Driveline Vibration

I tried to induce the steering wheel response and hard braking condition on my commute home tonight, to no avail. At this point, I almost wish the shimmy was still there so the new dealer could experience it. Now I am left with just explaining it and having them feel the vibration. The first "suggestion" I will have for them is going to be to swap out the wheels, one at a time, and take it for a ride to see if it is still present. After that, I am giving them 1 more service appointment, before I contact Toyota and file my papers.
 
Thanks for checking the steering response guys.

I'll keep this updated to what my shop says as well.

Hopefully SOMEONE finds out what this is and it works for the rest of us.

We can't *all* have bad tires/balances right? Something's afoot.
 
Is anyone who changed their OEM tire/wheel combination to an aftermarket tire/wheel combination and/or upgraded their suspension experiencing the same problems?

Harper7, BFLAN, IceNomad, 4Funnr, and anyone else without the OEM tire/wheel setup care to weigh in on this issue?

Mike :artist2:
 
B'klyn_Mike said:
Is anyone who changed their OEM tire/wheel combination to an aftermarket tire/wheel combination and/or upgraded their suspension experiencing the same problems?

Harper7, BFLAN, IceNomad, 4Funnr, and anyone else without the OEM tire/wheel setup care to weigh in on this issue?

Mike :artist2:
Click to expand...
Hey Mike!
I hav'nt noticed anything wrong with mine and it's about to roll over 20k miles. No vibrations at all since the day I got her.Are there any Limited's with the problem? I see the one who attributed it to tires.

Gotta look for common denominators.Tires? wheels?Brake rotors?Just too many people having the same vibration complaints.I wonder if the 2010 FJ's complaining about it too have the same PT transfer case involved in the 4Runner SB for bad gear runouts. In the FJ's the manuals have the full time torsen diff like the Limited and the automatic FJ's have the same part time transfer case like the TE and SR5.
 
I've been meaning to post an update here as well - sorry for the delay. After my first post, I went in again and they did the Road Force balance on the tires, and they were never able to feel the issue during their road testing. The issue seemed to go away for a week or so, but it's back. However, it's definitely pretty subtle at this point. It's frustrating because it's right on the borderline of taking it in again or just not worrying about it. If it was an older used vehicle it'd be a lot easier, lol.

Regarding the other observation hrobertson - I'm not sure if I have what you're describing, but I do notice when the steering wheel shaking is present that if I move the wheel back and forth 5 or 10 degrees (not enough to cross lanes) that it feels "jittery", like instead of being perfectly smooth, it takes steps.
 
harper7 said:
Hey Mike!
I hav'nt noticed anything wrong with mine and it's about to roll over 20k miles. No vibrations at all since the day I got her.Are there any Limited's with the problem? I see the one who attributed it to tires.

Gotta look for common denominators.Tires? wheels?Brake rotors?Just too many people having the same vibration complaints.I wonder if the 2010 FJ's complaining about it too have the same PT transfer case involved in the 4Runner SB for bad gear runouts. In the FJ's the manuals have the full time torsen diff like the Limited and the automatic FJ's have the same part time transfer case like the TE and SR5.
Click to expand...


Funny you say that. The way I always describe it to a tech is like the feeling you get when you hold the 4WD selector which is obviously directly connected to the transfer case. It is the same exact feeling (frequency) very rapid and constant, just not as severe.
 
alleyman84 said:
Regarding the other observation hrobertson - I'm not sure if I have what you're describing, but I do notice when the steering wheel shaking is present that if I move the wheel back and forth 5 or 10 degrees (not enough to cross lanes) that it feels "jittery", like instead of being perfectly smooth, it takes steps.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Like the tires are octagons instead of round.
 
hrobertson said:
Exactly. Like the tires are octagons instead of round.
Click to expand...

Just an update -- I got a set of 245/60/20 Blizzak DMV1s put on today and voila the shimmy is gone.

