Steering wheel shake. Need help.

I bought my CPO 2011 Tacoma from Maita Toyota in Sacramento last year. when I bought the truck it had a slight steering wheel shake. ( I should have made it part of the contingency to fix before I bought the truck) I thought it was due to the AT tires that were on the truck. I took the truck to a place in Folsom to align and balance the tires but it still did not fix the problem. After I bought a set of new FN wheel and Michelin tires I thought it may fix the problem. Still the shake. I took the truck to Firestone for a balance and alignment and still the shake.
So I thought I would take it back to Maita Toyota to look deeper into the problem. The answer I received is not acceptable. ( This is a normal driving condition for a Tacoma) The tech agrees there is a steering wheel shake but can not find the problem. The dealer supposedly called Toyota Techs and gave them all of their measurements but could not find the issue as to why the steering wheel shakes. Maita Toyota says there is nothing they can do for me.
Any ideas.?
I told them to start with one item and continue to fix one item after another until the issue is resolved. As this a CPO Tacoma ( I learned this means nothing) They said since they cant find a specific cause they can not fix anything. To make it worse I had to pay the $135.00 and not the $50.00 as stated on the CPO card as this was an inspection and not a fix to the truck.

 

More info. Lift? Aftermarket UCAs? Any other mods? How many miles? What do your upper and lower control,arm bushings look like? Have you jacked it up and given it the shake test?

 

It is completely stock. No mods, Stock 265/70/16 size tires ( Michelin Latitude Tour ) 55,000 miles.. I would not be able to tell if the LCA and bushings had any damage.. The dealer had it for two days and said everything looked good

 

I didn't see it in the first post...have you rotated the tires to know its not a balance issue? You mentioned balance but those test machines aren't always correct. Rotating would help rule balance out as the culprit

 

Check your wheel bearings

 

Possibly this:. On my last tire rotation at Discount Tire, I left with a steering wheel shake that was only noticeable at freeway speeds, witch was on the way to work the next day. Took it back the following day and the Tech rebalanced them, and it turns out the machine was not calibrated correctly.

 

Road Force Balance the wheels/tires. Don't settle for traditional balancing with Toyota factory rims.

Also - after installing aftermarket rims (using Road Force Balance) I got a steering wheel shudder. However, I was also already having issues with the Needle Bearing in the Front Diff causing a vibration. Toyota fixed my Needle Bearing by replacing with a new one. Steering wheel shudder disappeared instantly.

 

Well just because this happened to me a long time ago, I had a bent rim not enough to notice just looking at it. The way I found it was watching them spin balancing them "again" and I saw the wobble that no one else noticed, got a new rim and it fixed mine. Probable isn't your problem but, just in-case next time you balance them watch them when there spinning them.

 

Like OP's I would try a tire rotation and if that doesn't change anything I think you have a bent rim. However those are usually pretty obvious because no matter how much weight they try to use it won't balance.

 

I'm gonna guess new tires may help (but I could be wrong)

 

You are using the 108-106mm hubcentric spacers with those FN wheels, right?

Also post alignment sheet with the numbers. Firestone service center may not know what they are doing...

 

Bad alignment numbers won't give you a shake, it will wear out your tires and cause drivabilty issues (pulls, wondering). A shake is caused by a rotating mass that is out of balance which could be wheels, tires, brakes, CV axles, differentials and driveshafts. You just have to figure which one it is, the hard part. I wouldn't belive it's a Tacoma thing. Mine has no shake at any speed and I'm running aftermarket rims.

 

Did you rotate the tires front to rear? Are the FN wheels hub centric or lug centric?

 

Have had the same exact issue. Tire replacement (needed them anyway), balance, and a recent alignment (which did tighten up the loose steering) hasn't cured the issue.

 

It is possible to balance a bent rim, just takes more weight but it will balance. I've had lots of customers come in with a wheel shake and say they were at "such and such shop" and just had the tires balanced to it can't be that. Checking for the problem reveals a bent rim.

We have to remember that "tire work" is usually done by the lowest skilled person in the shop. I've seen apprentices balance bent rims, rims that have two pounds of mud/snow in them and tires that have water inside them.

Road force balance, as already mentioned, performed by a skilled tech is where you should start. Tires and rims are the largest rotating mass on a vehicle and are responsible for almost all shakes.

 

This was mine too, right at your mileage. New front bearings and hubs solved it.

 

Ball joints ok ?