Dealer says lift kit he installed CANNOT BE UNDONE!

Picked up brand new Tacoma Ltd last week. This was my first Toyota truck after driving Nissan trucks and SUVs for years. When picking out accessories the dealer said he could install a two inch or four inch lift kit. I went with the four inch. When I picked up the truck it sat too high so I said I wanted to change to the two inch kit. The Accessory Manager said he could not change the lift and it would forever have to be what it is. I can't believe that. I don't know where/who made the lift kit he used. Can anyone give me some advice?

 

Aloha, and welcome to TW!

Pics of the lift components? I am guessing they are either full of shit, or did some sort of drop bracket fuckery.

 

If it was a drop bracket lift that was installed then the frame is cut in order to accommodate for the steep cv angle (if 4x4). If this is what was installed, it might not be possible to undo...

 

Odds are for the 4 inch lift they had to cut out the old cross member up front and weld in a new one. So yes, it cannot be undone

 

Realistically it’s their fault for not telling you what had to be done and that once on, the 4 inch lift cannot be undone. Although the 2 inch lift would be easy to undo since it’s most likely just blocks

 

You can undo any lift including DB. Have welder will travel.

 

It can be undone but you'd have to get a new crossmember welded to the frame where the original was cut off...people have done it. But I can see why a dealer won't

 

Steal a new tacoma and weld off all of the VIN plates from your old vehicle so its technically yours.. I think that works.

 

Have the dealer do it

 

Obviously, without all the details, it's impossible to say for sure. But my guess would be that he's not saying what you want is not doable, he's saying that you said 4", they installed 4" and that they aren't reversing it on their own dime. Understandable if it was a drop bracket lift. However, the last thing I want to do is take a dealer's side, so I would say that you should have been shown examples of each lift before you had to decide.

 

This one is rough country, but all 4-6inch lifts are similar procedures.

Take note of instruction #30, because you cut out and remove the factory lower control arm crossmember, you can’t revert unless you find a donor and weld factory member back in. 3inches is the highest you can go on a factory 4x4.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/roughcountry/install/921748200.pdf

 

I assume you got bigger tires put on with the lift, easiest way to lower the truck would be to get smaller tires

 

Time for some big ass tires

 

Neither of those dealer options are great. 4 inches seems too high, 2 inches would likely be blocks.

 

I would simply weld in the cut out portion, add gussets and be done with it.

 

Chances are there are several things at play here: the most important being time and money. The dealer just spent 8-10 hours installing a 4” lift, which has real costs in parts and labor. Asking to undo it and installing a different lift involves many more hours and many more parts which someone has to pay for. If the lift was part of the deal, it becomes difficult to untangle.

Per who is responsible: I’d say both the dealer and the buyer. Knowing what I know, I’d never get a lift higher than 2.5 or 3 inches. That’s plenty for what 99% of us want to do out there. Going higher than that starts compromising too many parts, and throwing ride and handling —as well as entry/exit— to shit. For its part, the dealer should have made absolutely certain that the buyer understood well what a 4” lift involved, and really wanted it.

Where to go from here...? Depends at what stage the deal is. If all the papers are signed and the financing secured...OP, you better find a sturdy step stool...

 

Waiting to see it on 4 inch blocks lol

 

Plus, drop bracket lifts don't really gain you any clearance since the front diff, axles etc remain in the stock location. You get body clearance and it looks way better than a 4" body lift would, but for offroading there's a reason drop bracket lifts aren't very popular

This really comes down to why it's not a good idea to get accessories and lift kits sold/installed through the dealer. It's all about the money to them and they aren't going to try and educate you on what might be best for your needs, they just want you to agree to it and pay 3 times as much for it as you would elsewhere.

 

Drive it for a year, if you still don’t like it trade it in and get exactly what you want. Life goes on.

 

That’s what one might do if they did it at home, assuming you saved it..

But getting it done at the dealership, I would assume they scrapped it.