hey all-

took delivery of an 06 box today. loving it! i had a quick question. as i was driving home on the freeway i noticed that the steering wheel sort of vibrated intermittently at 80mph and higher. i'm sure i'm not mistaking it for road condition either. could it be an alignment issue? i don't notice it at all at speeds slower than that. it's an 06 with 28k on the odo. thanks in advance for any replies.

what does it have for wheels/tires? if they are over 15" they may not be balanced or it may need an alignment like you said. thats usually what causes vibration in the wheel.

I didn't know boxes could go 80?


:P

I would suggest getting the tires balanced and checked out. If your into tuning the car, I would suggest finding a National Tire and Battery, or someplace of the sort. Alot of shops like them offer a $200 alignment that includes unlimited alignments for 5 years/50,000 miles. Its great for guys that are always tinkering with suspension setups. If your going to get one, you might as well save yourself money down the road while your at it.

Get balanced as stated above. If it has aftermarket wheels, be sure you have hub centric rings installed.

Robert

Check the lugs... maybe ones loose

Check the tires themselves... you could have a tire that has a "thrown belt". Especially if they are the Goodyear Eagle GS tires... god those things suck.

Have the wheels balanced. You might even be able to have the dealership do it for free for you since you just bought it.

Does the vibration change with throttle position? If it does, then you have a bad drive axle, if not, definitely have the stealership perform an alignment.

thanks for all the feedback guys! i hope it's not the drive axle although i'm wondering if that would be covered under the scion certified warranty. i'm planning on getting new wheels so i could probably get the balance and alignment done at the same time.

it's a bent rim..or wheel out of balance


check your lugs as suggested above...you can never be too safe

Something slight in the wheel/tire area,. If you had a loose lug nut, you're tire would be gone by now if you were cruisin at 80 since it only takes about 3 miles at that speed for the lugs to loosen and go. It would have sounded horrible long before.

If the shake is in the wheel then the imbalance is up front. If you feel it more in the seat then the wheel, then it's in the rear.

If you just purchased the vehicle within the last 24 hours then the dealer should be willing to look at the balance on the tires/wheels.

I'm highly doubting a drive axle but it's possible.

Start cheap and work your way up.

oh, did anyone mention getting the tires rebalanced?
hehehehe

Could be that one of your wheels is out of round (bent). You'd never be able to tell by looking at it, but I picked up a used set of 17" rims about a year ago and had an immediate vibration on the steering wheel. One of them eventually cracked so I bought a new set of wheels entirely. The vibration was gone with the new wheels.
Depending on the design, many alloy wheels can bend or crack when they hit potholes, etc. This could be your problem.

I'm highly doubting a drive axle but it's possible.

Start cheap and work your way up.

My post specifically asked if the vibration was caused or affected by throttle position. If you step on the gas, does the vibrations begin or get worse? One of the symptoms of a bad axle or cv joint is vibration when advancing the throttle and only when the throttle is advanced. It can be mild or very violent shaking. I should know since mine went out on me as I was going to Cathedral City last month.

Since the creator of the thread never responded as to how/when the vibration appears, it's still a wild ___ guess by everyone here. For a car to have this problem within 24 hrs of purchase, yes, the dealer should take care of this and not the buyer.

I'd definitely take it back to the dealership. The Toyota Certified Warranty should cover wheel balance, alignment, and axle issues - everything that's been mentioned.

We also don't know if there are aftermarket wheels on this car. Rim/Tire size and tire tread/sidewall can and will affect performance at speed. Without facts, I see a lot of guestimation on this thread.

i only noticed it when i was on the freeway going over 75. stock tires.

We also don't know if there are aftermarket wheels on this car. Rim/Tire size and tire tread/sidewall can and will affect performance at speed. Without facts, I see a lot of guestimation on this thread.

Guessing is all we have since none of us are directly looking at the car. Unless the car is at your shop, on your hoist, you've got the tires/wheels off it, and are looking at it, your guessing too.

We are just providing possible causes with the little infomation we have.

We also don't know if there are aftermarket wheels on this car. Rim/Tire size and tire tread/sidewall can and will affect performance at speed. Without facts, I see a lot of guestimation on this thread.

Guessing is all we have since none of us are directly looking at the car. Unless the car is at your shop, on your hoist, you've got the tires/wheels off it, and are looking at it, your guessing too.

We are just providing possible causes with the little infomation we have.

since i just took delivery on sunday i still have the 3 month/3000 mile comprehensive on the certified warranty so i'll be taking it in this weekend. i'll probably have a better idea then. thanks to everyone for chiming in. i'll post an update once i know.