DatRL

i have an '05 RL that has a mild vibration happening once you get above about 60mph. it's a general vibration that you can feel through the seat, seems to get worse the faster i go. doesn't matter if my foot is on the gas or i'm just coasting, feels the same. braking is smooth, nothing there. anyway, i've rotated the tires, got an alignment, and rebalanced all the wheels. aaaaaand, it's still there! any ideas?

RL09

Did you buy your tires new or used?

Some used tires are sold even if they are a bit warped or misshaped. Balancing doesn't solve that. A second opinion from a different shop might help.

oo7spy

Could be your shocks.

DatRL

tires were brand new. only thing i noticed is that the fronts were wearing on the outer shoulder a bit, but evenly on both sides.

would worn shocks cause vibration? i can feel it even when i'm on a smooth road.

TakeiTeg

Factory wheels or aftermarket? and also sounds like alignment is out if shoulder is wearing more.

Does it also vibrate/wobble when you brake from high speed?

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

Axles

oo7spy

A blown shock can cause alignment issues and you very well could get vibrations on a smooth road. A shock absorber is used to dampen vibrations. A spring will continue to oscillate until an outside force stops it, so you have shock absorbers to stop the spring from oscillating. With that said, a blown shock won't cause vibrations, but instead, a good shock will stop vibrations.


teh CL has a good guess as well. I suggest getting under the car and inspecting the suspension and driveline components.

DatRL

factory wheels with 245/50 all around. i can post up my alignment specs later. wear on shoulder is subtle but noticeable if you look close.

no issues with braking. i can only feel it while cruising at highway speeds.

DatRL

any idea how axles get out of spec or how to test it?

rlerman

It's likely either your shocks going bad, a bad wheel or an unbalanced tire.

Aman

Is the wear only on the outer shoulder and not inner? Could be low tire pressure.

Axles are balanced too, but I have never heard of one falling out of spec. Could be something like a worn CV joint.

DatRL

only slight wear on the outer shoulders up front, not inner. checked tire pressure several times, all correct. rear tires seem to be wearing evenly.

here is my last alignment, vibration was the same before and after.

08KBP_VA

Use this flow chart...maybe it might help?

https://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/vibechart.pdf

RL09

DatRL, please if you figure it out do let us know.

On diagnosing, this feels like you need to get someone experienced knowledgeable in the car and test drive it for you.

cib16waker

That is an EXCELLENT chart

DatRL

sure will. this has been bugging me for a while. it's subtle but i notice it every time i'm on the freeway. i've tried all the obvious solutions and i'm running out of ideas which is why i'm looking for input here. might have to have a mechanic look at it and see if then can find anything.

cib16waker

Did it just start randomly or did you have something done and noticed it??
Another idea.. did you let anyone drive your car that may have hit a curb or did you hit a curb?

...these are the only other ideas that I can think of since you've gone over alot of other things

DatRL

update: finally took the car into a mechanic to see if they could find the issue. he suggested that one or more of the tires could be bad. when you balance a wheel it is usually only spun up to about 25 mph. since the vibration doesn't start until about 60 mph he wanted to see the wheels spinning at that speed. he put the car up on the rack and ran it to 60 mph. he said that the passenger front tire looks normal while spinning but he could see a wave or undulation in the tread on the other three. sooooo.... time for a new set of tires.

current tires are Falken Ziex ZE950 A/S. previous owner put them on right before i bought the car. they are warrantied against deformation but a claim must be made within the first 1/32" of wear... which i am beyond.

any suggestions for a good all-season tire that could even take a bit of light snow?

oo7spy

There are a whole bunch of threads on this topic in the Tires subforum. Contenintal DWS, now the DWS06, are the most popular for occasional snow use.

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

I know the DWS had balance and vibration issues that were reported later in their mileage/wear cycle, I think they might have solved that with the DWS06? Just a heads up.

Rami Jas

Check the rotors on each side.

