New Truck Sadness

Red Solo Cup

Red Solo Cup

Inspired
Brought home a new truck yesterday. I've put a total of 60 miles on it. Went out this morning to run through some of the gadgets and options on it and put it into 4HI. Drove about 10 feet, started to make a left turn. It sounded like I ran over sheet metal.


The truck stopped and the front end came up several inches. Put in back in 2 and was able to back into the driveway without issues. Now, going down a straight, flat road, I hear a cyclical "rubbing" sound from front end. It is also pulling to the right.

I looked at drivetrain and saw nothing bent, damaged or leaking. So...?

Lovely. Back to the dealership tomorrow to sort this mess out. Sad day.
 
What brand, model? Sorry to hear, trucks are no small investment these days, I hope the dealership does you right. Best!
 
Red Solo Cup said:
Brought home a new truck yesterday. I've put a total of 60 miles on it. Went out this morning to run through some of the gadgets and options on it and put it into 4HI. Drove about 10 feet, started to make a left turn. It sounded like I ran over sheet metal.


The truck stopped and the front end came up several inches. Put in back in 2 and was able to back into the driveway without issues. Now, going down a straight, flat road, I hear a cyclical "rubbing" sound from front end. It is also pulling to the right.

I looked at drivetrain and saw nothing bent, damaged or leaking. So...?

Lovely. Back to the dealership tomorrow to sort this mess out. Sad day.
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Sorry to hear that. Even when fixed, it sure takes the shine off the new truck experience! I’m still driving my 2016 Tundra. With the price of new trucks these days, I doubt I’ll ever replace it. I hope yours gets made right, or you get a new one!
 
wesleyamltd said:
What brand, model? Sorry to hear, trucks are no small investment these days, I hope the dealership does you right. Best!
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2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road I-Force Max

Very surprised at the whole situation. Chit happens, even with good stuff.

Dealership is some nice folks. I know they will get me fixed up. Just a bummer to have this happen with less than 24 hours of ownership.
 
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My dad actually gave a bit of advice which helped me look at the first scratch/incident in a different light.

Essentially what he said was that it's undoubtedly sad but now one can relax and actually enjoy the vehicle coz you're not so paranoid anymore.
 
You can’t put a true 4WD truck in 4WD on dry pavement and turn to the left or right. You bound up the front diff and possibly the transfer case. Good luck with a warranty repair!
 
rcm78 said:
You can’t put a true 4WD truck in 4WD on dry pavement and turn to the left or right. You bound up the front diff and possibly the transfer case. Good luck with a warranty repair!
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Interestingly enough, I wasn't on pavement and made no inference that I was. But thank you. I will remember that going forward...
 
Red Solo Cup said:
Interestingly enough, I wasn't on pavement and made no inference that I was. But thank you. I will remember that going forward...
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That was my first thought too (but I wasn't about to presume.)

That being said, the front differentials on 4wd trucks need lots of "give" of the surface you're on, while making turns. The way I do it, if the terrain doesn't require 4wd, I don't use it. Even though you weren't on pavement, you still may have messed something up.

However, that being said, I have read that it's advisable to use the truck in 4wd at least once a year to circulate the grease in the hubs. (Some years we don't get any snow, so I try to remember to do this.)
 
Yup 4WD only when you need it! Depending on the diff type some are a full lock up when engaged! A new truck new tires on a road with enough grip some trucks will snap an axle or break a CV joint real quick even with a gradual turn!

That said a new anything nowadays seem to be built with a 3-5 year life span in mind. There may be some rules to the exception but it sure seems to be the norm.

My 09 Tacoma just clicked over 250k last week and she sill go'n !

IMG_3383.jpg
 
Sixstring said:
a new anything nowadays seem to be built with a 3-5 year life span in mind
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Cars specifically aren’t as durable as they used to be not necessarily out of the makers’ ill will. They are becoming more and more complex primarily due to regulations for fuel economy and exhaust, which makes manufacturers use more components, which makes them heavier and more expensive to produce, so they compensate by using lighter/cheaper materials - plastic, aluminum etc.

For engines this means that they are almost all now turbocharged, which, together with the fact that there are more components crammed under the hood, means they run hot all the time, which makes them not as durable.

And again to keep cost of more and more complex machines down they must procure cheaper components where they don’t make them.

