TRDORmike
New member
Any update on the steering between trail and limited? Very curious myself in regards to this.
Thanks,
Steering wheel vibration Poll
- Thread starter WindomEarles
- Start date
Thanks,
I bought my 2011 SR5 in December w/ 89k mi. on it. It had the 60-65mph steering wheel vibration. I drove it for a few months since I do mostly city driving and then brought it to my tire shop about a month ago. They computer balanced and rotated the tires and found one wheel almost 2oz off. It's perfectly smooth now. Stock rims with Falken tires that were probably put on last year. Before buying this one, I test drove three other 2010-2012 SR5's and they all had the same vibration.
I recently started getting the steering wheel vibration at 8,500 miles on my 2017 TRDP. I've had 275 KO2s between 38-40psi since ~80 miles and have never had any issues with vibration.
The vibration started after installing the following mods:
- integration skid
- transmission skid
- transfer case skid
- rear differential skid
- new wheel locks
I haven't done any off-roading lately, so I thought for sure the new wheel locks threw things out of balance, so I took them to the tire shop and they rebalanced all 4 tires--they said all 4 were slightly out of balance.
Steering wheel vibration still happens between 55-60mph, same as before. I have an appointment for an unrelated issue tomorrow, so I'm going to ask them to look into it.
The vibration started after installing the following mods:
- integration skid
- transmission skid
- transfer case skid
- rear differential skid
- new wheel locks
I haven't done any off-roading lately, so I thought for sure the new wheel locks threw things out of balance, so I took them to the tire shop and they rebalanced all 4 tires--they said all 4 were slightly out of balance.
Steering wheel vibration still happens between 55-60mph, same as before. I have an appointment for an unrelated issue tomorrow, so I'm going to ask them to look into it.
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Explore604
New member
Hey, sorry for the delayed update. I seem to have mostly resolved my issue by changing the steering wheel position tilt/telescope. For some reason the original position it was in was the worst. Most other positions the driveline resonance is lessened or at least seems to be a normal and tolerable level. I still want to do some more testing but it seems to be good enough for me now. It was driving me crazy.
I assume you have this same issue? Try playing with the steering wheel position.
So I never found any further info re: Trail vs Limited steering wheel parts.
Following up on my post. I now have 9,100 miles.
Toyota said they won't do anything until I return to the stock size, so I think I'm going to have the tire shop swap my 275 KO2s for 265 KO2s and see if it continues. If it does, Toyota will have to figure this out.
- Had the tires rebalanced at the tire shop. 3 of them needed weight adjustment. Vibration became worse.
- Took it to the dealer and they blamed it on the tires. Performed an alignment since it had also started pulling to the right.
- Took it back to the tire shop and had them perform road force balancing. They apparently had to do a lot to get the tires balanced (rotated them and flipped them on the rim). It still vibrates just as much.
Toyota said they won't do anything until I return to the stock size, so I think I'm going to have the tire shop swap my 275 KO2s for 265 KO2s and see if it continues. If it does, Toyota will have to figure this out.
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Xtremluck
New member
I lived with the vibration for 1.5 years and 24,000 miles. Running BFG KO2 275s on FN FX Wheels. Had the tires road force balanced numerous times. I finally tried one last time at a local Firestone of all places and the vibration is now completely gone!
I have a sneaky feeling that our front suspension design is just hyper sensitive to wheel or tire imperfections. Not sure how long this vibration free driving will last but its great!
I have a sneaky feeling that our front suspension design is just hyper sensitive to wheel or tire imperfections. Not sure how long this vibration free driving will last but its great!
Xtremluck
New member
Just to give you some context I've had bad vibration issues with:
1. 265s on stock SR5 wheels
2. 275s BFG KO2s on stock SR5 wheels
3. 275s BFG KO2s on FN FX wheels
I don't think downsizing the tires will fix it imho. If you want to make the trek up to SF you can try the Firestone on Larkin St. They seem to know what they are doing when it comes to road force balancing.
All Firestone did was a regular balance and it fixed the problem?
What I noticed after my last road force balance is that now I get rattling/vibration in the rear as well. My Rago MSP racks have started bouncing and shaking all over the place.