DatRL

check the rotors for what?

braking is smooth. no issues there.

fuzzysig

I just picked up an 05 RL with same issues 170k on it

its a humming vibrating and hard to tell if its a bearing or wheel

I rotated the wheels and nothing changed.
brake pads and disks are brand new on the front and read
shocks look dry but when I go over bump I can hear a mild clunk or bump every time

took it to les schwab they say it needs all 4 new shocks and tires are cupped

took the tires off and they are brand new I saw no defects or cupping

projektvertx

iTrader: (2)

Define "new tires"? Were they installed recently? If so, how many miles? It honestly sounds as though you might be having two separate issues, but without having the car in front of me, suspended diagnostics is hard. The clunk over the bumps sounds like sway bar links, or given your miles it could very well be your struts and mounts. I used to have an intermittent clunk on my 1G RL that I later narrowed to upper control arm bushings, which weren't visibly worn until I had the arms off, because of how the arm sat bolted on. Neither of these issues would cause the humming vibration you're describing. Does the humming vibration get worse with speed? More specifically, does the humming get louder as speed goes up? That might help point to bearings or tires. I did have a bad set of BFGoodrich tires at some point on my Camry, and they did show signs off cupping in the rear times and the "hum" followed the tires.

It also doesn't hurt to get a second opinion from a reputable shop, not to question the first shops diagnosis. If the tires are in fact cupped, get to the bottom of what caused that to happen if and before you get a new set.

fuzzysig

les schwab was quick to give me a quote for all new shocks that's why I was a bit suspicious

and tires look brand new I didn't see any uneven wear on any of them

the humming goes away downhill and gets louder uphill or when I accelerate slightly on the freeway

I rotated the tires front to back but didn't notice any difference in noise

its a humming vibrating. hard to tell

I know the wheel bearing noise I had 3 of them go out on integra but I'm having hard time with this one the sound makes no sense to me

les schwab and I both wiggled the wheels and they are solid. no bearing play in any of them

DatRL

worn struts are usually the cause of cupping. and cupped tires will certainly cause noise/vibration.

it's important to identify if the noise/vibration is caused by engine speed or road speed. or both if you have more than one issue happening at once.

the vibration i have(no noise involved) is only linked to road speed. meaning i begin to feel it once i cross about 60mph regardless of RPM, throttle input, or braking.

sounds like the noise/vibration you have could be engine speed related since you experience it when you are accelerating and going up hill?

oo7spy

A hum that varies with engine speed tells me you should change your rear diff fluid.

fuzzysig

It changes with engine load not speed
But there is also vibration
Thats why its hard to pinpoint which wheel its coming from

oo7spy

When we say engine speed, we mean RPM. Nothing from your driveshaft to your wheels will change with engine speed, only vehicle speed.

fuzzysig

Ok so i listened to it a bit more closely it feels like a wobble it changes with speed not rpm
But the sound is somewhere between a wobble and whine its not a very clear one unless im hearing more than one issue at once. at first it felt like it was from pass front now it seems to be from driver front.
Very hard to tell. Im gonna try to use my voice recorder and see if it picks up anything

jmzb1002

i had vibration issues for the past month and just finally fixed it, 07 RL 150k mi. new continental dws 06 road force balanced on my acura tl HPT 19" with 3/4" hub centric spacers, still vibration only on highway, 65 - 80 mph, even when i shift into neutral and coasted. vibration got worse as soon as i let off the gas and the car would decel. installed new kyb struts with mounts, still vibrated same as before. changed both front lower control arms, beck arnley from rockauto $115ea, vibration gone. couldnt believe it, but im now happy. i changed all four end links as well. the car just absorbs bumps so much better, like a new ride.

vibrations are the worse to diagnose, but i was able to rule out axles, because there was no vibration on acceleration. also, i would shift the car into neutral once i hit 85mph, to eliminate the trans/axles, and the car still vibrated, pointing to tires/wheels, suspension. tires were new and road force balanced, so that left suspension. after the shocks were replaced, which had 50k on the them anyways, so they were pretty much due for a swap, and the vibration still occurred, that only left control arms/balljoints. tie rods were solid, no play there. plus there are many posts where the RL would just get its ride back after changing lower control arms or end links.

just wanted to document my experience, although this isnt the first one on the forums, so that if anyone starts chasing a vibration they can narrow down the culprit.

fuzzysig

nice. i did replace the front lca and rebalanced the tires. it got better
now i can clearly hear clunk when i go over speed bump
im suspecting bad wheel bearing.
is there a common issue with upper balljoint?

oo7spy

If you hear a clunk in a Honda, check the engine mounts.