Anybody here work at Toyota?

Holla at me! I got beef!

I knew a couple people that worked for a Toyota dealership.

I have owned a couple of Toyotas.

This thread should be a lesson on how not to get people to help you.

It is helping to keep it on page one until (maybe) sees it that works for Toyota.

He never really said what kind of help he needed so if my friend, who was service advisor for Toyota, hadn't died from COVID-19 last year he might have been able to help.

His wife's car has had several issues. A Rav4 or some kind of small SUV.

I thought beef is a good thing.

They say you get what you pay for

4Runner with stock TRD wheels/nitto terra grappler has had a steering wheel shake since the second week we owned it. Took it in at 4800 miles to have them change oil, rotate and balance. Did not help. I’ve been back 7 times. They’ve road force balanced, replaced tires, swapped tires/wheels, swapped drive shafts, remotely turned off torque converter while it was shaking, driven it in 4wd with and without main driveshaft. Still shakes. Dealer agrees something is wrong. Toyota corporate says it’s a known “characteristic of the vehicle” and not a safety concern. They refuse to do any further repairs. They say it’s “normal harmonic.” The regional tech who deemed it a normal harmonic has never ridden in the vehicle. The wheel has shaken up to about 1.5” side to side at its worst. We’re about to Lemon Law it, but would rather just have it fixed. Toyota said it would be 30-45 days before they could get started on a case. Has 10,500 miles on it. Toyota corporate told us to return the loaner car and deal with it. I asked them and the dealership for something in writing saying that the vehicle is safe and mechanically sound. Both refused.




This video was after the road force had improved it.

Lawyer Up . Better Call Saul! I would seek a lawyer's advice.

I would consider having someone else try to balance the tires I always use Discount Tire for my Tacoma.

I had a car that did that shimmy thing. Long story short, I was told by the dealership to drive slower or faster to avoid it shimmying. Didn't own that car very long.

When I read the "I got beef" line, I thought maybe he was inviting Toyota workers over for a BBQ.

Report it to the attorney general office and get the state involved. After Chevy had replaced the heads and one piston on my new truck it still used oil at 15,000 miles. They said that's was all they would do. After they received a letter from the AG they decided to replace the whole engine with a complete new warranty.
Good luck Jacob

I have been down this same road with a 2014 Chevy Silverado. Road force balance, drive shaft, new wheels, new tires, no change. After about 15 trips to the dealer and much frustration, I fixed the problem myself, I traded it in on a different brand. Good luck, they will never fix that.

My 2010 FJ Cruiser did the same thing. They tore it down to the frame, changed everything out and it shook like an unbalanced washing machine. They sent a tech from Houston to S.A. and he said "its not a safety, good bye". Later down the road after I had traded it in there was a recall notice on them. Check for recall.

But I've been told Toyota's are perfect in every way and NEVER need fixing.

That is very close to the actual truth. Last Tacoma kept for 16 years zero major repairs.

I defer all shimmy-shaking and out-of-balance questions to Derek!

I can get you a good deal on a Toy Yoda .

Mo

I've read that vehicle frames are sometimes damaged in transit when boomed down to the carrier. This could be a latrine rumor, but it sounds like something that could happen.

I had a 47 Willys Jeep when I was a kid.. it had a bad shimmy at about 40 mph.. I think they call it a "death wobble" now.

Probably heard that from me. I have 3 Toyotas right now and have owned 11 over the years. Just sold a 2003 Camry with 208,000 miles on it. Never any major issues and money expenditures other than maintenance and CV joints and other front end components which I rebuilt myself successfully (I live on poor county roads). Frontends lasted 100K+.

Never owned a 4Runner.

Toyotas get extremely high satisfaction and dependability ratings.

Probably won't get that from Jacob.

I'm sure he can get some satisfaction through legal channels although it will be a PIA.

