Steering wheel vibration Poll

[jhebert9]

Steering wheel vibration

I replaced original tires @ 65,000 miles with Firestone Destination AT tires. Took it to the dealer for "Road Force" balancing. It vibrated a little at first but stopped as the tires wore down. I now have over 120,000 miles and replaced the tires with BF Goodrich Rugged Trail tires. I drove it from Louisiana to Colorado and it vibrated the whole way. On the way back I noticed less vibration. I believe that one side of the tire is heavier than the other and even "Road Force" balancing can't compensate. It seems that as the tire wears the heavier side is less dominate and seems to equalize. I now have 5-6 thousand miles on the tires and the vibration is hardly noteicable.

 

[JKD]

On my second 5th Gen (2018 SR5 Premie) ... revisiting this thread all these years later kind of makes me scared to drive in case I notice it now ;-)

To date I've not been aware of it in three years of owning a 2015 SR5 and now 4 months into the 2018...both bone stock.

My old 3rd get, now that could shake and shimmy....but she's just old ;-)

 

[Koddo]

I had a little shimmy now and then on my 2010 trail w/ kdss. It seemed like certain section of freeway/road condition would make it shimmy and then continue to shimmy for a few miles. I found it annoying but never really cared too much about it.

However I did just install a 3/2 lift - coils, shocks, Camburg UCA's, panhard bar and now the steering is much more tight with absolutely no shimmy. I haven't even had it aligned yet.

 

[Knuckledragger]

I bought my 2014 4Runner August 2018. It HAD the vibration.

I had the wheels/ tires balanced right away. NO FIX

Drove the 4Runner to Colorado, balanced them there. NO FIX

Bought new wheels and tires, told Discount I wanted roadforce balance. NO FIX

Went back to discount, made sure they did a roadforce balance. NO FIX

Installed 5100’s at +1.75”, with 1” cornfed spacers in the rear +alignment. VIBRATION GONE COMPLETELY. (Vibration gone before and after alignment)

 

[Salvo Jimmy]

I did not bother to read the whole thread to see if this was mentioned, but it as not included in the poll. Key point is don’t use impact/ratchet wrenches, which are common in tire shops.

October 25, 2016 MANUFACTURER COMMUNICATION NUMBER: T-TT-0424-16
Components: WHEELS
NHTSA ID Number: 10132884

Manufacturer Communication Number: T-TT-0424-16

Summary

TT: Front Brake Vibration Key Points: * Issue can occur at any time if improper torque is applied on lug nuts * Over time, even one lug nut over or under torqued, can cause a vibration issue * When lug nuts are over torqued, this causes the rotor to have a runout out condition which can lead to brake vibration concerns * Brake vibration issues can occur at parking lot to highway speeds * Brake vibration issues can occur at light to moderate braking * Tightening lug nuts in a star pattern method during the torqueing process will assure that even/equal pressure is applied across the rotor hub surface * Torque sticks/wrenches should be used to apply accurate torque values when tightening * Do Not use impact guns/ratchets to completely run lug nuts up to the wheel surface

75 Affected Products

 

[Rmack]

I went from stock to 20X9 XD's and 275/55/20 Michelins on my wifes Limited. Picked up a vibration after the install. Did 3 things;

- Road Force Balance
- Filled tires to 38 psi with nitrogen
- Re-torqued all lug nuts to 85 lbs with tire off the ground

Vibration went away for now. This is the most sensitive vehicle to vibrations that I have ever owned. You would never know that this truck is related to a Lexus.

 

[68Yenko]

No answers, but more to add..

I tried new wheels AND new tires with no success...balancing always fixes it, but only temporarily then it comes back. We have made marks on my wheels/tires, and also on my weights...when it comes back and needs rebalanced NOTHING has shifted, not the weights on the tires, or the tires on the wheels...but they are all magically out of balance, some by almost 5 ounces...
I've also discovered if I just wait it out, it goes away. Mine will wobble 2, 3, 4 times in a row, then be glass smooth the next time I drive it and stay that way for several drives, then wobble again. It's totally random and just switches from wobbling like crazy to glass smooth the next time I drive without me having done a single thing.
I have a level kit on the front and airbags on the back but no other upgrades (other than the wheels and tires to try and solve the issue).

