I may have an answer as I’m going through this problem right now.
The answer being an out of balance shaft.
My ford ranger extended cab has the same problem with vibration, Except mine happens between 25 to 35 (peaks at about 31). Then happens again at about 70,this time with a standing half frequency wave that makes the vibration fade in and out.
Here’s what I believe is causing mine: Last week I had the support bearing changed out as the seals had gone, and it was making noise in general. To do this a machine shop has to remove the half yoke that fits over a spline, then do the press fit thing. When the shaft came back, and my local mechanic reinstalled, there was a horrendous vibration at 28 and up. I brought it back to the shop and, and they sent it back to the machinist thinking that the new bearing is defective.
Again the shaft came back, and My mechanic tells me everything’s good. Lo-and behold I discover the vibration is still there, just a lot less (worse on cold days). I highly doubt that there would be two defective bearings in a row. So, after a crawl under the truck I noticed that there’s no chalk marks to indicate whether they put the yoke back on correctly (yoke and shaft are a balanced unit). SO… either the yoke is on wrong, or they dinged the shaft when they did the press fit.
Either way, I’ll try to get some vibration analysis gear on it this weekend (it’s what we do for work) and try to narrow it down to balance or bent.
Here’s My question though. If it turns out to be balance, and the yoke’s miss-aligned, does anyone know of a shop in the Boston North Shore area that can re-balance it/ find the correct yoke alignment? Not that I mind the back message on the way home from work, but it’s killing my fuel efficiency.
Wheel end (tire, wheel, and other components rotating at wheel speed, such as brake rotors) vibrations usually show up between 50 to 70 mph. If you have vibrations occuring at speeds other than that, it is almost never tires and wheels.
I would suggest looking at the drive shaft - U joints?
If I’m not mistaken, at 28 & 46 mph the car is probably getting ready to shift. Probably 3rd and then OverDrive.(assuming it has AT) Could be a tranny problem.
My brother-in-law suggested I try ethanol-free gas. After about three fill-ups, the problem went away. Three months of shake free driving, and hoping this solved the problem.
Since the car is so new and since Toyota’s are really well built, unless there has been some off road adventures I would doubt the engine, transmission or differential(s). (They don’t state whether this is 2 or 4 wheel drive.)
I think someone posted 80,000 miles so they are on their 2nd or 3rd set of tires. They could be out of round or out of balance. The driver may have thrown a wheel weight or possibly got something stuck in the inner wheel. Like a washing machine with all the pants on one side, at low speed there’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on. Once top speed is reached the shaking turns into a steady vibration. In a car, this may be absorbed by the shocks or just the weight of the car.
On my boat trailer I had a tire that had some issues. I took it back to the dealership a couple times but they could never find anything wrong with it. When I got up to about 50 there was a steady vibration through the tow vehicle. After the tires wore out I replaced both with exactly the same make of tire as the original; no more vibrations.
If it were me, I’d start rotating the spare tire on each of the wheels to see if I could find out if it made a difference. I’d also like to know when the vibration started in relation to when the last set of tires was purchased.
The problem is that the symptoms do NOT fit a tire related problem. Tire and wheel related vibrations occur in the 50 to 70 mph range and are there all the time - braking accelerating, turning, etc.
The fact that there are specific, but lower speeds, seems to point to something else - and that the speed is important in determining what it might be. I like the tire rotation idea as a diagnostic tool, but first there ought to be some basis to consider a tire and/or wheel problem as a possibility.
Overall the transmission shifting theory as it seems to fit.
