Corolla vibrating high speeds

Tires are either out of round or not balanced properly plain and simple. Take it back to the tire dealer and have them fix it and do not let them tell you that rotating the tires will fix it.

Tires out of balance, or defective. Take the car back to the tire store and ask them to take a look.

Rotating might fix it, IF they balance the tires at the same time. Rotating alone will only move the vibration from one place to another.

Rotating tires will not fix the vibration, whether or not you balance at the same time.

another.

The "problem" with this though is if a tire is out of round it may not be felt on rear of the vehical (I have seen it before a few times where it was the tire belts not balance causing a problem in front) so it could give you a false fix that could haunt you later.

Bullshit. If the tires are rotated AND balanced, that is likely to fix the vibration, UNLESS one or more of the tires has a defect in it.

I haven't ever had a tire rotated that wasn't also balanced at the same time. But, I agree, there are problems that might be felt on the front but not on the back, and the tire balance isn't part of the equation. If a tire was out of round, it should be visible on the balancing machine ...

I would like to see my tires being spun up to balance speed with the weights on them just to see if they are out of balance before the weights are changed. My experience is that they generally pull the weights and spin the tires, then put new weights on, so I never know if my tires were out of balance when I drove in.

Jeff,

I don't know how many vehicles with vibrations you have personally worked on, or how many NVH classes you have taken or how many ASE certifications you hold. Although it was not a job requirement, I was one of only a handful of factory district service managers to qualify as an ASE Master Technician. I have fixed about a dozen problem vehicles with vibrations that dealerships and tire shops gave up on.

The OP did not complain of a vibration prior to tire replacement so it is unlikely that the vibration was caused by anything in the drivetrain up to the wheels. The only new part of the equation was the tires. If the tires are not defective and if the wheel/tire assembly is properly balanced, rotating them will have ZERO effect. If rotating the tires does have an effect on the vibration, then one or more wheels were not balanced properly or a tire is defective. It is the balancing that is curing the vibration, not rotating the tires.

If balancing the tire/wheel assembly does not cure the vibration, then the next step is to make sure the tire and wheel were properly phase-matched, that the tire is not out-of-round, and that nothing was warped or bent during installation.

Which is why I said that rotating the tires in and of itself is probably not going to fix anything.

The car works good, but the tires are worn. New tires are purchased. The car now shakes. There is a suggestion to rotate the tires. I suggest that the rotation might help, but is more likely to help if the tires are rebalanced at the same time.

I go on to suggest that rotating and balancing may have no affect if a tire is defective, but a defective tire on the back may not be felt as readily as a defective tire on the front.

Then, you come along and say pretty much the same thing.

Bottom line is that the OP has a vibration problem that in all likelihood is associated with the tires. A trip to the tire store is the first stop in the hunt for the cure.

We are not saying the same thing. Mabe this is splitting hairs, but rotating tires is not part of the cure and has nothing to do with the cure. The only part of the cure is balancing the tires. If the tires are properly balanced, then whether or not you rotate the tires will not make the least bit of difference.

You are taking a reply out of context. I did not introduce tire rotation as a sole solution, somebody else said that. I REPLIED that a rotation might fix the problem IF the tires are rebalanced at the same time.

I did concede the point that it is possible -- however remote -- that a shaking tire on the front might not be felt if moved to the rear. But, this was also a point that was introduced by somebody else, not me.

Maybe my Catholic school English has made me a little too anal on "if-then" logic statements. If one takes the statement "Rotating might fix it, IF they balance the tires at the same time" and re-state as an if-then statement, it would read: "If they balance the tires at the same time, THEN rotating might fix it". Your suggested fix has 2 components or variables - rotating and balancing. What I'm saying is, the only component or variable that is actually contributing to the cure is balancing, and rotating is irrelevant.

The relationship between rotating tires and balancing a wheel/tire assembly is the same as the relationship between rotating tires and fixing a slow leak in a tire. The statement "rotating tires might fix a slow leak if you patch the hole in the tire" is not a logical one. If you rotate the tires, then the slow leak moves from one end of the car to another, but it is still leaking. The exact same thing is true of tire balance.

My point is, tire rotation is not part of the fix at all, whether a tire balance is included or not. When you are chasing a vibration, rotating the tires can help identify the problem wheel but it does not contribute to the cure. If the tires and wheels were balanced on the vehicle, then rotating them could actually cause a vibration.

If, as you're suggesting, a vibration is cured by rotating and balancing the tires at the same time, then logically, the next time the tires are rotated, the vibration would re-appear.

I do agree 100% with your bottom line, which is that the OP should go back to where the tires were purchased for a proper balance.

I'll give some related advice to anyone who is going to bring their vehicle in for service, and that is to tell the service advisor what the vehicle is doing as completely as possible WITHOUT suggesting or recommending a cause or cure. If someone goes back to the tire shop and asks them to rotate and balance the tires, there is a good chance that the shop will charge to rotate the tires because it is unrelated to the repair.