My experience getting Toyota to diagnose steering wheel vibration

[dot_tom]

I had this issue from 40-50 brand new. Now I have lift, 285s, and 6,000 miles on the 4R with 3 alignments, and multiple tire balancing attempts. Still have this 40-50 mph.

Going to another Discount Tire today. Hopefully, they can balance these better. Who knows...

 

[adam2562]

Recently had the same issue of going back and forth eetc. After talking with the dealership they said they couldn't find the problem and blamed the lift. I said it wasn't an issue since my lift has been on for nearly 4 years. Took it to the luxury dealership down the road and had them road force balance them. While they did rid the shake they also did inform me the amount of force it took to balance them shows that 3 out of my 4 tires were OUT of ROUND. So now with this I get to pursue the tire company for replacements with only 12k on my General Grabbers.

As others have suggested I would see if you could swap out wheels and tires for a stock set to just show them the issue is there no matter what tire/wheel combo.

Good luck man I can actually say I know exactly what you are going through and how maddening it becomes to drive when your wheel shakes 50-60% the time while driving.

let me know what they do for you in this instance.. i had duratracs that way.. all 4 were very out of round.. i dealt with it.. they were great tires otherwise.. mainly because i didn't want to deal with pulling them off and the next set being the same way.

 

[CRSTX]

Maybe we all should replace the steering wheels with anti vibration ones? I think I have this issue too now that I'm reading this.

 

[N2TRKYS]

There seems to be issues with this all across the board from bone stock to lifted with bigger tires. It's hard for me to believe that it's an alignment issue.

Has anybody went to an aftermarket rack and pinion still having the vibration?

 

[engineeer]

My steering wheel vibration has inexplicably disappeared after taking it in for the 10k service. All they did was fluid replacement/top off, air filter, and a general inspection (no tire rotation as that had been done a couple days prior).

The only thing that has changed is that all 4 tires are at 40psi now whereas before the front was at 40psi and the rear were at 38psi. However, it did vibrate between 55-60mph for a couple of days with 40psi all around + I tested rear and front at the same psi and multiple pressures a couple weeks ago and that didn't fix the problem.

 

[1jzgte]

My steering wheel vibration has inexplicably disappeared after taking it in for the 10k service. All they did was fluid replacement/top off, air filter, and a general inspection (no tire rotation as that had been done a couple days prior).

The only thing that has changed is that all 4 tires are at 40psi now whereas before the front was at 40psi and the rear were at 38psi. However, it did vibrate between 55-60mph for a couple of days with 40psi all around + I tested rear and front at the same psi and multiple pressures a couple weeks ago and that didn't fix the problem.

While the dealers filled your tires to 40psi they must've inflated while the tires heated up. Maybe its just adrenaline from driving the 4runner and its our hands shaking from it?"

 

[Mutegambit]

My steering wheel vibration has inexplicably disappeared after taking it in for the 10k service. All they did was fluid replacement/top off, air filter, and a general inspection (no tire rotation as that had been done a couple days prior).

The only thing that has changed is that all 4 tires are at 40psi now whereas before the front was at 40psi and the rear were at 38psi. However, it did vibrate between 55-60mph for a couple of days with 40psi all around + I tested rear and front at the same psi and multiple pressures a couple weeks ago and that didn't fix the problem.

Wow, I hope my vibration just goes away inexplicably. The time I took mine in the report said my wheels were "extremely" out of balance. I left thinking the problem was fixed but nope! I could visibly see where they had removed some of the weights. I'll probably take it again soon but after reading around it hasn't given me much hope.

 

[djhuff7]

I feel like I should chime in here.

Literally from new, my truck, bone stock 2017 ORP would vibrate between 55-65 mph for about 10 mins of driving, then smooth as silk. Tires were supposedly nitrogen filled, so heating up to pressure shouldn't be an issue, unless they actually were not nitrogen filled...

Fast forward to my recent beach trip where I aired down to 20 psi for a little jaunt down Fort Fisher seashore. I aired back up to 38 psi and the shake has diminished significantly. Still get a little one for 10 mins or so, but not nearly as bad. I'm at 2000 mi or so.

The truck is VERY sensitive to road camber though and will pull down the hill no matter how subtle the camber is.

 

[6172crew]

My 4runner wasn't balanced from the factory, no wheels weights on any wheels.
Took it in with less that 100 miles and they "Balanced the wheels" What they didn't say was they only balanced 2 of the 4.
I bought some TRD pro wheels and that is when the local shop noticed the back wheels were not done. He installed the factory tires and it started vibrating again. This weekend I finally had enough and bought new KO2s and no more problems so far.

Problem with radials is they can get a memory, the belts settle and it is difficult to change that once they have been driven on for awhile.

