Steering wheel vibration Poll

[Jtraskell]

"i aired up to 38 psi at work just now. truck sat for a lil over an hour before i put air in. lets see what happens..."

I think we are all waiting to see what happens!

What is the "Load Range" of your tires? I am just thinking 31 psi may be too low. I have load range D and run them between 40 and 45. If the PSI is to low, it is much easier to create flat spots on the tires. (When they sit for a while). After some use, flat spots usually go away, but then come back after sitting for a while. With enough PSI, flats spots take much longer to occur. Be safe.

 

[AnthonyMV]

hey guys. thx again

Do you always drive the same roads?

When you do the air pressure adjustments do them in 2-3 psi increments and test drive on a section of highway you normally do not drive.

"i aired up to 38 psi at work just now. truck sat for a lil over an hour before i put air in. lets see what happens..."

I think we are all waiting to see what happens!

What is the "Load Range" of your tires? I am just thinking 31 psi may be too low. I have load range D and run them between 40 and 45. If the PSI is to low, it is much easier to create flat spots on the tires. (When they sit for a while). After some use, flat spots usually go away, but then come back after sitting for a while. With enough PSI, flats spots take much longer to occur. Be safe.

thx for the quick resposes
1engineer - yep i drive the same road/expressway 4 days a week. and after a bit the shimmy goes away...i just aired up to 38 psi....but im pretty sure on my ride home i wont feel a thing til tommorow...
jtraskell - the tires are kumho kl 61's standard load (thining P) aired up to 38 this am.

i just called the tire spot i went to on friday......said to come back this afternoon. so i will this afternoon.....see what we see.......re-force balance again. taking a better look at the runout......gotta ask him if he has the haweka adapter instead of using the cone looking adapter

i also pm'd windomearles to see if his issue (exactly like mine) have/were/being resolved

 

[1engineer]

thx for the quick resposes
1engineer - yep i drive the same road/expressway 4 days a week. and after a bit the shimmy goes away...i just aired up to 38 psi....but im pretty sure on my ride home i wont feel a thing til tommorow...

Try taking it out for a drive on a section you don't normally drive. Could just be the road causing grief. I have a section of road that does that on my Charlotte, NC trip I make a lot.

 

[Jtraskell]

Yea, what he (1engineer) said. Also, a shimmy from balancing WILL not go away after a while, only changes due to speed. While a flat spot does go away after a while. What does it say on you tire for MAX cold air pressure?

 

[bofa]

I've noticed the shimmy in the past and since we were doing quite a bit of driving this weekend I tried to narrow it down. It seems to hit around in the 60-65 mph range. Tires are inflated per spec, no mods (a shame, right?), and it has about 3k miles on it. This was on smooth highway roads. Before 60 it was fine, and above 65 or so it went back to normal as well. It's not a big issue and coming from a 350Z where everything shimmies, I don't really mind. Plus I rarely spend much time at that speed. I'll mention it when we go in for our first service appt though and see what they say.

 

[AnthonyMV]

max cold tire pressure

Yea, what he (1engineer) said. Also, a shimmy from balancing WILL not go away after a while, only changes due to speed. While a flat spot does go away after a while. What does it say on you tire for MAX cold air pressure?

i think the max tire pressure is 50-51psi.....have it at 38 as of this morning. i think its gonna rain tommorow,but ill be driving her to work.....so we'll see.
i figure if everyone ive been going to is still scratching their heads over this shimmy issue....ill keep messing with the tire pressures.......and wait (til hell freezes over) for a tsb , like the lexus one, for a suspension issue/steering issue. todays gonna be the last day i spend $ on this shimmy nonsense.

thx engineer,harper,windom,traskell
ill update tonight or tommorow........

 

[NashvilleRunner10]

I've owned my 2012 SR5 for 3 weeks now and just took it in today for this problem. They balanced my tires, so we'll see if that does the trick. Will reply with verdict by the end of the week.

