tire vibration and alignment

i just recently purchased a 2018 tacoma SR 5 V-6 . it is 3 months old in been in the shop 4 times . i have a vibration in the front end from 52 to 58 miles an hour . Toyota says that is normal . i would not have bought a truck that vibrates at the normal speed .. also i have a bad pull to the right that cant be fixed also toyota says that is normal .. Now when my tires are eat from this who buys the tires. Just want to know if any body else is having this difficulty . Thank you

 

Maybe try a different Dealer or go to a tire shop and see If they can do a better job

 

thank you it is still in the shop. waiting to get it back

 

Hopefully they get you fixed up.

 

The only thing that will eat your tires is toe, and that won't be caused by alignment or balancing. The pull can be caused by alignment if you have a severe difference in caster left to right. If your caster is good, the next most likely culprit is the tires. You can have them cross rotate the fronts and your pull will either go away or it will pull to the left. Pulling to the left after a cross rotate means the tires are bad and if new, should be replaced under warranty.

The vibration is a separate issue and at that speed would either be caused by the tires being out of round or out of balance. Either condition can be easily determined by a competent tire tech that knows how to use a spin balancer. You will undoubtedly get people suggesting using a road force balancer, but that is completely not necessary and a waste of time an money. The road force balancer is an internet legend much like P.B. Blaster will loosen every nut and J.B Weld will adhere everything. I would suggest taking your truck to a shop that specializes in tire/alignment work. Discount tire is a solid choice for tire work, but sadly they don't do alignments.

 

thank you for the advice i am meeting tomorrow with the service manager at philips toyota where i bought the truck. the problem has been ongoing since i bought the truck new i dont have 5k on the truck yet . Apparently corporate says this is normal for the 2018 tacoma i dont buy it . why would the make a truck that vibrates at 52 miles an hour . They have already cross rotaed the tires once but it still pulls to the right . Iguess i will see what the head guy has to say tomorrow thank you for your help.

 

It is not normal to get a vibration. You should take one on the lot for a test drive to compare it.

If they cross rotated the tires and the pull is still there, they need to check the alignment and look at the caster. Since roads are crowned typically to the right, a right pull isn't uncommon, but shouldn't be to the point that if you take your hands off the wheel you end up in the ditch. Getting extreme with your pull if the alignment specs are good, meaning there is less than 1 degree left/right the next step would be to flip both front tires on the wheel. Meaning they take them off and flip them around. What this does is reverse the direction they are rolling. You should then have a left pull if the tires are the cause, which honestly, if your alignment is good, that is the only thing that could cause it. At that point it would fall into the "normal" category because there really is nothing else you can do. Some cars just tend to wander more than others. If you had been driving a high caster car like a Mercedes, it would be perfectly reasonable, that you would think a Toyota pulls.

 

good info. and interesting you say that. i bought UCA's for more caster, but for the purpose of improving highway handling and steering including self-centering. i have seen factory alignments on some of these trucks in the 1.2-1.5deg range for caster. IMO for highway driving that is not enough for a normal driving feel, not to mention drifting or floating off your line.

 

Camber will eat tires, as well as toe.

Agree that toe is the more common issue. However, toe is an alignment setting.

Agree many times. But where it's a real waste is when the tech either does not know how to properly use the equipment, or is too lazy to do so.

However, a good tech with a Road Force machine can solve issues much faster than 'guessing' tire to rim positioning on a spin balancer. And there are dozens of street legal lightweight SCCA cars on the road to prove it. Light cars, light wheels/tires and stiff springs = sensitivity that Road Force can often correct.

 

I went to the dealership today . After the they put new tires on the truck still vibrates from 48 -58 the pull is not as bad but still their apparently toyota says that this is normal. I drove another one on the lot today as well and it had vibrations at apprx the same speeds . they have opened up a case with toyota i pick the truck up tomorrow with a new set of tires we will see what happens . I appreciate all the feed back on this and will keep you posted . The dealership has been good so far .

 

The vibe is a common issue. The ECGS clamshell bushing for the driver side CV fixed it for me, but mine was at 38-43mph

 

Camber won't eat your tires. It will cause wear over long periods of time. Toe will flat out ruin a set of tires if not properly adjusted. The difference is caster is like the wear you see on someone's shoe that is bow legged and they wear the outside more. Toe wear is like if you drag your feet on a bicycle for a few miles.

 

1.2 would be a terrifying drive at highway speed. You probably look like you are sawing a 2x4 while going down the road to keep going straight.

 

Dealer mentioned to me a while back about something related to the rear axle being out of alignment that causes both vibration and the vehicle to pull to the right.

 

I would take it to a good alignment shop and see what they say. If things look out of whack, you could take the results to the dealer.

 

It is a solid rear axle. If it was off, it wouldn't pull, it would dog track. Kind of like this - https://youtu.be/rKtD5xVhMGQ

 

Yup exactly like that. Semantics..it’s being pulled to the right however you want to call it.

 

At least you got new tires. Maybe take it to the mud pit and fix the alignment.