Curious Steering Wheel Vibration at Low Miles
 

Hello folks.

I recently purchased a full set of these all terrain tires in preparation for my first off-road/overland adventure: LT265/70R-17 BFGOODRICH ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 C. I purchased them from Tire Rack and they were delivered to a Firestone shop of my choosing, and they were installed on my my 2020 TRD OFF ROAD with 10,000+ miles on it.

A while before even thinking about replacing the tires I had started feeling a subtle vibration on the steering wheel at speeds around 50-60 MPH. Because I had a service appointment with Toyota I was planning on having it checked and maybe balance the wheels. Then I decided to update the tires and after they were installed I feel the same vibration, except stronger - almost in the same difference between the OEM tire and AT tire hardness.

I contacted Firestone, and I have an appointment to zero its balance again. But they also told me something I didn't like hearing: that this kind of behavior/performance may be normal to this kind of tire. I have contacted Tire Rack about this and am waiting to hear back from them. I am sure this is not the right behavior for this tire.

BUT: What is strange to me is that my 2016 SR7 with 40+k miles never needed balancing and it performed well with the OEM tires even though it had some off road experience. The wheels on my 2020 TRD, without being much outside of paved roads began showing signs of being out of balance at just 10k; and then the vibration remained after brand new tires were put on it and I am sure they were balanced professionally.

Could something other then out-of-balance wheels be wrong with the system?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Farzad

Curious Steering Wheel Vibration at Low Miles
 

DO NOT let anyone tell you that the vibration is normal, it is not and 9 times out of 10 its a tire balance issue, its not going to be an alignment issue if the vibration only happens at a certain speed and goes away when going slower or faster than that said speed. I got 4 new bfg ko2s in 285/70/17 in the E load range just last week and had horrible vibration at around 50 mph keep in mind prior to getting these tires i had zero vibration.
So i had discount tire try to rebalance them 2 more times and the vibration was still there, they offered to order 4 new tires for me since they didnt have the E load in stock and also gave me the option to go to C load since those were in stock, so I decided to go with the C load tires and they refunded me the difference in price and now the vibration is completely gone, its as smooth as its ever been, so dont let anyone tell you “its just the way all terrain tires ride” because that is not true, Best of luck to you

If you had a subtle vibration before with stock tires and it's more pronounced now. Then have them check alignment as well.

But wouldn’t alignment issue would cause a vehicle to pull to one side or the other? I am not experiencing that.

Thats correct bad alignment will cause vehicle to pull but in some instances can also cause the steering shimmy. If the wheels are balanced properly. Making sure that alignment is good is not going to hurt.

I definitely will do that. Thanks.

My theory is that the alignment itself does not cause the shimmy but it can make it more pronounced. Let's say there's a specific toe angle set, which essentially 'scrubs' the tire slightly down the road if it's set too negative or positive. When that happens, there's some side-load on the wheel assembly and when vibrations occur, this may amplify them.

At least that's my theory. There are a ton of things that are related to the steering wheel shimmy. That's why no one figured out a single solution for it. But yeah, balance cures most of them.

The BFG KO2 tires are notorious for being hard to balance. I put them on my 4Runner when it was new, but never had a problem with balance (steering wheel vibration). They are E load range as well, but the stock size. I got them at Discount Tires. I don't know if some tire stores are better at balancing them than others, but that seems to be the case.

Most definitely. Techs could be hurried, underpaid, whatever. Plus, those that aren't familiar with how sensitive the 4runners are to tire balance simply won't be accurate enough, because variance that will never be felt on some other vehicles will be felt on the 4runner.

So - I made an appointment with Firestone so they could re-examine the balance but this kind of performance is to be expected of tires like these. I am going to leave my emotions out of this for now, but then I contacted Tire Rack and told them about the issue and asked for the return procedure which I still don't understand after a couple of emails. Tire Rack advised that we do a road force tested on a Hunter balance machine, and they told me the particular Firestone location had the right equipment.

I contacted Firestone and made sure we include that test in the appointment.

Long story short, they discovered that a balancing sticker that they adhere to the inside of the wheel had fallen off and was the cause of vibration. I saw what it was: like little blocks of something with adhesive backing. In any case, they also told me they regularly use their Hunter balance machine to balance wheels like this.

I drove home and the vibration was gone.

In hindsight, and I don't know if I will need other tires for this 5G, I will definitely buy tires locally instead of online. I would rather pay more but be able to go back and have them fix them, replace them, or take them back.

Farzad

Happy to hear the issue was fixed and they didn’t give you the excuse of “this kind of behavior/performance may be normal to this kind of tire” again.
Still doesn’t address the issues with your previous tires, but if the issue of fixed then rock on.

Well of course wheels should not vibrate in the first place. My issue is resolved for now as I have posted an update. I am glad yours was too, and this will be the last time I buy tires online. I will be visiting local stores from now on.

Farzad

Yes, the question still is out there about vibration before changing the tires. Could it be that the little sticker had fallen off and they put it back on, or the one they put back on also fell off? Who knows.

UPDATE:

The vibration is back. Tire Rack's policy, at least for the tires I have bought, is that they will use the funds to exchange with another selected group of tire brands after I pay for much of the work of freighting the tires I am not happy with back to Tire Rack.

I have an appointment with Firestone that continues saying vibration associated with this kind of tire is to be expected on a "nice 2020 4 Runner". They say that knowing the vibration was a result of their initial work not being adequate, and the the vibration was gone the second time I brought it back to them. I have asked Firestone to schedule my car in for balance and potential alignment. But they say alignment has nothing to do with vibration - which is not what some here are saying.

I am very sorry that I bought these tires online. My advice is to other people to buy tires locally and from a high-end vendor. I am thinking about getting the vibration fixed and then selling the car with the tires on it and get something else. But the prices have gone up a lot, I presume.

Such a bummer.

Yea i never buy tires online, too much hassle if there is an issue. I also don't by E rated tires that are way overkill. I went with C rated and im totally fine.