 

[Jtraskell]

Just a suggestion. Since you say max at 50, I would start say at 45 and work your way down from there. If at 45 no shimmy, then drop 2 or 3, until you get to a shimmy again. But I think 35 may be a good stopping point with a tire that can handle 50 psi. 31, your original psi, just seems a bit soft to me. Just my thoughts. Be safe.

 

[AnthonyMV]

Ok drove back

Home from work this afternoon and shimmy is gone. Like I said, I aired up to 38 psi.....drove for like 10 miles to tire place where I had last road force balance done. Told the long haired guy behind desk about the "dissapearing" shimmy. He says see me Thursday if you still have shimmy. Ok.
Drove the remaining 17 miles on the parkway home,no shimmy. I have a sinking feeling tommorow on my way to work I'm going to get the shimmy even with the 38 psi.
I'm going to take the long island expressway instead of the inter boro to the northern state parkway and see what happens.
Wish me luck. And after this I give up completely. Ill wait til the tires wear out and THEN get Michelins.......or this effing company (toyota) owns up to the "Lexus - like" shimmy and comes out with a TSB accordingly. I did call Toyota customer service last week. They took my shimmy complaint. Assigned me some kinda complaint number. I asked if I was getting a call back in regards. They said no. Nice!

 

[Localmotion]

I just got the shimmy at 8K on my 2012 SR5. I did have the driver front tire replaced by Costco (stock bridgestones). I am going to take it back to Costco to see if it balanced correctly.

 

[Jtraskell]

Home from work this afternoon and shimmy is gone. Like I said, I aired up to 38 psi.....drove for like 10 miles to tire place where I had last road force balance done. Told the long haired guy behind desk about the "dissapearing" shimmy. He says see me Thursday if you still have shimmy. Ok.
Drove the remaining 17 miles on the parkway home,no shimmy. I have a sinking feeling tommorow on my way to work I'm going to get the shimmy even with the 38 psi.
I'm going to take the long island expressway instead of the inter boro to the northern state parkway and see what happens.
Wish me luck. And after this I give up completely. Ill wait til the tires wear out and THEN get Michelins.......or this effing company (toyota) owns up to the "Lexus - like" shimmy and comes out with a TSB accordingly. I did call Toyota customer service last week. They took my shimmy complaint. Assigned me some kinda complaint number. I asked if I was getting a call back in regards. They said no. Nice!

Do you have an update?

 

[AnthonyMV]

Update........

Do you have an update?

Shimmy came back......and went away.......and came back.
2 regular balances. 1 road force balance in a shop where they don't know how to use the machine so well. And another, and last, road force balance where the boys from Honduras knew how to use the machine (hunter 9700) but w/o the haweka adapter......put psi to 38, now down to 36 psi......
I'm away to mt Washington w/the convertible til Monday. When I go back to work ill take the 4runner and take the L.I.E. instead if the northern state and see/look/feel for a difference.
So that's it! I'm not throwing anymore fuqin money at this issue.
At my first oil change (free) I will mention the issue and bring the receipts for the new tires, all 4 FUQIN balances.....and hand it over to another dealership.....in return these azzholes will either say they "can not duplicate" or "this is the way they are" bullzhit"
.....and then I'll bring them to this website , and thread.....and hopefully not lose my temper like I did with the last meat head dealership.
Unbelievable!

 

[Jtraskell]

I was really hoping for a better resolution. So sorry. Do keep us posted. Good luck and be safe.

 

[MG.]

I got out of one of the Toyota guys that he thinks its an engineering flaw in the vehicle. Something to do with "sprung weight" and he's not sure if they can fix it.

 

[UKGirl]

Steering Wheel Vibration/Shaking.

