I really need help on figuring out this groaning knock noise in my steering wheel. Didn’t occur 7 months ago, but seems to be getting worse over time. Hoping someone was in a very similar situation and got this fixed.

2015 SR5 2WD, 32K miles. Out of warranty (recently expired).
Bilstein 5100s front and back. Only a 1 inch adjustment setting.
BFGOODRICH AT KO2s. 275/70/R17. One size up from stock. Way heavier too.
Tires do not rub.
Trail wheels instead of stock SR5 Wheels.
Power steering fluid was recently changed.
Tires rotated every 6k miles
Independent mechanic said all suspension parts looks fine. Dealer said the same.
IMO, Suspected culprit is steering column, intermediate steering shaft, and coupling. I may be wrong, though. Could be the shocks or the vehicle can’t handle the tires? Dealer is blaming the tires for creating the noise.

Pattern is:
Occurs at parking lot speed. Reversing in and out of spots will create the groan when turning the steering wheel sharply. Driving 5-10mph will create the steering knock coming out of the parking lot as well.

Knocks on inclines and declines too. The 4Runner sounds worse after driving 30 minutes, turning the engine off, waiting 30 minutes, and then turning it back on. Some days it behaves fine, but those days are rare.


Trying to get a solution. Thinking of reversing all the mods, going back to stock or replacing parts like a crazy ocd person until this is fixed for good.

I'm bumping this because I've also started getting some steering column noise when reversing and turning at slow speeds.

It sounds hydraulic in nature, and only occurs when turning the wheel left. It doesn't happen all the time, but it's becoming more frequent and louder.

My 4R is 2012 LE with 275s, no other mods. 53k miles, just noticed the noise in the last month/500 miles.

Dude, I’m desperate. Can’t stand driving something that clunks around. Starting to get the new car itch. And I baby the crap out of this 4Runner.

I have no clunk. There is a known clunking issue, I think it had to do with the front diff.

I was also pretty rough on my 4R this winter. The snow piles never melted and parking was scarce, so you had to be creative.

Sorry, clunk could be the steering wheel knock too. Groaning and/or grinding noise as well.

They all sound bad.

Steering rack? Any thing look wet or leaking on any of the boots?

I thought of the steering rack... but shops say everything is fine. And that’s a lot on the whole rack needing to be replaced if we’re talking about the whole thing. I did read to check up on upper and lower control arm bolts not being tight enough.

Been told it could be sway bar and the bushings.

Bringing this one back from the dead. I was having some knocking/rattling from the steering column on rough/rocky roads at lower speeds (5-15mph). After checking all suspension components and doing some extensive searching I was able to locate my knocking issue. Right at where the steering shaft connects to steering rack there is a little u-joint that is the weak point. I had a buddy rock the steering left and right (motor off) and I went under and could see the play in that u-joint. It's just on the inside of the driver side front fender. Luckily I am still under warranty, so I was able to explain it to my local toyota shop foreman and they will be replacing the intermediate steering subshaft. I've attached a diagram showing where to look. I hope this helps someone later on down the road!

Attached Images

sub_shaft.pdf (180.7 KB, 185 views)

I had little groan while turning slow or backing up. Sounded like some rubber bushing binding up. Turned out to be really simple benign and easy to fix. I found that steering shaft going trough the firewall booth was causing that booth to make noise when steering wheel turned. I put little silicone grease on that contact area and noise is gone.

We’re you also able to feel the clunk in the brake pedal? Having similar clunk can seem to identify it.

Hey sorry, been a minute since I've been on the forum. I don't recall any feedback in the floor pedals, but in that case I would check the body mount bolts to make sure they are tight.
As for my original problem, it was not the steering shaft being loose. It was one of my cam/alignment bolts that was rusted and threaded out. It turns out that most in-and-out alignment shops don't torque the alignment bolts to proper spec. 5th gen calls for 129 ft/lbs where most places go about 100-110 ft/lbs. So essentially I was daily driving and wheeling with a loose cam bolt that eventually got to the point to where the threads where totally gone, and it would knock on certain bumps because there were no threads left to properly tighten the bolt down. Unfortunately those bolts are notorious for seizing up in the control arm, so I had to cut mine out and get new bolts. So that's another thing to check, make sure those 22mm bolts on the lower control arms are tightened to spec.

Hope that saves you the massive headaches I was going through in trying to find this damn clunk.