Steering Issue

[SkiCruiser200]

Looking for suggestions on what might be wrong with my 2019 LC. Truck is completely stock with 73k miles. I bought it 2 years ago with 50k miles. This is my second 200 series (had a 2021 LC that I sold with approx. 40k miles before this). Ever since I've had the current 2019 LC, there's been something off with the steering. The truck doesn't track straight, has play and vagueness on center, and the steering wheel tends to droop to the left, particularly if the road has any sort of crown in that direction. Over the past 2 years and 23k miles, I've been through 6 alignments/re-alignments, generally with little or lasting effect. The pattern has been that the issue gets worse in the late fall/early winter when it gets cold, I get an alignment later in the winter/early spring that seems to help somewhat with the pulling (not other issues) and then rinse and repeat. The issue is pretty subtle and mostly evident on bad roads at very low speeds and on the highway. If I haven't had another 200 series cruiser I might chock this up as normal for such a big truck, but clearly something is off based on my experience driving my other LC.

On basic visual inspections of the front end, my local dealer hasn't noticed anything indicating any failures in the front end (e.g., tie rods, ball joints, LCAs). This makes me think that there's something going on with the column, intermediate shaft, or rack. I've searched the forums here and haven't seen anything directly on point but was wondering if anyone here has encountered anything like this before. It's currently at my local dealer (extended warranty via CarMax subsidizing this) and am afraid I'll be told to just pay up to align it again without getting to the root of the problem.

 

[TeCKis300]

Tell us more.

Any mods? What tires? What's the reported tire pressure?

Any accident history?

Getting an alignment doesn't mean you got a good alignment. Give us printouts of your latest alignment.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I had similar issue

I put an HE badge on mine and it fixed everything

 

[SkiCruiser200]

Completely stock as mentioned. Until early December I ran stock tires at 33-35 PSI. Last month I put on new LT 275/70/18 winter tires (Hakkapelittas) on stock rims, run those at 40 psi. I keep an inflator in the truck and am somewhat OCD about tire pressures. The issue was the same with the stock tires as with the snow tires. 2 different sets of stock wheels, both of which my tire tech inspected and said looked great.

I bought the truck used so don't know 100% whether there was any accident history, but it has a clean CarFax for what that is worth.

Unfortunately I left the stack of alignments with the truck at the dealer for them to look through. Stupidly didnt take photos.

I had it aligned in March 2025 and it still pulled even though it was in spec. Dealer re-aligned it and got it driving perfectly straight in April 2025. By early November 2025 it was "pulling" again -- see below, not really pulling but the wheel not returning to center. The weird thing is that it seems to be a wheel centering issue rather than an alignment issue. I'm probably describing this very poorly, but it requires my effort to keep the steering wheel straight. When the wheel is straight, the truck tracks straight. 12 o'clock constantly droops towards 11:55 and down towards 11:45 when the road pitches to the left. To me, there also seems to be a decent amount of play/vagueness on center, especially compared to the 2021 LC that I bought new and put about 40k miles on.

 

[Boston Mangler]

What part of the country are you in?

You in a mountainous area that gets decent amounts of snow?

Did place that aligned last truck you’re comparing it to also align this one?

 

[Boston Mangler]

I’m betting you’re in a mountainous area that has heavily crowned roads and a perfect “in spec” (on paper) alignment is always going to pull and follow the slope.

 

[SkiCruiser200]

What part of the country are you in?

You in a mountainous area that gets decent amounts of snow?

Did place that aligned last truck you’re comparing it to also align this one?

I'm in Boston and do weekly commutes back and forth to Northern NH. We get lots of potholes and ice heaves, but usually that happens after the truck gets out of whack. The car originally was in SoCal from 2019-2023 before I bought it. Based on some things I observed (missing roof rack, spare that came with the truck, missing 3rd row bolts -- the prior owner used it for overlanding).

The most recent 4 alignments have been at my local dealer (Wellesley Toyota) who have been good overall and see a lot of LCs and have had the specs from prior alignments.

 

[SkiCruiser200]

I’m betting you’re in a mountainous area that has heavily crowned roads and a perfect “in spec” (on paper) alignment is always going to pull and follow the slope.

