65 mph vibration a typical 4Runner problem?

Toy4R4Me

Toy4R4Me

New member
I just picked up an '05 V8 SE and it's got a bad vibration right at 70 mph, but no vibration when i go much faster or slower.

I read on toyota120's info site about the 4Runner that this has been a common problem with the stock rubber (which i unfortunately still have). "Some of the initial problems with the 4Runner included:... Vibration at 65MPH (normally fixed by replacing factory rubber)" 4Runner

However, I searched on here and haven't seen mention of this anywhere else.
Is this a well known problem that people have had? If so, how did you fix it? (if anything other than replacing the stock rubber) I have gotten an alignment and the tires balanced twice, but the problem persists.

thanks,

Jon
 
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Yes, I believe it is a common problem for many owners who have the stock Dunlap tires.

I had this issue and still do, but it was gone for about 3000 miles when I had the tires 'road forced' balanced at a local Toyota dealership.

Others can chime in, but I believe the issue went away when they changed to another brand of tire.

J
 
Not to alarm you, but I've owned a 2nd gen, 3rd gen and now a 4th gen T4R and each one has been a nightmare with respect to obtaining and maintaining a good wheel balance. Most of the problem is due to the fact that the wheels are lug centric as opposed to hub centric. Unless the shop doing the balance uses the adapter that bolts to the wheel, your balance will most likely be off (WAY off). Yes, some tires are manufactured under tighter quality control than others but don't be surprised if those high quality Michelins or whatever you go with still seem to give you problems.
 
No issues whatsoever on my 4Runner. That's with the stock rubber or the tires I've installed afterwards. You have to make sure you use a good shop to balance the wheel/tire assembly. The Haweka adapter ensures the best possible balancing on our wheels, but not everyone has one.
 
Hi, i just bought an 07 SE V8 4WD and it had the vibe at 65-70, new stock rubber on it, but i took it to discount tire, had all 4 tires balanced and rotated and it is smooth now. perhaps the tires were incorrectly balanced when they were newly installed by the P.O.
 
Nuke said:
Not to alarm you, but I've owned a 2nd gen, 3rd gen and now a 4th gen T4R and each one has been a nightmare with respect to obtaining and maintaining a good wheel balance. Most of the problem is due to the fact that the wheels are lug centric as opposed to hub centric. Unless the shop doing the balance uses the adapter that bolts to the wheel, your balance will most likely be off (WAY off). Yes, some tires are manufactured under tighter quality control than others but don't be surprised if those high quality Michelins or whatever you go with still seem to give you problems.
Click to expand...

The 4th Gen has Hub centric wheels, so your theory is incorrect about the wheels. I'm sure it's the Dunflops.
 
Yes I echo what other posters said, I had a 98 for 11 years and balancing the tires was a constant problem. I took my new used 07 into the dealer to see if they could improve the ride. It took 3 trips back but they finally got it right. One of the front tires had a bad belt or something like that so they could not balance it perfectly even with road force. So a 4 wheel road force and the bad tire to the back resulted in a smooth ride. Keep trying, they can be balanced, just have to be persistent.
 
I actually picked up a set of BFG AT's from a friend today and got them mounted and balanced and voila! the vibration is gone. Guess it was the dunflops/ the dealer's inadequacy at balancing wheels.
 
Krazynative said:
The 4th Gen has Hub centric wheels, so your theory is incorrect about the wheels...
Click to expand...

Is that true? I certainly hope so. Anyone concur?

At about 27,000 miles I began getting a bit of vibration and thought to myself that if this 4Runner is anything like my previous 2nd and 3rd gens with regard to balancing, I may seriously get rid of it. That's how bad the previous gens have been. It's really a shame because my current 4th gen is my 6th Toyota; all EXTREMELY dependable and reliable.
 
I am still running the original Dunlop Tires on the original Alloy Wheels.

No vibrations, No Problems, as of now.
Guess I must be lucky.
 
Toy4R4Me said:
I actually picked up a set of BFG AT's from a friend today and got them mounted and balanced and voila! the vibration is gone. Guess it was the dunflops/ the dealer's inadequacy at balancing wheels.
Click to expand...

I always have a good tire shop with a Hunter machine balance my tires. Many dealerships just seem to be unable to balance properly.
 
y'all need to get your tires/wheels properly balanced man.

even lifted with BFG ATs, my truck is smooth like an avalon on the hwy.
 
I have never had a vibration problem with the origional Dunflops or current Michelin Cross terrains.
 
I have BFG All-Terrains, not the OE Dunlops and my tires vibrate around 65 mph. I got it aligned 2 weeks ago and it didn't help. Probably balance problems.
 
