I'm hoping I can get any opinions about a vibration problem I'm having with my 2003 Tacoma.
Last December, I got new tires (Firestone) put on my Tacoma. The tires now have about 10,000 miles and the Tacoma about 60,000. After installation and up until about 3 months ago, the ride was nice and smooth.
I noticed the vehicle just didn't "feel right" through both the steering wheel at low speeds, and there was a pronounced vibration from about 60-70 miles an hour that would smooth out above and below that, but would never go away.
Assuming I'd thrown a tire weight or something, I took it back to the tire dealer. They checked the balance on all tires (all slightly off) and rotated the tires. There was no change in the vibration. They found no defects with any of the tires or wheels.
A couple of weeks later, I took it to a local, small tire dealer and had them again check the balance on all the tires, thinking maybe the larger place had just done something wrong. Again, a couple of the tires were slightly out of balance, not enough to even affect anything, and they inspected all four tires and wheels and found nothing wrong with any of them. We took it for a drive after they got done, and the tire guy rode in the passenger seat and said the vibration seemed to be coming from the right front and he could see the hood bouncing up and down as I drove, although when I'm driving, sometimes it feels like the entire vehicle is vibrating; I can feel it through the wheel, feel it through the seat and see the front glass of my camper shell through the back window bouncing around.
The vibration seems worse when the vehicle us under less of a load, and usually vibrates badly between 60-70 miles an hour, but sometimes the ride is nice and smooth at those speeds, I think again maybe because the vehicle is under a load going up a hill, running a flat stretch, or maybe going downhill. It's at its worst right when I leave home from work and drive a long, pretty steep downhill grade out of town.
Aside from the tire work, the only maintenance I've had done on the front end is the tie rod end recall and alignment at my local dealer.
I'm starting to believe this is some kind of mechanical problem with either the suspension or drivetrain of the vehicle itself, not the tires. Does anybody have any experience with this or any ideas? I'm taking it into the dealer in a week and have written down any and all information I can think of regarding the vibration to hopefully make their diagnosis easier.
It's just a standard SR5 4WD with standard tires/wheels; no modifications at all. The only recent change lately is that I added a used Leer Crown fiberglass shell on the back. I've also noted that it seems to be pulling pretty good to the left on the Interstate. I don't drive any rough roads and haven't hit anything hard that I know of. When I had the tie rod replacement done early this year, the dealer did an alignment check. With the pulling to the left, is there any chance the alignment has changed and is compounding the problem?
I have a 2002 C Cab and have never experienced this problem. However I have gone through a few sets of rotors that have caused violent vibration down long mountain grades. I know Toyota has a recall considering the
(front control arm and lower ball joint). Any play in these could cause vibration. This would be my best guess. Even if this isn't the problem, it would be good to get the work done. I hope you solve the problem, these trucks are absolutley the best compact truck money can buy.
I'm mostly just curious about any theories. I'm taking it in next Monday and will describe the symptoms and its history of recent wheel balancings and let them take it from there.
Sounds to me like a brake/rotor problem. Your rotors can actually warp if they have been hot. Since you've recently installed the shell, you've increased the vehicle weight which in turn would increase the force needed to stop. That is of course just my opinion based on the symptoms you have described.
Have you noticed any difference in the braking distance, or haveing to push the pedal any harder than befor?
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Another thing to check is the carrier bearing. This is the bearing in the center of your drive-shaft. These seem to go out on the earlier model Tacoma's.
Another place to search (and I mean search first, do not just post the question or you'll be flamed big time) is ttora.com. They have alot of info there on the 95.5-04 Tacoma's. Again SEARCH first, can't stress this enough.
i have an 02' that had the EXACT same problem i got my tires balanced all four make sure they are on dead 0. my truck was so smooth at all speeds perfectly straight. i just rotated my tires last weeek and now it pulls so hard to the left and has a VERY noticable vibration. im gonna blanace and rotate back and maybe get an alignment and get the truck back to perfect.
i really thikn it is a balance problem 99% of the time you might have to go to a couple different places i litterally watched the guy do it so they do all 4 and so it is on 0 bc sometimes they just do the fronts and such
I just bought a 99 pre-runner and have the same situation....I did a little research and have found this information online about the differences in lugcentric versus hubcentric and how they should be properly balanced Vibration Problems
I have this same problem on my 2003 4-Door Prerunner. With four adults in the cab it rides fairly well, but with only the driver and maybe a child it vibrates enough to shake the fillings out of your teeth at 65-75mph. Feels like more than just a tire/wheel being out of balance.
I have the same problem with my 2003 extended cab SR5 pre-runner. The ABS light went on and the steering wheel has not stopped shaking. Can anyone give any suggestions as to what you think it might be? Thank you in advance.
Take your tires to a tire shop with a Radial Force Balance machine. They are rare, and hard to find. You may have a hard spot in the carcas that is noticeable, ot you may have the "High" spot on the tire aligned with the "High" spot on the rim. If the problem is RFB (or RFV), put the hard tires in the back, and the smooth tires in the front. Max is probably about 20 lbs of variation. If the problem is the second, unseat the tire from the rim, turn it 90 degrees, and try it again. The high spot issue is why many tires have a little dot at one spot on the bead.
For what it's worth, I had a problem with wheel vibration just as described above until the offending tire went flat last week. The kid at the tire store took a long time to re-install and balance it (he couldn't find a puncture) but since then, the vibration has not returned. I can now drive at 45 to 55 miles per hour without my Leer cap hopping on the left front corner.
Could it be a problem fitting the bead onto the mag wheel? I had had the wheel balanced three times before and the mag to a repair specialist, who immediately dismissed it as a tire out of round. I couldn't find another Dayton of this size, so I toughed it out for 10,000 miles.
Now it's fine after a careful re-installation. I guess I owe that kid a beer.
I have the same problem with my 2003 extended cab SR5 pre-runner. The ABS light went on and the steering wheel has not stopped shaking. Can anyone give any suggestions as to what you think it might be? Thank you in advance.
you may need to start by unplugging the abs sensors until you find the faulty one...........sometimes dirt/dust can get in and mess the sensor up, other than that, it may be time for a new sensor. you could take it to a shop and get them to check the sensors for you too though.
2003 Tacoma Vibration Problem
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