It's funny how that works. I once drove an old 1953, GMC pickup with kingpin suspension. Once you got up to around 45mph, the pickup would start shaking like you were inside a paint mixer. Speed up a little, and it would quit.

Ditto on my 2014 Silverado. Five different dealerships could not get it right. The 2008 Avalanche I had before that toasted the engine at 40,000 miles. GM rebuilt that one no questions asked.

I switched to Toyota Tundras in 2015 and not a day in the shop since. We've owned a 2004 AWD V8 Runner, a 2010 AWD Limited, and currently a 2016 GX460. None of them have needed anything other than routine stuff. Others I know have had problems, luckily I've never had a bad Toyota.

I tried the arbitration number with GM without success. If they can't get the 4-Runner running right that would be my next step.

I own Toyota stock so they work for me. Now, how much beef are you offering to make this problem go away?

wife's car is 2017 Toyota Rav-4....10,000 miles and no problems...years ago i had a toyota small truck about a 1976 model...kept it 4 years and no problems

As much as these vehicles cost, I’d be insistent to a remedy. Quick too.

Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Tiktok.
Find Toyota corporate and the dealership you've been working with and start slamming them on all social media fronts. Just make sure that you 100% tell the truth.

Attorney's cost you money which you probably won't recover.
Attorney General is probably a slow response.
In either case, take a look at the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Just went through this with a pool build. I went the attorney route. But I firmly believe, that I could have achieved the same results just being a PITA on Social Media.

That’s not good, my 83’ K30 is smoother than that. Good luck, I think it is time to involve an attorney and get rid of the thing.

On a side note, if Toyota made a one ton truck, I would try a few and see just how great they really are.

I hate to hear that.

With the 4Runner being built on a truck frame and having the 4.0L we have stayed away from them when shopping for a SUV.

With Toyota already telling you to deal with it I would by driving somewhere and trading it in on a different brand or at the very least going to different Toyota dealerships and test driving other 4Runners.

I have not heard of anyone with one having that problem so it will difficult to find the right place to "fix" the defect.

Good idea on test driving another, but TRD Pros are scarce.

Sell it. Get a vehicle you will be happy with.

Just talked to my old dealership where I was a manager and they have had the same issue on certain ones. Not all but just certain one and have not found a solution that works either. All they can do is to make it shimmy as little as possible also. With the market the way it is I would sell it to Carmax and get another one.

Ask them if they will put on a different set of stock wheels and tires and see if it still creates the same problem.

I'm assuming the issue is with the TRD Pro? That's the only one I can think of coming with stock Nitto Terra. They also have a different lifted suspension than the other 4-Runners.

My 15 Tundra was the original inferno TRD Pro. I loved the ride and hated the exhaust when pulling a boat. It was great unless I was towing. . Not wanting to hear the exhaust is a symptom of being “an old” LOL. The 2018 doesn't have the personality not the resale of the Pro. Looking back I wish I'd just swapped the exhaust out and kept it. All of them cost too much not to be happy. I bet you can sale the bad copy for what you paid right now.

Also sounds like a cheap from steering stabilizer bar would be your friend.

Corporate Headquarters are on 121 on Frisco/Plano border

Go there and raise cane.......

Google would agree with that as there are many, many people complaining about the same thing.

Different wheels and tires did not solve their problem.

One thing I can think of, if on the back of the wheel, where it mounts to the rotor, is flat, and not recessed to fit around the clip, and you've only got one or two brake clips per wheel, they could be mounted slightly crooked. If that's the case, take some dykes and just cut them off, and reinstall the wheels.


If not that, start searching Toyota Service Bulletins. We had a transmission issue shortly after we bought my wife's 4runner in '12, and went round and round a few times. I'm fairly certain they knew the only fix was to replace the transmission, but they weren't going to offer that until I printed the bulletin off and brought it in.

