Steering wheel shake

so it’s pretty commonly known by now that the 5th gen 4runner suffers from steering wheel shake at around 60 mph. What is lesser known is that the gx460 also suffers from this issue as well. recently drove one and had the exact same issue as t4r. Interestingly the tacoma doesn’t suffer from this problem.

but in the meanwhile know that us 5th gen owners are not alone. If that makes you feel any better

 

I have a 2022 with no steering wheel shake at or around 60 mph.

What year and model 4Runner do you have? Have you been fighting this issue for sometime?

 

Really? Huh. First time I've ever heard this. Been driving it for 13 years and never had ANY type of steering wheel shake at any speed.

 

mine is a 2023 sr5 completely stock.

maybe it’s not an issue with the limited and it’s different wheel size from other 4runners. because all 4runners except limited and trd sport use 265/70/17 wheel and tire size.

it’s a pretty common problem with 5th gens.
and i have driven other ones with it

It is only noticeable when you are braking or slowing down from let’s say 70 mph to 60 mph then there is a vibration in the steering wheel.

 

are you still in the stock limited tire and wheels size?

Because maybe it’s not an issue with the limited since it has a different wheel size from other 4runners. because all 4runners except limited and trd sport use 265/70/17 wheel and tire size.

 

I've had a 2015 Trail Premium and now a 2023 Off-Road Premium, both with KDSS, and neither of them has had a steering wheel shake after proper tire balancing and alignment - YRMV

 

Same, don't see this as a complaint very often. And if it is it's usually with mods if its a complaint.

Now Jeep with its death wobble is a known problem.

 

I'm not. I switched to 17" wheels because the ride with the 20" was too rough.

Leads me to believe there's a brake problem. Like a bad caliper that's causing a pad to consistently contact the rotor, which causes heat, which causes warping.

 

I got shake just once and it was because my tires were out of balance. If it's common the reason probably is that people are getting heavy offroad tires which many shops cannot balance properly.

 

I had 17s on a 2021 SR5 Premium with Bridgestones and those cats were horrible in regards to actual road feel. No vibration but it felt like every change on the road could be secondarily felt through the steering column/wheel. Was not a vibration, more like a roughness, but this was at lower speeds.

 

I believe it's common for the 5th gen to be sensitive to wheel balance (or sensitive to larger wheels and tires getting balanced perhaps).

That being said, I've had no steering wheel shake in my '23 ORP with stock wheels and tires since I purchased it. It's recently been lifted (still on stock wheels and tires) and still no shake at any speed regardless of braking, maintaining speed or accelerating.

 

I’m glad this thread exists because I bought a 4R today. During our first ride on the interstate my wife asks, “Why is it shaking over 70?” Glad to learn I’m not alone.

 

2021 TRD Pro, 265/70R17. No wheel shake whatsoever on the stock Bridgestone Desert Dueller tires for over 10,000 miles. Added Eibach springs to level it out (+1.4" front, 1.75" rear) and over 6,000 miles on new spring upgrades and Mickey Thompson (265/70R17) AT's and no wheel shake all the way up to 80 MPH (legal driving speed going through Idaho).

 

This happened one time on my 2000 Limited, warped disks up front from just 10 seconds of hard emergency braking which engaged the Anti-Lock brakes HARD. Replaced rotors and all was well.

 

hmmm now that you say it.. I have used a-trac a lot which probably puts stress on brakes maybe it is warped rotors.


but the thing is my buddy’s gx460 also had this same problem???

 

hmmm now that you say it.. I have used a-trac a lot which probably puts stress on brakes maybe it is warped rotors.


but the thing is my buddy’s gx460 alsohad this same problem???

 

Rotors typically will not warp after one hard braking incident, In My experience.

 

Never heard of this.. have driven two 5th gen.. no shakes.

this ain’t no needle bearing rumble

 

There are many things that can cause this including warped rotor, bent tie rod, alignment, imbalances in the wheel/tire etc. I don't think it has anything to do with a design flaw or something exclusive to this platform. All those things can happen to just about any vehicle.