 

[BCMUSA]

Hello. New to the forums and 4runner in general.

I purchased my 19 TRD OR a week ago.

Since the test drive I noticed some steering wheel vibration but NO wobble.

For the first few days I was getting worried because the ride quality of this vehicle was horrible. To be safe I checked the tire pressure. Well wouldn't you know it, all tires were set to 63PSI! Seems like the Factory/dealership sets it at this PSI to prevent flat spots, but never lowered the pressure on it before selling it to me.

Anyways, I lowered the PSI to 32PSI per factory recommendations. Well now whenever I am on the highway in the morning, for the first few minutes I get a noticeable wobble at the 60mph area. As soon as the tires warm up, the wobble goes away. So I am guessing its a tire issue.

Here is my concern though, the steering wheel vibration is still there.

At times its minor and at times its a lot more noticeable. This is irritating in a brand new vehicle. I have the stock Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires on stock TRD OR rims.

Does anyone know if changing tires would help? Are these stock tires garbage? I am thinking of getting some all terrains if I do swap tires.

Can someone recommend some really good, smooth AT tires?

Thank you

 

[choochoo]

Hello. New to the forums and 4runner in general.

I purchased my 19 TRD OR a week ago.

Since the test drive I noticed some steering wheel vibration but NO wobble.

For the first few days I was getting worried because the ride quality of this vehicle was horrible. To be safe I checked the tire pressure. Well wouldn't you know it, all tires were set to 63PSI! Seems like the Factory/dealership sets it at this PSI to prevent flat spots, but never lowered the pressure on it before selling it to me.

Anyways, I lowered the PSI to 32PSI per factory recommendations. Well now whenever I am on the highway in the morning, for the first few minutes I get a noticeable wobble at the 60mph area. As soon as the tires warm up, the wobble goes away. So I am guessing its a tire issue.

Here is my concern though, the steering wheel vibration is still there.

At times its minor and at times its a lot more noticeable. This is irritating in a brand new vehicle. I have the stock Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires on stock TRD OR rims.

Does anyone know if changing tires would help? Are these stock tires garbage? I am thinking of getting some all terrains if I do swap tires.

Can someone recommend some really good, smooth AT tires?

Thank you

When we first got our 4Runner off the "Certified Used" lot, it had steering wheel vibration in the 60-70 mph range. I think at the time it came with cheapo Delinite DH7 265/70/17 all-season tires.

I drove it like that for about a month (not really thinking it a huge issue) until deciding to buy some TOYO Open Country AT2 LT265/70/17 tires. The shop I went to mounted and balanced the tires on the stock rims and since I have had no steering wheel shake. "Smooth" AT tires seems relative to your tolerance. I've found that after a break-in period of a few thousand miles, the TOYO AT2s run much "smoother" than new with less road noise.

 

[BCMUSA]

When we first got our 4Runner off the "Certified Used" lot, it had steering wheel vibration in the 60-70 mph range. I think at the time it came with cheapo Delinite DH7 265/70/17 all-season tires.

I drove it like that for about a month (not really thinking it a huge issue) until deciding to buy some TOYO Open Country AT2 LT265/70/17 tires. The shop I went to mounted and balanced the tires on the stock rims and since I have had no steering wheel shake. "Smooth" AT tires seems relative to your tolerance. I've found that after a break-in period of a few thousand miles, the TOYO AT2s run much "smoother" than new with less road noise.

Do you think my stock tires will get better with more miles? I have only 250 miles on them right now. Thank god my steering wheel wobble goes away after a few minutes, but I do have a persistent vibration at highway speeds.

SUCKS because I just traded in a 2019 Tacoma with TONS of vibration problems and lost money on it, and now I am having vibration issues with this one, to include brake pedal vibration when braking.

 

[tm965]

Do you think my stock tires will get better with more miles? I have only 250 miles on them right now. Thank god my steering wheel wobble goes away after a few minutes, but I do have a persistent vibration at highway speeds.

