2005 RL .. After 4 attempts at a fix .. Car still vibrates over 65 mph.

Driving home on the highway, I hit 65-80 mph, and it starts to vibrate. I also had an independent garage balance the tires, still vibrates.

I know, I'm not supposed to travel on the highway over 65 mph, so I guess this will help me in my pursuit of a ticketless glovebox .. but WTF!11!11 .. why can't anyone seem to fix this?

1. Bought the car 12/24 .. Noticed vibration over 65 mph. had 4 new tires put on .. balanced, aligned. .
2. Brought to the dealer, they replaced an axle, then re-balanced. Drove home .. vibrates over 65 mph.
3. Took it to an independent garage for an inspection. They said the car has no issues and they balanced the tires. Still vibrates.
4. Today I brought it in again, they found one tire off 15grams .. balanced, drove home, still vibrates.

I'd like to rule out balancing at this point .. I also figured they would have found a bent rim, or bad tire .. not sure what else it could be, but now I'm a little nervous that it's more serious.

I'm going to try out a different dealership, a bit out of the way, but I've pretty much given up on my primary dealer.

sorry about the venting .. just aggravated

 

Try hand torquing the bolts to our correct torque. Over tightening them can cause that as well. Dont let them do it with the air guns.

 

The only troubleshooting I notice is missing is for the wheel itself. If the tires are OK, the alignment is OK, and the axle was replaced , one of the wheels must be out of round. It might be worth putting another set of RL wheels on the car to see if they vibrate at speed.

 

Check the brake rotors. If the rotor is out of round ( what is the word for this ? ) car can vibrate at high speed.

 

Vibration can be a PITA to diagnose, but easy enough.
First thing is to eliminate the wheels. Try the spare on each corner to see if it helps. Of course ensure the spare is balanced.

What do you mean by , "Brought to the dealer, they replaced an axle, then re-balanced. Drove home .. vibrates over 65 mph."?
They would not balance the driveshaft or axles. So curious. Unless they rebalanced the tires again.

Did you have all 4 axles replaced? Or perhaps you are referring to the driveshaft?

Once the wheels are eliminated I would focus on other speed related rotating components. You would know if your rotors are warped so I would look carefully at the axles/drivesaft.

You could try to Road Force Balance the tires.

 

When the wheels were balanced, did they use a Road Force machine? Most Acura dealers now have these machines (due to the Bridgestone issue on the TL's back in '04).

Secondly, was this car in an accident? Was a CarFax pulled prior to purchase? Are you able to tell where the vibration is coming from? Front or rear biased? Could it be something with the steering rack?

Sorry for throwing everything but the kitchen sink out there...

 

I would also have the tie rods and ball joints checked. Keep in mind that ALL cars vibrate in one way or another even if the driver cannot feel it, just the components need to be able to absorb the little ones.

 

They replace the right driveshaft, then re-balanced the tires .. the tires have been balanced a total of 4 times since Dec. .. no difference in vibration over 65 mph

I asked them to use the Road Force machine, but I don't think they did.

I had a carfax pulled and also an independent inspection .. the car is clean. It feels like the front is vibrating, but the steering wheel doesn't vibrate as much as what I feel underneath the seat and my feet.
I had a loaner today (RL), and I took it on the highway .. it didn't vibrate, so at least I'm not crazy.

I'm taking it to another dealership next Monday. I need a second opinion on this one because I feel like my primary isn't troubleshooting the issue. I'll probably have to pay a little $$ this time around (my dealer has been covering everything so far), but if they can fix it, I'm happy.

 

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago and it turned out to be a bent wheel. The funny thing is it never showed up when they were checking the balance (I'm not sure what machine they were using). Finally, the service tech tried swapping out one wheel at a time and the problem was located.

$380 later (new wheel) problem was solved.

 

I have the same or a similiar problem. Mine is a slight vibration that I feel in the steering wheel, and came on around 23K miles. I have had the car since it was new, so I knew when it started doing this. I just paid for a "high speed balance" and my tires (pax) are fine. If I take my hands off the wheel the car drives straight, so it is not an issue with the balance or alignment... so I have no clue. I paid 50 for the balance when I told them to fix it.. I am kind of tired trying to worry about it.. it isn't so bad but just annoying for me...

