I have had the same in my 2010 Highlander, exact same symptoms including it goes away when turning, etc. It took months to figure out and I found multiple causes - bottom line, this vehicle is very sensitive to wheel vibration by design. Here's a list of the things I fixed, and now have no vibration.

1. Brake issues. Stuck (or even slightly tight) caliper, rotor runout, rotor surface imperfections. The rotor can get warped (runout) or spalled from lightly dragging brake pads - even if the drag isn't enough to cause pedal pulsing, heat or mpg loss. Make sure to remove the rotor and closely inspect, replace it and install new pads if the surface has anything you can feel with a fingernail. Once back on, measure the runout. Use genuine Toyota calipers ($$) if they need replaced.
2. Tire issues. The local shop I use to replace tires told me that they often re-balance wheels on this vintage Toyota every time they rotate tires due to customer feedback about vibration. So make sure your wheels are properly dynamically balanced. Then, if your tires are old, they can get hard spots even though they are balanced, the tread is fine and there are no cracks. If your tires have more than 50K miles on them, consider replacing.
3. Steering intermediate shaft. The shaft that connects the steering wheel to the steering box has excess play in it, there's an updated part from Toyota you can get to replace it. That will eliminate the clacking noise and steering wheel shake that often accompanies the vibration, but it won't completely solve the vibration.
4. Propeller shaft issues. This is less likely to be it if the vibration goes away on turns, but if you have a higher frequency vibration and/or fluid seeping at the rear diff or the transfer case, check the shaft, it has very undersized u-joints that cannot easily be replaced, new shaft is east to install but costs $800 or more.

Of course, I'm assuming that you checked the ball joints and the tie rod ends, which along with really worn tires, CV joints and wheel hubs are the usual culprits of this and what a shop will look at first. But I was amazed how really minor things like spalled rotors can cause really noticeable shake in this vehicle.

 

Hello Deaven,

Thank you so much for sharing your inputs. I really appreciate it. I have not thought about # 1 3 4 which I was not able to find from youtube. I will check it out one by one.

Thank you.

Best

 

Are those still factory struts? how many miles. Would tire rotation on the same axle left to right change the location of noise?

 

Hi.
This car still has the factory struts and has run about 150k.

Honestly, I have not asked Costco staffs how they did rotate my tires. When I look at one of my old tire rotation invoice, I think they brought 1. right rear tire to front left. 2. left rear tire to front right. 3. front left to rear left. 4. front right to rear right.

Soon after the recent tire rotation at costco (last Jan 2025), I experienced this symptoms. I went back to Costco the following weekend. Staff said that there is nothing wrong about the tire and tire balance.

I have been busy. Then I hit the freeway a couple of weeks ago and found that this one still has the issue. I am now scared.

Any comments would help me.

Thanks,

 

That rotation pattern looks ok and is what I ask for at Costco (my local one likes to do straight front/rear, but I ask for cross rotation like that).

If you also feel vibration at the steering wheels, it's an indication of front wheel/suspension problems. If you also feel vibration at the seats, it's an indication of rear wheel/suspension problems.

If the tires are in balance, you can ask them just to swap left-to-right on the same axle and see if the problem moves to the other side. If not, I'd suspect suspension related problems, as the car speed goes up, the old struts can no longer keep up in absorbing the vibrations.

A trusted local tire shop may be able to help diagnose the problem (but they'll also likely to upsell too). Just to get some additional opinions from other shops, because I don't know if Costco is wiling to rate just two tires like that but you can ask.

 

Thanks for confirming the tire rotation is correct. I have a vibration at steering wheel only. So I guess it is related to front side. I will check out a couple of local tire shops. Thanks for your advice.

I appreciate it

 

chuk:
A minor imbalance at the rear wheels can have a drastic effect when those wheels are moved to the front. Have the front wheels re-balanced.
Good luck, Haya....

 

Thank you for your suggestion.
I checked air pressures in all 4 tires and found that the left front tire has lower air pressure than all 3 others. Adjusting the air pressure in all 4 tires improved a lot even though I still have mini vibration.
Thank you.