rack and pinion leaking with less than 50,000 km , truck has never been off road , where’s the quality here after buying it new for 45 k ?
Rubber o-ring failed on high pressure hyd system. I think you are not first rack Toyota has ever replaced.
You are right of course. Nothing should ever go bad/break/leak/misbehave. Especially in just 7 years. I may have even been a seal that dried out for so little use, they do that sometimes.
Leak is probably a faulty seal. May have been faulty when built. However seal could have been fine when unit built, but anything that stresses the steering rack could lead to early failure, wouldn’t have to be off-road driving, could be something as simple as hitting a big pothole in the road during a turn. Solution is to ask shop to replace/repair the steering rack.
Beyond that, you could ask the dealership if there’s any pertinent recalls or service campaigns for the steering system. Could also use the forum search feature to see if other Tacoma owners have posted about this same problem here. Link upper right this page.