I purchased my new 2012 Toyota 4Runner SR5 in September 2012. Within the first two weeks I reported to the dealership the problems with the steering wheel at speeds of 60-70 mph. They checked it out and told me that one of the tyres (can't remember which one) was very slightly off balance. After road testing the mechanic reported that it was better but still there and that he had worked on other 4Runners with the same issue. I was told by the service advisor that the tyres that came on the 4Runner weren't the best and that I should consider replacing them all. Are you kidding, I just purchased a $40,000 truck and their only solution is for me to replace the tyres--not happy. Oh yeah, the problem was now worst than before.

After stewing on it for a couple of days I called Toyota to report the issue along with the service departments advice. The guy who called me back made me feel like a naughty child for calling Toyota directly and not the dealership.

I booked it in again and was told by the service manager that they would check it out again and maybe take a set of wheels off another new 4Runner on the lot and try them on mine. I don't think this was done probably because they already knew the answer.

I am very frustrated and the problem is still very much there.

 

[ZJumper]

I had the vibration/shimmy problem, and so far (crossed fingers/knock on wood) the problem is gone. Who knows, I may have a band-aid fix, but it seems to be working.

Like many of you, I tried the dealer and got the typical response...can't duplicate, they all do that etc. All BS. Calling to Toyota Headquarters didn't help either. Sure, they opened a "case" but since there is no official fix, there is nothing they can or will do for our issue.

For crying out loud, most dealers don't have, or have never heard of the HAWEKA adapter. What I came to realize is Toyota dealers are not tire guys and will never be. For the most part, your average Toyota mechanic/tech plugs in his machine to the vehicle computer, it tells him what's wrong and the tech replaces the part. Being able to take time to diagnose an actual problem isn't something your average tech deals with. Techs don't get paid to diagnose--they get paid to fix.

I also tried multiple trips to independent tire shops for balancing of the stock Bridgestone tires, with some success only to have the shimmy return a few days or weeks later. I even had them road force balanced. The tires/wheels were showing anything from 4-22 lbs of force. Supposedly 25 lbs is the magic cut-off for a tire that's able to be balanced, but you still might feel it. The Bridgestone tires (all but one) had a tiny bit of out-of-round or a slight wobble to them.

I was frustrated to the point I considered trading the T4R in on a Tacoma.

I finally had enough and was willing to take a gamble with a new set of tires since my gut said it was the stock Bridgestones causing the problem.

Went to Discount Tire and had a set of Michelin LTX A/T2 tires installed and had them road force balanced/matched to the wheels using the HAWEKA adapter.

The Michelin's came back with 2-10 lbs of road force. Much lower than the Bridgestones. Additionally the Michelin tires were much truer in regards to roundness and any perceived wobble.

Tire pressure was set at 35 psi front and rear.

Right after the tire install, I took it to an alignment shop. The truck had been aligned a year prior, but the specs were out a bit. The alignment guy said this is common as the stock suspension is going to settle a bit after use.

The Toyota spec that the alignment computer he used called for 0.00 toe in. He was well versed in Toyota alignments and recommended toe in be set at +0.07 as it would track a bit better and alleviate the wander that a 0.00 can give.

Long story short, the truck rides smooth, tracks straight and true and drives much, much better.

I do believe there may be an underlying issue with the steering rack pressure as shown in the Lexus TSB, but for now, new tires--road force balanced with the HAWEKA adapter, 35 psi and a fresh alignment seems to have alleviated the problem.

 

[osucowboy]

I had problems when I installed terra crappler tires, the tire balancer guy told me that he had problems with one of the tires. (I bought them off the internet and had him balance them) The new coopers solved the wheel shimmy problem. I did have some shimmy today, but my wheels were packed with snow. :bump:

 

[rnb754]

I have finally found this thread about vibration!!! thank god!!!

I had a 2012 sr5 4x2 and had the same issues with vibration... it happened from day one... vibration about 50+ mph... took it to Toyota over 5 times and still the same issues... they balanced, and force balance and did alignment and still the same problem... so my year was almost up and registration was due so I figured it was a lemon and didn't have time to fill out the paper work and do everything before reg was up so I figured I trade it in for a 2013 sr5 with 4x4... on my test drive I noticed the same thing with the vibration over 50+mph and I told my salesmen that there is vibration so I still bought the car and he made an appointment with service to get it fixed... I guess this problem is very common... is there a tsb or recall on this???