 

My 2020 SR5 did it with the stock Bridgestone duelers , I got alignment checks, balancing, psi checks. Got new tires and still does
Doesnt happen every time I drive ...but when I do notice , always on the highway and always between 50 &60 mph. The steering wheel will shake.
It goes way as you lower speed. Lots of 4runner owners are experiencing this and it does seem to be a "thing"

 

Definitely a thing, 2021 Limited with 38K miles and a shake. Tried multiple tires, wheels and balancing machines, still there. Sometimes very little sometime a lot, twice it happened when getting to 60mph the wheel would shake so powerfully I could not hold it and had to slow down to about 45. Made appointment wit dealer but next day as if nothing happened.

 

We should call it the "Ghost shake"..cuz it literally disappears and comes back at will and next day it's as if nothing happened!

 

Sometimes the culprit is a shifting (steel) belt, this is more probable when tires get down to less than half tread life remaining and more pronounced on taller sidewalls (think 70 to 75 aspect ratio). I first experienced this random shudder with my (new back then) 1987 Pathfinder. Those SUVs came factory with p-metric 235/75 R15s and on one trip down I-5 in the summer, where the speed limit is a mere 70 mph and summer temps in the triple digits the front end (and steering wheel) felt like all hell broke loose…thought I was going to veer off the highway at any moment. Was running Bridgestone Desert Duellers if I remember correctly.

A mechanic friend recommended that I try rebalancing first (which failed to eliminate the problem) followed by a complete replacement (which seemingly solved the issue).

Years later in my gen 3, literally the same stretch of highway and running Michelins the same type of vibes hit. It definitely wasn’t caused by the highway surface for anyone thinking that as a possibility for that stretch of I-5 was pavement not asphalt. My tires were somewhere around 1/32 from the wear bars so I immediately went to buy a new set remembering the prior experience with the Pathfinder.

This makes me wonder if tire condition and or front end geometry is at the root cause for many folks here. That said, does anyone care to post up what mileage they have on the tires when the vibes hit?

 

If it happens under braking only your rotors may have excessive runout. This is a common problem for all cars.

Take the wheel off and slap a dial indicator on the rotor and check. I've never met a vehicle that had steering wheel shake wasn't solvable...
Balance tires, check suspension/ bushings and tie rods, check rotor runout/ machine rotors if needed.

This works for literally every car. Something is causing this, and it ain't casper the friendly ghost...

 

And while you’re at it, mic the runouts on the rims as a last inspection point.

 

this thread is an interesting find....my 2019 4Runner just started having some shaking/vibrations between 60- about 65 mph. Started maybe a week or two after a DIY tire rotation (current tires have about 1,200 miles on them). took it in to a shop for balancing about a week ago, no change, went back today and they assured me the wheels were balanced but they noticed 'some slight play up front-maybe Pitman arm". I would think an issue with the pitman arm would be giving me some knocking or something like that, but there is none. other than the 60 mph shake, the ol girl seems solid and drives well. gonna take a closer look at the front end later this week

 

I noticed the shake occurs primarily above 60 mph and is accentuated over 70. It also occurs if I brake at high speeds (+60mph).
The previous owner stated that he had the brakes replaced. Thoughts on the cause?

 

^Another thing that is specific to 4x4 4Runners is the front diff needle bearing going out... but that is usually pretty easy to diagnose. I would look at the simple/easy stuff first

 

DON'T take your vehicle back to that shop, they seems to lack the knowledge needed to work on a vehicle!!!

Your 5th Gen T4R doesn't have a pitman arm, it has a rack and pinion assembly and they don't use a pitman arm, the steering shaft goes directly to the rack and pinion.

Pitman arms are used on old school steering assemblies that have a "steering box" and relay the turning motion of the steering column/shaft into left and right via the pitman arm on the bottom of the steering box to a "draglink" and on the other end of the draglink is a idler arm that moves left and right in unison with the pitman arm and the tie rods are connected to the drag link.

The shop you took it too should know the difference in these 2 totally different steering systems, they are nothing alike other than from the tie rods out to the wheels.

 

I will admit I’m still confused with the outcomes of this thread. I read people saying it’s a common problem. I read people saying it’s particular to certain vehicles. I read it’s just natural to 4Rs and there is t much we can do. Then I read it’s an easy fix. Does anyone know if there is consensus here?