Steering wheel shake - what to check?

[blk-betty]

2016 SR5, 2wd with 39k miles.

I replaced the OEM struts and shocks with the TRD Pro Bilstiens at about 10k miles. I did not have it aligned, yes I know stupid mistake, until I noticed significant outer tire wear at about 30k miles.

Before having it aligned I noticed a slight shake in the steering wheel at speeds above 60 and assumed it was due to out of balance tires. Also have noticed increasing shake in the steering wheel with heavy braking, more pronounced with high speeds and thought rotors.

So finally had it aligned about 9k miles ago and just last week had the OEM Bridgestone tires replaced with Michelin Defender M/S tires. Told the tire guy about the shake with braking and he said rotors and brakes looked “ok” and I was actually surprised he didn’t try to up sell me on a brake job.

I had hoped with new tires and balance that the steering wheel shake would disappear but it hasn’t and it seems to be more pronounced as mileage is increasing. The shake on braking is still there and I almost bought new rotors and pads to change myself but figured before throwing parts at it I’d ask the collective.

If it only shook with braking I’d think rotors but the steering wheel shakes when just driving in a straight line at speeds above 60 and seems to be more pronounced when driving up step incline at speeds as well as with braking, and the harder the braking the more it shakes. Not sure if I feel anything through the brake pedal but definitely in the steering wheel.

The vehicle has never been wrecked, no known incidents that I know of that could have bent a rim, and other than the TRD Pro shocks and struts it’s completely stock and now with brand new tires.

Any suggestions on cause and fix?

 

[GreyLife]

You should have bought a different vehicle. Thats the only true way to fix this. Toyo knows about the issue and never addressed it. It seems to me that they made a bigger badder beast of the 4R but cheaped out on a lot of thing for some reason or another. I truly beleive the real cause of this is a substandard rack, but its a ***** to get out and replace with a better one. You have to lift the engine up. And Toyo isnt going to warranty that kind of job and they probably have a contract with the rack supplier so they just keep installing the same one over and over. So suffice to say, you can keep balancing those wheels until you get the best you can get out of the shake and then just live with it until you move onto another 4R or another vehicle.

 

[TEujunga]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...eel-vibration-poll-responses-appreciated.html

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/117887-steering-wheel-vibration-poll.html

These are only 2 threads of a multitude about the steering wheel vibration issue. As you can see, it's a common one.

Seems like you have 2 separate issues, though. One is the constant vibration above 60 mph. For whatever reason, T4Rs are very sensitive and the slightest issue with tire balance or roundness is amplified into a vibration at the steering wheel, usually worst at around 60 mph. Everyone seems to have a different solution, but the bottom line is that something is very slightly out of round or out of balance. Seems like the best results have been obtained with careful road force balancing and repositioning of the tire on the rim to ensure the best inherent balance and roundness. Sometimes, though, the tires themselves are slightly out of round. Not enough to fail inspection at the factory, but enough to cause the vibration on these extremely touchy vehicles.

Your other issue, vibration on braking, simply sounds like a brake rotor problem. Having the rotors machined to eliminate any runout should cure it. It's a simple job at any shop that works on brakes.

 

[blk-betty]

Thanks for the quick replies and pointing me to the other threads.

Honestly I wasn't too worried about the wheel shake, had been driving it that way for 30K miles but after spending $1k on new tires I wanted to make sure there wasn't an easy correctable solution just in case in contributed to the early wear of the OEM tires.....which ultimately I'm sure was from not having it aligned immediately after installing the TRD stuff.

Now that it was mentioned, I do remember the tech who aligned it suggest "road force balancing" (I had never heard of that before) but he didn't know of any shop in town that offered it.

I'll go ahead with the brake work and just forget about the wheel shake unless it gets worse.

Thanks again.

 

[catrains]

vibs above 60MPH could be the front hubs so check for any wobble.

the vib when braking check the calipers that they move properly and feel the temp of the front rotors and then the rear see that the temp is the same .. could be a caliper is sticking or a pad is stuck.

if you drive in deep water these things happen.

if you lifted up the vehicle you should have had it aligned . lifting the vehicle tires will wear on the outer edges . more stress on the hubs. alignment guy should have seen that the hubs had wear .

