I have a 2019 4Runner that my wife drives, it's a great vehicle. I had a 21 Tacoma TRD but got tired of how small it was so I traded it in on a 23 4wd 4Runner.

Right after buying it I noticed vibration in the steering wheel around 60 mph but it was intermittent. My 2019 did that for a couple hundred miles (most likely due to it sitting in one spot and that affecting the tires) so I di don't think much of it until it did not go away.

I took it to the dealer since this is annoying, visible vibration in the steering wheel mainly at 60 mph but its intermiitent. The dealer balanced the front tires and gave it back. It did it again so I emailed them and was told this is a common problem on 5th gen 4Runners, that they would look at it but could probably do nothing about it.

The 4Runner forums are replete with people having this issue and there is not one particular thing that has corrected it, some just live with it.

I contacted Toyota corporate and voiced my displeasure and took it again to the dealer. They had it three days and said they could not duplicate the issue and give it back without doing anything.

So, how man here have had this issue? What corrected it? I am considering pursuing the lemon laws in Texas if they cannot fit this but I would rather keep it. Just wondering if anyone else has had the issue and how it was fixed. If it was not intermittent it would be easier to deal with.

I can tell you what I'd do if it were brought to me. Even if it has been done before, I can't vouch for it.

Road force balance the tires, without, for diagnostic purposes, removing any weights first. Sometimes this can uncover a balance issue that would otherwise not show up with normal spin balancing. I might also check the alignment and adjust it, if necessary, for maximum caster angle. (This is usually, but not always, more of a problem with straight axles than IFS.) And is it lifted/"leveled," or have oversized tires or aftermarket wheels with a different offset? Those can cause problems. Leveling kits with a spacer on top of the strut will reduce caster, and a steering dampener can't be put on rack & pinion steering.

I ass-u-me the dealer has checked for any service bulletins.

I agree with the road force, there is a TSB on Dunlap tires causing this. I would think that the Toyota forums have already mentioned this.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/...tt-0602-20-rev.shtml

Hunter Road Force Balancing is my primary criteria ANY time I'm getting tires mounted & balanced.

Find a Hunter Road Force or Road Force Elite Balancer near you here --> https://www.hunter.com/find-equipment/

I would also have the front end alignment checked by a reputable shop. I had two 4Runners (Loved them),’15 and a ‘18 lots of towning and cross county trips. They are really sensitive to the alignment.

The 4Runner wheels are lug-centric not hub-centric. When doing a Road Force balancing, they need to use a special flange, or fingers adapter. The most common adapter is called Haweka. This should eliminate the problem.

I’ve got 88k on my 2017- never encountered this issue.

Thanks for all the input, I'll start looking into it.

quote:

Originally posted by Bob RI:
I’ve got 88k on my 2017- never encountered this issue.

Almost identical on my ODO, also a 2017, and I've never encountered this.

Two things I'd do beyond proper balance:

1) - make sure your tire pressures are a couple of PSI above the door sticker (I run 34psi on my TRD Pro)

2) - Get an alignment. This helps.

That said, the 4Runners kinda do this (particularly the off-road tired models), especially when the tires are cold and lower pressure than needed. I've never not had the shimmy go away within about 15 minutes of driving.

2019 TRD Off Road Pro with 80K.

Mine was horrible when the factory Bridgestone's were on, but since I switched to Falken Wildpeak A/T, the problem only minimally shows itself if the 4Runner sits too long or if there's a big swing in temp. When it does happen, it's gone within 5-10 minutes when the tires come up to temp. I was glad when my tech told me the Bridgestone's were toast at 45K. Those things were dangerous. The shimmy would come and go whenever it wanted to and forget about driving in the rain. I've had bald motorcycle tires with better wet weather grip

To be honest, changing the tires made the truck so much better all around. How many times can you say that putting All Terrains on made a vehicle quieter? Even the on road feel is improved and my fuel economy only dropped .5 MPG. Off Road is where the tire change really shines. The 4Runner is a mountain goat now (much like my '98 Taco was before it). It'll hang with the 2 Power Wagon's in my family on hillsides and I leave them wishing they were a 3000 pounds lighter when we hit the mud

Good luck getting it sorted.

If you have a jiggle to the wheel it’s probably tire related. If the tires are well balanced try rotating the tires to see if that changes things.
If the vibration is fast and tight and goes away when in four wheel drive consider that Toyota has an issue with the needle bearing on the inner yoke of the drivers front CV shaft on T4r and Tacoma. Not all vehicles seem to have the issue but it’s common enough that East Coast Gear Supply sells a replacement bushing and an installation tool. The bushing offers better support for the yoke. Toyota has replaced many differentials over this and many folks just have the same issue again.

The forums are full of the 'vibrating steering wheel' thing, which 90% of the time is fixed with a road force balance, as mentioned above. For some reason, it takes owners a few trips back to the shop to finally get it right (or finding the right service tech). Occasionally, they trace it to either a bad tire itself, or suspension component dying.

I love this Forum. My 2021 just started doing this. I'll have to see what the dealership has to say about it. I'm due for new tires anyways. The factory tires which are on it now are garbage, as they were slippery right off the bat.

My 20 Pro had it. Good balancing took care of it after I got new tires. It was more pronounced after it sat for a free days on the OEM tires (can’t complain I got almost 90,000 miles out of them). My new tires (Goodyear Wranglers w/kevlar) are a higher load rating and the shimmy is gone. I run 34psi. Not sure if the OEMs with softer sidewalls had anything to do with it