We do have pretty crowned roads, especially up North, but I'd never had this issue on my 2021 that had the same use case. I think the alignments are part of the issue, but something just seems "off" with the steering feel too.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I'm in Boston and do weekly commutes back and forth to Northern NH. We get lots of potholes and ice heaves, but usually that happens after the truck gets out of whack. The car originally was in SoCal from 2019-2023 before I bought it. Based on some things I observed (missing roof rack, spare that came with the truck, missing 3rd row bolts -- the prior owner used it for overlanding).

The most recent 4 alignments have been at my local dealer (Wellesley Toyota) who have been good overall and see a lot of LCs and have had the specs from prior alignments.

Im originally from Boston also (Salem)

Does it pull if you’re in the #2 or #3 lanes of the 128 or 95 or just on smaller roads further north?

 

[SkiCruiser200]

Im originally from Boston also (Salem)

Does it pull if you’re in the #2 or #3 lanes of the 128 or 95 or just on smaller roads further north?

Cool!

I'll differentiate between the "pulling" and "drooping" point. The car does "pull" a tiny but in the left lane versus the center and right lanes when the wheel is pointed straight ahead (top of wheel at 12 o'clock). It is worse up on 93 way up in NH than on 128. The "drooping" thing of the wheel not wanting to center happens all the time, and if I leave the wheel as it naturally sits, it will pull to the right even in the middle and right lanes on 128.

 

[Boston Mangler]

I mention this because I can tell how the crowned the road is in my 200 by how it pulls, but just barely.

I’m a land surveyor, so this stuff is in my blood, and I have decades of road layout experience

BUT…. I also have a Massive Stupid Ram5500 camper that was on 42s and the steering was so sensitive on crowned roads, it would pull dangerously.

Added more caster as a band aid, but that created other minor issues

Eventually ditched the 42s and put it back to dually and back to “spec”.

In the #2 or 3 lanes of the freeway it tracks straight as an arrow, can take hands off wheel, returns to center, etc…

But…. As soon as I’m up north in the more crowned roads, it’s a constant fight to keep it straight

Apples to oranges, kinda somewhat, not really

 

[Boston Mangler]

Cool!

I'll differentiate between the "pulling" and "drooping" point. The car does "pull" a tiny but in the left lane versus the center and right lanes when the wheel is pointed straight ahead (top of wheel at 12 o'clock). It is worse up on 93 way up in NH than on 128. The "drooping" thing of the wheel not wanting to center happens all the time, and if I leave the wheel as it naturally sits, it will pull to the right even in the middle and right lanes on 128.

Yes, this makes sense, for what I’m thinking in, My damaged brain

Next time it’s pulling, either way, look at how the road is sloping, I bet it’s sloping that way.

Makes sense it’s worse up the 93, more snow, roads probably sloped more.

Do I have a fix for this? Not really, but it’s definitely a factor that most don’t take into consideration

Dealers will only align a car to factory specs

Any local shops that have been around awhile likely have their own criteria for aligning various vehicles

Maybe that @KLF will chime in about New England alignments and crowns being a factor. I swear I’m not huffing paint

 

[SkiCruiser200]

Yes, this makes sense, for what I’m thinking in, My damaged brain

Next time it’s pulling, either way, look at how the road is sloping, I bet it’s sloping that way.

Makes sense it’s worse up the 93, more snow, roads probably sloped more.

Do I have a fix for this? Not really, but it’s definitely a factor that most don’t take into consideration

Dealers will only align a car to factory specs

Any local shops that have been around awhile likely have their own criteria for aligning various vehicles

Maybe that @KLF will chime in about New England alignments and crowns being a factor. I swear I’m not huffing paint

Thanks so much and that does make sense. Maybe the reason I'm noticing the issue is because I'm driving up to ski country in the winter and rarely in the summer. I can drive my 60s and 70s Mopars around with laughably out of spec alignments without a care in the world, but for some reason it annoys me in this truck to no end.

We'll see if the dealer figures notices anything else that is out of spec.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Thanks so much and that does make sense. Maybe the reason I'm noticing the issue is because I'm driving up to ski country in the winter and rarely in the summer. I can drive my 60s and 70s Mopars around with laughably out of spec alignments without a care in the world, but for some reason it annoys me in this truck to no end.

We'll see if the dealer figures notices anything else that is out of spec.

