'22 TRD Sport frustratingly won't drive straight after alignment

Hey guys,

I'm pretty new to world of Tacoma's and trucks in general. Looking for some help in understanding what's going on with my new Tacoma.

I got a new 2022 TRD Sport DCLB with the advanced tech packaged a month ago. First few weeks of driving it has been amazing and I've loved every second of it.

This past Friday I took it into discount tires to upgrade the wheels/tires to the Method 703's with 265/65/17 KO2's. I specifically choose to stay with the stock tire size because I didn't want to modify much else as I had no intention of touching the suspension for now.

When they finished the install, I started driving home and noticed the steering wheel was shaking slightly and then when I hit a 45MPH road, the shaking got so bad that it was obvious I needed to turn around and go back (it was also pulling very hard). They blamed the shaking on these small rings meant to hold the plastic center cap in place and removed them, then rebalanced the tires (I think they fucked up balancing the tires to start with).

Anyway, I started driving home once again and noticed that it wouldn't stop pulling to right but would also pull to the left when I corrected it. On the freeway, it seemed to mainly just pull to the right. But it almost seems like the truck will pull to the side I corrected it to last, not just one side only. Like it doesn't know how to just go straight anymore.

So I went back a day later and they switched the front tires to see if it was a tire problem but the issue persisted. So I got them to agree to pay for an alignment at Toyota dealership. The alignment came back showing the toe was off by a couple hundredths of an inch (hard to imagine it caused any issue), they fixed that but the issue persisted.

Today I went back to discount tire and they replaced all four tires and once again, the issue STILL persisted.

I'm at a loss of what is going on here and just want my truck to drive STRAIGTH again. It was perfect prior to replacing the wheels/tires.

Could this issue actually be caused by the 'wider than stock' 703 rims? I know other Tacoma Sport owners with 703's who don't have this issue. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated as I've had a hard time finding information on this.

 

Did you ask if they did a standard balance or a road force balance? Not saying it'll solve the issue, but just so you have all the information. A road force balance uses a load-roller to simulate the force of the road and measures force variation and runout of the wheel/tire combo.

Also, check to see if any of the wheels themselves are damaged/bent.

 

Based on your story, your alignment was good before they swapped wheels and tires and has already been rechecked anyway. If your alignment were good and they properly balanced the tires your vehicle would just pull left or right consistently at any speed but would be more pronounced at higher speeds. Vibration at speed is a wheel and tire balancing issue or a wheel install issue (something not concentric to hub usually a lug nut issue) and not an alignment issue. The shop thought it might be a mounting issue and remounted - which they may have screwed up twice. I think you have at least two tires out of balance, maybe all. Number your tires with chalk and the rotate your tires and see if the vibration and pulling moves with specific tires. If the out of balance tire is on the rear axle you'll get vibration but very little left/right pulling and the steering wheel will be quieter. Once that tire shows up in the front end, it will really give more vibes through steering wheel and pulling left/right will be more dramatic. If all 4 balancings are wonky, you won't be able to follow the issue around your vehicle and it means their machine is out of calibration or their tech has screwed up. Another option if you have another Tacoma buddy is to take your wheels off and test them on another truck in the front passenger one by one. You will easily be able to tell if each wheel has an issue. A remote possibility is a brand new tire with a steel belt issue internally. Google "broken belt in tire" or "slipped belt in tire" to understand the symptoms and diagnosis of that which would be a KO2 warranty issue where they'd give you a new tire. - Have fun.