"Darting" in 4WD?

Hello, I have a 2009 Tacoma TRD Sport 4wd, DCSB with the M/T. Great truck, have put 105k trouble free km's on it and I plan on running it a lot longer. I have a disturbing problem with my truck that I can't seem to figure out.

I live in NE Canada where right not it's -30*C regularly and we have 3ft of snow on the ground; roads are patchy asphalt and ice as we do not use salt here due to the cold temps. Roads are in this winter state for about 5-6 months of the year. I have owned and driven this truck and several other trucks during my time here; my truck didn't do this until recently.

The problem is a front end "darting" that appears to be affecting either my steering or my drivetrain, or both. Essentially, on patchy surfaces, if one front tire grabs different traction (be it more or less), it will grab and pull my truck a few inches in either direction, which is scary when you're doing 50-60km/h on an icy road. It could be slop in my steering, but I checked my tie rod ends and freeplay at the wheels and it seems quite tight.

Has anybody here experienced the same thing? Is this a problem that others have had? Looking for a few leads as the nearest Toyota dealership is 1200km away (!) and although there is a great mom & pop shop here who does most of my work, I like to bring them what I can in diagnostic assistance.

Appreciate any help TW can offer.

 

Whoa that's pretty crazy... can't help you but free bump for ya.

 

I live in Northern Mb and experience the same type of winter.

If I were you I'd try the same drive in 2wd and see if the problem persists. If it doesn't then you can assume the problem is in the front two tires.

You've had this truck for awhile and it's never done this, so something changed.. do you have access to a garage or hangar? Let it defrost completely and then try it again. Whenever I have some weird problem in the dead of winter I find this usually helps.

Are you getting any lights or beeps when this happens? Maybe clean the tire speed sensors?

 

I assume you're in 4wd. Could you be experiencing "torque steer"? Did you recently get new tires (better traction)?

 

I was gonna say the same thing. I had a real bad problem with darting when I had different size tires on the front.

The one thing that sucks about 4 x 4's, you gotta by four tires=$$$$=

 

Yes, only when in 4wd. The truck is perfect in 2wd, but then driving on icy roads becomes another sort of challenge.

Same tires for the past two Winters, BFG A/T's in excellent condition. It does feel a bit like torque steer, but it's not only when on I'm on the gas, she'll do it when driving at a constant speed too.

 

Appreciate the insight. The problem exists in 4wd only and it happens when driving in a straight line. I do have access to heated space and I will give that a shot on Monday at work to see if it's just the cold that is triggering it. I have the TPMS light on (that's a normal Winter occurrence for me, not significant) and I have been watching for the traction control light to flicker when it happens but I have not seen anything flicker when this is happening.

The issue to me does appear to be sensor based as well, almost like my tires are erratically receiving power from the front diff, which is weird. I will try to haul the wheel speed sensors in the next few days and clean them up.

 

Thinking this has to do with the wheel alignment.

 

put new bf all terrains on my truck, and it does the same thing when i hit a patch or a bump... figured it was just better traction..maybe time for an alignment.

 

TPMS light ON? Uneven tire pressure could cause that issue I would suspect.

 

I think it's just the bite of your new tires. Drive on an evenly iced or snowy road in 4wd and if your truck doesn't dart around, then you'll know it's just the new tires grabbing on a patchy surface.

 

^^ Easing off the throttle on patchy ice would be a good idea, too.

 

If he eases off the throttle on patchy ice up there he will eventually come to a standstill!

 

I do not have uneven tire pressure folks. Varying temps, i.e. -30*C one day, +1*C the next means that I get a fair bit of expansion and contraction going on.

This is not a tire pressure issue.

 

Not new tires. 2yrs now.... didn't do it last Winter, does it this Winter...

 

Why thank you! I'm in Goose Bay and you're in Newfoundland, clearly you understand my conditions...

 

I'm going to try to get a wheel alignment this week to see if that helps any. I think I have a loose tie rod end somewhere in the steering and the slop doesn't show up until one of my front tires gets a chance to bite.

I will update this thread as I progress.

 

Yes I certainly do. I've been there a number of times. Worked in Labrador for a winter as well. If people haven't experienced northeast winters they couldn't possibly understand. They can be brutal.

 

Hey op, do you have an abs killswitch mod?? does this problem occur at all when braking or just slowing down??

ABS in 4wd is more scary than helpful if you ask me, especially in ice and snow and when offroading, since it increases our stopping distance.

 

I have no such mod performed, truck s stock. The problem occurs all the time, speeding up, constant speed, slowing down. It's as though 4wd is cutting in and out as I drive.

Truck goes in Wednesday for a check up. Hope it's nothing serious in the diff.