TRD Sport Upgrade - Noisy Steering Wheel

My 3rd Gen Tacoma is about 4 months old and the plastic trim on the steering wheel face is driving me crazy.

Anytime I’m making hard turns and my palm contacts the plastic trim at the bottom of the steering wheel it pops, cracks and is generally loose. If I put my thumb on the plastic and press the noise is unbearable.

For a truck as expensive as this, why in God’s name would they use cheap plastic. Plus it’s slippery. The leather provides a decent grip but my hand has slipped several times as soon as I contact the plastic.

It’s been replaced once by the dealer. The noise and flex in the plastic is still there. I’ve got it going in again on the 15th and they’re keeping it for two days. I guarantee they won’t be able to fix it then either.

My 2nd Gen Tacoma felt more solid than my 3rd Gen. there just seems like a deterioration in quality, fit and finish. I’d like to meet the millennial jackass that designed this steering wheel.

By the time I’m ready for a 5th Gen Tacoma they better have this crap figured out or I’ll move on to another manufacturer.

 

I've got a 2017 Sport with no noise coming from my steering wheel at all... I sure wish it got corrected for you. Sorry man.

 

2014+ Tundras do this as well, there is no fix, it needs to flex due to temps.

It bothered me for the first week then I got over it.

 

My ‘18 TRDOR does similar things. Doesn’t rattle or squeak, but seems flimsy and unseated/loose when I grab it while turning. Only on the left side of the wheel though. The right side is rock solid.

 

Can you "pop" it off..? If so, a dab of silicone in the right place might fix your issue....?? If it's easy to pop off, what ya got to lose..?

 

I’ve actually thought about injecting a dab of silicone under mine. Might have to give that a try...

 

My '17 does the exact same thing.

 

I’ve got a 2016 and I’ve never had this problem. Wish I could help.

 

The truck is not expensive lol

 

Thanks for the replies guys! It’s much appreciated. One of the reasons I feel comfortable driving a Tacoma is the support network on this site.

Cheers everybody

 

I have not had any problems myself, but I see that SDHQ offers a legit wheel redo. That might be an option

 

So I had my truck in again for the noisy steering wheel. They refused to fix it under warranty (the truck had about 8K).

The dealership, OpenRoad Toyota in Abbotsford, British Columbia was completely useless. The service technician (front counter guy) was an ass. He said “they all do it [Tacoma’s].” He’s suggesting it’s a normal characteristic of the vehicle.

I told him I’m not accepting that answer and he just shrugged his shoulders and laughed as if to say what are you going to do about it? I advised him I lodged a complaint with Toyota Canada and he just dismissed it and snickered. Assh*le.

I’ll be posting a video of the noisy creaking plastic steering wheel on YouTube and mentioning the dealership by name.

Toyota seems to be going nowhere but downhill as time goes on. Don’t even ask me about changing my oil tonight with the new cartridge filter. What a mess. I was under the truck just cursing about the regressive engineering design. How are cartridge filters better for the environment than spin on filters when you need to use a half roll of shop towels to clean up the mess? I’m guessing the design crew at Toyota are a bunch of baked millennials.

 

Sorry about the steering wheel. You definitely should follow up with Toyota Corporate. As for your oil change, I have two cars with cartridge filters and love them, oil changes are quick and painless as possible. At least your oil filter isn't upside down on top of the engine. (2nd gen 4.0L)

 

Thanks for the support on the steering wheel issue. Actually this is my second Tacoma (and possibly my last). I liked the inverted spin-on filter at the top of the engine. I’d take the rubber stopper off the bottom of the mounting plate and put a 500ml pop bottle underneath to catch the runoff oil. I’d then crack the spin on filter a bit and it would empty straight into the bottle.

It was neat and tidy and I didn’t have to wear gloves. I could change my oil and literally spill only a few drops of oil on the floor. This new design is a pain in the ass to get to and creates a huge mess in comparison.

Everybody’s got a favourite design I guess, but for me, the 3rd generation design is terrible.

Cheers man.

 

You’ll get used to the cartridge filter. Put a length of rubber hose on the plastic drain part that comes witn the new filter and reuse that each time. Drain the housing right into the oil pan. Then remove the housing and filter. Doesn’t spill a drop that way.

 

Those are pretty slick but wholly hell are they pricey! I swapped steering wheels on my F250 shortly after buying it, replacing the plastic steering with the leather wrapped one from a Lariat. The assembly, new from Ford, only cost $170 and it was a pretty simple swap. According to SDHQ, their core charge is $330 which is pretty damn high for just the OEM steering wheel.

 

I have the very same annoyance on my 17. Poor design and makes it feel cheap. Oddly, I can't resist pressing on it while driving.

 

Its not an expensive truck atleast not how you think. You have more bolt on's and tech but dont be fooled into thinking you bought an expensive truck. The interior layout is the same as a 20k truck minus a few leather wrapped details.

I would have liked the plastic to stop before the steering wheel grip so i wouldnt get a hand full of plastic on certain degree turns

 

I said it’s an expensive truck because of the price. Here in Canada the sticker price plus taxes and financing was 47K. My payments are $800 per month over 5 years. But I’ll agree with you that it feels like a 20K truck. You’re also right, the plastic should have never extended as far as it does on the steering wheel.

I’ll be screaming like a banshee on here and YouTube. If my dealer thought they could laugh in my face and dismiss my concerns, I’ll do my bit to make sure everybody knows how they treat formerly loyal customers. They screwed with the wrong guy.

 

I hate the plastic, it is slick and interrupts the feel of the steering wheel. I try to avoid touching it at all cost