Steering wheel vibration Poll

[ZJumper]

AnthonyMV

You need to rotate as the tires will wear poorly if you don't. As the tires wear, the balance is eventually going to be out, hence the need for a periodic rebalance.

Take it to a tire shop that has the HAWEKA lug centric wheel adapter. Some might call it the Toyota adapter and have them rebalanced.

Toyota dealers do not specialize in tires...take it to an actual tire shop.

Heck I don't even trust a Toyota dealer to change the oil on mine. Free oil changes? Yeah, thanks I'll pass. Not too keen on some clown slopping oil underneath, not cleaning things up, then over or under filling the oil level. Not to mention the time it takes to get anything done at the dealer. But I digress.

 

[PGRunner]

I just started reading this thread. I didn't have the vibration until I got new wheels and tires installed yesterday. Now, the Haweka adaptor that Zjumper mentioned above...is that specifically for Toyota wheels or any aftermarket wheel. I will be heading back to the tire shop to have them rebalanced again and just wondering if that adaptor is necessary with aftermarket wheels.

 

[ZJumper]

[MENTION=75319]PGRunner[/MENTION]--

4Runners.org - Balancing Your Tires: Haweka Adapter

 

[jmildoc]

So looking forward to getting new tires from discount tire so I can go in as much as I want for a rebalance!!
Although I got my tires basically free. There is a ton of value in what you get from discount tire when you buy a set of tires.

 

[PGRunner]

[MENTION=75319]PGRunner[/MENTION]--

4Runners.org - Balancing Your Tires: Haweka Adapter

Thanks...so this adaptor is only for OEM wheels then correct? Or am I confused?Sorry...I'm new to this thing

 

[ZJumper]

AFAIK, yes, the adapter is for the vehicles with Lugcentric wheels...Toyota stock wheels being one of them.

If you're getting or have Hubcentric aftermarket wheels, then this adapter wouldn't apply.

Call a big chain tire dealer in your area and ask them "Do you have the lugcentric plate adapter for Toyota vehicles?"

If they know what they are doing, they'll say "yes" and you're good to go.

If they say "Huh, what's that?" or "Uhhh, you don't need that" etc, then call someone else.

 

[Yogi56]

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

After several balances and new tires NOT fixing the shimmy for me, I'm convinced the problem is in the steering hardware and/or geometry. For the size vehicle and size of the tires, the steering hardware isn't stout enough to overcome normal highway imperfections. In Calif the freeways are grooved for rain runoff and the tires naturally grab the grooves. I notice the shimmy when the grooves are present.

There was a thread about Lexus installing a beefed up "return spring" that centers the steering and stopped the shimmy on certain Lexus models. Hopefully Toyota steps up and figures this out. My10' Xterra Off Road had bigger tires and did none of this.

 

[mrvandelay]

Had my shop do a double balance thing. There's two rows of weights - close to the face, and then closer to the inside of the rim.

No more shake!

 

[rnb754]

My 2013 4runner was taken to service due to steering vibration from the day I bought it ... Had local toyota dealer balance, road force balance and alignment... Outcome was 2 tires had high road force balance (20) and according to toyota,it should be under 10... They will be replacing 2 of my tires... This

 

[fraggy]

As for grabbing grooves, I had the same problem with the Toyo tires. Replaced the tires with a different brand and it went away. I do feel a slight vibration in the steering which I notice on a number of 4-runners when I test drove them. Mine has over 50K on it and it doesn't go away even when changing the tires. But it is slight. I can imagine this many tires are bad, or that many places don't know how to install and properly balance them.

 

[Zeder]

Just out of curiosity... can you report back if you have installed different rims? Does anyone get SWV with aftermarket rims?

