Recently I started getting small steering wheel shakes with normal highway driving, typically around 55-65mph. Not a HUGE deal. But, if I drive ~20 mins and get off an exit ramp, the steering wheel shakes vigorously when I apply brakes.

Replace rotors you say? Did that yesterday. Wheels need balancing? Rotated and balanced the wheels/tires today. While the symptoms arent as bad as they were before this, I still get vigorous steering wheel shakes when I apply brakes.

I did the 5th gen upgrade ~2 years ago. Before I did that, I remember similar symptoms.

I guess my question is, does this sound like a seized caliper or could this just be 15 year old suspension/bushings/bearings?

Is there a way to tell which caliper is seized? Do I need to replace them at the same time?

Thanks in advance.

It might very well be the calipers seize. I too recently had a small highway steering wheel vibration. I lived with it for a while and because the pads were going, I went to replace the rotors and pads. Found one of the caliper pistons on the inboard pass side was completely seized and the same inboard piston on the driver's side was starting to seize. Replaced the calipers and viola! Rides smooth as glass now.

Thank you NAPA Lifetime warranty! ;)

Good luck!

I had calipers fail (stick) on the front brakes on my 2005 4runner - 150,000 miles.

Best to buy the new remanufactured ones as if you can't free the caliper pistons or you don't get it right - the pistons will stick again.

Calipers rust tight. https://www.amazon.com/CCK03115-Prem...Toyota+4Runner

A bad front wheel bearing will cause steering wheels jitters and pull.

Mine does the same thing right around 65-70. It just flutters. I got brand new tires and all new front suspension. I guess I should look into the brakes.


2006 Toyota 4Runner Limited 4wd

Ditto, mine has a light vibration, but I also recently noticed a pull to the right on braking, so I'm going with a stuck caliper.

I wasn't chasing the shake, rather upgrading everything since I was adding a lift. Replaced inner and outer tie rods, entire braking system, new wheels and tires, new upper control arms, sway-bar bushings, UCA bushings.. Still noticed a wobble. Went to have it aligned recently and the tech alerted me to my lower control arm bushings having some signs of dry rot on the inside of the bushing. Waiting on new ones to arrive, hopefully that's the issue because I don't know what else there could be

same problem, and same year. started immediately with new tires. have had them rebalanced 3 times. had them replaced with a different set entirely. it feels like old biased ply tires, when they flat spot. its much worse in the mornings, and when the tires are cold. not nearly as bad in the afternoon. tire guys are as confused as I am. I personally did tires for a few years, and have a good idea what it takes to make these things run smooth. this one has us all baffled.

stock size and tread tires. I couldn't feel ANY difference between the first set, and the current ones. its annoying as hell though...

possibly a blown shock? your alignment might be off? try jacking up each side and shaking stuff to see if anything is lose?

You know mine is worse in the mornings also! That’s so strange. I have new shocks and front cv axels so can’t think of what it could be.

I threw mine on the lift and ran it in gear. the wheels are rock solid. not a bit of runout. but the tires have a definite bounce to them. the tire shop is going to order me yet another set of tires. this time a completely different brand.

I was quite happy with the OE tires, and that was the only reason I went with them again.

I have the same issue myself and I have a theory I'd like you to think about: I think that in many cases the tires are balanced within spec but drive-line components are slightly out of balance. I have noticed wheel shake on the highway while going straight, but sometimes no shaking for long straight distances, then while going thru a long bend the shake goes away at some point in the turn, then I go thru another turn and the shake starts to increasingly materialize again. I believe the issue could be that the drive-line rotates at different rates in the turns and in time the drive line components line up in opposing high and low spots -no shake- than while going thru a turn the drive line components eventually meets up to a high + high, -right side vs. left drive shafts perhaps- thus exasperating drive line imbalances and the wheel shakes again at different intensities depending on where you are in terms of where the left side drive line is in relationship to the right side of the drive line. I may be crazy but the more I think about this and experiment the more I think it's got some possible relevance.

you might not be crazy. mine is definitely worse going around a long curve.

also, in the last week or so, our temps plummeted. cold mornings(mid to low 40's) I have significantly less vibrations. almost none at all. in the mid to lower 50's, its very bad. 60's and 70's, almost gone, but NOT as good as when its in the 40's. so strange...

Yeah; after thinking about it some more I think weaves is right. Roll it up on ramps or on jack stands and have someone turn the wheel while someone else looks at all the moving parts underneath. If on ramps just turn it a little to meet resistance. Rack bushings or maybe a connector on the steering shaft/column.



Someone did a handmade diagram for a Tacoma that may help visualize it too.

It sounds like the tires were balanced using the hole in the center of the wheel and not the lugs surrounding the center. The way the OE wheels are manufactured, the center of the wheel is determined by the lug holes of the wheel and NOT the hole in the center of the wheel. If your tire store uses the center hole as the center of the wheel they can get close but they will never get it right. Sure theyll try to force balance the tires or blame your oversized tires and/or lift for them not being able to get the tire balanced but if they dont use the Haweka adapter metioned in the toyota TSB-#SU002-96 theyll never get them balanced the way its supposed to be...

I had a very similar wobble at the same speeds, it would also go away if you went past 60mph. I recently got my brakes replaced- pads, rotors, calipers. That reduced the wobble some but I didn't notice it completely going away until I got new tires (old ones were chopped so im sure it didn't help) and new upper control arms. After that, perfectly smooth. So I can't say it was one single thing, but it was a combo of items for me.