Xtremluck
New member
It was a road force balance on all four wheels. Like you I haven't had much luck with tire balances so far. Lets see how long this vibration free experience lasts though
Bodie the Dog
Banned
Dealership got me at 15k
I just got my free 15k service, including tire rotation. I also asked them to take it for a drive and see if my ABS was kicking in too often.
I picked up my t4r, no problems, but as soon as I hit about 50+ mph the steering wheel started vibrating big time! Above 60+ it went away. I took it to the hills the next day, and on a weird hunch checked to see if they had replaced my *special* anti-theft lug nut socket. And no, the jerks forgot to put it back. I'd been in 4lo for about an hour at that point, and started wondering what would happen if I got a flat.
I'm sorry my posts are so long, but my God, why do the shops keep messing up my shit?
As I'm sitting at 7,000 feet, off-camber on the side of Peavine Peak, I call the dealer. It turns out my Service Rep is on vacation, and the 19 year old eye-candy assistant answering the phone tells me I'm going to have to wait until he comes back in 2 weeks. I talk to her supervisor and he tells me the same thing. I didn't react well.
I got the truck in a week later, and they first told me it was because of my "off road" tires. They also told me that if my ABS was kicking in too often, it was probably because of my yaw sensor. And there was some kind of secret device I could buy to trick the yaw sensor into its default level, but they weren't allowed to tell me about it.
Believe it or not, I actually hate asserting myself. I wish I could just let it go.
Finally they re-balanced the tires, and the shimmy was gone. The tech told me that sometimes he's been burned, because they just assume that rotating the tires won't cause any problems, but in rare cases.... Ok, I can accept that, but what about me asking them to road test it?!
It's like them telling me my cabin filter is fine, and the next day I'm picking oak leaves and pine needles out of it. What's the term, "pencil whipping?"
Oh, and when I took my skid plate off a week later, a 12mm socket and a sheared-off bolt fell out. And I found another bolt missing, and its hole was cross-threaded, so I had to re-tap it. I know they didn't have to remove it to change the oil, but I'd hope they'd notice missing bolts!
But my shimmy went away after they balanced the tires.
I just got my free 15k service, including tire rotation. I also asked them to take it for a drive and see if my ABS was kicking in too often.
I picked up my t4r, no problems, but as soon as I hit about 50+ mph the steering wheel started vibrating big time! Above 60+ it went away. I took it to the hills the next day, and on a weird hunch checked to see if they had replaced my *special* anti-theft lug nut socket. And no, the jerks forgot to put it back. I'd been in 4lo for about an hour at that point, and started wondering what would happen if I got a flat.
I'm sorry my posts are so long, but my God, why do the shops keep messing up my shit?
As I'm sitting at 7,000 feet, off-camber on the side of Peavine Peak, I call the dealer. It turns out my Service Rep is on vacation, and the 19 year old eye-candy assistant answering the phone tells me I'm going to have to wait until he comes back in 2 weeks. I talk to her supervisor and he tells me the same thing. I didn't react well.
I got the truck in a week later, and they first told me it was because of my "off road" tires. They also told me that if my ABS was kicking in too often, it was probably because of my yaw sensor. And there was some kind of secret device I could buy to trick the yaw sensor into its default level, but they weren't allowed to tell me about it.
Believe it or not, I actually hate asserting myself. I wish I could just let it go.
Finally they re-balanced the tires, and the shimmy was gone. The tech told me that sometimes he's been burned, because they just assume that rotating the tires won't cause any problems, but in rare cases.... Ok, I can accept that, but what about me asking them to road test it?!
It's like them telling me my cabin filter is fine, and the next day I'm picking oak leaves and pine needles out of it. What's the term, "pencil whipping?"
Oh, and when I took my skid plate off a week later, a 12mm socket and a sheared-off bolt fell out. And I found another bolt missing, and its hole was cross-threaded, so I had to re-tap it. I know they didn't have to remove it to change the oil, but I'd hope they'd notice missing bolts!
But my shimmy went away after they balanced the tires.
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Mutegambit
New member
My problem started when I put the TRD pro wheels on. I put Nittos on at the same time, so I can't tell if its the tires or wheels. I took it in after a few weeks of steering wheel wobble and they told me the front tires were EXTREMELY out of balance. Well, guess what, I still have the wobble. The problem is not as extreme, but it feels like it's coming back more and more every day. They tried to tell me it could be the bigger tires or the weights could have come off. Who knows what the problem is.