 

[e60ral]

Tires were supposedly nitrogen filled, so heating up to pressure shouldn't be an issue, unless they actually were not nitrogen filled...

nitrogen doesn't work how i think you think it works

 

[Vulgarian]

If you anticipate coming to Southern California call Mark at So Cal Super Trucks in San Bernardino and make an appointment. You'll need to do this 3-4 weeks in advance unless he can fit you in. They've balanced and aligned my truck twice and I watched them both times. And each of those times they spent 3.5 solid hours wrenching, test driving, wrenching, test driving, wrenching, test driving... Try to get Big-O or Firestone to test drive once, pffft. They work so hard on the alignment because they're all off-road truck owners, perfectionists and moreover - understand the subtleties of bigger Offroad tires. Which is also why people drive from hundreds of miles around to have their rigs worked on by these guys. The last time I was there I was the only semi local person. Everyone else was from a minimum of 90 minutes away and the dude who took the cake drove 2.5 hours. I believe these guys work on Icon's and Demello's Trucks who both recommended them to me.

 

[spencenasty]

I dropped mine off this morning for an alignment when I got my oil changed.. my vibration gets pretty bad.

I have a 2015 TRDP and it's been doing it since day 1.

 

[djhuff7]

nitrogen doesn't work how i think you think it works

Well, I thought the whole point was to keep pressures constant regardless of temperature as nitrogen gas does not change volume with temp changes? Is there another reason?

I don't buy the benefit with tires, but that was my understanding as the reason for it.

I am trying to illustrate that tire pressure apparently has an effect on the vibration I am experiencing since a lowering and then re fill has led to a change in symptoms.

 

[TEujunga]

Well, I thought the whole point was to keep pressures constant regardless of temperature as nitrogen gas does not change volume with temp changes? Is there another reason?

I don't buy the benefit with tires, but that was my understanding as the reason for it.

I am trying to illustrate that tire pressure apparently has an effect on the vibration I am experiencing since a lowering and then re fill has led to a change in symptoms.

Nitrogen gas changes pressure with temperature at exactly the same rate as regular air (which itself is already 78% nitrogen).

The only sensible reason to fill tires with nitrogen is in environments where the oxygen in regular air would cause corrosion or degradation of the tire material.

Nitrogen vs. Air - Which One is Right? | Continental

 

[e60ral]

Well, I thought the whole point was to keep pressures constant regardless of temperature as nitrogen gas does not change volume with temp changes? Is there another reason?

I don't buy the benefit with tires, but that was my understanding as the reason for it.

I am trying to illustrate that tire pressure apparently has an effect on the vibration I am experiencing since a lowering and then re fill has led to a change in symptoms.

it's a bit improved since it means less moisture (i.e. less water vapor which will impact pressure change), but it's still not constant

 

[TRDORmike]

I still get a bit of shake here and there. Seems to be possibly caused by the certain roads that I am driving on. I think it is something to do with the steering system where some times it is very sensitive other times it is less sensitive. I am thinking this may be something to do with power steering pump possibly? Mine seems to get better regardless after I have driven for roughly 5-10 mins and seems to get even better when I stomp on the accel and get the RPMS higher. At this point I am so sick of it I am just gonna live with it until I get a lift/upper UCA's and set max caster to numb/stiffen the steering.

 

[ColoradoToyota]

I haven't read past the original post but my experience indicates to me it is the tires.

Had a 2016 for 8,000 miles before it was totaled and never had any vibration issues

Got another 2016 and put KO2's 275 E load on within first 200 miles. First noticed the vibration around 3,000 miles in 55-60 mph range, but it comes an goes - I do a lot of highway driving and I probably notice it once a week and more often I find it seems to happen when it is cold or in the morning before it is warmer out, ie when the tires are cold.

I knew the potential for the issue going in. RSG warned me against putting them on (they in fact refused to put them on based on their experience and feedback from customers which I respect) but I chose to go for them anyway based on my prior experience with KO's and absolutely unnecessary desire to have white letters out (lol).

So I paid a little extra for lifetime warranty through Discount Tire and am now not surprised to see the issue crop up, but it doesn't really bother me too much - if it starts to happen with regularity and really annoys me, I will utilize my warranty and replace them with something else.

 

[Mtn Mule]

I have a 2015 TRDP and have experienced the same problem. I have owned Toyota's all of my life and found that a lot of them are "hub centric" with whatever wheels are on them. The simple fix is to have the tire shop always torque the wheels in the air. This has always fixed my problems with the 55-60 vibration. Hope this helps.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Is this problem present with the Tacoma and Tundra pickups, as well?

 

[LimeLED]

If you anticipate coming to Southern California call Mark at So Cal Super Trucks in San Bernardino and make an appointment. You'll need to do this 3-4 weeks in advance unless he can fit you in. They've balanced and aligned my truck twice and I watched them both times. And each of those times they spent 3.5 solid hours wrenching, test driving, wrenching, test driving, wrenching, test driving... Try to get Big-O or Firestone to test drive once, pffft. They work so hard on the alignment because they're all off-road truck owners, perfectionists and moreover - understand the subtleties of bigger Offroad tires. Which is also why people drive from hundreds of miles around to have their rigs worked on by these guys. The last time I was there I was the only semi local person. Everyone else was from a minimum of 90 minutes away and the dude who took the cake drove 2.5 hours. I believe these guys work on Icon's and Demello's Trucks who both recommended them to me.

Did their balancing and alignment permanently resolve your vibration? I’m a few hours away from their shop, but might be willing to give them a try.