Wheel Wobble

[itwillblowyourmind]

HI all, I'm really stuck with this one.

I have a 1.8 Avensis reg in 2001 (old shape) and I have had random wheel wobble for over a year now but I now can't afford a new car, so I going to have to fix it.

I have already had all 4 wheels balanced, and the tracking done, it does still go of to the left a bit though:- what happens is.

I get up to 75 to 80 and only get a slight bit of wobble, slow down to 40-50 so it’s gone altogether, go back up to 75-80 and it’s like driving a 1930’s truck ???????

Keep going up to the top side of 85 and the wobble gets shorter, but more severe. It actually gives me pins and needles in the ends of my fingers. I have put some new front disks and pads on, but it has made no difference. Also at 87-90 the back end starts to go. Only answer I got from the garage is they want to replace the whole of the steering rack and the front axles (WOW) and for the back, they told me, don’t drive at 90. I have got just over a month to get this fixed. Please help.

[Fat Slob]

Its well worth getting it set up by a proper wheel alignment/geometry expert..NOT Toyota or Kwik Fit etc you will be surprised what a difference it makes. Check out this link http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/

Its worth travelling to one of the places recommended it could save you a lot of money and aggravation in the long run.

[nezerr]

i have had this prob too....sounds daft but new tyres solved it even though the old ones still had life in them!!,

i chaged the tyres and was told by a friend to keep them at 32psi, seems to have done the trick and cheeper then a new rack

[Steve84]

My corolla had a wobble i had it tracked all round wheels balanced then the garage where i work swaped the front tires with the rears and left tires with the right tires and the wobble went.

[Bosnjo]

Had that problem with VW Golf once. It had brand new tyres but by swaping left to right car started to pull the other way. Had to change front tyres for other brand and it solved the problem. Tyres were Yokohama and changing to Goodyear did the trick.

[Plusser]

If there is play in the steering rack - it will be picked up in an MOT.

Your problem could be nothing more than a defective stud or nut on one of the wheels. There is also the chance if you have alloys that one of the wheels is faulty.

[Gregg]

As mentioned one wheel could be buckled and causing the wobble, Also wheel nuts can be faulty

Id try the simple things first before thniking about rhe steering rack

[nezerr]

id go for the new tyres "itwillblowyourmind"

as you’ve been to toyota and they cant solve it i assume they would check wheel nuts, also track n balance would show if wheels were out of shape. like plusser said the steering rack would fail an mot if faulty in any way so tyres seem the best option.

Off topic

Just wanted to say I really like greggs signature pic but don’t u think it looks a lot like the old Renault Laguna

[nobeard]

Hi,

I had exactly the same symptons on mine - drove me mad as 90% of my driving was on the motorway at 75 mph.

Tried all sorts with the Toyota dealer - 3 lots of wheel balancing, all front suspension/steering examined. In the end, all the alloys were swapped for a set off another Avensis, and the problem went away. Diagnosis was it was a damaged/buckled alloy. I thought that would get picked up when balancing but obviously not....

[Uncle Bob]

HI all, I'm really stuck with this one.

I have a 1.8 Avensis reg in 2001 (old shape) and I have had random wheel wobble for over a year now but I now can't afford a new car, so I going to have to fix it.

I have already had all 4 wheels balanced, and the tracking done, it does still go of to the left a bit though:- what happens is.

I get up to 75 to 80 and only get a slight bit of wobble, slow down to 40-50 so it’s gone altogether, go back up to 75-80 and it’s like driving a 1930’s truck ???????

Keep going up to the top side of 85 and the wobble gets shorter, but more severe. It actually gives me pins and needles in the ends of my fingers. I have put some new front disks and pads on, but it has made no difference. Also at 87-90 the back end starts to go. Only answer I got from the garage is they want to replace the whole of the steering rack and the front axles (WOW) and for the back, they told me, don’t drive at 90. I have got just over a month to get this fixed. Please help.

Swap your two front wheels over with the back ones, and take it back out for a test run, if the vibration has gone away,then its your alloys buckled .

[aven_man]

I had the same problem when I got my 2001 avensis and asked the dealers to put the alloys from the 98 car onto it. No amount of wheel balancing or alignment would sort it out. Turned out that the dealers did not put the spacers behind the alloys. They ordered a new set and once on problem sorted.

If you have non toyota alloys maybe this is the problem. My experience with dealers is that when it comes to wheels/tyres they have no experience, best bet would be to go to a reputable tyre centre.

[itwillblowyourmind]

Thanks for the info Guys - Seems really helpful, going to give it a try - nothing else to loose now (Part from Money )

The wheels are the original steel ones, not alloys. Guy at Hawleys (place I trust) did tell me that one of my front wheels was bent, so that's now in the boot. I have had new rubber on them already at the back end of summer last year, but that made no difference. I will try swapping the front for the back, failing that I might be looking at getting some new wheels.

I have heard I can get the wheels balanced whilst still on the car, faily easy on the front, and apparently a night mare on the back. This sounds expensive...