Brand new 2023 - cab misaligned compared with bed

Hey everyone. I have a 2023 Off Road manufactured September 2023. I noticed that my car's bed is not aligned with the cab. This is most obvious when you view the bottom of the rear window in relation to the metal bar that sits on the bed's perimeter nearest the cab. Alternatively, when you view the truck from behind, you can see that the tailgate too is not aligned with the rear window. What's interesting is that when I was shopping, the other '23s with the 5 feet cab at the lot had something similar, though to varying degrees. For those that did exhibit the issue, they all showed the gap between the window and the bar to be higher on the passenger side - I guess it can be interpreted as either the cab is lower on the driver side compared with the bed OR the bed is higher on the driver side compared with the cab - depending on if the issue is at the cab side or the bed side. Here's a similar post: I did some rough measurements (tank is half full):

Center of wheel to bottom of fender:

• Front passenger: 20 5/8
• Front driver: 20 4/8
• Rear passenger: 22 1/8
• Rear driver 22

* In general this shows the driver-side is 1/8 lower gap from center of wheel to fender. I assume this is the familiar "taco lean" causing this.


Now what's interesting, I also measured the distance of the door sills to the ground:

• Front passenger: 21 2/8
• Front driver: 20 6/8
• Rear passenger: 22 1/8
• Rear driver: 21 4/8

* so the driver-side seems to be about 4/8 to 5/8 lower in the cab when measured from the doorsill compared to 1/8 when measured from the center of wheel to fender.


Other things to note:

* I assumed that perhaps Toyota messed up the cab mount bushings, potentially over torquing them, so I measured the protruding threads from the mount - no major differences in length when comparing passenger side with driver side. There does seem to be a larger gap between the body and the part of the frame the mounts connect to though, but I assume that could be due to "Taco lean"

* I assumed too that perhaps the bed is the issue, but everything seems to be fine there as well - bolts are snug, no pinching, bed is flush with the frame, etc.

* I did notice that there is a slightly larger gap between the cab and bed on the passenger side at the top compared to the bottom. That is, I can easily fit a finger at the gap between the cab and bed at the top but not at the bottom.



Sorry for the long thread. Any thoughts? Frame issue? Bed manufacturing defect? Is it the cab or the bed? I'm at a loss here as to what could be going on...

 

They all are off a bit from the factory, some are just worse than others. I've seen some off just a hair and I've seen some that appear to be almost a half inch off (comparing the bed to the rear window Moulding). If you have a bare bed with no tonneau cover, any miss alignment is painfully evident in that area because the perfect level straight line the rear window creates. They all tilt a bit.

Depending on how you park will affect it too as these frame flex ALOT. If one of the rear wheels is parked on a high spot it will cause the frame to flex a bit and can make the problem look worse. Make sure you are on a very flat surface when looking.

Can you post a picture of yours?

 

Im about to check my 2023 offroad premium with 1200 miles when I walk out of work in 20 minutes. you make me curious. Ive got a really good eye for level too. I know I put my US forest service sticker on about 1.5 degrees counter clockwise and it is driving me a little nuts. I do know when I measured to put my weight distribution hitch some of the measurements you mentioned (4 of them actually) were 100% the same down to a 1/16th of an inch. I was kinda surprised by that. Measured them a couple times. I would have seen the offset at the dealer. I test drove 5 tacomas in my buying process. My 2023 had 5 miles on it when I got into it and put 6 on it for the test drive. I distinctly remember I was amazed at the precision.

 

Someone said to me last Thursday. "Is that truck lifted? it looks awesome" That got me thinking, and I looked it up. Apparently we have a different lift than other tacomas. (1 inch in front and 0.5 inch in rear) So maybe it is that too? In that thread you mentioned, one side said it was driver and the other said it was passenger. Mine was made in July I put my vin in that thread and got the report on it's birth.

 

You have way too much time on your hands.

 

Some of the trucks have seriously fucked up gaps from the factory.

 

That shouldn't make a difference.

 

Lol and this coming from the guy with 700+ posts

 

Pics or it didn’t happen…also check to see if all your bed bolts are torqued down there’s I believe 6 should be 55 ft pounds

 

Common. Loosening the 6 bed bolts and adjusting the bed to align with the cab is most folks solution

You're describiing the 'taco lean'. A 1/4" spacer on the driver front typically fixes that. Although it's not really 'wrong' as it is.

Your reference is for a Pro. Your profile doesn't show you have a Pro. So if you do, you have some 'lift' of sorts. If you don't have a Pro, it's just like all the other 3G models in terms of height.

 

Here is mine. It sits a hair lower on the right side. There is really no adjustment for this issue and yes everything is tight and my other bed gaps are pretty damn good.

 

I stopped looking for these things when a guy posted about his fender gap.

 

I can tell you what the dealer will say. I brought mine in for a hood that was low at windshield & tailgate was in poor alignment right after buying it.
They said after leaving it there 8 hrs- "It's all within specs"
It's still like that 4 months later.

 

Yep. You need a hobby.

 

Just tell them to get it fixed- my 2017 had the same issue and it was both the bed and cab out of alignment. I didn’t notice it until a couple months later when I tried to put a shell on it. It wouldn’t match up properly with the cab because it was so far off.

The regional rep happened to be coming by that day and said it needed to be taken care of. They gave me a loaner and kept my truck at the bodyshop for 2 days- it has been perfect ever since.

I posted about it here somewhere. You can find it if you’d like to see the before and after shots.

 

I have 10k. Your point?

 

Thanks @fourfourone. That's exactly what I'm referring to. Mine is worse than yours, but to your point earlier, some has it more than others. Mine is probably about a 3/8" difference (on level ground), so not quite as extreme as the half-inch you've described seeing but more than the one on yours. It's interesting though how it's always larger on the passenger side than the driver-side. I'm curious what the cause is.

 

Most I see sit lower on the right too.

 

Post yours

 

Note that I unbolted the bar on the bed and adjusted it on the passenger-side as far up as it goes to close the gap a bit. It looked worse from when I first got it. Of course, doing that is only superficial and doesn't remedy the issue, specially when viewed from the tailgate.