2013+ TLC Suspension Sag

[Atwalz]

I think slight lean should be ok because of cross slope of pavement for drainage. Cross slope on a roadway ranges from 3/16" per foot to 3/8" per foot on a normal section excluding superelevation. Front side is 1.5" lower on driver side and I am not concerned about it. It has stock suspension and tires. Correct tire pressure as well.

 

[sigmundsauer]

Tim,

I have a very slight lean to the driver's side on my 2013 - about 0.5" (12.5mm). I have not felt it is serious enough to bring to the dealer's attention, but I have investigated the leveling procedure and downloaded the necessary pages from the Service Manual to do it - it looks very simple, it's just a matter of me designating the time for it and getting it done.

The spec for height difference side to side is 15mm - a little more than 0.5", so it sounds like you are in spec, at least.

From my understanding, the KDSS system is pressurized to something over 600psi! This makes depressurizing/repressurizing the system a tricky and potentially dangerous proposition. I am not surprised the technical chain of command at Toyota wanted to avoid doing this. Also, the only two procedures that seemed relevant concerning the KDSS were the leveling procedure - simple and straightforward - and bleeding the KDSS system. The bleeding procedure is similar - albeit at much higher pressures - to bleeding a brake system, and is done for similar reasons - air in the system. The sysmptoms for air in the KDSS system have nothing to do with the vehicle being level when at rest.

If your 200 is still slightly tilted after having driven around for a couple thousand miles, it might be a good idea to have the dealer try the leveling procedure again. It is my impression that leveling it, riding around for awhile, and leveling it again will continue to gradually improve the situation. It sounds to me like the system does not immediately, or easily, come to equilibrium, so a couple of leveling procedures might be needed.

HTH

Gaijin,

Yes, now i'm within spec. It doesn't bother me at this point.

I could have well performed the leveling procedure myself, but since it was "new" and out of spec I decided to let the dealer first diagnose it to confirm that something else wasn't awry.

I still like the way my 2008 sits and drives better than the 2013.

Tim

 

[stiffarm]

Gents,

Long-time lurker posting for the first time.

My wife and I picked up a certified 2013 TLC on the day after Thanksgiving. We drove it nearly 300 miles home from across the state and once parking it in the driveway I nearly immediately noticed that the suspension did not appear the same as our 2008 TLC. After studying it I confirmed that the driver's side suspension is sagging. Taking the yardstick to the wheel wells shows about a 1/2" down on the front and about an inch down on the rear. The passenger side wheel wells measure identical to my 2008. The vehicle is visibly lopsided viewing from the rear, and drives considerably softer than our 2008 (more like a Cadillac...ugh).

At first I thought no problem, Toyota will get this right. I suspected that it was simply not a properly calibrated KDSS. I highly doubted there was any mechanical failure or even malfunction as it only had 8,500 miles on the odo and no signs of abuse. So, I took it straight to the dealership. At first glance they acknowledged the suspension sag but admitted that they hadn't a clue as to what it might be as they've never seen a TLC with the problem nor knew where to begin to look. I suggested it might be the KDSS. The service director called me the next day and asked if I could bring the TLC back in so that he could take some suspension measurements to confirm whether or not there was any suspension damage (there wasn't). He consulted Toyota and stated that I'm not alone, that they are tracking about 50 other "newer" TLCs exhibiting the same driver's side sag and that there was no known fix or acknowledgement that there is actually anything wrong with the truck. I suspect "newer" means 2013 or later. He did measure the wheel wells on a new 2014 on the lot and confirmed that it too had some driver's side sag but only about a 1/2".

I have noticed that the degree of sag varies from day to day. It typically ranges from about .75" to 1.25" on the rear well, but I've measured it nearly perfectly level once while filling up at the gas station. I now carry a yard stick on the truck just to measure it to judge consistency. Measures about the same regardless of how much fuel is in the tank....which is on the passenger side, of course.

The dealer has yet to return my calls in over a week after taking the measurements. I've left multiple voicemails to be met by silence.

I am growing increasingly concerned that Toyota is not interested in correcting this problem or even will acknowledge it as a problem. I still suspect that it is simply a KDSS calibration issue but it appears that it is not an anomaly but likely endemic to the recent model refresh. Frankly, I'm not sure how to proceed. I am wholly dissatisfied with having just laid down a ton of cash for the best vehicle on the planet to discover that it appears that Toyota is distancing themselves from it. I absolutely refuse to accept that this is just simply how it's supposed to be. There's no way that a $70K+ vehicle is supposed to be lopsided and I'm concerned about its ability to safely operate under full payload and trailer load. My wife and I bought this particular vehicle in lieu of a Tundra expressly for the purposes of doing cross-country travel with full payload and a 6,000+ lbs trailer. I haven't even paid the taxes on it yet...and am considering giving the vehicle back to them.

Anybody else seeing this driver's side suspension sag on their 2013+ TLC?

What to do?

Tim

I have 1/2 inch lean on the driver's side. 2015 TLC