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4Runner Shaking at highway Speeds - Help!

Discussion in 'General 4Runner Talk' started by allthescottsweretaken, Nov 22, 2017.

  1. Nov 22, 2017 at 8:41 PM
    #1
    allthescottsweretaken

    allthescottsweretaken [OP] New Member

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    So I have a 16 4Runner Trail, since the day I bought it (brand new) I've been running into the same issue - I hit approximately 55mph and from there up I get a pretty bad vibration coming through the steering wheel. It definitely felt like a tire was out of balance based on the frequency. I brought it back to the dealer, they rotated and rebalanced the wheels, and still the problem existed. At the 5000 mile service I complained about it, and they ended up replacing a tire due to imbalance. That solved the issue for about 90% of the time, but it still occasionally vibrated at highway speeds.

    So I said fuck it and threw on some aftermarket wheels. Used the stock tires on the new rims and did the install/balance myself at an auto clinic. Vibration came back full time. Said fuck it again and went and bought new BF Goodrich AT ko2s at Discount Tire, they installed the E rated tires by mistake. Car then shakes so bad on the highway I don't feel comfortable driving it. I brought it back today and they installed the C load rated tires at no cost. Car still shakes pretty bad as soon as I hit about 50 or so. The steering wheel visibly shimmy's back and forth and my arms jiggle like an old lady who just won bingo. I'm a Chinook pilot by profession and that POS doesn't shake as bad as my brand new car does.

    Just wondering where to go next. I find it hard to believe that 3 separate sets of tires made it through a professional balance and came out this bad. Is the 4runner just really sensitive to this stuff? It doesn't track like its way out of alignment or anything.

    Just wondering how to troubleshoot and if anyone else has had this problem.
     
  2. Nov 23, 2017 at 9:46 AM
    #2
    rsimi72

    rsimi72 New Member

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    Somewhat common problem, I’m afraid. I actually returned my first SR5 Premium after three days and swapped it for a different one for this reason. I swapped for the same model but the new one doesn’t shimmy as bad. I took the first one to Les Schwab for a road force balance. It might have helped a bit but didn’t fix the shimmy altogether. That’s when I swapped for the new one. Mine acts up about 58-60 mph and above and seems to depend somewhat on road surface and is seemingly worse when turning. Most of my driving is below 58 mph so I’m living with it for now. Better tires and a really good balance will probably help but I think the shimmy plagues the 4Runner. I’ve read about road force balancing helping. And new wheels and tires helping. I’ve read something about the power steering hardware being weak. Let us know if you find a way to improve it. Good luck.
     
  3. Nov 23, 2017 at 2:52 PM
    #3
    Dark Knight

    Dark Knight Get off my lawn

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    Plague is a strong word. Majority have no shimmy/vibration. I’m smooth as silk with lift and 285’s. Sometimes you get a slightly out of round tire, is the tire shop going to admit that or be able to positively identify it as that, probably not.
     
    rsimi72 likes this.
  4. Nov 23, 2017 at 9:44 PM
    #4
    rsimi72

    rsimi72 New Member

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    Good to hear.
     
  5. Nov 24, 2017 at 5:49 PM
    #5
    Riding Dirty

    Riding Dirty Sinner; saved by grace

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    Is plasti-dip a mod?!
    Wow, that’s crazy. Mine is smooth as butter. I’m all stock, but no shimmy here.
     
    rsimi72 likes this.
  6. Nov 26, 2017 at 4:57 AM
    #6
    karmatp

    karmatp New Member

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    Trevor
    Arizona
    Vehicle:
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    TRD wheels, Firestone destination at 2’s, Bilstein 5100's .85
    I am running KO2's with TRD Pro wheels and mine drives like a dream. Vibes are 99.9% wheel, lift or tire related.
     
  7. Nov 26, 2017 at 5:32 AM
    #7
    Gramps

    Gramps New Member

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    Some Old Guy that knows nothing
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    Just some stuff to make mall crawling easier.
    Just bought a 2018 SR5 Premium on Wedsnesday and zero issues like described above. Is it possible you have a bad wheel bearing maybe?
     
  8. Nov 26, 2017 at 8:18 AM
    #8
    MeefZah

    MeefZah ---

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    It's not uncommon. The problem is almost always tire balance. This truck is just more susceptible to that than other vehicles.

    I don't know if you do off road, but a common cause of the balance issue seems to be an accumulation of mud on the inner portion of the wheels. I have this fairly regularly. It's worse right at 55, which is maddening since that's the speed limit on most roads I'm on.
     
  9. Nov 26, 2017 at 8:49 AM
    #9
    rsimi72

    rsimi72 New Member

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    Interesting. If you clean your wheels as described does the shimmy disappear?
     
  10. Nov 26, 2017 at 12:51 PM
    #10
    allthescottsweretaken

    allthescottsweretaken [OP] New Member

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    Went back to Discount Tire (so far they have been pretty awesome as far as customer service goes) and they rebalanced all 4 wheels. Turns out one of them had a flat spot and did need to be replaced. I guess I have really bad luck when it comes to tires. The clerk did say that some cars are more sensitive to a minor imbalance, and I guess the 4Runner is one of them. So far I've driven another 100+ miles since the tire replacement/rebalance and its running smooth.
     
  11. Nov 26, 2017 at 3:44 PM
    #11
    Gramps

    Gramps New Member

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    Some Old Guy that knows nothing
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    Just some stuff to make mall crawling easier.
    Toyota recommends tire balances only with the lug centering adapter never a conical adapter. I run into issues on my Tacoma when a conical adapter is used. Also road force balancing helped a lot on mine.
     
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  12. Nov 26, 2017 at 9:19 PM
    #12
    MeefZah

    MeefZah ---

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    It does. The real bastard was when I got back from Alaska and had the tires rotated, they rotated them without cleaning and I probably had a few pounds of mud on each wheel. They had basically balanced themselves as the muck dried but when the tires were rotated, being in new positions on the truck caused the most horrendous shaking I have ever experienced. It was like driving a paint shaker until I cleaned the wheels.
     
    rsimi72[QUOTED] likes this.
  13. Mar 4, 2020 at 4:47 PM
    #13
    totmacher

    totmacher New Member

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    done some stuff to it

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