# Steering Wheel Wobble

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/steering-wheel-wobble/33824>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** steering, toyota, 4runner\
**Created:** [July 22, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/steering-wheel-wobble/33824 "2009-07-22T23:42:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SeaEagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@SeaEagle](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SeaEagle)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/steering-wheel-wobble/33824/1 "2009-07-22T23:42:33Z")

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At speeds over 65 MPH I can feel a wobble in the steering wheel. The tires have less than 15,000 miles on them. They have been recently rotated and balanced. The situation is not affected by applying the brakes. This is a '03 Toyota 4 Runner with 133,000 miles. What could be the cause?

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**Author:** ![Roadrunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Roadrunner](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Roadrunner)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/steering-wheel-wobble/33824/2 "2009-07-22T23:47:41Z")

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Did you have a 4 wheel alignment performed when you installed the new tires?

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**Author:** ![SeaEagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@SeaEagle](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SeaEagle)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/steering-wheel-wobble/33824/3 "2009-07-22T23:51:05Z")

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Thanks for the idea. Yes an alignment was performed.

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**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/steering-wheel-wobble/33824/4 "2009-07-22T23:51:13Z")

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Worn suspension components. Or a tire eccentricity.

Try swapping the front and rear wheels. If the wobble moves from the steering wheel to the seat that’s a good sign that it’s an eccentric tire.

If that turns out to be true, have the rear tires checked on a “road force balancing” machine. That spins the wheel with a simulated road force applied via a spinning drum pressed against the tread. It can detect problems that regular balancers cannot. The solution may be as simple as “indexing” the tire on the rim to accomplish a more balancable result. Or the tire may need replacing.

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**Author:** ![SeaEagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@SeaEagle](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SeaEagle)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/steering-wheel-wobble/33824/5 "2009-07-22T23:57:09Z")

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Thanks so much. The “road force balancing machine” sounds like a good approach.