is all happening on flat, smooth, non bumpy surfaces above 30mph. As mentioned, I have never owned an off-road truck, so maybe I’m just a newbie and this is how it’s supposed to drive, though I have a hard time believing that. It’s taking the joy out of what had been a very exciting purchase for me. The Pro looks beautiful inside and out, but just rides horribly and Toyota says that’s normal? Anyone experiencing this with their TRD Pros with the Wangler Territory tires? Anyone have thoughts on what is the issue? I appreciate the help because I’m going a little crazy here. Also MPG, I’m lucky to get 17avg when the sticker said 22-24. Talk about false advertisement by Toyota. Looking forward to discussing.

 

You are leaving out a lot of detail. What shock settings are you using? What seat settings are you using?

 

Tires over-inflated?

 

Sorry, I got lost when you said you paid $70k for this truck. Talk about getting bent over the table.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tVDDbzs0zB8

 

Remember that the 22-24 MPG rating is what the EPA came up with.....and they don't drive it over 60.

 

It's a brand new truck with low miles. Sell it and buy something else. Problem solved.
I don't care for any of Toyota's new vehicles.

I'm still waiting to see the new 4Runner, but that's it.

 

I’ve never once heard a story from anyone where Toyota sent their regional FTS out and he actually figured out the problem the customer was complaining about…doesn’t sound much like a “field technical specialist” to me their sole purpose is to tell you it’s normal then Toyota can wash their hands free of you and your truck, and the funny thing is some dealers refer to them as “engineers” .

 

I would ask to test drive an identical vehicle. Shouldn’t be hard. Lots of Tacomas on my dealer lot. You could probably drive every trim variety in existence. If they all suck too, you’ll know it’s the reality of the design. (The ride in my ‘23 is terrible. Bounces jolts and tons of vibrations. It’s part of the charm.)

 

Not that it's going to help with this truck. I recall the 3G Pro went through a few Fox shock revisions could have just been the front coils, Toyota might need to work some kinks out on the suspension.

 

Like one other poster stated,start by checking your tire pressure. Inside your door will list a good starting pressure (32 psi. Maybe)

 

Drive it off the road. Or load it down with some stuff one might typically haul in a truck.

You bought an offroad-focused truck.

 

My truck had 50psi in the tires when I picked it up

 

You said you’ve never owned a truck, what were you driving before? A Toyota truck is not gonna drive on a cloud like a European sedan.

Like someone said above, test drive your same make and model from a dealership. If the ride is the same and you still hate it, may be time to part ways.

 

after coming from my 3rd gen to 4th gen i forcemaxx trd offroad. it definitely rides more firm/ridged feeling . even with tire pressure at 30-32psi. i wonder if the iforcemaxx are sprung a little stiffer.

 

The shock settings were on 3 (off-road) originally from factory, then the 2nd Toyota tech appointment they switched it to 1 (soft suspension) to try and make the ride smoother. The air ride suspended seats were originally turned off, but I have turned them on after the first 200 miles and they have been in “on”‘position ever since hoping to absorb some of the bumps (hasn’t gone well) and the air pressure is set to my body weight. Sorry I left those details out.

 

The tires were inflated to about 38 when I originally left the dealership after purchase. The Toyota dealer who switched out the 3 OEM tires for new ones ended up dropping the air pressure to 30 on all 4, but as soon as it dipped below to 29/28, the TPMS kicked on. When I brought it in to the second Toyota tech appt, they said that was too low and increased it to 35PSI, and that is about where they sit today.

 

Base MSRP for the Taco Pro this year is about $15k higher than the 2023 Pro models. Plus there were a lot of extras on this truck (bed lighting, spray bed liner, rigid fog lights, mud flaps, door edge guards, etc) and after all that plus taxes, fees, registration, it was over $70k.

 

Even driving in the city, I feel like the regenerative breaking is almost negligible. My wife’s Highlander regen breaking is way more efficient. So it’s probably the large heavy off road tires and suspension that cause extra drag, but still annoying I expected better gas mileage. I can barely get 300miles range per tank of gas.

 

That’s sad to hear. I had hoped for more answers than what I got with my complaint. But maybe this is just my ill prepared understanding of what I thought this really nice and expensive truck would drive like.