Can someone help with Steering wheel wobbling

So I recently bought an 06 Tacoma 2.7 a couple months ago. When I test drove it I didn’t get the chance to go over 55 but everything seemed good. But now the steering wheel wobbles starting at around 60-65. I took it to my uncles friend who has a shop and all he said was “your tires are uneven so if you get new ones the problem will be solved.” He didn’t mention what was uneven like if it was the tread or an alignment issue etc. He did rotate the tires and said if I noticed that the shaking was less that meant the tires he rotated to the front were the problem. I looked at the tires myself and they look perfectly fine, with a lot of tread on each. After the rotation, I noticed now it’s mostly just the wheel the wobbles and much less that the car itself actually shakes. It’s not a very violent shaking or anything just the wheel wobbling at highway speeds. If I don’t end up getting it fixed it’s not a big deal since it’s bearable. Unfortunately since this has been happening since I got the car I can’t point to one thing and say that’s when it started happing. So I’m just not sure what exactly the problem is so I was wondering if anyone knew what might be causing it. Again it’s only at highway speeds and is perfectly fine under 60. Also, I noticed that if I let go of the wheel while driving, it always drifts to the left, everytime. Not sure if that has anything to do with it or could point to the potential problem. Any help would be appreciated!

 

Did he check the balance of each tire?
If not, there is no need to continue guessing.

The first thing to check with a steering wheel wobble is tire balance.

Drifting to the left couple ba a tire wear issue. Or an alignment issue. Typically they want to drift to the right side of the road.
As the road is crowned to allow water run off.

Or in extreme cases, a bad wheel bearing. But you usually have other symptoms before.

 

I agree with TnShooter. Sounds like balance. I'd start there before looking for a lot of spendier issues.

 

Your first mistake is taking to your uncle's friend, who IMHO, is an idiot. Does the shop even deals with tires? The first thing any competent tire shop should do is balance/rotate the tires and check the alignment. Take it to places like Firestone that also offers road force balancing, for difficult tire balance issues that normal balancing doesn't fix. Any speed sensitive vibes like yours should always start with balance and alignment. Have the new shop also check your wheel bearings while they have the truck lifted.

 

What these guys said.

 

You could check the date code on the tires. Tirerack.com has instructions how, I think. There's a cutoff age when tire shops won't touch them, except to replace. That'll give you an idea before going to a tire shop, if it's time to replace.

 

I'd try swapping the front to the back and the back to the front (wheels/tires) and see if it's any better.

 

OP says he did that.
And the wobble got better. But is still present.
I’m still stick with tire balance as of now.

 

Welcome to TW. That username.... Gotta get a mod to help change that. Lol. But anyways...

I'd be looking at wheel bearings, tire balance, tie rods, ball joints, shocks/struts.

I drove company van that had a severe shaking happening in the front end. Not all the time, but when it happened, wow. One tire was cupping the tread. Turned out to be the shocks. If yours are looking old, or worse, original, replace them.

With maintenance, that truck will last you a long time. Don't let things go to the point that their failure starts affecting other components.

Good luck

 

Balance all four (good luck) must use a competent shop who knows what the f they are doing, as its a Toyota. Yes, its special.
Then alignment.
Then come back to us.

 

I have an interesting issue similar to this.. but my steering wheel seems to wobble only after I have stepped on the brake.. so I drive, i brake (like at a stop light or something) then drive and it starts to wobble.. it usually is after braking a few times.. it eventually goes away after accelerating for a while.. but then it comes back again after using the brakes.. any one have any ideas what this could be? I just did a RFB with hopes that would help but I’m thinking it may have to do with the brakes now..

 

The brake rotors are warped, either from excessive heat or they were poorly cast to begin with. Replace them and check the calipers to make sure the pistons move freely in their bores. If you have a 5 lug tacoma with the sliding calipers check the slide pins and make sure they aren't frozen

 

If the wobble changed or got better after the rotation then tires are suspect. Yes it could be a balance issue but usually customers describe that as the whole car shaking (like the seat, floor, rear view mirror). If most of the car is NOT shaking and it's just the steering wheel wobbling I'd suspect a bad tire where the tread is separating

 

Actually, after rereading the post, you don't say the wobble happens while braking. Maybe hold off on new rotors and instead, just like the other guy, rotate the tires and see if that changes anything. With the wheels off you can check for a stuck caliper too

 

it does happen WHILE braking.. but not at first.. so today, I drove a few miles… stopped a few times at stop signs and red lights.. after about the third stop is when the wheel wobble started during acceleration from that stop. Then it continued for a while (braking and accelerating). Eventually went away and I parked. Then on my way home it did the same thing again.

 

Looks like you have to do some investigating. I'd start with that rotation and check the brakes as much as you can while the wheels are off. Heck, throw a brake micrometer on there if you have one. Look for uneven pad wear, stuck piston, dislodged or torn piston boots, frozen sliders.

Any kinked brake lines?

Is the metal end of the pad wearing a groove in a caliper?

Are the wheel bearings good?

 

Had almost exactly what your describing on my ‘06. I had installed new Brembo rotors and pads about 25k kms prior. New slide pins in the calipers, all new hardware. Shaking went away for a while after spraying the rotor with brake cleaner and scrubbing the surface (both sides) with steel wool. Wasn’t going to do that always. OEM pads and rotors from the dealership, fresh hardware and no more shake for 60k kms.

 

Thanks! I appreciate the reply’s! I’m going to try new rotors since I’m at 80k miles on my 2011 anyway, I bought it used so I don’t know if they’ve been replaced or not. I will def post an update once I do that.

 

Rotors can get warped from dunking them in a deep puddle. Or even washing the vehicle without letting them cool off first.

The idea way to check is with a dial indicator on a magnetic base. I used a sharpie held on a block of wood.

Another possible cause of steering wheel shake during braking could be wheels or tires. A bent wheel, or out of balance tire. But still I’d check the rotors first.

 

After you check other stuff above:
High mileage and pulsing/grabbing brakes also check the calipers (4 pistons) for a sticking piston (more wear on one side vs other and/or leaking and/or rotor scoring.
Then the caliper bracket can get rust accumulation and/or rusted slide pins so the pads get hung up check pad movement in caliper. Then any low budget brake parts are always suspect.