Steering wheel shake and pull. KO2s to blame?

Thanks! How do I know what are my limits though? I probably won’t do rock crawling but how can I make sure I am within the limits. I am happy to see the ride quality improve but kinda feeling like they should have replaced with another C rated tire

 

BFG KO2 Load C is my favorite / perfect balance for my usage. I Loved both 265 & 285 Load Cs. Not too soft not too rough.

 

This is why you have a spare tire.

FWIW, I've had P-rated A/T tires on my truck for 70,000 miles now. Not one flat.

 

I couldn't agree more ! The 6 ply are a perfect match for our 4R's.

 

Okay so another update: When I switched the K02’s with Wildpeaks (P rated) the feel has changed a lot, they also look great and there was no shimmy right after I picked up the truck but next day I drove there was the shimmy back as subtle as it was after getting K02s balanced. Now I have left with the damn shimmy and good old K0s no longer mine. Not sure if I gained anything lol because I really loved the feeling of k02s plus now I have to worry about driving on the rocks so my P rated wildpeaks doesn’t get punctured ( hopefully it won’t). The whole process of buying this $50k+ car was not as good as I hoped to be.

 

That sucks man.

As I said a few posts ago, finding a shop that can balance your tires properly is invaluable on these trucks.

Otherwise you're just going to end up with the shimmy over and over.

 

Glad I’m not the only one having this issue but it’s super frustrating. I’ve been having steering wheel shaking between 58-60ish mph since buying my new 2022…with OEM tires and rims. Had the dealer look at it when I got trd rims and they balanced the tires but it still shakes. Had the dealer address the issue 2 more times with tire rotation and oil chance and each time they said they balanced the tires and it should be fine. Nope…still does it…still on OEM tires. Took it back to dealer today and the tech tried to tell me, “well, I mean, you are driving an SUV” and he said he didn’t see the issue. I had a 4Runner for 18 years prior to this and didn’t have any issues. I sent him a video of blatant wheel shaking and he tried to tell me that even with another tech looking at the video, it looked smooth to them. You have got to be kidding me! It’s shaking like crazy. He said the wheels looked fine and I wasn’t due for an alignment and because the wheels are fine, the alignment is fine. He said I could come do a test drive with him so I could show him what’s going on. I’d hate to pay out of pocket for a mechanic who won’t bullshit me since I’m well under warranty but the wheel shaking is pretty significant.

 

I think we are having the same issue, seems like tires aren’t the blame here. I don’t really know what’s wrong but toyota has to find a solution to this. A lot of people are having similar problems and some are ok for some reason and some techs think this is a normal behavior smh

 

Bad balance and/or defective tire seems to be the concensus.

To all you guys wheeling with P rated tires, buy a lottery ticket.

 

Well I had C rated out off the dealer and 3 balance work didn’t do and they swapped with P rated now the shimmy comes and goes, i think it’s better during the days when it’s hot outside. Don’t really understand why it comes and goes. Nevertheless C rated , P rated all had the same shimmy for me

 

There are several videos on YouTube on this issue. Many different versions and opinions as to how to fix it. My 4R is the third yota I have had, and it does seem like this vibration is just about related with the tires and how they wear over time. I was given a little lesson on tiring balancing and how it is done and it seems every shop is doing the same way at least here in TX. I have my opinion that this is related more or less around the symmetry of the CV and the axles that creates a perfect storm for this shimmy to come. I drove a 4R from a buddy that uses MT tires and his vibration was worse than mine. There is a video by wanderlost folks that have a very nice 4R that seems to indicate what the issue is. They say that it could be the needle bearing on the front differential that gets lose overtime, but ok, this would make sense for older vehicles but not for newer vehicles.
I am with you, this is frustrating and shouldn't be there, but most techs at a dealer don't know even know where to begin. I think we are going to have to do a lot trial and error here. Apologies for the long note.

 

I have a means to demonstrate the wheel shake for those that really want to push the issue.

A decade ago I bought a VW Touareg which had the dreaded wheel shake. Took me lawyers, two years, one replacement vehicle, then a settlement to get it resolved. I'm stubborn like that.

Was having trouble proving that it was a harmonic problem and not a road surface issue so I made a video.

• printed a black line pattern (about 1/8" each) on a white sheet of paper and taped to my dash near the steering wheel
• painted a straightened paper clip and painted it with bright nail polish and taped it to the steering wheel overlaying the paper
• used a suction mount to mount my phone camera to the moonroof to video the new "indicator" as I was driving

Worked perfect. If you check out the video below, look out the front window and note that the the video is in slow motion. I was driving at about 65mph, the rang where I was consistently having the problem. Look at how perfectly repeating the movement patter is on the clip. Way too uniform to be the result of road surface. Clearly harmonic. The section of roadway was glass smooth and presented no vibration on the three other cars and six motorcycles I regularly traveled that roadway on (major suburban artery).

