What's going on

[3gcamry]

I have a 07 camry v6 se model with 106,000 miles. I recently took it to "my"mechanic for oil change and rotation of tires.
I informed the tech that i feel a vibration in the steering wheel at particular speeds.
The tech stated it needed balancing. No prob-do it. It was done, then while i was driving to work one day. The vibration in th steering wheel was more apparent. So i took it back, now they are saying that i have "cupping" in one of my rims.(20inch alloys). And to repair it would cost $175.00- the rim by itseld didn't cost that much. also said i need new shocks/struts because the car have over 100k miles. They also stated that there are "hot spots" on my rotors and they need to be 'turned" for $198.00or $99.00 each for front and rear.
I am not that knowledgeable about these things, but i feel like they are trying to take advantage of me. What is t/n folks opinion on this????????????????????

[ChrisNYC11]

do you feel this when your braking or just under normal driving? If its when your braking then you might need new brakes or a resurfacing of your brakes.

[3gcamry]

THE MECHANIC STATED MY BRAKES LOOK GOOD. SOMETIME I HAVE NOTICED WHEN I BRAKE I DO GET SOME VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL BUT NOT LIKE IT IS NOW. WITHOUT PUTTING ON BRAKES. MY WIFE DROVE THE CAR FROM LAS VEGAS AND SHE NOTICED IT AS WELL.
AGAIN, IT HAPPENED AT ANY SPEED 40/60MPH.........

[gator1939]

Two words - "show Me". Tell him to show you the cupping in the rim, if he saw it to know what it is , he can show you. Have him pull a wheel and show you the hot spots on the rotor (if he is talking about out of round/warped he can show you that also). Have him demonstrate the need for shocks/struts. All of these things can be shown or demonstrated.

Use those two words - "Show Me".

gator1939

[3gcamry]

Gator,
thanks for te info. I looked at the rim. I can see a little imperfection, but thats all. I did not look at the rotor, unfortunately. I had the mech do the turning of the rotors.
I am going back over to the shop today.......

Again, thanks........ T/n all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Punks_Not_Dead5]

Remember it is your car, so ask to see the problems on your car.

If the struts are blown, in most cases you will see them leaking.

[camry07SE]

Did you resolve your problem?

I'm having same issues on my 2007 SE with 92K miles. Vibration over 65mph; lower speeds seem fine; seems to come from front-end.

- brakes/rotors replaced (no vibration when applying brake now)
- wheels road forced balanced & rotated. Dealer told me that they could not properly balance because of tire wear. The Goodyear Eagles GTs have about 20k on them with normal wear; They seem good. Is it true that you cannot properly balance them because of wear?
- Tires rotated a few times now; Seems to impact vibration because it gets worse in certain configurations. Can't determine exact configuration causing most problem.
- Performed wheel alignment.
- One mechanic told me I need new tires, another said struts, another said alignments..yada yada
- Left side (front & back) wheel bearings replaced because of loud noise; That resolved that issue.

Not sure if its worth it to look into TSB T-SB-0106-08 because car is out of warranty. It could cost me several thousand to diagnosis this issue.

Going to see if anybody has a set of rims/tires I can throw on it to possibly rule in/out tires.

Frustrating.

[Paul3637]

Originally Posted by camry07SE

Did you resolve your problem?

I'm having same issues on my 2007 SE with 92K miles. Vibration over 65mph; lower speeds seem fine; seems to come from front-end.

- brakes/rotors replaced (no vibration when applying brake now)
- wheels road forced balanced & rotated. Dealer told me that they could not properly balance because of tire wear. The Goodyear Eagles GTs have about 20k on them with normal wear; They seem good. Is it true that you cannot properly balance them because of wear?
- Tires rotated a few times now; Seems to impact vibration because it gets worse in certain configurations. Can't determine exact configuration causing most problem.
- Performed wheel alignment.
- One mechanic told me I need new tires, another said struts, another said alignments..yada yada
- Left side (front & back) wheel bearings replaced because of loud noise; That resolved that issue.

Not sure if its worth it to look into TSB T-SB-0106-08 because car is out of warranty. It could cost me several thousand to diagnosis this issue.

Going to see if anybody has a set of rims/tires I can throw on it to possibly rule in/out tires.

Frustrating.

*****************
Sounds like either a mis-manufactured tire since moving the tires (and wheels I assume) around creates the problems at different levels OR a defective wheel. I guess the only way to know for sure is to separate the tires and the wheels and them move them around. WHAT AN EXPENSIVE PAIN to figure out. I doubt that it's a wheel - assuming you have stock SE wheels and the problem should have shown up by now absent a major "curb check." Have you gone back to the dealer that you bought the Goodyear tires from? Even Michelin can produce a mismanufactured tire.

See 09 LE V6 - steering wheel vibration(s)/bad brake rotors-NEED HELP= post #11 where I had three separate problems all correctly diagnosed by dealer ..... including a defective tire which Michelin replaced after 15,000 miles with ZERO adjustment for treadwear.

Good luck on this one.

[sarsman45]

Dont forget that that a blown shock ruins a tire, making it cup and wear funny, affecting a rotate/balance. Look under the car and see if the shocks are leaking oil (or have dark run spots going down the shock post).

Usually you never notice until the strut goes out or until a rotate/balance. In my experience, its better to not even rotate/balance when a shock goes out because it creates more road vibration on the worn tire/shock combo, unless you catch it early then you can rotate and balance without worrying about problems until you get a new shock.

The answer to the problem is to change both. If you change the shocks (must be done in pairs with the axle, even if you have 1 blown one), and the tires have already been affected, you will still feel the vibrations from the worn tire. If you change the tires, it will go away but come back in about 5-7 months unless you rotate every 3 months or so (YMMV depending on how you drive).

[3gcamry]

To all who gave me answers. Thanks!!!! I went to another shop and they said it could be a strut or wheel bearing might be causing the wobbling feeling. What i am going to do now is go get some eibach springs and kyb struts. And beef up the suspension.