 

[Fullfathom5]

I had a similar issue on my old Sequoia, even after I bought new tires. I went cheap and bought the tires at Sam's, and they apparently didn't know how to balance. I had to go to a real tire shop to have them properly balanced and aligned (Sam's couldn't do that either). I won't make that mistake again.

 

[tm965]

ive experienced thsi problem with my runner and the only way to get rid of it is to have a competent shop road force balance them. Ironically, the only place that has been able to fix this for me has been my local toyota dealer. The key, especially with heavier tires, is to have the shop turn the smart weight function on their hunter balancer off, then use a short cone and haweka adapter when balancing the tires. The lexus tsb that addresses steering wheel flutter on the gx460 outlines this procedure in detail. Be sure that you instruct your shop to get the road force values below 15 for each tire.

 

[srsrogerissrs]

I had the same issues. Shake when going over 60 and shake when braking. It was a two part problem. I replaced pads/rotors and also road force balanced and it went away.

 

[ahtoxa11]

ive experienced thsi problem with my runner and the only way to get rid of it is to have a competent shop road force balance them. Ironically, the only place that has been able to fix this for me has been my local toyota dealer. The key, especially with heavier tires, is to have the shop turn the smart weight function on their hunter balancer off, then use a short cone and haweka adapter when balancing the tires. The lexus tsb that addresses steering wheel flutter on the gx460 outlines this procedure in detail. Be sure that you instruct your shop to get the road force values below 15 for each tire.

This is an old post, I know, but thank you for the info. I am going through the same issue now and the shop I'm working with has just called me and told me they are trying to balance with the smart weight function off while using the haweka plate adapter.

This is the third attempt by this shop, but it sounds like they know what they are doing. Hopefully this helps me and helps someone else down the line.

 

[badattitude]

This is an old post, I know, but thank you for the info. I am going through the same issue now and the shop I'm working with has just called me and told me they are trying to balance with the smart weight function off while using the haweka plate adapter.

This is the third attempt by this shop, but it sounds like they know what they are doing. Hopefully this helps me and helps someone else down the line.

I believe the Haweka plate can solve many shaking issues. Awesome they know what it is and are using it. It can also be the rotors. I had a set of brand new Toyota rotors cause a tire shake. New rotors solved the shake for me.

 

[jhebert9]

Had the same shaking problem at 60-70mph. I brought it to 2 or 3 different shops (all had Road Force balancing machines). I finally located one that eliminated the problem. I take it back each year to the for a re-balance. It must be balanced on a Road Force machine and it seems like not all machines are not created equal.

 

[ahtoxa11]

I believe the Haweka plate can solve many shaking issues. Awesome they know what it is and are using it. It can also be the rotors. I had a set of brand new Toyota rotors cause a tire shake. New rotors solved the shake for me.

Yep. As an update to my earlier post.

The shop used the haweka plate and turned off “smart weight” function on the Hunter machine. This completely got rid of the shakes.

The guy I worked with said he’s used this method before on Toyotas specifically because of how sensitive they can be. It was refreshing because he sounded genuinely excited to learn what solves these vibes. I live in a a CO town with tons of modded Toyotas so he sees this a good bit I bet.

 

[49Runner]

Tires, air pressure, balance and alignment are all factors that can effect the ride and shake. I ran M/T’s and on certain roads in my area I would get a shake/shimmy. I had a noise at speed on a different tire and adding 2lbs of pressure made the difference. I only take it to one shop (a non-Toyota) dealership and they nail it everytime. It may take a little practice but this “it’s 4Runner thing” is a load of crap.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

ive experienced thsi problem with my runner and the only way to get rid of it is to have a competent shop road force balance them. Ironically, the only place that has been able to fix this for me has been my local toyota dealer. The key, especially with heavier tires, is to have the shop turn the smart weight function on their hunter balancer off, then use a short cone and haweka adapter when balancing the tires. The lexus tsb that addresses steering wheel flutter on the gx460 outlines this procedure in detail. Be sure that you instruct your shop to get the road force values below 15 for each tire.

