2004 has Vibration at 75 mph

[kukukbird]

My new 2004 4-Runner with 10.000 miles has a vibration at 75 mph. it starts at about 73 mph and goes away at about 80 mph.
Drives me nuts. it fills like a drive shaft or something in the drivetrain out of balance. It has done this since zero miles. My dealer has balanced the tires three times. They tell me it is the air moving through the factory equipped luggage bars on top. But I say B.S.
Can anyone help!

[Brian R.]

Ask them why the other 4Runners with luggage bars don't have this effect.

Then block the air from flowing through the luggage bars, show them the vibration is still there, and prove them wrong.

[forest_grump]

That is common out of balance problem when it comes in and goes away between speeds

I would take it to an independent tire shop after a call describing your symtoms and have them check your wheels for problems.... I went thru same thing on a brand new SE-V6 Nissan and those jokers just gave me the shuck and jive bs too...so I paid for an independent to do those idiots job and found out I had a defective mag that was warped as well as a tire that had slipped belts and made them order me a new one and pay for my out of pocket expenses after mentioning the "L" word (lawyer lol)

[Alin10123]

Do you have a Butler tire around you? or some sort of high performance tire shop? look for a place that does a high speed on the car wheel balance. What they did with mine was first a roadforce balance, then a traditional balance, then once again balance while the wheels are on your car. They will spin them up to 130mph. I had a huge vibration problem at around 70mph just like you did and it drove me nuts. I got these guys to do the balance for me and it's driven like silk ever since at all speeds.
dont listen to what the stealer says. they are full of BS! They tried to tell me that the big amount of freeplay in my steering wheel is "normal". riiiiiight.

[forest_grump]

Yeahhhhhh riiiiiiiiight lol

[kukukbird]

Today I jacked up the rear tires, put it in gear and run the speedometer up to where I usually get the vibration. You were right! I still vibrates with no "wind going through the luggage rack".
I will see if I can get a good independant tire shop to balance the tires for me and see what they find.
Why do you think that the dealer could not simply jack up the back tires and do the same thing that I (The Customer) did at home in my driveway. I am going to let the dealer know about what I have found and see if they are going to fix the problem first but I am sure that I am eventually going to have to take it to an independant.
Thanks to everyone.
I will let you guys know the out-come
kukukbird...

[Alin10123]

You will find that in the future as time goes on. That they really dont always know what they are talking about. Whenever they tell you something like they told you before. Or if they tell you "it's normal" and you know that it's obviously not. Then it just means that they can't figure out the problem and they are hoping the problem will go away.

The dealer probably wont be able to fix the problem. You will need to go to an independant shop that does "high speed on the car balancing".
That will usually guarantee you free of vibration.

Trust me, i've been trying to solve my problem for almost 2 years. It did not go away until i did the high speed balance. Make sure when they do the high speed balance that they use a road force balancer machine first.

Good luck!

check this page out
and read through it carefully. You will see why it's important that they use a "road force" balancing machine. My indy shop that i went to further topped it off with a "high speed on the car balance" and my 4runner drives like silk now.

[runesong]

I have the same 'problem' with my '94 an it's (now) more than 10 years old... let me know what you figger out. I have lifetime balance at Liarstone.

Any of you ever have problems with your car not sounding 'sealed', i.e. driving on the highway and hearing a window open, but it's NOT open?

runesong

[Peter R.]

I have exactly the same problem, New 2004 4Runner with only 3900 miles. a vibration thrumbing noise, begins at 1500 rpms peaks at 2200 rpm then moderates but is always present as rpms increase.

On my vehicle maximum noise is at about 72/75 mph in 5th.

I have learned that apparently there is a problem with 2004 4Runners with the V8 engine and transmission.

Apparently a harmonic resonance develops within the transfer case, front drive shaft and the front differential. Some vehicles have it and apparently some dont.

At the moment I am told by the Toyota Tech specialists that there is no cure!!!!!

Otherwise I absolutely love this vehicle, but am looking at my options.

[stockerjo]

Originally Posted by Peter R.

I have exactly the same problem, New 2004 4Runner with only 3900 miles. a vibration thrumbing noise, begins at 1500 rpms peaks at 2200 rpm then moderates but is always present as rpms increase.

On my vehicle maximum noise is at about 72/75 mph in 5th.

I have learned that apparently there is a problem with 2004 4Runners with the V8 engine and transmission.

Apparently a harmonic resonance develops within the transfer case, front drive shaft and the front differential. Some vehicles have it and apparently some dont.

At the moment I am told by the Toyota Tech specialists that there is no cure!!!!!

Otherwise I absolutely love this vehicle, but am looking at my options.

I have a 2004 V8 4Runner that, from the getgo, had a mild high frequency vibration I felt in the steering wheel while accelerating, beginning at about 50 mph on up to 70 to 75. After about 1000 miles, because I had driven in deep water, I lubed the U-joints and sliders with AMSOIL synthetic molly. The vibration disappeared.

Stockerjo