Video at normal speed showing vibration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9LHZjMmtac

Slowed video showing harmonic movement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G59MnWQWo1c

Won the case. Got my $60K back.

My 4R is shaking a little recently between 55 and 60. In this case, I now have 18k miles on KO2s and assume tires. Taking it in today for rebalance.

Jason

 

How did the rebalance go? I’m getting ko2s on Tuesday, I had 3 sets of LT E’s on my 01 Tahoe and never once had a issue…I believe they are a very good tire. Going with load range C for the 4 runner.

 

Had the same issue with KO2’s on my 2001 Landcruiser. Finally went to different tire place and it was the balancing.

 

Got some new shoes today, so far so good fingers crossed!

 

I am at the shop I referred you to right now, and talked to them about the response you made. James (the owner) tried to send you in the right direction to get your problem taken care of, but apparently you did not want to hear what he was saying, or take his advice, so it’s pretty much on you.

 

Went to the tire shop Saturday. Rebalance free since I bought them there. Two of the wheels have different weights than the first time. Not sure if due to tire wear or other. Tech did tell me that one of the tire was balanced incorrectly (counter-balanced with weights opposite each other).

Front tires were starting to cup on inside only at front. Since not on both sides I don't think it's a pressure issue. I have taken some long trips towing heavy, and these tires were on the rear for those trips so that may be a contributor. I rotate at 5K with every oil change and had been doing same-side (parallel) swap that Toyota recommends. Am going to start doing a cross-to-rear to see if I can't even out these tires and get another 20K out of them.

Oh, steering vibration was gone after the rebalance.

Lift kit is in my garage and ready for me and my son (9yo) to install on Saturday. He is VERY excited.

Will get an alignment after the lift is on.

Jason

 

2 day update. After sitting a long time seems like there’s a very slight shimmy (very very slight) and you can feel the treads vibrate for about 30 seconds or less, after this the ko2’s are smooth as silk at all speeds. Hope it stays this way. One thing I noticed was the guy balanced with stick on weights on the inner and outer of the wheel, no clip ons. Interesting.

 

Update to a update, shimmy still there for beginning of trip mostly but minimal at this time…think I got a lemon.

 

As in the tires are lemons?

Were they Road Force Balanced?

 

Per the comment this seems to be a very interesting tire shop.



If this tire shop have a road force balance machine I wonder if they know how to operate it and if the machine is maintained and calibrated.

 

I've said this plenty of times, and folks still love to go down the "stick it to the dealer/tire guy" track. Seriously folks, try this. Air up your tires a few extra pounds over what it says on the sticker. If the stickers says 32psi, go to 36-38psi. You'll be shocked how well it works, I promise. And you don't have to spend all your time on the forum telling everyone about how the dealer/tire guy screwed you over with your $50,000 lemon.

Or go balance your tires again. You can do that. You have the power. Might work great for you. Have at 'er!

Does the 4Runner have a natural resonance issue? Perhaps. Did I fix it with a small tire pressure adjustment? Yes. Will I wear out my tires more quickly, cause an incident, run off a cliffside and die? Probably.

 

Seems like my vehicle is, nothing has fixed this issue. The guy who balanced mine used the new road force machine and knows his stuff, best guy in the garage. He knew the issue I have been fighting. My Parents 2019 doesn’t suffer this issue, and he did there all terrain tires a few weeks ago, no issues. And the ko2’s on my Tahoe non road force balanced, no issues.

 

I did this the past 2 days. Started at 35 psi, went up to 40 cold, and currently down to 38 cold. Shouldn’t have to do this with a brand new 2022 or any vehicle for that Matter so yes what’s suppose to be a tough off road ‘rig’ shouldn’t be this sensitive. I even ask people I see around town and at dealer if they have these issues. I get no’s constantly. 1 person at the dealer who is a salesmen has this issue that’s all I know of so far personally that I have asked in person with 4 runners.

 

I never had a vehicle with stick on weights, but I can say the clip ons have flung off this vehicle last week so whatever method this guy went with i am trying it. These tires are smoother vs the stock dunlops still I can say 100% at this moment.

 

I had the problem both with factory tires (Dunlop) and KO2s. It's interesting, no doubt. I'm happy I was able to sort it out with air pressure.

 

At 40 + it starts to feel less planted on the road I think, so in the morning when everything is cold and settled I am aiming for 38. The season shall be getting cooler here now as well which plays a factor. And yes I to think this weight set up is odd but if it works it works. Are you running ko2s now? What’s the magic PSI lol?

 

What were the Road Force numbers of each tire?

 

Truly couldn’t tell you, I went in with good faith as I went to this same place for 14 years and never had 1 issue with balancing. The guy who did my wheels would have told me if they failed I am sure, he has nothing to loose by saying they are bad tires. Had 3 sets so far on other vehicle never 1 issue.

 

these were the hardest tires to ever get balanced on my old landcruiser