Vibration after tire rotation

Joined
Mar 14, 2003
Messages
892
Location
USA
After rotating the tires for the first time on my Toyota @11k miles, l notice a thumping sound that occurs when going between 55 and 60mph.
I never noticed this before the rotation. Do l need to get the tires balanced? Has anyone ever experienced this after a rotation? I checked all tires and lugnuts and didn't notice anything wrong.
 
Yes, have the wheel balance checked and corrected; correct the tire pressures also. Go from there.
 
Last edited:
First, you waited too long to get the tires rotated. Tire manufacturers recommend rotations every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. If you don't do that you run the risk of irregular wear - which you've got.

Second, the real culprit here is alignment. Regular rotation keeps the irregular wear due to alignment in check as the tires develop a different wear pattern in different positions.

When you go to get an alignment, ask for the printout - UP FRONT. Also, UPFRONT, tell them you want to know if anything is out of spec and that you are willing to pay for the eccentric bolt or camber plate, but you need to know how much that is going to cost BEFORE you approve them.

Be aware that many alignment techs think that if the alignment didn't come adjustable from the factory, then they can't or shouldn't adjust it. They are wrong. That's where the eccentric bolt/camber plate comes in.

Further, my experience says that in order to get good tire wear, the alignment has to be within the inner half of the spec - that is, the published tolerances are too wide, by half. Plus I am of the opinion that any camber over 1° is too much for good tire wear.

Third, hopefully you'll wear enough of a new pattern in the offending tires such that it will eventually disguise the vibration. Ya' see, the wear pattern developed an "Out of Round" condition, as well as a balance issue. Balancing the tires is only going to fix part of the problem.

Good Luck!
 
I don't know what Toyota the OP has. On my old Sequoia one of the members worked for Hunter. He had recommended some exact specs for teh Tundra's and Sequoia's which included max setting for the Caster and exact #'s for the camber and toe, all was still "in-spec". Many members had issues of a wandering feeling and unstable. Using his settings fixed that. The Tundra and Sequoia needed the CAMM screen iirc in order to set that correctly and not all techs knew that. I had the Sequoia set to that and it was always stable, tracked straight even on road crown, tires wore flat and even and just normal rotations.

Other vehicles may react differently and if you describe what you are experiencing, knowledgeable techs my be able to make recommendations.
 
Well....l now feel stupid and that l should turn my BiTOG card in.
I changed the oil on the day l rotated the tires. I was driving down the road today and the sound went from a thump/vibration to a scraping/hissing sound. I thought the tire sprung a leak. I pulled over and checked the tires for a flat. They looked okay.
Next l looked under the car and noticed the plastic splash cover over the drain plug/oil filter was scraping the ground. I taped it on. Problem solved. I'll pick up the proper fasteners on Monday. I have no idea how it came loose. l obviously did not do a good job putting it on.
The tires and alignment were not the culprit. My apologies for the false alarm.
 
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