Strong juddering/vibration coming from the front end of my toyota previa(tarago) front wheel drive.Wheels have been balanced & alignment done(twice!!) but it's still there, mostly under acceleration. any ideas?

Needs a front end alignment

Because one or both of the front wheels are out of balance.
1. You need to have the front wheel/tire package rebalanced by a competent balancer. Go to a good tire retailer. They have the equipment to do the re-balancing for you. Don't go to the cheapest shop you can find and hope they will do a great balance job for you.
2. If you still have the vibration after re-balancing (assuming it is done well) you will either have a faulty tire or tires (out of round or a heavy spot in the tire) or there is a problem with one or both of the wheels. If either of the front wheels have been slightly bent out of shape from abuse you will get a vibration in the front end of the car and in that event the wheel needs to be replaced. If you have a cheap brand of tires fitted to the car and the re-balancing does not solve the vibration problem I would suspect the tires first. Cheap tires will typically give you problems like this if you buy them but better brands can have tire faults also.

3. Do not let someone tell you that a front wheel alignment will solve a balance problem with the wheels/tires. It will not because the vibration is caused by the rotating wheel and tire. By all means have a wheel alignment done again - because you need to do this on the car about every 10-12000 miles in any event - but doing this will not solve a balance issue.

4. If you want to run a test before doing any work have the rear wheels on both sides moved to the front of the car and the fronts to the rear. Then check if you still have exactly the same vibration. If not then you know where the problem is. If you still get exactly the same vibration or a similar front vibration with the rear wheels fitted on the front, then the balance on the rear wheels/tires will need to be checked and re-done as well.

Sounds like you need your wheels balancing - take it to an auto shop and have them check it for you.

check for worn or broken motor or trans mounts

Hi,
Seems u have a problem on ignition during high speed! Better go to ur favorite garage and have ur ignition tune up( timing, spark plugs, air cleaner, fuel filter ).
Check those parts!

Front end vibration has little to do with the brake system on the car. Yes you can get some "brake shudder" when you apply the brakes when you have worn brake rotors or when the rotors are not properly aligned on the hubs. However from what you have said you do not have this problem.

Front end vibrations can be caused by a number of factors some of which are listed below:



1. Front wheels out of balance. (Common problem on many vehicles).

When were the front wheels last balanced? You will get vibrations through the car and the steering wheel at particular speeds. This will/could also occur if the wheel rims have been distorted as a result of abuse.

As a first step the wheels should be balanced and then retest the vehicle for the problem.

It can be impossible to properly balance some wheels because the tires fitted to the rims are of poor quality and contain heavy spots that are impossible to correct with wheel balance weights. If you have cheap tires fitted on the wheel rims then it may be impossible to balance the wheels properly because of the imperfections in the tyre. In that case you will have a permanent wheel vibration problem which will only be rectified by fitting good quality tires and re-balancing the front wheels.

If aftermarket wheel rims have been fitted to the vehicle this can also be a source of vibration. Some wheels on the market are poor quality and can be slightly out of round and/or have heavy spots in them which can be impossible to correct when you fit the tires and have the wheels balanced. Many people think a cheap set of "blingy" aftermarket wheels are a great buy but if they are poorly built (as is often the case) you will usually have no end of problems.

2. The front wheel alignment could be out.
If the front wheels have not been aligned in the past 12 months they probably will be out of alignment. When you have re-balanced the front wheels you should have the front wheel alignment checked and then re-aligned if it is out. However if their are worn suspension components (see 4) found on the car which need to be replaced, this repair needs to be done before the front wheels are re-aligned.

3. Worn out wheel bearings in the front hubs.
If your front wheel bearings are badly worn you can get a vibration through the steering wheel. If the vehicle has done about 100000 miles or more on the front wheel bearings they should be replaced. In any event , any competent mechanic can jack up the front of the car and check for excess play in the wheel bearings.

4. Worn out suspension components. The front end of the car should be checked for badly worn suspension and steering components.

I would recommend you take the vehicle to a competent mechanic or a suspension specialist in your area and have them check the vehicle for you.

I hope this helps.

your wheels more than likely needs to be balanced one or more are out of round if you had the tires rotated before the alignment this would make the vibrating more noticible.but balancing should solve your problem.

If it is a tire related howl you are getting as well as the vibration through the steering wheel once you hit about 60 mph there is a number of things you need to do.

1. If you have not had a wheel alignment carried out on the vehicle in the last 6 months then have it done at a reputable suspension specialist (not a tyre dealer). Check your front tires for wear pattern in any event as uneven wear on the tyre is a sure sign of poor alignment. Bad alignment can also contribute to vibration problems. I will guarantee you that when you get the alignment checked it will be out. I am not sure if the rear alignment is adjustable on your model but if it is you will in fact need a 4 wheel alignment. (REFER point 7 also)

2. When the alignment and other necessary front end work is done check to see if the problems persists..

3. I assume your vehicle has the steel rims fitted with the plastic wheel cover. Remove the covers on the front wheels and check for the vibration. If it disappears then the out of balance condition is caused by the covers. (This would not explain the tyre howl though).

4. Remove both front wheels (clean them) and check for damage to the rims on both sides including outside scuffing. (Check tyres also.)
If the steel rim is bent or warped it will not run true and you will get vibration and the tyres will tend to be noisy on the road. It is not always easy to identify a warped steel rim from a visual check. Spinning the wheel on a wheel balance machine should normally show this up though.
If you have alloy wheels fitted these tend to crack and break rather than bend or warp.

5. Out of balance wheels.

It is possible for a wheel to be so badly manufactured that no amount of balancing on a tyre balance machine will fix it. This is a particular problem with cheap alloy wheels but even good quality wheel manufacturers will occasionally let a bad alloy wheel slip past their quality control .

6. Tyres.
If you buy budget tyres you are generally buying poor performance and potentially poorly constructed tyres. Tyres can be produced with inbuilt heavy spots that will make them impossible to properly balance. You will forever have a balance problem (and hence vibration) with such tyres. A good manufacturer will not allow such tyres to slip through quality control. Others are much less fussy. It is always a bad decision to purchase tyres in the lower price ranges.
In your case it is quite possible that if your wheels are ok the tyres are badly constructed and it is not possible to balance them properly. (This would not explain the tyre howl though).

7. Given the age of your vehicle you should have the front suspension and steering components inspected. It is possible that wear in critical components could be the source of the problem. When you take the car to the suspension specialist for the wheel alignment you need to have the front end fully checked over first and any problem areas attended to.

Without test driving and pysically inspecting the vehicle it is not possible to identify the source or sources of the problems. My best estimate is that there are significant wear problems in front end components and that your front end aligment is also out.
However , I hope this helps.

you need wheels balanced, simple and cheap

:)

Hope I can help...but you have conflicting symptoms. IE... front end vibration but no shimmy in steering wheel?
Let me tell you this: If you feel the vibration when cruising(no brake & not accellerating) @ 60-70 mph; then 95% of the time it is in the tire/wheel/balance combination. (I know you said they were new but could still be out-of-round)