5th Gen Steering Wheel Shake: SOLUTIONS ONLY

I have found this on the Toyota App. I was wondering if anyone has installed a new one with any positive feedback. Thanks.

 

OMG. I've read a thousand posts on this topic and don't recall anyone ever noting that there's a Steering Shake Damper. Seems obvious that replacing that damper would be something to try if road force balancing did not work.

In searching the term on this site, I see only one other reference, by @josephp732 from this past January. https://www.4runners.com/threads/help-with-steering-wheel-rattle-broken-part.43181/#post-687418 But that seemed to be about something other than this persistent steering wheel shimmy.

@josephp732 -- did you replace your damper? Any other intel on this?

Obviously, many 4Rs are oversensitive to wheels/tires/balance/alignment. But my own experience tells me that wheels are a main culprit. I never had the shake on my stock 20s with the stock craptastic Bridgestones. I still don't have it months after switching to Michelin Defenders on those same stock 20s, even though the tire shop did not do road force balancing. I have even cycled my full-size spare with new Defender into the mix at rotation, doing it myself in my driveway with just a normal lug wrench, and no issues.

But I did have the shake with two different sets of tires when running OEM TRD 17" wheels, despite multiple road force balances. Including one at the dealer, which despite my complaints and consultation with a master tech never mentioned the steering shake damper.

I hope folks with the persistent shake will try a new damper and report back.

 

On my 4Runner I have the Gunner wheels since it’s an XP model and all terrain tires. I have had them balanced and everything and the problem still persists. I will install it and report back.

 

I don't want to discourage anyone but I'm betting on 99% of the wheel shake issues being tire balance related.

Mine shook from the day I bought it.

Having someone properly Road Force Balance it solved the issue. The trick is finding someone that can do it properly.

Also, tires go out of balance all the time so balancing is a maintenance item that needs attention semi-regularly.

 

Curious as to what size/model Thule box are you running? Sunroof? Thanks

 

This. Road force with finger plates. Find someone that will take the time. Took me a long time to find a shop that could do it, no one from Off Road specialty to the dealer could balance my tires....finally find a shop in Maine close to home that did it.

 

Is this for real? Seems like an April fools joke. Why is this not a more common answer to shimmy threads?

 

It’s for real lol. The only reason I found it was because I was so bored at work that I just started scrolling through parts for my 4Runner.

 

It seems no one has tried it yet, and almost no one even knew it existed.

Pretty much everyone agrees that wheel imbalance is the source of the steering wheel shake. And getting a good Road Force balance is the first thing to try. That's not the debate. The problem is that many people have gotten Road Force balances -- even multiple ones, and yes even using finger-plate mounting instead of hub mounting on the balancer -- and still have steering wheel shake. So replacing a $43 part that's called a Steering Shake Damper (for crying out loud! it's right in the name!) seems like a no brainer if wheel balancing has failed.

Obviously, the 4R has a problem. It's over sensitive to wheel balance. It just is. Most of us with this problem have had a gazillion other cars without this issue. Any kind of wheel balancing would work fine. We didn't need to find just the right shop. We didn't need to convince the shop to use finger plates instead of hub mounting. We didn't need to add wheel balancing to our regular maintenance routine. Some people here seem to think that wheel balancing should be considered as normal and routine as oil changes. It's like some form of copium. Who the hell has had cars like that other than the 4R? I've had about two dozen cars in my life and not a single damn one of them had this issue. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles and maybe done one or two balances that weren't part of mounting new tires. Cause, you know, that's normal.

So, those of us with reasonable expectations around wheel balancing needs have been wracking our brains for years trying to figure out why and what could be done about the 4R's finickiness. Again, no one is denying that wheel imbalance is the source of the shaking. What we've been saying is that the 4R shouldn't be so damn picky about wheel balance, and is there something we can do about that?

Is the Steering Shake Damper the something we can do about that? Is it possible that the difference between those 4R owners with persistent problems and those with no problem -- or an easily solved problem -- is just a faulty or poorly installed or worn out Steering Wheel Damper? We'll know when enough people try it.

 

Had cheap Asian made Hercules tires on my 2020 OR. Garbage tires. Bought some OEM take offs that came from a dealership through the Toyota port, half price and improved the shake a little.

Roadforce balancing helped the most.

 

I took my 4Runner back to Discount today after a balance/rotation from a couple weeks ago. About every 2nd or 3rd rotation, I would get the shake at 58-68 MPH. Today they narrowed it down to the right front tire. I watched him balance it and it needed almost 6 oz. of weights. I have a feeling that one road-forced really high from new. I asked if they could use finger plates and he said they didn't have any for 6 lug. ???? They put the best two on the front and the oddball on the driver's rear. No shake now. The oddball will stay on the rear from now on. I have about 54K on them and right around half tread. Side note....... Last week, I drove a straightaway near me in 4hi and at 58-68 there was no shake. I also have the ECGS bushing. This steering wheel shake can be very confusing and can come from multiple things.

 

Fully agree…..Myself, I think it’s possible an mis-manufactured marginal CV is the imbalance source of a slight shimmy magnified by tire imbalance. The tire balance sensitivity is ridiculous, it may help the CV issue temporarily but regardless is not the root culprit.
In my dozens of vehicles I have never had a vehicle anywhere near this sensitive to tire balance. My 35yr old thrashed 4R actually drives smoother than my 5th gen with old tires that haven’t been balanced in years or any other of the previous tires.
I’m taking it in for the third time tomorrow (6 days before the 3yr overall warranty runs out) for shimmy. I am going to show the service manager this thread as well as one from a GX forum.

 

^Never driven a real Land Cruiser I see

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKAWLQsNFuQ/

 

Does a older 3/4t straight axle diesel count?

 

^Then you should know what death wobble looks like. No reason to hold the 4Runner to a higher standard, since the steering and suspension were designed at the turn of the century.

You know what doesn't have steering shimmy? 6th gen

 

Brand new +$50k vehicles should NOT have wobble the day you take delivery!