Vibration at Idle Anyone

[mrfobbyaccent]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 2012 trail with about 83K miles on the tac. I recently returned from a trip to moab and upon my return I noticed a slight vibration in the steering wheel while idling. I wouldn't say it's idling rough, but it doesn't feel right, and the needle is still in the same spot it always has been (between 500-650 rpm). It also comes and goes. It doesn't do it during my morning commute, but it does it on my way home.

I purchased the car used in late 2016 with 61K miles and I've used 91 octane gas ever since I purchased it.

During my trip to moab, I decided to start using 87 so I'm not sure if this maybe the reason why there might be a slight vibration, but it's one of my theories. I also noticed during my drive back that I was staying in lower gears a lot more than normal. I figured the altitude in Utah was giving the engine a harder time, which meant staying in lower gears to keep my average speed of 70mph, but it stayed like that all the way through Vegas and back home. I also figured it could have been acting that way due to the 87.

Anyways, does anyone else experience this? I don't have a loss of power or anything of that sort and I'm planning to do some serious maintenance this summer, so hopefully that fixes it.

 

[epjfsa]

I'm saying this without having ever looked at or researching these parts on the 4runner, but I experienced the same symptoms on my '97 M3 and two things took care of it.

-Engine mounts failed, and because (on the M3) they sit on the subframe which the steering rack is connected, the vibration was most noticeable in the steering wheel. Fixed 80% of the vibration.
-Replaced a worn rubber coupling in the steering shaft. Not sure if the 4runner has this, but replacing it removed any feel of vibration (and firmed up the steering).

There are certainly other random things that could cause this, but not many that would only be felt through the steering wheel.