Is slight steering wheel vibration normal with AT tires?

Brutal man, need an engineer consult asap.

 

Not blaming aero directly, but more like aerodynamic forces reveal that the 4runnner’s “”legacy” body on frame design is not quite the same as a unibody. Because more components and structures are moving in relation to each other, there might be more places for harmonic weirdness to develop. With the variances between vehicles, it might be part of why it might affect some more than others.

I think this is all spitballing though…

 

Honestly, with all the problems some have had, you wonder if lemon law is applicable. I seriously dont understand how a dealer can possibly say it’s normal to have a shimmy.

 

In theory, 20" wheels are easier to balance than 17" because the weights are closer to the outer edge of the tire,

unfortunately I sold mine and I'm tempted to get these 20" https://venomrex.com/collections/venomrex-6-lug-wheels/products/vr-602-desert-bronze

and put on highway tires just to get rid of the shimmy

 

Agree 100%. I have never considered looking into anything else, just take it back until they get it right. They eventually always do!

 

Have you tried different wheels and/or tires?

Edit: I saw that you had mentioned having no shimmy with the stock wheels and tires, but having it with two different sets of tires on a set of aftermarket wheels.

What a pain in the ass.

So, it could be a defect in a hub bearing or something like that, as I mentioned. Or, some play in a part of the suspension that exacerbates even the slightest off balance tires.

Yes, we all agree here. I just don't agree with some of the theories about the reason for it.

I get irritated just hearing about it. I'd be so pissed off if I had this problem.

Wasn't there mention in one of the other 900 threads about this where new lower control arms had cured it?



Who knows...

Maybe people who can't get a fix should start a class action lawsuit. I personally find it unacceptable that anyone should have to just live with a wobble in a $40K+ vehicle.

 

Is there another commonality? i.e. All have TRD wheels? Is it only Pros and Limiteds? Diff drops? If aerodynamics was gonna do it my ‘12 with 3” on rake should be getting it bad.
Back in 08 when I put a 3/2 Toytec Ultimate lift and 285 ATs on my 07 there was lots of fuss over diff drops causing shimmies and vibrations so I omitted the diff drop and never had an issue.

 

I feel the same way. If some can make it go away by putting a different set of tires or wheels on, or by getting them balanced again as in my case, then what does that say?

 

There must be something that exacerbates the slightest vibration. But, it seems like it can usually be fixed with perfectly balanced tires. Unfortunately, it seems that some wheel and tire combos can't be balanced perfectly.

I am annoyed for the folks who can't seem to get it fixed. It would be nice if there was an obvious cause that could be addressed, rather than just speculation.

 

One of the main reasons I'm trying to trade in for a Tacoma right now

 

I can feel it in the armrest.

 

It vibrates the whole front end on mine you can fill it up through the front seats

 

I have ran Wildpeaks since 2019 with my Tacoma and now my 4Runner. No balancing issues and very smooth for an AT tire, zero shaking.

I have read horror stories on all the popular tires, I think all the manufactures have some bad batches that go out here and there.

 

Yup. I've heard of issues with KO2's and mine were perfect. A friend had Wildpeaks he couldn't get balanced. Everyone makes a shitty set once in awhile.

 

Nevada lemon law (copy/pasted) tid bits…

• The vehicle has had to be repaired for serious issues a substantial number of times (usually at least four) OR been out of service for a cumulative 30 days or more in a year-long period AND
• The vehicle is still under the manufacturer’s warranty OR has been in the possession of the owner for less than one year (whichever is sooner).
• 
  
• The most common manufacturer defects in lemons include:

• Gas and mileage defects
• Electrical system defects
• Engine defects
• Shifting defects
• Steering defects
• 
  https://www.dmv.com/nv/nevada/lemon-law?tg1=DVA&tg7=dmv_&tg9=dmv.com

 

the big problem is dealers simply saying “could not reproduce” or “characteristic” of vehicle. Probably would need independent mechanic to diagnose it in that case

 

The kinda good news for me is the service manager drove mine with myself and my wife in the car and he admitted he felt the shimmy.

 

I guess I am most curious to know why the majority who put the rig in 4wd notice it stops...?

 

I was curious if it was somehow related to the needle bearing issue. The needle bearing will make a cyclical grinding noise around 30 MPH. Putting it in 4WD will make the noise stop, if it's a bad needle bearing. I figure putting it in 4WD might affect the wobble/shimmy if it were related to the needle bearing issue.

Some have said that it wouldn't be related to the needle bearing because Limiteds experience it as well. But, I imagine they use the same needle bearing.

 

Nailed it !

It is a balancing issue plain & simple. Some tire shops either don't want to train the workers "properly" on how to use the Road Force balancer or, the tire changers just don't give a shit if its balanced right or not.

Toyota SUV & truck wheels have a very large hub diameter which makes balancing more time consuming to set up right. I have gone down this road with my last 4R & I finally found a shop about 1 hour away from where I live that knows how to set up & use a "Road Force" balancer correctly. I run BFG KO2's (265/70/17, 6 ply) & DuraTracs (255/75/17, SL) on OEM wheels & they are smooth as silk.

 

If you feel a vibration in the steering wheel, the front tires need re-balanced. If you feel a vibration in the seat (on your butt) the rear tires need re-balanced. That was brought to my attention over 35 years ago from a guy who did front-end alignments at a tire shop.

 

I had both in a brand new 4R with 10 miles on it.

 

So what did you do to fix it?

 

Not fixed, It is only 2 weeks old and goes in to the dealer on Thursday for service.

 

Mine had no issues with vibrations or steering wheel shake up until the first service at 4700 miles. Right after that, I noticed it pulled to the right, with very noticeable vibration, and steering wheel shake from anything over 50 mph. Brought it back to the dealership the next day and they rebalanced all 4 tires. Still had the same issue. At this time they couldn't due an alignment due to the time of day so I had to bring it back the following day (yesterday). Alignment wasn't terribly off of spec, so they rebalanced all 4 again. They found out that two of the 4 tires (the ones that were originally in the rear) were defective. So they are ordering a new set of tires under warranty and should be here on Thursday. Hopefully, this fixes the issue for me!

 

You're usually not going highway speeds in 4WD.

 

I’d get random vibration right about 65 on freeways and then all the time at 80. Steering wheel shake was subtle but constant after I got a lift.

Just swapped wheels to RRW and had American tire road force balance. Literally no vibration or steering wheel shake at all. Got up to 85 on the drive this weekend and was laughing.

 

Could this be related to alignment?

 

I did get an alignment with my prior wheels but did not get one with my new wheels.

 

30 day update:
Road force balanced.
Discovered the spot that marks the tire’s light side was not correct on one front tire.
Raised pressure to 38psi cold.
shimmy 95% gone.