Also, my dog normally sits on the right rear passenger seat, but now will only sit in the middle or directly behind me. It almost looks like he hears or feels something off about the back right wheel/tire.
I put Toyo Open Country 265/70/17 on TRDs when I bought my 4Runner and had "0" issues. Put cornfed spacers up front and did an alignment and had wheel shake on certain road conditions immediately. Installed full OME suspension and Toyo Open Country R/T 285/70/17 and had an alignment done last week and now I have "0" wheel shake again. I'm convinced it has everything to do with the quality of alignment.
DownEastRunner
Junior Member
Here's my story:
I have a bone stock 2015 trail. I had no problems with the OEM tires or a set of Cooper ATW P-rated tires. My 4Runner always drove perfect with these 2 sets of tires.
I recently installed a set of Goodyear SilentArmour LT E-rated tires. I now have a nasty vibration thru the steering wheel and seat at any speed over 55mph. I have had the tires balance 3 times..with no fix.
I guess my only option now is to try another set of tires?.. Would better shocks/struts help with the vibration?..Thanks
I have a bone stock 2015 trail. I had no problems with the OEM tires or a set of Cooper ATW P-rated tires. My 4Runner always drove perfect with these 2 sets of tires.
I recently installed a set of Goodyear SilentArmour LT E-rated tires. I now have a nasty vibration thru the steering wheel and seat at any speed over 55mph. I have had the tires balance 3 times..with no fix.
I guess my only option now is to try another set of tires?.. Would better shocks/struts help with the vibration?..Thanks
I have a very small steering wheel vibration at 70mph on one particular stretch of concrete highway in my area. 15K miles on my 2016 SR5 4WD. It only happens there so it doesn't bother me and I don't want to take it to the dealer for them to play around with my truck. Running the stock dunlops. All four tires have 7mm of tread left. I had a similar issue on my 2nd gen sequoia. Would get vibrations after every tire rotation. Ended up being blown front shocks that were covered under warranty.
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TRDORmike
New member
Steering shake/vibration update
Ok everyone heres a story about my vibrations and something I changed/adjusted today that has seemed to fix it. (Read until the end if you can, lol).
The 5th Gen 4Runner has a very sensation chassis/steering rack. Small imbalances or *miss-alignments* can cause this "vibration" or slight steering "shake"... as we can only speculate. My experience so far with this started when I first got my truck which is a 2017 TRD Off Road W/KDSS. I initially thought, my god this is what KDSS is like every day? No, that was not part of the issue as I read much further into how the system worked and the Lexus vehicles not seeming to have this issue.
Anyhow I ended up finding that with the stock wheels this was caused by the tires being imbalanced. Tried balancing these tires myself at work (Hunter Road Force Balancer, recently regulated). However the issue was still the same. I ended up taking it to a friend of mine so he could give it a shot himself as he works at a local tire shop. He also asked me during our conversation before doing the balance was that did I use a Toyota specific cone adapter. I told him no and asked what this was. I found out that our hubs are actually slightly a smaller diameter hub than every other vehicle brand. Also to add to this he used a "Haweka" adapter that actually uses force applied between each lug of the wheel opposed to the cone style I originally used. After this was done... BOOM no shake or issues anymore. I then understood with what I was using between the cone style adapter and the size of adapter I was using were both incorrect methods. However zero people at my shop knew of this either. So this could be happening all over with techs that just do not know this technique. However each Toyota dealer should be using these items.
Slightly after this, in a way to "celebrate" I had fixed this frustrating issue I purchased a set of front Bilstein 5100 shocks Fuel Off Road Vectors and 275/70R17 BFG TA KO2s. Had them installed at my friends tire shop so we did not run into this issue and expected to leave and everything be great. I have the 5100s installed at the .85 lift setting to only lessen the rake and nose dive. Which they have done great with in both ways. Significant reduction of nose dive and just enough front lift for my liking. Back to leaving my friends shop and then I hit the highway and instant vibration/shake. I thought WTF to myself and met him there the next day to re-balance. Dove away and boom there was still the shake. This shake was almost worse than the first set of wheels. After doing some research I then realized AGAIN that the Toyota hubs are a specific size and these vehicle are hub centric. The wheels have a slightly larger diameter hub which was causing them to not sit centre as the wheels went round and round. I called another local shop and got what are known as hub centric rings to fill in the gaps between wheel and hub. I chose to go the plastic route as to not have any corrosion issues with the aluminum option. (These have been used for the last 7,000kms with zero issues and long trip/high speed tests). After I installed these the same day at my work I was so happy as the significant shake was gone. I asked my friend at the tire shop why he didn't use these and he said the lugs he had used on the rims were "lug centric" and should have centered the wheel. As there was not a very large difference between my hub size and the wheel. Which again made me think again how sensative these trucks are as he said it works for many other vehicles.
