New member - Steering wheel vibration solved

I know - that is what I would have assumed from the start. But the vibration completely disappeared with the last rotor turn and replacement of old pads. Now it is back - I didn't change anything like tie rods/bushings/etc. the last time and it was solved. Likewise on the wheels - had them road force balanced and it did nothing.

 

Went back to the drawing board last night and through the process of everything that changed when the vibration went away last time.

* Turned rotors

* New pads

* Subsequent new rotors...

Realized a critical component is the removal re-install of the wheel...

So - loosened, re-set, and re-torqued the front wheels to 110. Vibration is now gone.

I'm pretty sure I have these wheels, powder-coated black: https://www.autorimshop.com/toyota-tundra-2016-20-wheel-rim-69533.html, the torque specs say to go to 97, https://21cylinders.com/toyota-tundra-lug-nut-torque-size/, although I've seen a lot of folks posting they do 110 for whatever reason. Will do a separate post on that.

 

Hi! I’m interested if the re-torquing fixed the problem for good? Is your truck 4WD? What tires did it have on it?

We do have the same wheels with the exception of color.

Also, did you notice any uneven tread wear on the outsides of your tires? Ours are nearly bald on the outsides of the tires with only 26k miles. The tires are rated for 55k.

We bought our 2018 Tundra Limited 4x4 brand new with 4 miles on it. The issue was noticeable and very bad within just weeks of having it. We took it to the dealership and they gave us two new front tires and it helped but didn’t fix the problem. We have taken it in multiples times subsequently and still have no resolution.

I am contemplating printing all of this information, along with our services records and filing for lemon law protection before it runs out.

I feel like they are stringing us along knowing there is a major issue with these trucks.

Has anyone noticed similar issues or found a resolve since? Anyone ever been able to successfully prove it’s a lemon??

 

Welcome from Maryland

 

Truth be told resurfaced rotors are 50/50. better to just buy new. I had the same problem with a Lexus. Always had a slight vibration. Guy at work had a corvette doing the same thing. they told him it was his rotors, I told him no way. He said it fixed his problem. I changed my rotors problem fixed, that was 10 years ago still zero vibration.

 

Thank you! Hoping to get some resolution to this craziness!

We love our Toyota’s, have had a Tacoma, Prius and our Tundra. This has been the only major issue we have ever had! Need some suggestions to take to the dealer so they can check it all out!

 

Thanks! That’s one of the things they tried (without our permission) was to turn the rotors. We went to pick it up and they said, we turned the rotors so the problem should be fixed. Didn’t help a bit and my husband was mad because at that point we only had 20k miles and they just cut our rotors life in half.

I plan on just making a list of all of the services we have had, the ones they haven’t performed and ask them to try whatever they want because if it doesn’t fix the problem-it’s something more than the rotors.

Unfortunately, it’s very significant and more than just a slight vibration. It’s so bad that it actually shakes your hands while holding the steering wheel. I also don’t think rotors would cause uneven tread wear on our tires. So bad that at 26k miles we need new tires. My husband takes very good care of this truck as you can see from the photo in my post.

This is a serious issue to us because we have kept all of our Toyota’s long after they are paid off and planned to do that with this truck. But if it’s eating tires, brake pads, rotors and not even a nice ride-why pay $50k for a brand new pickup to have these problems? I could get a 1-2 year old truck for half the price and have a better ride.

 

Hey there, I feel your pain, I dumped a new Tacoma 2 years ago because after 3 sets of tires, a dozen balances and around 3-4 alignments from 2 different dealers they couldn't fix the trucks highway shakes, it made my hands numb. When we purchased my wife's 2020 4Runner it was smooth but developed the shakes after about 2 weeks. Tried the dealership 3 times and they actually made it worse. We decided to try going somewhere else. I'm not sure where in Texas you're at but we went to Firestone in Denton on Brinker Rd. We explained the situation and asked if they could help us. It took them a little over 3 hours but we got the 4Runner back without any shakes. That was 8k miles ago and it's still great. Multiple alignments and testing is how they fixed it. It would still get a 1-2 mile cold morning minor shake until the tires warmed up but that went away after we put Michelin Defenders on it. Smooth every day now. I test drove 2 Tundras a year ago and didn't purchase either because of shakes. When I test drove mine a month ago it had a minor shake that went away after a couple miles and it's still the same now with 3k miles. Minor shake for 1-2 miles until the tires warm up.

 

Been reading a lot of these threads as I’m experiencing this same problem.
2016 4x4 with 28k miles.
Had vibration as I would break so I upgraded rotors to heavy duty slotted recommended by my mechanic. Shaking went away during breaking but now I have my steering wheel shake without breaking at 50-65mph.
To add, I never changed my break pads as they had a lot of life left.
Would new rotors cause something like this? Where do you recommend I start looking into to fix the problem.
Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome, @HartysTundra, from LA (Lower Alabama)! You found an old thread and revived it, which may not get a ton of responses. So if you don't get your answer here, you might try posting a new thread.

 

Welcome from AZ

 

Don't overlook rust buildup on the rotors outside the pad contact area. A small ball peen hammer and dust mask are now part on my brake servicing tools Tap tap tap tap tap.....
I learned this years ago after crossing a very rough RR crossing and a vibration immediately developed. Car was a 1981 Lancia. Dealer said it was bad CV joint. RR cut me a check and I started work finding the hard jolt knocked some of the rust off the one rotor. Chipped the rest off and test drove. BTW, The check was returned to the railroad.

 

Welcome! thanks for sharing!!

 

Chasing shaking in the steering wheel. Replaced rack. Relpaced inner and outer tie rods. Replaced upper and lower ball joints. Replaced tires. All made it better, but still happens every now and then at 60 mph. The rack still would move when the steering wheel was moved. Added a nut to the top of the rack, built a mount off of it to the frame. Replaced rack mounting bushing in the frame. Problem fixed. Solid as a rock. Hope this helps someone. I've been working on this truck for a while.