Steering wobble at around 65-70mph

[RunningForNow]

My apologies in advance if this has been posted (i'm sure it has), but when I tried doing a search, there were various causes in various scenarios, so it was hard to filter it down.

My 2001 SR5 with about 184k miles has had a steering wobble since I got the truck at 180k. When the truck is going around 65 to 70 on the freeway, the steering wheel wobbles noticeably. Not to the point of the well-known F150 "death wobble," but enough to be annoying, and I'm sure it's not normal. I've had new Cooper Adventurers for about two weeks, and an alignment was done when I got the tires. BUT, the wobble was happening even before I got new tires. Weird thing is, the wobble is more pronounced sometimes than others. And, at times, the wobble goes away for a bit.

What are some of the common causes for this type of wobble, especially when it's not consistent? The road is nice and flat around where I live, and the tire pressure is equal. No bent wheels were reported by the shop.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

 

[ColoRAD]

It's likely that your tires are out of balance, and possible the previous set was out of balance as well.

 

[thegipper]

I had the EXACT same symptoms as you. Tires are balanced but I haven't done an alignment in a while.

Here's the weird part, it randomly/slowly went away and it essentially never does it anymore???

 

[4runnerfiend]

Warped rotors can do it. does it get worse under hard braking? Id check everything especially ball joints!, tie rods, tire balance, alignment.

 

[RunningForNow]

It's likely that your tires are out of balance, and possible the previous set was out of balance as well.

I took the truck to have the last set of tires balanced, and indeed two of the were a little off, and while it reduced the amount of wobble, it didn’t go away completely. After getting the new tires, the wobble continues. Not worse, but the same.

Warped rotors can do it. does it get worse under hard braking? Id check everything especially ball joints!, tie rods, tire balance, alignment.

While it is possible, I doubt it. I did a TBU back in October, and the wobble was happening before the TBU. The wobble didn’t get any better or worse after the TBU, FWIW.

 

[T4topher]

What size tires and are you running a lift??

Sometimes there is play in the collapsible joint/tilt ball in the steering column.. could check that.

YouTube

 

[00Spork]

Warped rotors can do it. does it get worse under hard braking? Id check everything especially ball joints!, tie rods, tire balance, alignment.

This.

It could be so many things. I wouldn't rule out a bent rim until you're 100% sure they're all straight.

 

[sdwaltz]

Mine had the exact same symptoms as yours right before I had some work done on it last May - I took it in for new tires and an alignment, and the mechanic called and informed me that not only did I not need an alignment, but that my sway bar links were broken.

I can't say for certain if it was the new tires or the new sway bar links that fixed the issue, but the issue hasn't been back since. Because your tires are new, check your sway bar links.

 

[nevada]

My apologies in advance if this has been posted (i'm sure it has), but when I tried doing a search, there were various causes in various scenarios, so it was hard to filter it down.

My 2001 SR5 with about 184k miles has had a steering wobble since I got the truck at 180k. When the truck is going around 65 to 70 on the freeway, the steering wheel wobbles noticeably. Not to the point of the well-known F150 "death wobble," but enough to be annoying, and I'm sure it's not normal. I've had new Cooper Adventurers for about two weeks, and an alignment was done when I got the tires. BUT, the wobble was happening even before I got new tires. Weird thing is, the wobble is more pronounced sometimes than others. And, at times, the wobble goes away for a bit.

What are some of the common causes for this type of wobble, especially when it's not consistent? The road is nice and flat around where I live, and the tire pressure is equal. No bent wheels were reported by the shop.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

speed related vibration, especially THAT speed is almost always tire/wheel/balance related.


if you are still using the stock Toyota wheels, they are notorious for being difficult to balance properly. even some of the aftermarket Toyota wheels are tough to get right.


the fastest way to verify that, is bolt on a different set of tires/wheels. off of a vehicle that IS smooth at those speeds.

 

[RunningForNow]

What size tires and are you running a lift??

Sometimes there is play in the collapsible joint/tilt ball in the steering column.. could check that.

YouTube

The truck is stock as they come. Stock 5-star wheels, running Cooper Adventurers A/T, in 265/70r/16 size. No lift.

I will check the collapsible joint. I didn't even think about that, and it makes sense.