 

[WildwoodJeff]

I've been going thru a lot of these shake threads. I just bought a 2011 SR5 with 62K on it. During the test drive, I really noticed the shake in the steering wheel. So I wrote on the purchase contract that the shake had to be fixed.
They balanced the tires and the shake was just as bad.
Then they put on new Yokahamas and balanced them again.
The shake had moved to the rear tires.. The steering wheel was steady though.
I took it back in and they tried to balance the tires again.. It was ok for a short while, but I'm feeling it again, seems like passenger side rear..
I'm wondering if maybe I don't just have a bad wheel.
Any new techniques developed recently to eliminate this? I'll keep reading wheel shake threads.
Thanks

 

[swimmerdude1127]

'I'm another guy who can't seem to PERMANENTLY get rid of the wheel shimmy. The tire balances I get (it's up to 3 now on a truck with 5k miles) simply change which speed the shimmy occurs at. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. The latest speed it does it at is right around 55mph.

 

[LI4runner]

I've come to accept wheel shake in my trucks since I always put aftermarket wheels and beefy tires on them. I have tracked 8s and duratracs (OEM size) and they were balanced as they came from DTD. Around 60mph they shimmy badly, but it goes away by 65mph. Annoying but my previous pathfinder shimmied at all speeds, so I consider this an improvement. And it's also a forearm workout so it's like doing double duty at the gym on a daily basis.

 

[Jeff M]

I've got some vibration on the 11' LE I just picked up. The original Yoko Gelolanders are still on it with 30K miles. Took it to Toyota and they Road Force balanced them but advised one wheel was out of round.

I am swapping out the 20" wheels on Saturday and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the new wheel/tire combo resolves the vibration problem I'm having.

 

[Canazes9]

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David

 

[2013Trail]

I marked "no" on the poll but I have had steering wheel vibration once and it was weird. I had gone offroad for an hour or so, driving mostly on an old dirt road that was a tad rough in some places where it had been washed out by recent rain. Anyways, I finished my little offroad adventure. I got back on to the highway and as soon as I got up to around 50mph, I got this pretty strong shimmy that lasted for a few seconds, then went away. Haven't experienced it again since. Granted I could have had a couple rocks stuck in the tires causing them to be off-balance until I got up enough speed to throw out the rocks, but I still have the OEM street tires on my TE--don't see how I could pick up enough rocks or a big enough rock to cause a tire(s) to go out of balance that badly. But like I said, other than that, no vibration.

However, I test drove a 5th Gen SR5 and a TE at another dealership in CA before I bought the TE I currently own. I noticed vibration in the steering wheel on both of those vehicles right off the lot. The main reason I chose the 4R TE I have now is because fit and finish is very good and it drives really nice, and it just felt really solid when I test drove it. Other than what I said above, no vibration at all. Very smooth. Very quiet.

 

[Skeletor03]

Vibration

I have had my truck for 18 months and just started to feel the shakes. I have 28000 miles on the stock Bridgestone tires and didn't know if it was a sign of time for new tires. I measured them and they are at 7/32 and still have a sh*t ton of life in them. I am interested to know if anyone that has the Yokohamas is having the same problem on the limited models. Let me know.

P.S. I might just have to convince the wife that it is unsafe and should just get new rims and tires.

 

[Y2KSR5]

Some days I get a shimmy around 60-65mph. Some days nothing. Ive had it balanced a couple times but it comes back. I had the exact same isssue with my 2000 so it is something that will not be fixed = living with it. I could just keep taking it to Toyota for free balances every week but I usually end up sitting in the waiting room for an hour. My 2000 did it and I put on brand new Michelins and it still did the same vibe every now and then. My 2011 SR5 did not do this. The SR5 had Bridgestones, TE has Dunlops.

 

[Yogi56]

I don't think it's in the tires. The problem is in the steeering hardware/geometry. My 13' only does the "shimmy" on certain highways with rougher surfaces or heavy grooving. Whatever mechanism that "centers" the steering is not strong enough. Lexus had a fix for one of their SUV's (posted here) so I'm not sure why Toyota is ignoring this issue.