SUCKS because I just traded in a 2019 Tacoma with TONS of vibration problems and lost money on it, and now I am having vibration issues with this one, to include brake pedal vibration when braking.

get it road force balanced (hopefully by someone who knows what they are doing). I'd also raise the PSI back up. I've fought this off and on, and the onyl thing i've found that works is a good road force balance and keeping psi's a bit higher than i'd like to. I recently had two of my four tires re-balanced after a vibration made itself known again on a long road trip (very annoying). the re-balance helped, but its still not great. I've found pushing the psi up to 43 (285 rgs) has made the vibration in the wheel and brake pedal less noticeable. I'll probably end up getting them rebalanced, but i'm just tired of getting this done every few thousand miles.

 

[BCMUSA]

get it road force balanced (hopefully by someone who knows what they are doing). I'd also raise the PSI back up. I've fought this off and on, and the onyl thing i've found that works is a good road force balance and keeping psi's a bit higher than i'd like to. I recently had two of my four tires re-balanced after a vibration made itself known again on a long road trip (very annoying). the re-balance helped, but its still not great. I've found pushing the psi up to 43 (285 rgs) has made the vibration in the wheel and brake pedal less noticeable. I'll probably end up getting them rebalanced, but i'm just tired of getting this done every few thousand miles.

Yeah I have an appointment this Friday with Discount Tire to get them road force balanced.

My vibrations arn't crazy or anything but annoying to say the least. Especially after dealing with it in my Tacoma. This will probably be my last Toyota.

Love the 4runner and I will probably get used to the vibration, but two brand new vehicles from them with similar problems is ridiculous.

I also plan on adding a leveling kit but am terrified it'll make it worse.

 

[tm965]

Yeah I have an appointment this Friday with Discount Tire to get them road force balanced.

My vibrations arn't crazy or anything but annoying to say the least. Especially after dealing with it in my Tacoma. This will probably be my last Toyota.

Love the 4runner and I will probably get used to the vibration, but two brand new vehicles from them with similar problems is ridiculous.

I also plan on adding a leveling kit but am terrified it'll make it worse.

FYI my two attempts to get discount tire to road force balance my tires properly were complete failures. hopefully you have a better experience. my lift didnt make this issue any worse. heavier tires did.

 

[BCMUSA]

FYI my two attempts to get discount tire to road force balance my tires properly were complete failures. hopefully you have a better experience. my lift didnt make this issue any worse. heavier tires did.

Interesting.

My friend is a manager at Discount Tire and he's going to do it himself.

Hopefully he knows what hes doing.

I will report back.

Again my vibrations in the steering wheel arn't crazy, but a vehicle should have ZERO vibrations. Especially a 40K vehicle.

 

[BCMUSA]

Also, has anyone tried installing a steering wheel damper to your 4runner?

I know Toyota was doing that for the tacoma's when the 3rd gens came out because of steering wheel vibration complaints.

I think our steering wheels are the same, so the same damper should work.

Worth a try maybe.

 

[tm965]

Interesting.

My friend is a manager at Discount Tire and he's going to do it himself.

Hopefully he knows what hes doing.

I will report back.

Again my vibrations in the steering wheel arn't crazy, but a vehicle should have ZERO vibrations. Especially a 40K vehicle.

i agree. there is a lexus TSB that covers how to properly RFB the 460 platform that you may want to track down and provide him. The key takeaways being that they should turn off the smartbalace feature and use a haweka adapter (aka fingers) as opposed to the standard cone that they use to secure most wheels.

 

[BCMUSA]

i agree. there is a lexus TSB that covers how to properly RFB the 460 platform that you may want to track down and provide him. The key takeaways being that they should turn off the smartbalace feature and use a haweka adapter (aka fingers) as opposed to the standard cone that they use to secure most wheels.

I've tried searching for this TSB and can't seem to find it.

Do you know where I can go search for it?

 

[tm965]

I've tried searching for this TSB and can't seem to find it.

Do you know where I can go search for it?

see attached

 

[BCMUSA]

see attached

Thank you

 

[BCMUSA]

My steering wheel wobble was fixed with the RFB. However, I am still having steering wheel vibrations from 60mph +. Its minor but its driving me crazy.