What will cause a steering wheel shimmy at 60-65mph other than tires, rims, balance, front end alignment?
I have a 2016 4Runner SR5 Premium with 17000 miles on it. Since about 2000 miles, it developed a shimmy in the steering wheel at about 60-62mph up to 65mph. Then, goes away above that. Sometimes minimal shaking, other times it's a hard shaking of the wheel. My wife and I feel shaking in the seat of the pants maybe 45-60mph at times. Vehicle has been back to Toyota Dealership numerous times for this problem, starting with the 5000 mile service. Have had two front end alignments, three tire balance with last being a road force balance. I'm told they use an adapter to balance the tires. They replaced the original Dunlops with Goodyear Wanglers and I had the same problem. They replaced the Wanglers more recently with Bridgestone. While the Bridgestones have provided the best ride yet, I am now getting a shimmy once again after two days since the new tires were put on. First day, no shake. Second day, a hint of shaking. A week later, shaking very evident. Each and every time, the new tires seem to fix the problem for 1-2 days, then a slight shimmy starts and after a week or so, gets worse. I've opened a complaint with Toyota Customer Support. The service manager at the local dealership did confirm a shimmy after test drive the first time before replacing the Dunlop tires with Wanglers. Thereafter, they tell me they can't feel the shimmy. However, I do and it gets worse as time goes on. The dealer pulled a set of Bridgestone wheels off a new vehicle on the lot and put them on my vehicle for a test drive. I couldn't detect a shimmy and they let me keep the tires on overnight and actually for several days. I told the service manager I could barely detect a shimmy that morning and knew it was there but not worth the bother if it didn't get worse. So, the dealer went ahead and ordered new Bridgestone tires and put them on my wheels. I got the same problem starting out with no shimmy, then hardly detectable shimmy, and now a strong shimmy after more than a week of driving. It seems to fade away for awhile and comes back. When it shimmies, it's always between 60-65mph and it seems the worst is at 63mph. It's almost like there is some sort of steering sensor that puts tension on the steering wheel to control "directional" control of the front end and something goes haywire with it. I am completely lost with new vehicles and computer- controlled systems. The best I can say is that I'm convinced at this time that it sure isn't the tires or balance causing the problem. I feel pretty sure it's not the rims. The dealer shared with me that they checked the runout on the rotors, checked the brake pads, the suspension, and struts and can't find anything wrong. In researching online, I've come across many articles concerning quite a few problems with earlier 4Runners having a Shimmy and a couple recent ones - most tied to how the tires are balanced. Since I don't believe it's a balance problem (it comes and goes), I'm wondering if there is some sort of defect or I have a defective part in the steering or suspension system. I'm really tired of going back to the dealership (I've been to two Toyota Dealerships) and while they think the problem is fixed, it's not. Hopefully, there is an expert Toyota Rep reading this and taking note and might have some ideas other than balance. If we have any independents in the Gallatin, Hendersonville, or Nashville, TN area who is willing to have a once over on my vehicle, I would consider paying for the fix at this point. Lets discount tire balance unless you really believe both dealerships are that incompetent to properly balance the tires. I personally think the tires are balanced properly and don't think this is a tire balance issue. I also have this sensation that there is not good directional control and I've also pointed that out to the dealership. I read somewhere that the Lexus GX-460 had some sort of steering tensioner issue and had a TB for recall to fix it. I'm wondering if the same is going on here. I'd really like to get this problem fixed as I'm happy with the vehicle otherwise. Thanks, Frank
