Maddening vibration issue on 2018 LC

[LX470 Cruiser]

All,

Yes I'm starting another vibration thread, but I'm at the end of my rope trying to figure this out and would really appreciate any suggestions.

I recently got a 2018 LC with about 48k miles on it. When it arrived, it seemed to be in immaculate physical shape--no rust, no evidence of accident, well taken care of, etc.--but it did have slight vibration/shimmy in the steering wheel at higher speeds (~75-85 mph) and when braking. I also feel the engine vibrate ever so slightly on the steering wheel and shifter when accelerating. It's been a journey since then trying to baseline it. I've done the following:

- 1st repair shop (Toyota dealer) confirmed what I suspected: balance, alignment and rotor issues. The tires needed replacement so I put on a new set of Michelin Defender ltx m/s2 and the shop rebalanced, did alignment and resurfaced rotors. This seemed to make a difference, but didn't solve the steering wheel vibration issues. After extensive investigations and driving it, they concluded what was happening was "normal" -- which I can't possibly think is true as my hand literally goes numb from the shaking at speed.

- 2nd shop (tire shop): Road force balance. Weirdly seem to make it worse.

- 3rd shop (different tire shop): Rebalanced on conventional balance machine. Made it better--probably the best yet--but slight vibration when accelerating still there. They suggested I call Michelin.

- 4th shop (yet another tire shop): Got Michelin to replace the tires under warranty and rebalance and realign. Made it worse again--plus now the shaking when I brake has come back!

Anyone ever dealt with something like this or have any suggestions? All my research points to a balance issue, but I've done it now four times. All four shops have confirmed no wheel damage and now I've ruled out the actual tires. The Toyota dealer who worked on it the first time had their shop steward investigate again and lubricate driveshaft, but couldn't find any other problems with the truck. (While they agree it vibrates, they're think it is "normal" -- which I just can't believe.)

All I can think of to do now is find yet another shop--maybe an independent Toyota specialist--and have them look around. I guess I could also do another Road Force balance at another shop too. ... But what I've learned is that not many mechanics know the 200-series LC well and don't know what "normal" really looks (or feels) like.

Thanks for your help!

 

[bloc]

I'd want to get the rig on a lift and put it in drive to look for runout of the hubs or rear axles.

IMO a steering wheel shimmy doesn't sound like a driveline (aka driveshaft) issue. That's usually more like a light rumble that can make the rearview mirror blurry if it's bad but you shouldn't notice anything much bigger moving.

 

[Sandroad]

I wonder about a wheel. Has any of the work involved moving the front wheels to back to see if that makes a difference? The shops may have simply done a visual inspection for road rash and not spun them to look for runout or out of round.

You mentioned no evidence of an accident. Was that a visual inspection or did you look at VIN records like service records and Carfax?

 

[bloc]

I was wondering about the wheels but if OP has been having balance issues I’m pretty sure some tech would have noticed the runout during balancing, given the number of times they’ve been on the machine.

 

[LX470 Cruiser]

I wonder about a wheel. Has any of the work involved moving the front wheels to back to see if that makes a difference? The shops may have simply done a visual inspection for road rash and not spun them to look for runout or out of round.

You mentioned no evidence of an accident. Was that a visual inspection or did you look at VIN records like service records and Carfax?

Both. Nothing on Carfax and the shops all did inspections...

 

[mrburg]

Had experience with a 2014 grand Cherokee I had. Had alignment and balancing done like 8 times. Took two years and then one shop finally nailed it and it was perfect. The vibration is not normal. Likely nothing is broken, you need to have the dealer or shop adjust it until it’s dialed in correctly.

 

[rscoleman]

Few thoughts I get shudder under breaking when brakes are getting to end of their life. For my 2016 this is about every 40 to 50k miles. Had similar issue new tires pulling to right and I swapped rim/tire side to side in front no more pulling. I only rotate front to rear anymore these days for both my truck and LC. Last suggestion confirms steering links have no play and all that is tight. I had that one in 10k+ LC with defective rack and pinion at 16K miles it was leaking. I found it doing an oil change and it was fixed under warranty at dealer. I was not first owner of my LC. I bought it used with 14.4k miles in 2018.

 

[lx200inAR]

now I've ruled out the actual tires

I don't know that you've actually ruled them out. It's entirely possible the 2nd set you put on was worse than the first set you had on, if the tires were never ultimately the underlying problem.

Sorry I don't really have much else to add. I think your best bet is to find a shop that agrees that it's not normal and let them work on it until it's fixed.