Plus it’s not like previously they used to build things that last forever out of love, there just weren’t good ways to predict durability, so the answer sometimes was over engineering simply out of necessity. Now they can run simulations while designing things.

But maybe most importantly, consumers just don’t want things that last forever (although they like to say they do), they (us) prefer buying new things every once in a while with some new tech in them, and at the lowest cost available. And if we replace cars every few years, why would manufacturers build everlasting vehicles? They follow the money.
 
vangrieg said:
Cars specifically aren’t as durable as they used to be not necessarily out of the makers’ ill will. They are becoming more and more complex primarily due to regulations for fuel economy and exhaust, which makes manufacturers use more components, which makes them heavier and more expensive to produce, so they compensate by using lighter/cheaper materials - plastic, aluminum etc.

For engines this means that they are almost all now turbocharged, which, together with the fact that there are more components crammed under the hood, means they run hot all the time, which makes them not as durable.

And again to keep cost of more and more complex machines down they must procure cheaper components where they don’t make them.

Plus it’s not like previously they used to build things that last forever out of love, there just weren’t good ways to predict durability, so the answer sometimes was over engineering simply out of necessity. Now they can run simulations while designing things.

But maybe most importantly, consumers just don’t want things that last forever (although they like to say they do), they (us) prefer buying new things every once in a while with some new tech in them, and at the lowest cost available. And if we replace cars every few years, why would manufacturers build everlasting vehicles? They follow the money.
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No argument from me here! I will add that we will eventually we will want things to be built without designed obselents as the driving factor. Most vehicles didn't have the cost that we see now! $70k for a basic truck? hell even the Tacoma I drive I can't replace for new for less that 60k and from what I have seen even they are having transmission issues after just 10k miles??? When you design for the maximum minimum you are going to have problems plain and simple.

If that is what they get for designing in a simulation they might want to take a closer look at over engineering the parts that matter most and the driveline is one of the systems.
 
Sixstring said:
Most vehicles didn't have the cost that we see now!
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Well if you look at manufacturers P&Ls you’ll see their margins aren’t great at all, it’s not like they’re swimming in cash (most of them anyway). They are expected to introduce a new model every 5 years with a facelift in between, that costs a lot of money, tooling adds to that, again complexity grows, all these entertainment systems people expect with CarPlay and all aren’t free, sensors with comm buses that now use optics to handle all the traffic, assembly of all this is quite complex, too. This has to come at the expense of something. Long term reliability is that obvious something because consumers simply don’t pay for it, that’s the reality of the market.

Now I look like a defendant for auto manufacturers. 🤣 Not that we need to feel sorry for them, I just happened to have worked with the industry and there’s a different side to all of this. Part of the blame is on ourselves.
 
Worn out blue jeans became a thing. Road worn guitars became a pretty big thing that I don't care much for... Maybe it's time for an old truck???
 
NeoSound said:
Worn out blue jeans became a thing. Road worn guitars became a pretty big thing that I don't care much for... Maybe it's time for an old truck???
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Old trucks/cars are also a thing, people restore and collect them. But unlike jeans, they require quite a lot of attention. :)
 
Interesting day though. Going to dealership, a truck in front of me hits a small bump in the road and his rear axle starts bouncing up and down, then left to right. He barely got it off the road.
THEN, coming home, an 18-wheeler trailer tire explodes, and the tire bounces down the highway, ending up on the center dotted line. His whole trailer was smoking, and the smell of burnt rubber is still in my nose. This abruptly stopped traffic on the interstate in both lanes. Wow.
What an exciting day I've had.
 
TSJMajesty said:
The way I do it, if the terrain doesn't require 4wd, I don't use it.
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Years ago a friend bought a 4WD, then immediately went to the river to try to drive through the mud. In 4WD he buried it and was stuck for hours before someone finally came along and pulled him out. Having had 4WD before, my comment to him was that 4WD was to get OUT of the spot that you got into using 2WD, at least until he learned what he was doing.

TSJMajesty said:
Even though you weren't on pavement, you still may have messed something up.
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I avoided 4WD unless I was crawling over rocks or there was sufficient sand, gravel or snow to let the wheels slip if they needed too.
 
4WD is pretty handy in the snow which we get enough. Although our computer controlled anti-slip AWD Mazda CX-9 does a great job too.

Trying to do serious off roading with basic off showroom 4WD is not a good idea. It will need quite a bit of upgrading first.
 
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