So who on here is reporting their steering wheel shake to the NHSTA?

I decided to take a look and see if there were any open recalls that I should be aware of, and noticed that there are quite a few people reporting the steering wheel shake for various years, with some citing various internet forums.

Not sure what the critical mass is for the NHSTA to actually look into something, but I had to chuckle when I saw forums referenced and figured at least one of the complaints came from a user on here.

 

Why? Steering wheel shake is a NVH/refinement issue, not a safety issue.

 

It's an NVH issue until it becomes a safety issue. It certainly isn't what one would consider "normal" behavior for most vehicles.

 

How would a sensitivity to out of balance tires become a safety issue?

 

But is it really simply due to out of balance tires and no other factors?

Cars are systems, not collections of components. Formula 1 fans need only look at Red Bull Racing to prove that.

Also, things that result in premature wear and tear of X leading to failure of Y tend to be right up their alley.

But…

Most importantly, given that it seems like dealers seem to shrug their shoulders and Toyota doesn’t seem bothered, regulatory scrutiny has the impact of getting companies to solve problems to make the regulators go away.

I’ve seen this first hand in situations where even when a regulator literally has no power to do anything, simply having the issue reach the right level within regulatory affairs is enough to make stuff happen.

 

I don't think it's been proven either way with absolute certainty. But, I have had a wobble on my OEM wheels and tires, and have not had issues with the aftermarket wheels and tires I have now. If I get a wobble it means I need to clean the mud out of the wheels.

 

The extrapolation that the steering wheel shake will lead to a mechanical failure hasn't borne out over the past two decades - that's how old the current 4Runner steering system is. (And prior 3rd gen 4Runners couldn't reach 70 mph so it wasn't an issue )

 

Nah.

 

Hopefully I won’t jinx myself but I’m on 4Runner # 3, all running Michelin Defenders. The only vibration issue I have ever had was with the OE Bridgestones on the ‘23. As soon as the Michelins went on the vibration went away.

 

Falken A/T3W on my 2011, no steering wheel shake.
Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my 2018, no steering wheel shake

 

Honestly, i really just think it depends on your tires and wether they were balanced right or not

 

Good luck a small shake that hasn't caused any accidents.

 

What it boils down to, at least in part, is the fact that there are varied possible causes, dozens of tire manufacturers, maybe hundreds of service shops involved, and sometimes-yes/sometimes-no owner experiences. Various things seem to make it go away. So, way too many factors for someone to compile accurately and successfully.

 

Mine came with BFGoodrich Winter T/A on factory alloy wheels. Some steering wheel shake around 75 mph on some surfaces. Same speed on a different stretch of the same highway doesn't shake. I think it's in keeping with the general boat-like handling, as you'd expect from a truck platform designed at the turn of the century.

 

It just amazes me though that the Chevy pickup I used to have that was designed at around the same time as the 4Runner doesn't seem to have these issues.

The fact that Chevy pulls off something that Toyota can't is just odd.

 

^Chevy S10 in 2003 would have had a steering box, not rack & pinion.

 

I had a Silverado, circa...hmm...I believe it was a 2010 model.

 

This is a good point actually. Recalls for safety issues are generally based on a statistically significant number of real life accidents, incidents, or injuries caused by the same problem. OP, in your research, have you read about anyone having any accidents or injuries due to this vibration issue?

For the record, I guess I have been lucky in that this is the smoothest vehicle I've ever owned, even with the stock tires.

 

What did Chevy pull off? I don't have this issue. Besides, maybe Chevy owners expect something like that so they don't complain...or maybe there's a faction of whiney 4Runner owners who think that because they paid $5xk they shouldn't have <insert whatever isolated issue here> problem (when, regardless of what we paid, they don't do anything special for the higher trim level) and complain about every little thing.

 

Oh, a recall is a REALLY severe outcome, and totally unrealistic.

Realistically speaking, the optimal outcome would be for Toyota to look into the issue, figure out the combination of factors that causes it, and issue a TSB to dealers on what they should do in response to the issue.

If enough people complain, that is an outcome that is actually possible.

They don't have a persistent steering wheel shake that some people seem to be unable to fix, even with the dealers involved. If you don't have the issue, then this whole thread is sort of irrelevant to you, right?

