Strange shaking/vibration under variable conditions

[hamburglar210]

I wanted to post this here for some ideas before I wait an hour after my scheduled appointment time to see a Toyota service rep who may or may not be helpful.

My '13 TE has had a vibration issue become more and more noticable lately. It's probably been happening to some extent for awhile, but now that I'm dealing with slow highway traffic more often, it's much more irritating.

Between 5-10mph (and sometimes up to 15mph) the front end of my T4R shakes fairly violently and eventually spreads to the cabin. I can replicate this at any time I wish on any type of road.

So far the shaking happens:
in 4wd
in 2wd
in 1st and 2nd gear
in neutral
in 4wd neutral
under braking
under acceleration
in neutral with the engine off
under braking in neutral with the engine off
and in 4wd neutral with the engine off


WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

The shaking gets less violent with speed, transitions to the steering wheel, and feels like I'm holding an electric razor(or marital aid for those of you with minds in the gutter)

Any help or ideas before I spend a few hours at the dealership would be much appreciated. [MENTION=66316]1engineer[/MENTION] your input would be great haha

 

[1engineer]

Tires, wheels, suspension component. Felt in the steering wheel at higher speeds indicates front end. If it were your seat vibrating at higher speeds that would indicate rear suspension or tires.

As it has steadily gotten worse over time indicates front suspension component wear. If it were mine that is the first place I would check. Bushings, joints and mechanical fasteners to be a bit more specific.

 

[Bevo]

What do your tires look like? Are they wearing unevenly? I bet Duratracs that are uneven could make for some uncomfortable vibrations.

I have had regular all season tires that would make lot of noise at low speed due to uneven wear.

 

[hamburglar210]

What do your tires look like? Are they wearing unevenly? I bet Duratracs that are uneven could make for some uncomfortable vibrations.

I have had regular all season tires that would make lot of noise at low speed due to uneven wear.

The tires are wearing normally. I went to get a balance last weekend and this past weekend, both were unsuccessful on a roadforce machine at discount. Somehow the tires are balanced even worse than they were before haha.

One of my buddies knows a few Toyota engineers so asked what they thought, and I was told to check out the tie rods and have another alignment done. Discount Tire thought it could be the spacers so if I was considering new wheels, maybe try that.

I'm taking it into one of the better dealerships in Denver this coming weekend so hopefully they're able to sort it out. They sponsor the Toyota 4x4 club here in Denver so I hope they're used to working with more than just Prius owners.

 

[hamburglar210]

Just wanted to provide an update incase anyone else ever has this issue. Discount Tire told me numerous times that my tires are wearing normally... Toyota had a different view on the matter. My Duratracs are cupping on the inside edge (due to alignment) and causing all of the shaking. Nothing else was wrong with the car just a lot of road noise and vibration because of the tires.

Discount did eventually get everything balanced correctly because I insisted they roadforce the tires this time(allegedly on Duratracs a roadforce balance won't matter) but they wound up reseating the tire on the wheel and everything is good there.

I'm having a new alignment done in a few weeks because the guy Slee uses (at Stevinson West Toyota apparently) was too busy this past saturday and I'm gone the next few weekends. Looks like everything is going to work out and it's a relief to know there is nothing seriously wrong with the car.