Steering is very hard

I just purchased a 24 TRD ORP with 32K miles on it. I’ve had it 4 days. This is my second 4Runner but I had a Tundra in between so my memory is a bit fuzzy from my last one. With that being said, my steering feels excessively hard to turn the steering wheel. At speed it feels tight and at slow parking lot speeds it’s so hard it takes an uncomfortable amount of effort one handed and still quite a bit two hand to cut the wheel to make a hard turn.

I had it at the dealership I purchased it from today and they checked it out. I was told the tech suspected it was the alignment. It was realigned and I was told the entire steering system was inspected. I was told the steering system checked out normal. I drove it home and the alignment didn’t help. In fact now the steering wheel isn’t perfectly straight anymore when driving in a straight line.

I called the service writer I dealt with and explained. He is having me come in tomorrow to have the shop foreman drive it. He was eager to help but I’m super stressed that I’m going to be told everything is normal. This does not feel normal to me. I had my wife drive it for the first time and her exact words were it should hurt her shoulder to steer the truck. At the dealership they have a few other used 24’s so I’m going to check one out to compare.

I’m anticipating the worst and not sure what to do if I’m told nothing is wrong. I do know these are hydraulic and not as light as other vehicles.

 

Hard to pin down something subjective like that, sounds like it will be either confirmed or put to rest by trying out other 4Runners. Hopefully it's a malfunction there.

 

The 4runner steering is extremely light. That's why it steers like a boat on highways.
The simplest is to check the PS fluid. See if it's leaking. A low PS fluid will make it extremely hard to turn.
But driving another 4runner should rule out abnormality.

 

Alright, planning on checking out others tomorrow. My salesman and the service writer are both expecting me. I’ll post an update when I have one.

 

^Test drive a 2025 with electric power steering while you're at it.

 

I know how those feel, I had a 24 Tundra and my wife has a 25 Camry. I don’t expect it to feel like that.

 

I’ve found the 5th gen’s steering noticeably heavier than any of the electric racks I’ve driven in the past. It’s been years so I can’t mentally compare with the old Toyota’s with hydraulic power steering I drove though.

 

I was comparing it to my old Pajero and Suzuki Vitara and both were harder to maneuver compared to the 4runner.

 

It'll be interesting to see what the dealer says if the others you drive prove to be up to your expectations.

 

Yes it will definitely be interesting. I’ve been paying closer attention to how it’s acting to be able to better describe it. The steering seems to get stiffer or harder to steer the more you turn the steering wheel. With the wheels straight and the engine running while parked, just moving the steering wheel side to side feels ok. But once driving and making actual turns that’s where you feel how difficult it is. Also, the steering wheel isn’t going back to center on its own. If I make a right or left turn and let go of the wheel as the turn is complete it will not fully center and I have to physically turn it the opposite way to go straight.

 

Probably a dumb question, but it's not in 4WD, right? 4Hi on dry pavement can behave like you're describing.

 

My 2018 git in to an accident and after the repairs are done the steering was hard and doesn't easily come back to center on its own. The service manager tried to say it's normal for a 4runner and I asked him would you like to test drive my other 4runner?

Since I did not accept the 4runner I don't know if they were able to fix it. When I met the new owners at a shopping complex I didn't had a chance to test drive it.

What's my point? I hope OPs 4runner was not in an accident before or hit anything hard to damage any steering related components.

 

I’ve had my 4runner since new. I consider it to have fairly light steering effort, either stopped or while moving, compared to my 18 highlander with electric steering. In fact, it’s lighter than any other vehicle I recall owning.

Also, one of the first things I noticed with the 4runner is that it’s NOT snappy to return to center. It often needs a little help to recenter the last 10-15 degrees or so. I’ve always attributed this to the steering geometry that has low caster angles compared to other cars.

Worth double checking this!

 

It is is not in 4wd; the transfer case shifter is forward in the H2 position and no 4wd light on the dash. So unless it’s stuck in 4wd with no indicator lights, it’s in 2wd as far as I can tell.

According to the CarFax there were no accidents and it doesn’t appear to have ever been in one.

 

I’m at the dealership, the service manager drove it and said it felt normal but noted the steering wheel was not centered. They are going to fix that and I asked for the alignment print out.

I drove a used TRD Offroad that’s on the lot for sale with similar miles. The steering felt slightly better but not significantly enough to be able to say something was wrong with mine.

At this point I can either learn to live with it or go elsewhere for a second opinion. I think what I’m going to do is two fold. One, I’m going to swing by an offroad shop that I’ve used in the past. They do a lot of Toyota’s and have a lot of experience with 4Runners. I’m just going to see if they’d drive it around the block and tell me if it feels normal to them. The second thing I’m going to do is take it to a really good alignment shop I know of and have them do an alignment again to make sure that’s where it should be.

 

Still haven’t driven it myself, the service manager is test driving again before giving it to me. However, the alignment they did yesterday was out of spec. I’ll be honest, I don’t fully understand the alignment numbers. Here is the printout that I specifically asked for beforehand. How do the new numbers look?

 

Mine is lifted with 285/70/17 and doesnt feel stiff at any speeds or stopped still.

My 2011 is the same way.

 

I wouldn’t expect misalignment like that to result in tough steering.

 

That looks like a good solid alignment. I’d expect it to track slightly better because the toe numbers are more symmetrical. However, I would not expect any change in steering lightness while moving (because caster was not changed).

If the steering seems to have consistent effort through its range, I wouldnt worry about it. Especially if you cant obviously feel a difference with the other 4runner you drove.

 

Time to hit the gym.

 

If the other one you drove was the same then that’s just how they are. I haven’t really noticed the 4Runner steering being much heavier than other SUVs or trucks.

 

Here's a quick video I took just now to show how my steering is. I'm running 285/70R17 tires, so my steering might be hard to turn than others with stock tires.
I added a funny music as no one really attempt to show that 4runner steering is smooth.

https://youtube.com/shorts/aaLGYq1k4sk

 

Jack up the front end with tires off the ground. With electrical power on and engine off, turn the steering wheel and see if you feel unusual resistance. This will let you distinguish if the issue is mechanical (e.g. defective steering shaft U-joint, rough tie rod end or ball joint) or hydraulic (defective/contaminated pump or rack).

 

I appreciate everyone’s input and advice. I just wanted to close the loop on this. I went to an independent mechanic very familiar with Toyota and 4Runners in particular. I asked him to test drive it for me. He definitely agreed something wasn’t right.

While I was trying to decide what to do next, I decided to swing by a different Toyota dealership that happened to have another 2024 TRD ORP, this one with only 9,000 miles on it. I asked to test drive it and the difference was night and day, not only in steering feel but overall how it drove. I didn’t realize how bad the one I had bought handled and rode until getting in this one, plus the steering was exactly how it should be. There were definitely things not right with the one I had bought.

I decided I was done messing with the one I had bought. My intent with buying a 5th gen was for it to be a forever vehicle and it wasn’t starting out very positive. After some discussing, we had a deal I could live with and I left with the 2024 with 9,000 miles that’s absolutely perfect.

 

Good call, I’d have done the same. What color did you get?

 

This one is white.

 

Excellent.

 

What was the deal with the second one you drove that also had tough steering?