It's not even a function of money - I've never encountered a vehicle that had this sort of issue that was less than 30 years old. I like to use the 2004 Hyundai Accent I once owned as a barometer. It might have nearly killed me due to brakes fading away in the mountains, but everything else performed well. I think we'd all agree that Toyota has better resources.

 

Maybe the problem is that there aren't enough cases to necessitate any sort of action. While there have been a few people who can't seem to get the issue fixed, the majority of people are able to resolve it with properly balanced tires, or sometimes a different set of tires.

I can't deny that these vehicles are sensitive to out of balance tires. But, I haven't seen the issue linked to any sort of design flaw, either. If it hasn't been a big enough problem to get any action taken by now, it's highly doubtful that it will.

Are you having issues with a steering wheel wobble? If so, what have you tried to resolve it so far?

 

I have - it seems like changing the tire pressure changes the speed at which the wobble kicks in.

Tires were road force balanced and everything by Discount Tire, and were actually the second set I went with after having the same issues with Mickey Thompsons.

I'm going to try getting an alignment done soon, and having someone else take a look at the balance on the tires. I'm probably not going to open my mouth when the car is in for service because the dealer will either try to charge me an arm and a leg, or just feed me some BS...I'll save it for the next service if I can't resolve it by then.

Going back to the pressure thing, it seems like the complicated issue is finding a pressure that simultaneously solves for:

1) Not being so soft that it feels like mush on the road
2) Not being so hard that my kidneys get bruised
3) The chalk test
4) Having the steering wheel shake occur at a speed that isn't one I need to use often

The last one is the interesting bit. With some stringed musical instruments, you can get strange resonances at certain frequencies. If you are unlucky, this happens with a note that you need to play often, which means that music will sound horrible. The solution ends up being that you use a small weight to change the resonant frequency of the "system" formed by the strings, bridge, top, soundpost, etc. to a frequency that you don't actually play - a note between the notes, if you will.

If I could get the steering wheel to shake between 58 and 62 mph, it would be far less annoying than from 65 to 70 mph based on our speed limits.

 

I am not saying it is not a thing, but every time I get shake in the steering wheel I get the tires re-balanced and that does it. I did have to take it back once because it was not gone, but they got it. They do not have a roadforce machine.

 

Well, I'm not sure if this helps or not, but I had my Toyos rebalanced at discount tire, and it came back with a wobble still. I then took it to performance off-road, and they got it perfect.

Tire pressure is a funny subject around here. I have generally been going off the calculator at tire size.com and setting my pressure at whatever it recommends for my size and load range. But, I know a lot of people will run lower pressure with LT tires. And, when I was running stock size LT tires, I also ran it lower with good results. So, my thought is to start at whatever the calculator recommends, or 32 if you are using the stock size and load range, and then adjust from there as necessary. I don't put a lot of stock in the chalk test, personally. But, I know a lot of people prefer to use it.

In my case, the wobble drives me crazy at any speed, because depending on where I'm going or what I'm hauling, I will cruise at anywhere between 60 and 85 miles per hour.

 

This topic reminds me of a field fix the Toyota engineers came up with for the 05 tacomas back in 06. They called it a steering wheel flutter which was attributed to different variables like temperature and flat spots on tires. The fix was changing the control valve and preload in the steering rack. Makes me wonder.

Also, I have little faith in tire techs these days. You can break your back for $13-15hr, or go flip burgers for $19 an hour and get free lunch and benefits. Tires are a young persons game and the younger generation is figuring out ways around physical labor or just don't give a shit.

My certified used 4Runner got new tires before delivery. The first service I did showed me how little pride people take in this kind of work. When I use to do tire work, the first thing I did was remove all wheel weights and start from there. Not these knuckleheads, old weights were left on they just added on and split the weights, at the Toyota dealer...

Here's a wheel that I took of a Tacoma a few days ago, just for an example of jack-assery...

 

So funny thing.

Steering wheel shake was much worse tonight, started at lower speed, and went until a higher speed.

Of course, this was after it had sat outside in cold the rain for 1.5 hours or so.

 

How many degrees of arc is the shake you experience?

 

It varies between joy buzzer and fleabag motel coin operated bed.

Best I can do.

 

That's close enough. I'm just trying to get a sense. Not F150 death wobble yet.

 

Yeah, not like having a lifted Jeep without a steering stabilizer and worn components.