So I posted a little while ago about an issue I've had with my steering lately. I have aftermarket wheels (Sport Max 941) on the factory tires, but I also have Tanabe springs.

Anyways, I noticed that anytime I'm going above 70, in the 75-80 range, the steering wheel shimmies and vibrates noticably more than it does at lower speeds. For a while I figured it had to do with the suspension and the fact the car is only 108hp so the faster it goes the more it shakes and rattles or whatever.

I took it to a local shop and asked to take a look. Apparently I needed some centering rings for the aftermarket wheels, but they said a standard kit wouldn't be enough so they had to try out a few kits from American Racing they had on hand. After they found one of the kits that fit they told me everything was set. Supposedly they also balenced and aligned everything so who knows. The steering also somewhat seems to pull left on the highway. It's not like it jerks over if I let go of the wheel, but I notice I do have to somewhat hold the wheel to the right to keep it straight...but this seems to be something that only occurs on the highway at higher speeds. I don't notice it at much on surface roads going 35-45mph.

I've had the car back a week or so but I still notice that the steering wheel is noticably shaking and vibrating above 70-75mph. I can't tell if it's as bad as it was before, but it seems to be on par. I have noticed that if the highway is bumpy, it seems to be a lot more noticable than when the road surface is smooth. There's a spot of new highway I drove over and it was more smooth, but then it would seem to virbrate anyways at times so I don't know.

Long story short, does anyone else notice a steering wheel vibration at this speed? Could it be something still related the wheels and the centering kit or whatever, or could it be related to the Tanabe springs and the way those make it handle or something?

At lower speeds everything seems pretty smooth and solid, so it's somewhat nerveracking to feel the steering wheel vibrating once I hit 70-75mph. I'm hesitant to take the car back to the same shop, and I might just take it to another shop and see what they come up with but I figured I'd see if anyone here has had any issues like this or if anyone might have some suggestions.

I'm almost guessing that since I have the Tanabe springs, that might be making the right a bit more stiff and less forgiving than the factory, but sheesh...

 

make sure your running the right air pressure on your tires and also check and see if your brake discs are warped... also have you alignment checked at another shop especially a shop that has a really high-tech alignment machine that can do big wheels like 26" wheels... those usually are the best alignment you can get

 

i have the same problem as shockwave describes. car is 2 years old and just over 10K miles. scion 15" alum rims and stock tires. it has done this since day one and i haven't really had time to get it looked at with me being in the military.

 

Ya, I'll go to another shop and get a 2nd opinion, but one of the reasons I used the shop I did in the first place was because they did have a high tech alignment machine that was designed to work with massive wheels and so forth. So who knows.

Car is only 10 months old so I hope nothing like the discs being warped is the issue.

So is everyone else's steering wheel at 75-80mph smooth? If so then I definitely know I have an issue...just need to find out what.


And bmx, while I'm sorry to hear you are having the same issue, I'm realived to hear I'm not alone. I almost think it has something to do with the car itself. This is an economy car with only 108hp. It's almost like going 75-80mph is pushing the car in some ways. I do notice that the RPM is pretty high at those speeds relative to the RPM in other cars I've had at the same speeds. In other words, the xB really seems to be working itself hard at such a speed. So I thought perhaps this was leading to some of the vibrations and such, but still...it's just weird that at 55-65 it seems smooth and then 70-75 it vibrates like a sex toy.

 

the steering wheel should not shake...i would look closely at the suggestion regarding the hubcentric rings.

what wheels do you have?

do you still have your stockies? try throwin those on for a drive, and see if you still have the vibration.

also, do keep in mind that there is a TSB on the xB off-center steering.

 

there is definitely an issue if your steering is shaking. did you get it waranteed from a dealer?

 

I have SportMax 941's (15in) on the factory tires and I have Tanabe DF210's as well.

What's TSB?

http://www.wheelmax.com/product.asp?ProdId=9293

 

Ya we bought it new from a local Scion dealer, but the aftermarket wheels/springs were put on elsewhere...

 

TSB= technical service bulletin

 

Oh snap...so are my wheels gonna go flying off?

Maybe I should just take the car to the Scion dealer tomorrow and let them have a look see. I just hope they don't tell me I'm S.O.L. because the wheels/springs were aftermarket...

 

working in a tire shop at a mercedes benz dealer i have a bit of advice...... the centering kit is a plus... never ever use wheel spacers....... youre tires must be balanced correctly.... if its off it will definately cause it to shymmy at high speeds...... ask what ever facilty for a print out of balanced tires at leat a the dealer where i worked we had them at customers request.... each print out should read zeros or 0.5 thats cool... if all for tires equal zero or 0.5 and they still shimmy tires could be out of round... = bad tires in these cases you have bad tires... but if they are not out of round and there zero or the 0.5 than what you do ask the facility to put the less bouncy in the front... cause you dont know whose working in there or if they know what they are doing... if youre car stops shimmying and its still pulling cross rotate ( dont do it if there dirrectional tires) right front to left front,,,and that should take care of the problem... and if that still doesnt work get it align again but i would recomend you take it to the dealer and ask for that alignment print out.. hopefully this could help... good luck

 

Thanks for the detailed info. I think I will just take it directly to the dealer instead of dealing with the shop. I'll explain to them what's happening and see what they say, and I'll have them do a balence/align and ask them for the print out. It needs an oil change anyways, so I'll have them do that too hehe.

Thanks again.

 

have your tires checked... my tires went bad and i had the problem your talking about... got new tires... no more vibration

 

Interesting...you'd think the freaking shop I just took the car too migh thave mentioned that at least, or at least looked at the tires and suggested it right?

I have 16,000+ miles on the car in the past year. Does that seem about the time it would be to get new tires? That would be pretty crappy factories if that's the case...

 

TSB on steering:
http://tijil.org/Scion_TSBs/00_tsb_list.html

prefaced by ST00 - root that directory to find the full text of the TSB

 

The driver holds the steering wheel without exerting steering effort while driving
straight ahead, the vehicle drifts to the right or the left.
• While driving straight ahead, the driver has to steer either to the right or the left to maintain straight driving.

Yup...in addition to the shaking at high speeds...it does that too...guess I'll be taking it to the dealer tomorrow and asking them about that issue as well. thanks for the tip.

 

I just wanted to mention that I had 15" wheels and OEM sized tires mounted by a Toyota Master Technician, he also did an alignment on a brand new laser guided system.

I noticed the vibration over 75 and was told the only thing I can do is to get the rings, which are in the glovebox for the next oil change. I made sure the size of the rings will make sure there is no gap between the hub and the wheel, I'm hoping it will resolve the issue but intend on having them installed and having him test drive it above 80 MPH to make sure.

Good luck!!

 

Def. sounds like either tires are out of balance or a bent wheel. Either way try having them rebalanced and have the wheels checked for runout. Tires could have worn funny while out of balance. If that happened, a tire or tires may be out of round and not be able to be balanced and will need to be replaced.
If everything is 100% right there should be zero shimmy or vibes all the way up to 100 mph plus.

 

Hmmm wondering if I should take it to the dealer or the joint that put the centering kit on in the first place...I'm just sketchy with them since they didn't bother checking those things like the tires and stuff when I complained about the shimmy...

 

First, try swapping the front with rears and see if there is any change. If so that means one of the tires up front was either out of round or out of balance. It'd be the easiest and cheapest way to start.