****ty stock Duelers were the culprit apparently since 3 balancings didn't fix it.

Will update if it comes back.
 
Hey KevinG, Robertson, anyone,

I just put on a set ot BFG TKO's stock size and now have the "buzz" coming thru the steering wheel. I also feel it in my legs thru the seat. Like the transfer case lever frequency as you describe. I doubt the chain store where I got the tires can do the force balacing so I will have to find someone who does, hopefully the dealer. I would go back to the tire store but they seem so aloof. I hope this isnt a long road to go down, but it didnt happen with the stockers so I am assuming its the tires. Did anyone ever get root cause?
 
4Ryder said:
Hey KevinG, Robertson, anyone,

I just put on a set ot BFG TKO's stock size and now have the "buzz" coming thru the steering wheel. I also feel it in my legs thru the seat. Like the transfer case lever frequency as you describe. I doubt the chain store where I got the tires can do the force balacing so I will have to find someone who does, hopefully the dealer. I would go back to the tire store but they seem so aloof. I hope this isnt a long road to go down, but it didnt happen with the stockers so I am assuming its the tires. Did anyone ever get root cause?
Click to expand...

I think these 20" wheels are hard to balance because they're so tall/skinny.

My vibration went away 100% and hasn't returned in 1600miles after putting on new tires *AND* getting them road forced by a really good tire shop.

I don't know if the stockers were just out of balance or actually bad tires -- but I know that it can go away.
 
4Ryder said:
Hey KevinG, Robertson, anyone,

I just put on a set ot BFG TKO's stock size and now have the "buzz" coming thru the steering wheel. I also feel it in my legs thru the seat. Like the transfer case lever frequency as you describe. I doubt the chain store where I got the tires can do the force balacing so I will have to find someone who does, hopefully the dealer. I would go back to the tire store but they seem so aloof. I hope this isnt a long road to go down, but it didnt happen with the stockers so I am assuming its the tires. Did anyone ever get root cause?
Click to expand...

I have 17" SR5 wheels. It did it with both the stock tires and after I replaced the tires. No fix for mine yet...I am bringing it to dealer # 3 on Wednesday. Not sure if it was always present or not but I now notice by rearview mirror vibrates so much at around 75 mph that everything in it is completely blurry.
 
Thanks for the responses guys.

I went to my dealer and asked them to look over the drivetrain and if all looked good go ahead and road force balance the tires. After snow and ice build-up was ruled out they did the balancing. Results: two of the wheels were off the charts out of balance. Lesson Learned: Stay away from discount tire stores. They may match prices but they lack capability and quality. Whatever you saved in tire price gets off-set out by having a competent shop re-do their work. Thankfully I am back to that smooth ride. I am glad this was root casue becasue it peeved me so bad I probably would have got rid of the truck than deal with the endless saga of chasing a phantom problem. Good luck to you in your efforts to resolve your issues.
 
Hi all... Just picked up my 2011 SR5 Saturday from a dealer 130 miles away. We took it for a short test drive but didnt hit highway speeds. On the way home I noticed the steering wheel had a shake to it and called immediately. He stated that because my vehicle only had 4 miles I needed to let it break in a little bit and the shake would go away. It appears to be present around 55-70MPH. After reading this thread I am wondering if I am suffering from wheel balance issue and or tire issue. It doesnt shake bad enough to vibrate the mirrors but feels like a balancing issue. I now have 260 miles on it. Do you think I should keep driving it a little longer or bring it in?
 
I don't think it will go away with time. My vibration got only slightly better when both front tires were replaced and road force balanced, and it went away completely when those tires/wheels were rotated to the back at the 5000 mile check-up.

The vibe will return when I move the tires/wheels back up front, so before I take it in for the 10000 mile check, I'm going to let them know to be prepared for it again.
 
