2022 Rack/Pinion Bushings already shot?!

Hey all,
New to the forum.
I was having a shimmy in the steering wheel at 58-62 took it to Toyota, got balanced. Then 2 weeks later shimmy was back. So this happened 3 times!! Went on a ride with a tech- i was told that due to the deep dish rim, balancing was very difficult and changing the wheel would be the most ideal fix.

So… I contacted another shop ,once that shimmy just got on my nerves too much- he rebalanced using road force machine and is now saying my rack and pinion bushings need to be replaced!! ( because of the thud once the steering wheel goes all the way to either side, which most cars do once they’ve reached the end of their turning radius anyways!!)
I only have 49,000 miles and it’s only 2.5 years old.

has anyone ever heard of this?
I’ve called multiple Toyota Service Centers and several off road shops and all are surprised by this and have never heard of this happening so soon.
Thoughts?!

thanks

 

No, I’ve never heard of it that soon. I changed my 05 Tundra rack bushings with polyurethane at 147,000. When it’s up on the rack or jack stands, you will be able to see the elongated rubber bushings, especially the center one. Block rear wheels. Front end on jack stands. Have someone get in and start it up, then turn the steering wheel side to side, you’ll see the bushing elongating. If not visible another problem, wheel alignment? If visable, watch YouTube and replace bushings.

 

Thanks,
Besides the shimmy between 58-65, I never thought to suspect the r/p bushings or any of the rack assembly.
this same tech did a road force balancing this morning. And without really removing anything told me I needed new bushings.
Thanks, I’ll get it jacked up tomorrow after the rain clears here. tbh, this is the 3rd tire balancing (in 3 months- it’s gotta be the wheels) and had no shimmy on my drive home. But now that seed has been planted in my mind about the rack bushings.
Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going crazy!

 

thats all bs. I dont buy it. Original tires?

 

i agreed. My 2011 sr5 has 170k on the original bushings and has zero issues. Im thinking its a tire balancing issue caused by a lazy tech.

 

Way too early, but anything is possible after 2020.

 

It’s got fuel after market wheels and Falken Wildpeaks on it- nothing crazy

 

yep nothing crazy there. Imo, id strip all the weight off,clean all the sticky residue off and have a dealership or 4x4 shop rebalance them and check alignment specs