Rollover rating and KDSS

Hi there… this is my 1st post. Getting ready to purchase the 4 Runner in the next few days Interested in knowing if KDSS might increase or decrease likelihood of a roll over crash? I will be doing mostly paved road/freeway driving, and am concerned about the known problems with 4Runner rolling over in a crash.
I prefer to NOT roll over in any crash and appreciate any insight.

I know higher center of gravity is a problem in many SUVs

 

KDSS will make a 4Runner less likely to roll over in a crash, but only marginally so. KDSS-equipped 4Runners still have the rollover warning on the visor.

https://carbuzz.com/cars/safest-suvs

 

I find the biggest contributing factor in a roll over is a loose nut on the steering wheel! Just kidding, I got KDSS on my 4Runner for that, along with cross winds and mountain curves.

 

I think at higher speed KDSS have less probability for rollover on a practical situation like swerving for an animal. Vs KDSS would have high probability of rollover at slower speeds when the KDSS ram is free like the accident my 4R had collision turning at traffic light or turning to another road. Again this all theory. In general 4runner has high center of gravity that more likely to rollover.

 

do you find the kdss helps with cross winds?

 

Only had it 2 weeks.

 

I’ve had my rig just over a year. I have 21,000 miles on it. It’s a combination of highway, back roads, and logging roads. I’ve found the KDSS system provides significant support on corners and am glad I waited for a 4Runner with that option.

 

What are the rollover problems specific to the 4Runner? As you point out, the higher the center of gravity the more rollover prone the vehicle will be, and the 4Runner is no exception. But among the pool of high-center-of-gravity vehicles I didn't know that the 4Runner performed poorly.

Here is a 2010 article based on Consumer Reports testing that found no problems with the 5th gen 4Runner but did find problems with its counterpart, the Lexus GX. You can read it here

 

Wow, that was a good read, I thought they would be pretty much the same in the handling dept. but no so. I have to say though, the GX was not on my radar in deciding which vehicle to purchase, I’ve wanted a 4Runner for a long time and specific to which trim/options I wanted.

 

Agree, great read! So all of us changing out springs and shocks should also realize we are easily making it more roll over prone, just based on how those changes can change the dynamics of the vehicle at road speeds.

Regarding new buyers looking for a low roll-over risk vehicle I’d guess the 4runner is, relatively speaking,“not good” . The safest vehicles are going to be low ones, and maybe with less total suspension travel. But then they are more likely to be run over by tall vehicles, which are most vehicles nowadays, since SUV/Crossovers seem to be the predominant vehicle type most places And even then, I’ve seen crash vids of modern cars/hatchbacks getting flipped over at what looks to be little provocation, just based on how the cookie crumbles.

Probably the safest thing is to get a vehicle of average height and suspension travel so that it has has good “crash interaction” with another vehicle of similar average metrics.

 

Body on frame "trucks" have been around for a long time with the same inherent roll over chances, same with anything with a high center of gravity. Though my daughter flipped her little low profile Nisan Sentra going under 40mph. Understanding your center of gravity and how to handle or compensate for it helps a lot.

The safest thing is to know your vehicle well since any car can flip in just the right circumstances.

I remember the Suzuki Samurais of the late 80's were killed due to the CR over exaggerated flipping.

 

LoL, That bottom warning is letters from a language called in "Sinhala" which is the main language used in Sri Lanka. I think its a joke where letters are messed up and even I find a hard time reading.

From what I read it says-



1 - Warning
2 - Me strange character/ personality
3 - I'm just thinking to my self who can read this sinhala fonts.

It would look like this if written correctly -

 

Good excuse to buy sliders and steel skids to lower your center of gravity!!

 

Agreed.

 

If you are worried about a rollover, don't buy a body on frame SUV.