250K miles on a 2014 SR5. Agree, road force balancing is your answer. The longer you wait, the worse the tires wear and then it shows up in braking, misleading one to think the rotors are bad.

 

[MountainsAndSkis]

Yep. As an update to my earlier post.

The shop used the haweka plate and turned off “smart weight” function on the Hunter machine. This completely got rid of the shakes.

The guy I worked with said he’s used this method before on Toyotas specifically because of how sensitive they can be. It was refreshing because he sounded genuinely excited to learn what solves these vibes. I live in a a CO town with tons of modded Toyotas so he sees this a good bit I bet.

I know this is an old thread - any chance you could share what shop you went to? I'm also in CO. Thanks!

 

[atx51wrh]

This is my 3rd 4R - 2011, 2019 and now 2024 SR5 Prem with the TRD wheels. The steering wheel on the 2024 (less than 1K miles) shakes at 30 to 60. The others had zero issues. The 2024 has been back to the dealer twice, and i was told three tires were replaced and all force balanced. The tires are the 1st gen Nitto Grapplers. Reading thru the posts here, it seems like the issue could be more than the tires. I am hesitant to buy new tires (Michelin Defender) if the root cause is not necessarily the tires. Thanks to this forum, I will take it back a third time and ask them to balance tires as described in other posts - assuming that is still current technology. I only joined today, but am already enjoying reading through the posts.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Steering wheel vibration poll -- responses appreciated - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

Steering wheel vibration Poll - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

These are only 2 threads of a multitude about the steering wheel vibration issue. As you can see, it's a common one.

Seems like you have 2 separate issues, though. One is the constant vibration above 60 mph. For whatever reason, T4Rs are very sensitive and the slightest issue with tire balance or roundness is amplified into a vibration at the steering wheel, usually worst at around 60 mph. Everyone seems to have a different solution, but the bottom line is that something is very slightly out of round or out of balance. Seems like the best results have been obtained with careful road force balancing and repositioning of the tire on the rim to ensure the best inherent balance and roundness. Sometimes, though, the tires themselves are slightly out of round. Not enough to fail inspection at the factory, but enough to cause the vibration on these extremely touchy vehicles.

Your other issue, vibration on braking, simply sounds like a brake rotor problem. Having the rotors machined to eliminate any runout should cure it. It's a simple job at any shop that works on brakes.

The vibration on braking is not rotors. It is due to now out of round tires. I’ve got 365K miles of experience and dealt with this multiple times.

Get the tires road force balanced and before you do, throw a bag of balance beads in each wheel.

Rotate the tires every 5K. You want to avoid feathered wear on the edges of the tires. Rotating will scrub off the feathered edge when on the rear.

Do not ignore the issue for long periods hoping it will go away as you will end up with worn suspension and steering parts. Then you’ve got a bigger problem. Been through all of this, corrected it, and it will come back. Replacing rotors never solved it.

 

[fkheath]

The vibration on braking is not rotors. It is due to now out of round tires. I’ve got 365K miles of experience and dealt with this multiple times.

Beg to disagree. I have had many times when a rotor got warped, which causes a vibration when braking. Either machining the rotor or replacing it solved the problem.

Once, I had a very unusual issue with vibration when braking. Turned out to be some kind of casting flaw in the rotor, where a portion of the rotor, for what ever reason, was much harder than the rest of the rotor. That caused a difference in thickness as the rotors wear, ending with a high spot on the rotor. Only solution then was to replace that rotor.

 

[CutthroatSlam]

Beg to disagree. I have had many times when a rotor got warped, which causes a vibration when braking. Either machining the rotor or replacing it solved the problem.

Once, I had a very unusual issue with vibration when braking. Turned out to be some kind of casting flaw in the rotor, where a portion of the rotor, for what ever reason, was much harder than the rest of the rotor. That caused a difference in thickness as the rotors wear, ending with a high spot on the rotor. Only solution then was to replace that rotor.

There is nothing to disagree about. I’m telling you that brake rotors have NEVER been the source of steering wheel shake while braking for me. If it were the rotors, you would feel it in the pedal. Since replacing the OEM rotors, I use either AC Delco or Raybestos Advanced Technology slotted rotors which have never warped.