Just picked mine up again and what do you know..."we could not duplicate the problem and the truck rides/drives normal". I called the corporate customer relations #, everything was recorded, given a claim # and am waiting for a call from the local customer relations manager. I am not too confident that anything will come of this, as they told me straight out that they cannot coordinate a factory rep visit unless they can duplicate the problem. Funny that I always have the problem, including on the 2 mile journey from my office to the dealer!!!!! Corporate did ask me what would be my "ideal resolution" to which I responded, a vehicle that does not have the issues I have with mine. Whether it be this one or another, I purchased it for the longevity and reliability that Toyota is known for...
 
Here is my update. The car has been back to a local dealer twice. First time they found the tires out of balance, rebalanced and told me everything was fine. I picked up the car drove it down the road and the shimmy was pretty obvious BUT the shimmy in the steering wheel was noticeably less. I took it back and drove with a mechanic to point out the shimmy and he acknowledged its there.

Left the vehicle, the tech road forced the tires and said they all passed. He took tires off a new SR5 on the lot, put them on my vehicle and noticed no improvement. Later I found out he did not check to make sure the tires from the new SR5 were in balance or passed the road force test. Anyway.... he then drove the new SR5 (11 miles on the OD) and found it had a shimmy worse then mine. They called me to tell me that it is probably the characteristics of the vehicle. I told them I would arrive shortly to discuss the issue further.

We ended up taking 2 other new SR5s for a test drive to which one had Bridgestone tires and the other Dunlop. The vehicle with Bridgestone tires (that he used on my vehicle) had a shimmy worse then my vehicle. The second SR5 with Dunlops and 2 miles on the OD had a shimmy that appeared to be less noticeable then mine and the SR5 with Bridgestones. I asked the tech... if you purchased this car new would consider this an acceptable ride? He responded... probably not. I asked if there was a way to test the drive shafts locally and he said no. I asked if they could road force the other two SR5s to see if those tires passed and he mentioned that he would have to have approval from upper management / factory rep so his time could be charged. So I explained this to the service rep and they asked if they could hold it overnight so the Service Manager could drive the car. I have also asked that this be escalated to the factory rep if the service department feels they have done all they can do.

I was wondering if this issue was related to SR5 models. I can get on the interstate and get to 65 MPH + or - a few and make it happen reliably. It is intermittent between 45mph to 70mph. I have the 2011 SR5, manual part time 4wd and Dunlop tires. I really hope that this gets corrected since there are several people experiencing this issue. Do you think we should get a thread going posting VIN numbers, Locations and models. I am going to get updated from the dealer tomorrow.
 
Steering Wheel Vibration

I have a slight vibration in the steering wheel on my 11 Limited when accelerating or there is a load on the vehicle. Is that what you are experiencing?
 
My experience has been maintaining highway speed. It is intermittent and intensity varies between 45mph-70mph but lately it is consistent happens at the same intensity at 65mph. It doesnt appear to matter what material the road is and I am testing this on various roads that have been recently created or repaved in the past two years, no pot holes and no serious deviations. When this first started I assumed it was a simple tire balance and/or wheel alignment issue. I thought I could drop it off at the dealer and it will all be behind me. When they called yesterday and said "We think it is the characteristics of the vehicle since another one on our lot with no mileage is doing the same thing" I thought uh oh..... here we go. Last night I spent hours reading issues pertaining to the FJ shimmy and some of the resolutions were multiple tire balances, finding specific model tire balancing machine, confirming the machine is properly calibrated, complete tire and/or rim replacements to which some did all that and still have the issue. One woman mentioned Michelin AT tires were used as a replacement and the FJ handles amazing. My neighbor has a 2005 Tundra that had the Dunlop tires (which mine has) and said they were garbage and wore out fast. He spent money on Michelin and noticed a world of difference as well. I found another article that discussed how to test drive a vehicle to help isolate the source of the shimmy. If I find the dealer cant repair or doesnt acknowledge its a problem I will have to start doing what the article said. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they are going to come back to me acknowledging that this is unacceptable and provide a way forward. I should know more later today.
 
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