New Owner, some concerns

Thank you. Do you happen to have a link to the exact ones you recommend?

 

Yeah nothing that I can recall will pay attention to it this weekend as I expect to be on a highway.

 

https://eibach.com/us/i-8910-pro-truck-sport-shock-ride-height-adjustable-single-front.html

 

For what it’s worth, check your tire pressure. Mine developed a steering wheel wobble this past winter, after not having any issue before. All stock vehicle, checked my tire pressures and they were low. Once I aired them back up, no more wobble.

 

Thanks all for the replies. I got all 4 tires road force balanced, they were all off a bit. Raised tire pressure to 35PSI to all tires. Wobble is practically gone, very minor now. However light vibrations still in the steering wheel and pedals. At this point I give up. After dealing with it on my Tacoma also, I'm over it.

I think its minor enough now that I can live with it. Definitely last Toyota I'm ever purchasing.

 

So took it off roading yesterday for first time and it was horrible. The feedback on the steering wheel was horrendous. Felt like I was holding a jack hammer the entire time.

Been driving it around a lot today and the wobble has disappeared thank God. Seems like the RFB did the trick. However still have vibrations on the steeringwheel and some on the pedals. I also have vibration on my brake pedal almost anytime I brake.

I know it'll probably be a massive waste of time, but I'm going to take it into the dealership some time this week.

I was tempted to get some new tires put on today, but I don't want to waste my money in case I put them on and still have vibrations

 

Sell it, life is too short to be miserable. Good luck to you

 

I put on Falken Wildpeak at3w tires and they are smoother than highway tires.

 

Not the brake issue during breaking, that is your brakes, but the other vibes could be the roads you are driving on. I notice in a few sections of roads I frequent that I gets vibes but it's always in the same area of road so I don't worry about it. Also it is a truck with some pretty big tires on it. Will never drive as smooth as a car.

 

you've got to figure out of the issue is with you or your truck before you start applying band aids randomly

 

Agreed. I'm taking it in Wednesday to the dealership. We shall see what comes of it.

Not very optimistic, probably going to get "its normal" BS, but its worth a shot.

Is it normal for this vehicle to have steering wheel vibration, even if minor? Is it crazy to think it should have ZERO felt vibrations in the steering wheel?

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate it.

 

It does it even in the most perfect of roads. I live in a newly developed area, and the roads are brand new. Very smooth.

I also notice if I hit the brakes while hitting an imperfection, or bump, etc it travels up the brake pedal and I can feel it on my foot. Crazy

 

As someone mentioned before, the 4R gives a lot of feedback through its suspension. People with heavy builds or aftermarket suspension probably have a lot less. Likewise for KDSS (stiffer) and XREAS (dampening) which seem to have "better" handling than stock.

If you're getting feedback through the brake pedal, that seems weird. If you're getting it through the steering wheel, no telling what it is but surely you can figure it out investigatively. You've already determined that the wheels/tires are balanced? Have you checked brake rotors? Have you checked alignment?

There are definitely more than a handful of people who get weird handling out of the 4R, but it's definitely not "normal" (judging by what you see on internet forums, which admittedly aren't normal either).

Good luck!

 

Yeah I am hoping the brakes is an easy fix, maybe rotors out of round or something. I feel the pedal vibrate when I brake.

When I first got the 4runner I had the wobble at 60mph that a lot of people complain about AND the steering wheel vibrations.

I also had a lot of vibrations in my seat.

Had all 4 road force balanced and it took away the seat vibration and the wobble is practically gone. However the steering wheel vibration is still there. Feels like I am holding an electric toothbrush.

Going to the dealership this Wednesday. Can't seem to catch a break. My Taco had 4 dealerships visits in the two months I owned it.

Wonder if stiffer suspension would help? I am thinking of getting the 5100's up front to level it.

 

Well I'm no suspension expert so hopefully others will weigh in. Here are my assumptions:

If the vibrations feedback/telegraphing from road conditions, seems like "larger" shocks could help dampen the issue.

*I know there is an appropriate technical term, whether volume or stroke or bore, but I don't know which it is

And seems like front end would solve the problem if it's handling--don't think rear should give you much trouble unless you're over-loaded. As far as leveling kits are concerned, these just extend the shock (shorten the stroke), so don't think they'll help unless you have a geometry problem.

