2003 steering wheel shakes

[richardsonfh]

Whenever I am driving slow (10-35mph), the steering wheel shakes. When I have the wheel balanced, it seems to stop for a few days. I have had the front end aligned, but no help with problem. I took it to a dealership when under warranty, but they wanted to charge me for deciding what was wrong. I just keep getting the tires balanced about every 2 months. Has anyone had this problem? Can someone please help me? I am certainly no mechanic.

[CJCride]

Are they Genuine Toyota rims? Sometimes aftermarket rims can shift slightly after hitting bumps & you get steering vibration.
Welcome Aboard.

[richardsonfh]

Yes, everything on the car is Toyota. I have wondered about the rim being warped, but the place where I get the tires say the wheels are fine and the tires are fine. Thx for the fast reply.

[richardsonfh]

any other suggestions from someone? Getting tired of balancing tires! thanks in advance..

[toyomoho]

Try swapping the front and rear wheels/tires to determine if this makes a difference.

Sometimes a tire can be out of round or have other problems.

Check the front brake rotors for warpage and axles for run out.

[poolvibe]

Find a shop that can do a road force balance and check the run out on the rims as well. You have a bad tire or a bad rim. Explain to the tech that you want the truth! I use the local Americas Tire because they are great at balancing and have sent tires back in the past if problems developed.

[Riick]

Sounds to me like a tire (or two?) is "out of round", or has a broken belt. However, I had same sort
of thing happening intermittently on a BMW; the problem turned out to be a worn suspension part.

[jaeb0922]

out of round all day. i have the same issue. i know if u got some mud/snow build up under the front tires this also will do the shake