 

[ZJumper]

No recall or TSB.

I don't believe Toyota is "working on a fix" and there was no "official fix" as I was initially told, and others have mentioned. In the big picture, it's probably a small amount of vehicles that are effected in terms of total overall sales.

--If Toyota is "working on a fix" that means they know there is a PROBLEM!! This is the kicker.

"Working on a fix" probably amounted to a letter being sent out to tell customers "It's normal and they all do that."

Toyota has ignored the problem. I believe Toyota thinks on the lines of "Ignore it and the problem will go away" or "Owners will get it fixed someway or simply learn to deal with the issue.

EDIT: My MIL has a T4R that didn't have the shimmy.
When at the dealer trying to get mine sorted out, conversation went like this:

Service manager: I talked with Toyota corporate and they don't have a solution. The regional service tech said this is a normal characteristic of the vehicle and nothing to be concerned about.

Me: I wouldn't call this normal, a new vehicle shouldn't shake like this.

SM: Well, you could call Toyota directly and open a case with them.

Me: Already did that, hence the reason the regional service tech came out to look at it.

SM: Oh, well, I don't really know what to tell you at this point other than wait for a TSB to come out.

Me: Ok, in the meantime, I need to make an appointment to get my MIL's 4Runner in for service.

SM: Sure, no problem, what does she need to have done.

Me: I need to have you guys put the shimmy into her 4Runner as hers doesn't do it. Since it's a normal characteristic, her's is obviously not performing as expected or designed. :rockthrow:

SM: :roadkill::doh:

 

[AnthonyMV]

Unreal!

No recall or TSB.

I don't believe Toyota is "working on a fix" and there was no "official fix" as I was initially told, and others have mentioned. In the big picture, it's probably a small amount of vehicles that are effected in terms of total overall sales.

--If Toyota is "working on a fix" that means they know there is a PROBLEM!! This is the kicker.

"Working on a fix" probably amounted to a letter being sent out to tell customers "It's normal and they all do that."

Toyota has ignored the problem. I believe Toyota thinks on the lines of "Ignore it and the problem will go away" or "Owners will get it fixed someway or simply learn to deal with the issue.

EDIT: My MIL has a T4R that didn't have the shimmy.
When at the dealer trying to get mine sorted out, conversation went like this:

Service manager: I talked with Toyota corporate and they don't have a solution. The regional service tech said this is a normal characteristic of the vehicle and nothing to be concerned about.

Me: I wouldn't call this normal, a new vehicle shouldn't shake like this.

SM: Well, you could call Toyota directly and open a case with them.

Me: Already did that, hence the reason the regional service tech came out to look at it.

SM: Oh, well, I don't really know what to tell you at this point other than wait for a TSB to come out.

Me: Ok, in the meantime, I need to make an appointment to get my MIL's 4Runner in for service.

SM: Sure, no problem, what does she need to have done.

Me: I need to have you guys put the shimmy into her 4Runner as hers doesn't do it. Since it's a normal characteristic, her's is obviously not performing as expected or designed. :rockthrow:

SM: :roadkill::doh:

ok. I replaced my dumflops with kumho sat kl61's.....chose them because of snowflake/mountain abilities and were the only true blackwall tires (no raised or outlined white letters----damn it! I hate that!!!) and shimmy was kinda still there. Then I messed around with the psi.....and went away....now I rotated the tires, like an idiot,and the shimmy comes back.....I'm tempted to re-rotate the tires back....hopefully making the shimmy go away....then wait to get new tires (Michelin ltx at/2 's) when the kumhos wear out.....OR make an appt with dealer and make them remove ALL tires and look for out of round wheels....just in case and then start from there .......money thrown into the wind.....dunno