No problemo…

This is just my opinion, not always popular here, and it may or may not be a factor, but something to take into consideration

I can almost guarantee if you go to a private (non dealer) alignment shop and ask about compensating for crown in the road, you’ll know immediately if they know what they’re talking about.

 

[Sandroad]

I can only offer my own experiences. When I bought my LC new, the alignment was off. My local dealer tried twice to get it right and failed. It was only when I took it to another dealer that I got a good alignment. If all your alignment work has been at one place, try someplace else. Incorrect alignment could cause the symptoms, including the feeling of play. My other related experience is with tires. A bad belt or defect in a tire can cause pulling, perhaps worse when the tire is cold. Since you’ve had the same issue with 2 sets of tires, it’s probably not the problem. But, humor yourself and do a left-right rotation just to make sure your truck doesn’t start pulling the other way.

 

[mmm635]

Looking for suggestions on what might be wrong with my 2019 LC. Truck is completely stock with 73k miles. I bought it 2 years ago with 50k miles. This is my second 200 series (had a 2021 LC that I sold with approx. 40k miles before this). Ever since I've had the current 2019 LC, there's been something off with the steering. The truck doesn't track straight, has play and vagueness on center, and the steering wheel tends to droop to the left, particularly if the road has any sort of crown in that direction. Over the past 2 years and 23k miles, I've been through 6 alignments/re-alignments, generally with little or lasting effect. The pattern has been that the issue gets worse in the late fall/early winter when it gets cold, I get an alignment later in the winter/early spring that seems to help somewhat with the pulling (not other issues) and then rinse and repeat. The issue is pretty subtle and mostly evident on bad roads at very low speeds and on the highway. If I haven't had another 200 series cruiser I might chock this up as normal for such a big truck, but clearly something is off based on my experience driving my other LC.

On basic visual inspections of the front end, my local dealer hasn't noticed anything indicating any failures in the front end (e.g., tie rods, ball joints, LCAs). This makes me think that there's something going on with the column, intermediate shaft, or rack. I've searched the forums here and haven't seen anything directly on point but was wondering if anyone here has encountered anything like this before. It's currently at my local dealer (extended warranty via CarMax subsidizing this) and am afraid I'll be told to just pay up to align it again without getting to the root of the problem.

My suggestion would be to take a look at your AHC system - in fact, go ahead and flush the old fluid out. The AHC does indirectly affect the brakes and steering in the LX570, and of course ride height changing geometry. The fluid should be cheaper than another alignment if you do it yourself.

I was having similar issues with my steering, in addition to the brakes being very touchy and the suspension not riding as smooth as it should. My '20 has 70k and just replaced the fluid a couple of weeks ago - it was black and it took two large cans of fluid to flush it out completely. I was quite surprised it was in that condition for a 2020. The LX drives like new with tight steering, suspension, and more linear braking.

 

[gaijin]

My suggestion would be to take a look at your AHC system - in fact, go ahead and flush the old fluid out. The AHC does indirectly affect the brakes and steering in the LX570, and of course ride height changing geometry. The fluid should be cheaper than another alignment if you do it yourself.

I was having similar issues with my steering, in addition to the brakes being very touchy and the suspension not riding as smooth as it should. My '20 has 70k and just replaced the fluid a couple of weeks ago - it was black and it took two large cans of fluid to flush it out completely. I was quite surprised it was in that condition for a 2020. The LX drives like new with tight steering, suspension, and more linear braking.

OP's 2019 LandCruiser doesn't have an AHC system...

HTH

 

[SkiCruiser200]

I’ve had CarMax align it once, a local tire shop once, and the same dealer 4x. We discussed road crown on the last time it went in for a free tweak at the dealer. This dealer is affiliated with a reputable local off-road shop and does lots of LCs with and without lifts.

I tried the tire switch initially, ultimately junked the cheapo tires that CarMax had on it when I bought it, put on the OE tires (Dunlop IIRC) and now have the Hakkas. Same issue across all 3 sets of tires unfortunately.

 

[sdnative]

Wonder if it's a VGRS thing? Does it need to be calibrated?

 

[Zill]

How much driver side lean do you have with your KDSS system?

If that’s a fairly large difference, your car will naturally pull to one side.