 

My neighbor told me yesterday that he would road force my tires for me this Friday. He works for Audi and has a lot of experience using the machine. He said hes a perfectionist and it'll take him a few hours. My friend who works at Discount Tires did the RFB in 20 minutues. So yeah I am assuming it could have been done a lot better, but it was free so can't complain.

I am also taking it in to the dealership on Wednesday and see what they say.

 

Go to the dealer and drive a couple of different 4R trims from what you have. See if this is something specific to your vehicle or if it's just part of the way it feels/rides. Then make your decisions.

 

So I dropped off my 4Runner at the dealership this morning.

Aside from taking a look at my vibration problems, they have to keep it for 4 days to fix a deep scratch one of their techs made on my vehicle.

The loaner they gave me is a 2018 4x4 SR5 4runner. I have been driving this around A LOT today to compare with mine.

I have noticed that although this one has a vibration at the steering wheel also, it is very very minor compared to mine. I could easily live with this.

I also took it off-roading today and actually was harsher on it than I have been with mine. I feel like this one felt a lot better off road and I did not get as much feedback on the steering wheel as I do with mine.

Overall it felt better than mine. Also, I had zero feedback on the brake pedals with this one when braking.

Only two things I can think of is that;

A. it has dunlop AT tires, and
B. it has 27K on it which means things are broken in by now.

I will keep you guys posted on what the dealership says.

Thanks everyone.

 

The Dunlops are shit tires too. I had the vibes and mine had Dunlops.

Since these things are made in Japan and shipped over, I wonder if the stock tires have a tendency to develop flat spots during transit and that's causing the vibes. This combined with sitting on the dealer lot for a bit. I don't know if that's possible or if they need to sit for longer to develop flat spots.

I'd be willing to bet if you got new tires and aligned the truck with your caster bumped as close to 4* as you can get, your vibes will go away.

I understand that you shouldn't have to do this with a stock vehicle, but if you like everything else about the 4Runner, it might be worth doing so you can enjoy it from now on.

 

I agree with you. If the dealership can't fix it, which I have little faith that they will, then I will upgrade tires and get an alignment and another RFB.

Wierd thing is that yes, I heard the Dunlops are trash, but these are AT tires and the ones I got are street/highway tires, yet these feel smoother.

 

Some A/T tires are very smooth. Firestone Destination A/Ts for example are very smooth. Especially if you go with the P-Rated version.

 

I have had two 4Runners. Both 2017. Long story. Both had steering wheel vibes. One was much worse. I returned that one and my current one is much better. But I still feel it at times in the steering wheel. Coming from a VW GTI, the 4Runner took some getting used to. My hunch is that most 4runners have the steering wheel vibes to varying degrees. Maybe even unnoticeable on some. I am fine with mine as it is very intermittent and minor. I’m not sure if I could have improved the first one I had enough to be satisfied. If I was in your position, I’d be fine with purchasing new tires, especially if you can sell or get some credit for your Bridgestone tires. I might be hesitant to add leveling kits. I think once you get it dialed in and smooth it’d take some courage to mess with it.

And I’m really sorry about the deep scratch from the dealer. Been there, too. They’ll get it fixed up but darn, crappy luck.

 

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah I agree with all 4runners having vibrations. I don't think it'll ever fully go away.

I just hope I can get it down enough to where it doesn't bother me at all.

Plan is new tires, alignment, RFB.

 

none of that will fix your issue, it begins elsewhere; you diagnosed it yourself driving the loaner

*unless you have bad alignment

 

What else is there besides those things?

 

Not to chime in late. But had a 13 Tacoma, was awesome. Bought an 18 Tacoma. Yep. All of what you described. Got rid of it, have 19 4R. Love it! Yes it can be bouncy at times but I have the Goodyear off road and love them 99% of the time.

 

The loaner I got from the dealership is a lot better than mine as far as the steering wheel vibrations goes. Gives me hope there's a fix for mine.

2018 4x4 SR5 T4R

 

Try airing down to 27psi and up to 38psi. Try driving at both of those pressures at different speeds to compare. Might help you isolate things; tires vs truck.

 

I used to have exactly the same problem with my 2005 Tacoma. After trying all the balancing methods I could, I came with the idea of star tighting wheels nuts, just a little each one untill wheel settled. After that, never again have had any vibration.