I just bought a '99 Solara SE V6. When I went to see the car, I noticed there wasn't much tread on the tires, so I figured I'd just get new ones. Then, once I got the car, I noticed a rhythmic vibration/noise coming from the wheels (I think) at 60+ mph. It's a low-frequency (bassy) hum that goes "vrrrr . . . vrrrrr . . . vrrrrr" and changes speed with the speed of the car (but not rpms). I can feel the vibration mainly in the floor. I figured the wheels needed to be balanced. Well, I just got new tires, and Sears supposedly balanced the tires, but the noise is still there. In fact, I've noticed it at lower speeds too, like around 30. Maybe I'm just more sensitive to it now, or maybe it got worse, I'm not sure.
So, any ideas on what else it could be? I'm gonna take the car back and have them check the wheel balance again. But, if that is ok, does anyone have any other ideas? I read another thread on this site where the owner was having similar problems, and it turned out one of the wheels was slightly out-of-round. Could it be a problem with the bearings or something else in the drivetrain? Will it damage the vehicle to drive with this vibration?
I have a similar problem with my 2002. Road roar (noise) comes in at about 40 mph and then gets worse as speed increases. Mechanics convinced me that it was not bearings so I replaced tires. No change!
Getting worse over time. Sounds like I'm running snow tires but I'm not even close. Was really expecting new tires to be fix, so after $550 in new tires absolutely no change. Please help me if you can.
Road roar, rear noise, sets up harmonics that will rattle your brain at 70 mph.
jack up the car by the control arm and support it with stands. then grab the wheel from the sides, then top and bottom, then rock the wheel. if its loose the either the wheel is loose or the wheel hub is worn
i have an 02 solara sle i had the same problem, i took it to 3 different places including penke toyota, and no one solved my proplem, so bob at trd told me about nate jones, he balanances bonniville salt flat cars so you know they have to be done rite, well i had him do my, car money well spent, not a wiggle, vibration, nothing, it took him 2 days to fix the problem, he told me the solara was very touchie, so its a balance problem with the solara, heres his # 1 562 597 3369 he's in so.cal. but maybe he knows somone where you are at, he balances the wheels on the car and does some shaving of the tread, my solara rides so smooth, im a happy camper, jetbtkng...........
i have an 02 solara sle i had the same problem, i took it to 3 different places including penske toyota, and no one solved my proplem, so bob at trd told me about nate jones, he balanances bonniville salt flat cars so you know they have to be done rite, well i had him do my, car money well spent, not a wiggle, vibration, nothing, it took him 2 days to fix the problem, he told me the solara was very touchie, so its a balance problem with the solara, heres his # 1 562 597 3369 he's in so.cal. but maybe he knows somone where you are at, he balances the wheels on the car and does some shaving of the tread, my solara rides so smooth, im a happy camper, jetbtkng...........
Just tossing out another possibility here. You didn't mention the mileage on the car so it's difficult to tell how much wear there might be on suspension parts. If the mileage is high have the struts ever been replaced? Have you checked the brake rotors to see if they're warped? It could be a constant velocity joint, do any of then have torn boots or make noises when you rotate the front wheels?
Just spend a little time under the car and, if you have them, the service records provided by the previous owner. Lack of service could provide some important clues.
i have an 02 solara sle i had the same problem, i took it to 3 different places including penske toyota, and no one solved my proplem, so bob at trd told me about nate jones, he balanances bonniville salt flat cars so you know they have to be done rite, well i had him do my, car money well spent, not a wiggle, vibration, nothing, it took him 2 days to fix the problem, he told me the solara was very touchie, so its a balance problem with the solara, heres his # 1 562 597 3369 he's in so.cal. but maybe he knows somone where you are at, he balances the wheels on the car and does some shaving of the tread, my solara rides so smooth, im a happy camper, jetbtkng...........
Thanks for your input. I'm going to try replacing the struts next, and then the bearings if nothing changes with the struts. It does have 90,000 miles on it. I've only had it since the 47K mark but I've never changed them.
If nothing gets better then I'll call "the balance man". I would do it first but it must be expensive to have them work on your car for 3 days. I know shop where I take my car charges $75/hour.
I like your ideas. The car does have 90,000 miles on it and as far as I know the struts have never been changed. It has drum breaks in the back and nothing looks out of ordinary their. Since the noise doesn't change when I hit the breaks I'm thinking that it isn't the brakes or the bearings. Me and the mechanic both looked and a played with the cv joints when it was getting tires rotated and then again when the new tire when on. The cv joints look fine, no tears or cracks in boots, no noise when turning corners. I'm hoping new struts will do the trick, if not I'll try the balance guy. In my other response I said bearings next but I simply can't believe that bearing noise wouldn't change when the breaks are applied. I'm also thinking that there may be something going on with the trany but the noise sounds like it coming from the rear, but like I said it has a harmonic that makes the whole car sound weird (on the inside only) and makes it very difficult to really establish its location precisely.
it cost $320 for him to do the job, and i just replaced my struts with kyb and brembo rotors still had same problem, he balanced the shafts rotors and rims and i have 74,000 miles so i think you should consider calling him 1st, jetbtkng
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