 

[RunningForNow]

speed related vibration, especially THAT speed is almost always tire/wheel/balance related.


if you are still using the stock Toyota wheels, they are notorious for being difficult to balance properly. even some of the aftermarket Toyota wheels are tough to get right.


the fastest way to verify that, is bolt on a different set of tires/wheels. off of a vehicle that IS smooth at those speeds.

I'll see what I can do, but I don't have that available immediately. This might be a calling for getting new wheels...

 

[TD012]

I just picked up a 2001 SR5 last weekend and whenever I let off the throttle at interstate speeds or give it throttle, it has a terrible sway. Almost like a motor mount is broken causing a shift.

This isn't quite a death wobble like jeeps or F-150s like previously mentioned, does anyone have any experience with something similar?

 

[VanIslT4R]

let off the throttle at interstate speeds or give it throttle, it has a terrible sway.

Check your rear upper and lower control arms. The bushings are probably shot. I had the exact same symptoms and new rear lower control arms fixed the problem.

 

[ColoRAD]

I took the truck to have the last set of tires balanced, and indeed two of the were a little off, and while it reduced the amount of wobble, it didn’t go away completely. After getting the new tires, the wobble continues. Not worse, but the same.

Was it the same shop that balanced the previous set of tires which installed the news ones? Might be worth checking your bushings too.

 

[RunningForNow]

Was it the same shop that balanced the previous set of tires which installed the news ones? Might be worth checking your bushings too.

No, not the same. Les Schwab did the first round of checking, while I got my tires at Pep Boys because it was a deal I couldn't pass up. Now, before you guys say anything bad about Pep Boys, I have had very good luck with them, as I have had my previous vehicles' alignment done by them, and they have always done a great job.

I thought about the inconsistencies in going to two separate shops as well, but I can't imagine them screwing up the balancing. I mean, it's done on a machine calculated by a computer, and the mark is defined pretty clearly. Unless they are unbelievably incompetent, I can't imagine them screw it up. My truck was actually worked on by one of their more experienced guys (He's worked on my other cars).

It's a head scratcher, for sure.

 

[WWRD99]

Couple people have mentioned tire balance which it can be, the stock wheels aren't hard to balance, the place doing it has to use the correct centering tool on the balance machine....the lug nuts are shank style and the wheels are not hub centric rims,,,what this means is the rims need to be balanced with finger style centering hub on the machine...most new machines have one that can be set up to balance correctly...you got to find the right place to balance them,,,look for a road force machine made by Hunter...road force might be out too...but they should have that tool that comes with the machine...one other thing it could be is the front differential left side bearing is giving you front drive shaft vibration.,,that's tough to track down and usually happens after a lift is installed though.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I had a very similar wobble at 65 mph (I started an entire thread on that topic, "Rate your truck's highway manners"). Wise folks told me to start with the easy stuff, tires.

New tires alone did not fix it, but road force balancing did. You might want to have the tires road force balanced, if you haven't had that done already.

 

[RunningForNow]

Road force balance...that’s new to me. I will ask around. I thought balancing tires is a pretty universal procedure. Shows how much I know on this subject matter. Thank you for all who have chimed in. I’m going to look around for a sh that specializes in alignment and possibly off-road shops that might be more savvy in this area. It’s not harsh, and certainly not jerking wheel out of my hands. It’s more of an annoyance than anything. I just want to make sure it’s not going to get worse.

 

[JZiggy]

Road force balance corrected a 65mph steering wheel wobble for me as well.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Road force balance...that’s new to me. I will ask around. I thought balancing tires is a pretty universal procedure. Shows how much I know on this subject matter.

Don't accept a wobbly steering wheel, you shouldn't have that!

A couple of sources for additional info:

Road Force Balancing | MotorWeek

What Is Road Force Tire Balancing & Match Mounting? | Discount Tire Direct

Tire Balance Vibration Fix! - Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum

I believe that most Discount Tire/America's Tire shops can do road force balancing. Of course an extra complication is getting someone to do it who actually knows how. I had one guy take almost 10 minutes per wheel to do it right, he kept remounting the tire on the wheel until he was happy. Then I had a different crew on another day, who never remounted any of the tires, so I think they took shortcuts (unless they got totally lucky, which is hard to believe).