Anyhow on goes 6 months or so up until today and I have had this ever so slight almost intermittent shake/shimmy in the steering. Nothing big but it was there. I thought ya know maybe I should check my alignment even tho the shop did one after my 5100s. I went into work today to align it on our Hunter alignment rack. Not exactly sure the model of the rack but it is quite new. I thought ok this has to be my last issue. I started checking my alignment today and then my manager walked out and asked what I was doing. I told him a quick summary of the story and he mentioned to me about moving the tires side to side once the steering is locked. I sort of said, what...?. However what he explained to me was to get the toe to zero on the rack and then go grab him. So I got the toe in spec and went to grab him. He showed me since the tires are larger than spec to grab each front tire and turn with a decent but even weight side to side. As he showed me this I could see my drivers side front tire move from 0 degrees to -15 and then roughly +16 the other way. He then said ok perfect, then went to the other wheel. When he did my passenger side wheel moving to the left under pressure it went to roughly -30 and only +5 or so to the right. He told me to align the toe so that when turning left and right the difference from centre would be the same side to side. I then did this and got it within roughly the same amount as the left side. (-15 pushing the tire left and then +15 pushing the tire right). Then a quick grab of the front tow hooks with a pull down and then release to settle the front end a bit. After this my drivers side front wheel was at roughly 0 and my passenger side wheel was at about +4 or so. I asked if wouldn't t this be out of alignment? He then told me to go and check if the steering wheel was still locked in straight position and I told him yes. He said just go and drive it you will see, the alignment should be about perfect. I didn't really but it too much but then went for a drive down the block a bit. Wow not only was my steering wheel perfectly straight but the steering felt so much smoother and almost zero vibration on smooth roads. Turns out that since the tires are larger, heavier and our steering rack is already a little sensitive to start out with there is slight play in the front wheels side to side. However when on an alignment rack it could be pushing one of the tires to on side ever so slightly than the other. Which in turn could have either too much toe, not enough toe or even one wheel straight and the other being out in toe. This happens as the front suspension will loosen up when driving and angle in the way that it wants in theory. This method of toe adjustment has almost changed the way my steering fees. It is so much smoother and turning is progressive and holds a line great.
All in all I cannot guarantee this will be everyones issue but I can tell you this has significantly changed the feel of my 4Rrunner. It would definitely be worth a shot if you are having this issue. I drove today roughly 50kms and drove up to roughly 130-140kmph and it was smooth as could be. Only the road feedback you would expect with the "E" rated K02s. Thanks for reading if you got this far and hopefully this at least helps someone because I know how annoying it is.
-Mike.
Ok everyone heres a story about my vibrations and something I changed/adjusted today that has seemed to fix it. (Read until the end if you can, lol).
The 5th Gen 4Runner has a very sensation chassis/steering rack. Small imbalances or *miss-alignments* can cause this "vibration" or slight steering "shake"... as we can only speculate. My experience so far with this started when I first got my truck which is a 2017 TRD Off Road W/KDSS. I initially thought, my god this is what KDSS is like every day? No, that was not part of the issue as I read much further into how the system worked and the Lexus vehicles not seeming to have this issue.
Anyhow I ended up finding that with the stock wheels this was caused by the tires being imbalanced. Tried balancing these tires myself at work (Hunter Road Force Balancer, recently regulated). However the issue was still the same. I ended up taking it to a friend of mine so he could give it a shot himself as he works at a local tire shop. He also asked me during our conversation before doing the balance was that did I use a Toyota specific cone adapter. I told him no and asked what this was. I found out that our hubs are actually slightly a smaller diameter hub than every other vehicle brand. Also to add to this he used a "Haweka" adapter that actually uses force applied between each lug of the wheel opposed to the cone style I originally used. After this was done... BOOM no shake or issues anymore. I then understood with what I was using between the cone style adapter and the size of adapter I was using were both incorrect methods. However zero people at my shop knew of this either. So this could be happening all over with techs that just do not know this technique. However each Toyota dealer should be using these items.
