Steering wheel vibration when braking...

[hekili]

Aloha...Hi i'm new to this forum. Was hoping I could get some information from you guys...By the way...LOVE this forum. Anyways...I bought my wife a 2004 4x2 V8 SR5 back in March of 2004. She just recently told me that she notices the steering wheel vibrates when ever she brakes. Even more so if she's traveling at a high rate of speed and brakes. She took the 4runner in today for regular maintenance ( Basic maintenance only on Saturdays ) and they told her that if it is her rotors and pads, it would not be covered under warranty. Is this true? The 4runner is little over a year old and she may be having rotor problems already!!! Your guys advice will be greatly appreciated...Aloha

 

[Mark86]

First off, welcome to the board! My parents 2005 4Runner had warped rotors after 7,000 miles and what you described was the first sign of it. When the rotors got worse, the steering wheel would not stay straight when you braked. They gave them brand new rotors under warranty because that shouldn't have been on a brand new vehicle (truck was around 4 months old). When my 2003 had warped rotors, I noticed a vibration in the pedal and steering wheel. Many members on this board have had warped rotors on their new 4Runners. Unfortuntaely, it seems to be very common. How many miles are on your truck now? The pads are definitely not covered under and it all depends with the rotors. The dealer may be able to cut them down if they are not badly warped.

 

[hekili]

My wife put on about 24,000 miles on it already...

 

[hekili]

After looking around, it looks like a lot of people are having problems with their rotors!!! Would the rotors be covered under warranty? This sucks because I never had rotors go bad so soon :bash:

 

[sharp4runr]

Lean on the dealership to replace it under warranty. It shouldn't be warping so soon, no matter how heavy this truck is.

Unless your wife is "riding" the brakes : no offense...

 

[Kanab]

My wife put on about 24,000 miles on it already...

12 mo/12K miles on the brake rotors if you are lucky, they don't have to do anything since it is a wear item. The reason for this is how some people drive/brake can make rotors last for 60K miles while others can screw them up in less then 12K miles. Just put new pads and rotors on your 4runner. It will be better to replace them every 24K miles than telling her she doesn't know how to drive

 

[hekili]

I'll talk with the dealership the next time I take the 4runner in. Was just talking to my wife, she was out shopping, she said she notices the steering wheel shaking while driving too! She said she was on the freeway doing about 60mph when she noticed it. This sounds almost like the other topics on here.