New 4Runner Owner - Tire Pressure Question

Hello everyone!

I recently picked up my new 2023 Lunar Rock 4Runner Off Road Premium; last Friday, to be exact. So far, I am extremely content with the purchase, but I noticed today my tire pressure readings were a bit off. Per the driver's side vehicle placard, the recommended tire pressure is 32 PSI for all four wheels. However, the digital display is showing the below. Is it common to receive a brand-new vehicle improperly inflated? I don't particularly think 38-39 psi is a bad thing. However, the 55 psi is what concerns me. I will let some air out from the rear right tire, but wanted to see what the forum members recommend. I don't go off-road often, mostly highway driving with a lot of twisty roads where I live (suburbs outside NY city).

Besides tire pressure, are there other items I should double-check to make I won't have any future issues? Thanks in advance for your time and help!

 

I would verify the pressure with an actual pressure gauge. then set the tires to the recommended level. drive it for a while until the onboard displays match your manual measurements. If they don't agree, take it back to the dealer. Or take it directly to the dealer. I believe 55lb is pretty close to the max for the tire.

 

Goofy stuff happens in dealer prep (lack of prep). I’d go set all four to 34 and then drive it a bit so the sensors get a good reading.

 

Thank you, I will do exactly what you recommend. Now to find that tire pressure gauge.....

 

Thank you, appreciate the prompt response! Will do what you and Patwashere said.

 

Wondering how you got tire pressure to display? i’ve got the same 4 runner, had mine a month and I can’t see tire pressures.

 

It’s pretty common for the tires to be over inflated on delivery. Mine were all at 55. Maybe they overinflate them before the vehicle gets loaded onto the trailer for transport so it doesn’t bounce too much? Just a guess. But checking the tires is part of the pre-delivery inspection checklist. Set them to 32 psi (cold). It takes a little bit of driving for the gauge to register the change.

Another thing to check is the adjustment of the parking brake. Mine wouldn’t hold even on a mild incline when I brought my 4Runner home.

FYI, here’s a LINK to a PDF of the Pre-Delivery Inspection Checklist.

 

Hi Rick,

Forgive my incorrect use of terminology in advance. Tire pressure information can be located by scrolling down in the section that has the car picture, see below. You have the same functionality in many of the other tabs/images as well. Meaning you can access different information by scrolling within a section. Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for sharing the PDI checklist, this is very useful! I will also test out my parking brakes so I don't experience the same issue.

 

Now you just need the lab coat and clipboard!

 

Lol, not sure what's worse.. the tire having way too much pressure or the potholes in my area.

 

when I picked up my 2023 and driving it home on the highway I checked the tire pressure monitor and all mine were in mid 50’s PSI. Seems like they inflate them like this when transporting them to the dealership and a lot of times the dealership prep forgets to put tire pressures back to normal

I got the best mpg’s ever on my 4Runner on that ride home

 

Always adjust when getting a new car when you get home dealers always over inflate. I have seen this on every vehicle I have ever bought including motorcycles

 

My built in TPMS is spot on with my high dollar tire pressure gage. I set the factory tires to 32 psi in the Winter and now that it is Summer my “cold pressure” readings are 34 or 35 to start off with (this will climb as I drive and the tires heat the existing moisture inside the tire) I decided to just leave them alone as they will revert back to 32 come Fall. Mine arrived from the dealership way over inflated as well.

 

My tires came at 38 psi. Obviously that justifies buying a fancy deflator.

 

Dealerships and tire shops are notorious for improperly inflating tires. After my 2016 Tacoma TRD Sport was written off I bought a brand new 2020 Tacoma TRD Sport and was surprised how rough it road.

I checked the tire pressure and they had set it to 40psi all around when it called for 29psi. I dropped the pressure down and the ride quality improved greatly. I then put on some all terrain tires and politely requested they inflate them to 29psi. They ignored my request and used 40psi which I then had to decrease.

Most shops use digital inflators that can be preset and they likely just leave it at a set pressure and don't care about what the particular vehicle calls for.

 

They're easy to find online or at your local auto supply store.

Personally, I prefer the dial gauges over the pop-up type. Get one that goes up to about 60 psi. You won't need any higher pressures, and the dial range will give you greater precision.

I like to measure my tire pressure in the morning when it's cool out and the tires aren't in direct sunlight. You'll probably want to experiment a bit to find an optimum pressure based on ride, traction and tire ware. I run my BFT-TA/AT tires at 33-35 psi, but I like to keep my spare at about 50 psi to compensate for any leakage. I also always use the same tire gauge to read my pressure. I don't rely on gas station or other gauges. This assures consistent readings.

 

Do you have a link to the gauge you have?

 

Yes, that's why people keep buying new ones. Who knows where they go after that?

 

I've been hovering around 19-20 mpg on my daily commutes, and the trip display states 18 mpg so it hasn't been too bad. I live in a pretty hilly area and experience moderate traffic. All in all, I think I was expecting much worse...

 

Yes, I plan to do the same. Hopefully, find a sweet spot where I don't have to fiddle with adjusting the tire pressure constantly.

 

If you can share the type of gauge you have, that would be great. I currently have a digital reader and of course the battery is dead.

 

On a side note, I've noticed a squeaking sound quite frequently when I depress the brakes. I know this is a different topic and don't mind starting a new thread if this is poor forum etiquette. But curious to know if this is normal and if will it go away. If it doesn't, is there a solution to remedy this issue?

To clarify where the noise is coming from, it appears to be emanating from the interior of the car near the pedal itself and not from the brake/pads, etc. It's almost like a squishy squeaking noise when you depress the brake pedal.

 

I have a Blue Point analog gauge that I’ve used for years. It’s no longer available, but

$16 Tire Pressure Gauge - (0-60 PSI) Heavy Duty, Certified ANSI Accurate with Large 2" Easy to Read Glow Dial, Low - High Air Pressure Gauge. Tire Gauge for Car and Trucks Tires by Vondior

this one is similar.


What I like:

• Analog, so no batteries to replace
• No hose, so it’s easy to use one-handed
• Holds the reading
• Durable

Cons:
It’s big. If I knew of a high quality pen-style gauge, I might prefer that, but I’ve been through so many bad ones that I have given up hope of finding one.

@photo8 is right when he says the 60 psi gauge is more accurate, but if you get a 100 psi gauge it will work for road bike and RV tires as well.

 

I much prefer gauges like the above - but with a straight connector, not angled as shown in the above photo. I've found that with certain tire rims the angled connector is impossible to seat on the valve stem whereas the straight connector works just fine. Something like this:

 

With large Load Range E tires I keep the spare inflated to the recommended maximum of 80 psi. That allows me to use the spare as an air reservoir if I ever have to air up a tire, such as after applying an emergency tire plug for a punctured tire. I use one of these - weighs almost nothing - with an air chuck on both ends. Connect one end to the spare and the other end to the tire needing air and it will air up the tire in seconds. It's long enough to reach all 4 tires from the spare's mounting location.

 

Here is the one I use. I called it “high dollar” but if you consider that it will be around more than a decade then it’s really not. Got it at Amazon $18.12

 

If any of your tires are exposed to direct sunlight it will throw off your measurements.
After a succession of Chinese crap gauges going in the garbage can I finally went Astro Pneumatic.

 

No. I have several. The ones I keep iin my vehicles are from O'Riley Auto Parts. They were about $8 a few years ago.