Nuke said:
Is that true? I certainly hope so. Anyone concur?

At about 27,000 miles I began getting a bit of vibration and thought to myself that if this 4Runner is anything like my previous 2nd and 3rd gens with regard to balancing, I may seriously get rid of it. That's how bad the previous gens have been. It's really a shame because my current 4th gen is my 6th Toyota; all EXTREMELY dependable and reliable.
Click to expand...

No, the 4runner has lug centric wheels...where the lug nuts center the wheel onto the hub. If you closely, our wheel center hole is larger than the hub center.

I know this because I've rotated the tires on both my 4Runner and Jeep XJ...the Jeep has hub centric (the wheel will actually hold on the center of the hub) and the 4runner has lug centric...bolt pattern tightening is a lot more important in this case...

Oh, this is why you need to use a special adaptor on 4runner wheels to properly balance.
 
Last edited:
Description
This article is from the Toyota Tundra FAQ, by Steve Yee with numerous contributions by others.


3.32 - What is the difference between "hub centric" and "bolt or lug centric" rims ? (All)
Ninety Nine percent of all vehicles out in the world today utilze a "hub
centric" rim. What that means is that when your tire/wheel combination is
being balanced by a tire shop, they utilize a balance machine that relies on
the hub of the rim to be a "true centering" aid. In other words, the center
hole of the rim is what the tire shop uses to base the tire/wheel combination
balance on. The factory alloys on the Tundra SR5 and Limited are reported to
be Hub Centric rims.

Some Toyota 4Runner, Tacoma, Land Cruiser and Tundra factory rims have been
reported to be "bolt centric" or "lug centric", which means that the tire/wheel
combination must be centered on the lugs, and not using the center hub. An
excellent example of this is the Ivan Stewart TRD wheel for the Tundra, which
is a Lug Centric Wheel.

To correct this, tire shops and service centers must use a combination of a
Hunter tire balance machine and a Haweka adapter. According to the Internet,
all 4Runner wheels must be balanced using this combination per TSB SU002-96.
The Tundra equivalent to the 4Runner TSB is TSB# BR003-00.

Please ask your dealership or your tire service center if they have the listed
equipment. It has been reported that many Toyota dealers do not. If you have
tire work done at a Toyota dealership, ask to see the actual lug centric
converter.

For more information on this subject, please check this web page out at
http://forums.vmag.com/suv4run0499/messages/3295.html
 
After I installed my Spidertrax I did have a vibration. Which I kind of expected. It would vibrate at about 65 mph. I used a torque wrench to tighten everything down even but it still had a vibration. After a couple times re-tightening them I figured I would try something different. Last night, i went wheel by wheel and loosened the lugs with the truck on the ground. Then i jacked it up ( only till you could see a sliver of light under the tire) and used the torque wrench to tighten them back down ( with the car in the air a bit/ jack stands of course ). Star pattern 80 lbs then 90lbs. Drove it this morning and the vibration was gone. I kinda thought the weight of the car, when the truck was on the ground would slightly make the tire/wheels go out of balance when you tighten the lugs. With the car in the air a bit you can control the wheel better and get a more true / even pressure on the lugs when tightening them down.

I know you are never suppose to tighten the lugs with the truck off the ground but if you are very careful and don't go crazy when tightening everything down then you should be fine. One last note. Put your truck in 4WD and put you parking break on. This keeps the tire from rotating.

OH and I unfortunately have DUN-FLOPS. Hopefully gettn BF's soon.

Good luck!
 
jwyshrek said:
No, the 4runner has lug centric wheels...where the lug nuts center the wheel onto the hub. If you closely, our wheel center hole is larger than the hub center.

I know this because I've rotated the tires on both my 4Runner and Jeep XJ...the Jeep has hub centric (the wheel will actually hold on the center of the hub) and the 4runner has lug centric...bolt pattern tightening is a lot more important in this case...

Oh, this is why you need to use a special adaptor on 4runner wheels to properly balance.
Click to expand...

No, the 4th gen is Hub Centric! I know this because I have looked at my rotors. They have a lip (flange) around the center cap, which sits inside the the center of the wheel, centering it. Even Spidertrax have the lip.

Toyota Hub Centric Wheel Spacer Kit

Also look at this picture of the front rotor in this thread. It has the same lip.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maintenance/63934-my-4th-gen-front-brakes-walkthrough.html

Using a special adapter on a "balancing machine" makes sense though.
 
never had issues with stock michelins, 2 with 64k miles, 2 with 30k miles. and it has to be hub centric because there is no way the lugs can take the weight and abuse going off-road by themselves.
 
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