Does anyone out there have a vibration problem felt mainly in the steering wheel? I initially had a shimmy (shaking steering wheel) at freeway speeds but they balanced the wheels and that fixed it.


I still have a vibration though and it's present at just about any speed. Of course last visit to dealer was a "could not duplicate" scenario so now I'm stuck with an annoyance with no apparent fix.


The dealer does have the GSP9700 Force Balancer but that's about all I know. I'm gonna see if I can get them to move the wheels around and balance again but I have to see the Toyota Rep first. It might be another cause altogether but if I can't get them to acknowledge an abnormality, I'm stuck.


Wheels are the 17" alloys with Michelin Cross Terrains. Had 35psi in them and tried 32 with no difference. Also, I've slipped the gear into neutral when driving and the vibration doesn't change.


I just can't figure it out but I'm thinking either they didn't do it perfectly the 1st time (based on what I've read, perfection is a requirement in this area for 4runners), or I've got a tire defect somewhere.


Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks
03 SR5 2WD V6

 

Sounds like it could be the tires, i would try a rotation and see what happens. Also, i remember Gadget, i think, talking about balancing with 4Runners. You have to balance them from the lugs and not the center of the wheel with a special adapter or something like that...anyone?

 

I hope it's a tire issue, as opposed to something hidden in the suspension or powertrain. I guess I won't know unless I can try a different set of wheels. That may be an uphill battle.

At the least I'm gonna see if I can get a rotation and re-balance.

 

I had a similar experience but with my T100. One time I changed tires to a larger size, the same tires installed on Landcruisers. Well, lots of trouble with vibration. I tried balancing and rebalancing. I changed out tires because we thought they might be out of round. I took it to a drive-shaft specialist. Well the problem was a simple one...I put tires on that were made for a heavier vehicle. Now I assume the tires you have are the stock ones, so they should be fine. But just maybe, you should have others for a lighter vehicle...I am not familiar with the weight differnce between 2 and 4 wheel drive models, but maybe it's enough to cause the stock tires to be inappropriate.

 

You could be right on the money here. I guess I'm gonna have to load up the truck with a few people and see if it rides better.

Your observation may explain why there is so little tolerance for error in balancing, and why the steering is so prone to road feedback.