Hope you get some satisfaction from corporate. You would think Toyota would jump all over getting these fixed.
I am looking at getting a Toyota truck in the next year (after the corona cluster) when the 2022's come out. I will be getting rid of a 2003 4Runner SR5 2 wheel drive with 165,000 miles on it. No repairs other than Toyota replacing the dash due to a material defect that caused it to get gummy. Batteries, tires (factory, plus 3 sets) and a few bulbs is all it has required. I pull a 19 foot Champion bass boat and have pulled 16' trailers with a tractor and shredder on it back and forth to the deer lease. My wife has a 2011 and so far 2 batteries, a set of tires and an alternator. Hoping the next one I get will be as good as these two have been.

I don’t.

This isn’t a TRD Pro. Just an SR5 4WD with blackout package which includes TRD wheels and nitto terra grapplers. Got it balanced and road force tested two days ago. Drove PERFECT! Drove it yesterday morning and it was shaking again. I have no clue what could cause it. I have noticed that it shakes less as the psi increases/tires heat up. Btw, these tires gain like 5-6 psi going down the road. I guess that’s normal? Even thought about trying nitrogen to keep psi more steady.

Need to find a dealership that has a vibration analyzer. I used to use one I think it was called 'VIBREX". I was the NVH (noise vibration and harshness) tech and that was an awesome tool. Everything that rotates has a natural harmonic. Which means at some speed of rotation it will vibrate some, now whether it is in a hertz range that you can feel it is something different. The analyzer has multiple magnetic pickups that you clip wherever you feel the vibration. You put in the readings in the computer app that you fill in info like tire size and some other stuff and it will tell you what is vibrating. Also just because they road force balance the tires don't mean chit. You want to know what the reading is. Anything over 20 pounds you will feel. They will say they balance but the tire will still have a heavy spot.
I bought a new Toyota Tacoma in 2012. When I test drove it, before I got out of the parking lot I told the salesman it had a bad tire. He said it had been sitting and the tires may have a flat spot and should round out after some driving. I told him I would give it a shot but that much vibe wasn't coming out. They road force balanced it too. I drove it for a couple weeks, still vibrated. I took it to another shop where I could watch the balancing and as close as they could get it was 100 pounds hard spot. I took it to the salesman and told him to put a tire on it. They did.

Maybe this will help. You can also Google ‘nitro terra grapplers,’ which I’m sure you’ve done, and see results from the 4Runner forums that there are a lot of threads on this tire/rim combo. Might try scouring those.

https://www.nittotire.com/media/55ibthri/techbulletin_ntsd_12-015-rev-3.pdf

So I've got those same tires on my F150 - the other day I drove it all the way to Springfield MO, parked it, the next morning it had a vibration until it warmed up. I think I parked it with "hot" tires, as they cooled off and the outside temp fell, it managed to develop a slight flat spot on the tires. It was noticeable enough that I nearly went into panic mode. Wonder if that could be something similar? That's the only time it's done it, Most of the time I drive it for about 10 min and park it for several hours so I don't think they really get the hot.

I have not seen this!!! Thanks so much! That makes a lot of sense!

I swear I’m cursed. Took car to different tire shop today. Said all tires were 2-3 Oz out of balance and alignment was off. It has driven perfect since, but time will tell. I go to pick up lunch in it and see a nice crack in the windshield. I knew I didn’t hear anything hit or see a crack when I was driving it. Found the offending rock next to the car when I got home. I guess a bird had it and dropped it just in the right spot.

Dang

OMG LOL

Tire balancing machines have to be calibrated but few shop do it.

Repair kit off Amazon is pretty easy to use. There is a guy who repairs chips and cracks posted up at the Lowe’s by our house on the weekends. Or you can see if your insurance will cover a new windshield.

My Tacoma is a rock magnet for some reason. Never had a chipped or cracked windshield before, and this truck has three.

Upgraded amp, sub woofer, speakers along with sound deadning cover up the exhaust sound of my Flowmaster Special 50 while towing the Champ.