Slightly after this, in a way to "celebrate" I had fixed this frustrating issue I purchased a set of front Bilstein 5100 shocks Fuel Off Road Vectors and 275/70R17 BFG TA KO2s. Had them installed at my friends tire shop so we did not run into this issue and expected to leave and everything be great. I have the 5100s installed at the .85 lift setting to only lessen the rake and nose dive. Which they have done great with in both ways. Significant reduction of nose dive and just enough front lift for my liking. Back to leaving my friends shop and then I hit the highway and instant vibration/shake. I thought WTF to myself and met him there the next day to re-balance. Dove away and boom there was still the shake. This shake was almost worse than the first set of wheels. After doing some research I then realized AGAIN that the Toyota hubs are a specific size and these vehicle are hub centric. The wheels have a slightly larger diameter hub which was causing them to not sit centre as the wheels went round and round. I called another local shop and got what are known as hub centric rings to fill in the gaps between wheel and hub. I chose to go the plastic route as to not have any corrosion issues with the aluminum option. (These have been used for the last 7,000kms with zero issues and long trip/high speed tests). After I installed these the same day at my work I was so happy as the significant shake was gone. I asked my friend at the tire shop why he didn't use these and he said the lugs he had used on the rims were "lug centric" and should have centered the wheel. As there was not a very large difference between my hub size and the wheel. Which again made me think again how sensative these trucks are as he said it works for many other vehicles.
Anyhow on goes 6 months or so up until today and I have had this ever so slight almost intermittent shake/shimmy in the steering. Nothing big but it was there. I thought ya know maybe I should check my alignment even tho the shop did one after my 5100s. I went into work today to align it on our Hunter alignment rack. Not exactly sure the model of the rack but it is quite new. I thought ok this has to be my last issue. I started checking my alignment today and then my manager walked out and asked what I was doing. I told him a quick summary of the story and he mentioned to me about moving the tires side to side once the steering is locked. I sort of said, what...?. However what he explained to me was to get the toe to zero on the rack and then go grab him. So I got the toe in spec and went to grab him. He showed me since the tires are larger than spec to grab each front tire and turn with a decent but even weight side to side. As he showed me this I could see my drivers side front tire move from 0 degrees to -15 and then roughly +16 the other way. He then said ok perfect, then went to the other wheel. When he did my passenger side wheel moving to the left under pressure it went to roughly -30 and only +5 or so to the right. He told me to align the toe so that when turning left and right the difference from centre would be the same side to side. I then did this and got it within roughly the same amount as the left side. (-15 pushing the tire left and then +15 pushing the tire right). Then a quick grab of the front tow hooks with a pull down and then release to settle the front end a bit. After this my drivers side front wheel was at roughly 0 and my passenger side wheel was at about +4 or so. I asked if wouldn't t this be out of alignment? He then told me to go and check if the steering wheel was still locked in straight position and I told him yes. He said just go and drive it you will see, the alignment should be about perfect. I didn't really but it too much but then went for a drive down the block a bit. Wow not only was my steering wheel perfectly straight but the steering felt so much smoother and almost zero vibration on smooth roads. Turns out that since the tires are larger, heavier and our steering rack is already a little sensitive to start out with there is slight play in the front wheels side to side. However when on an alignment rack it could be pushing one of the tires to on side ever so slightly than the other. Which in turn could have either too much toe, not enough toe or even one wheel straight and the other being out in toe. This happens as the front suspension will loosen up when driving and angle in the way that it wants in theory. This method of toe adjustment has almost changed the way my steering fees. It is so much smoother and turning is progressive and holds a line great.
All in all I cannot guarantee this will be everyones issue but I can tell you this has significantly changed the feel of my 4Rrunner. It would definitely be worth a shot if you are having this issue. I drove today roughly 50kms and drove up to roughly 130-140kmph and it was smooth as could be. Only the road feedback you would expect with the "E" rated K02s. Thanks for reading if you got this far and hopefully this at least helps someone because I know how annoying it is.
-Mike.
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If it's vibrating when you brake, then it will be rotors most likely.