 

I finally took it to a different Acura Dealership for Service. I paid them $150 for a road force balance .. sure enough, every tire was off, plus one of the rims is slightly bent. The car drove MUCH better after the balance, the bent wheel was rotated to the back as well. The foreman printed me the balance summary with all the screen pics and I am going to my original dealership Monday to get it straightened out.
I bought the car CPO with this issue from the getgo .. documented each time that after they balanced, the car still vibrated. So I am hoping they will replace the wheel for free.

 

I'm glad this is doing better. Vibration can be such a PITA to to diagnose as 470hp above noted.

 

well Prime Acura just lost my future service business. After checking out the car today, they say they don't see a bent rim. Even though the road force balance I have in hand shows it, they don't see it.
I've never experienced such a terrible service dept and I am done fighting with them. To me, it isn't worth going there again. I'll probably end up getting new wheels for the summer anyways.

 

It is probably worth a contact with Acura corporate on this matter.

 

yes almost all dealers are a pain! don't worry just remember what a nice car you have and find a used rim.

 

:thumbsdow

 

I'd report them with acura and The B.B.B.

 

Have had the same problem with my TL after new tires.Vibration in my seat and feet. The local Acura Dealership said it was inoperable. They've apparently had a couple TL's with this problem...changed out the entire transmission to no avail. They suggested a Road Force Balance, but said they didn't think it would help. Is this fix holding for you?

 

do wheels need to be balanced?

 

Thanks for this post guys, I have the same vibration at 65-80.
I noticed it this morning when my red bull can was rattling.

And for the record b0n3, doing 55 on the interstate is out of the question for me.

I am going to check out a "road force balance" on mine.

 

gonna bump this thread .. still having my original vibration issue at highway speeds.

Here's what I've done since the OP within the last month:

Had brake pads replaced and rotors cut.

Got a used wheel to replace the slightly bent one .. bought 4 new Versados .. aligned and balanced (rebalanced 2 more times). Still vibrates at highway speeds.

Had driveshaft replaced because of whine at 40 mph and 60 .. still vibrates (and whines)

Road forced balanced over the weekend to check new tires and confirm rims are straight now after replacing one .. still vibrates.

I'm thinking it's more of a shudder now after feeling the most recent symptoms. It comes and goes. I'd think it would be a consistent vibration with a bent rim or bad tire. Maybe a loose motor mount? I'm at a loss. I don't know .. I find it hard to believe that NO Acura dealerships in my area can figure this out. I feel like a pain in the ass bringing it back, but wtf, I got a luxury car and expect a smooth ride.

And to confirm I'm not nuts, I picked up a friend last night and went for a ride .. he noticed it immediately and mentioned it without me bitchin .. lol

What should be my next step in troubleshooting? I've read about a TSB regrading engine shudder .. but that may be way off.

 

I cannot imagine your frustration. I would have already been reported on cable news with some type of fireball, fleeing people and *Bleepity Bleeps*.

It seems you have taken all the progressive steps. Since the car was CPO, have you engaged Acura CS to mitigate this for you? Especially since you are taking proper steps with documentation and second opinions.

Every so often cars simply produce a harmonic vibration that may or may not be inherent to the model, or simply your car specifically. I had an Isuzu that had the same issue. I went through all the same steps you did, brakes, drive shaft, motor mounts, axle, and even the dealer switched rims for me. Nothing worked.... until I swapped tires. It had OEM Goodyears (which I was not a fan of from a previous Isuzu). I swapped to Michelin LTX and voila, smooth as can be.

I was very puzzled but after speaking with the lead tech at Isuzu (who admitted my MY had a harmonic vibration issue) believed the vibration was not cured, but simply the tires were able to mask the issue. I ran the Isuzu another 25K on those tires before trading it and the vibration did not return. The tech told me they were replacing the tires on others that could not remedy the vibration and had reasonable success. And yes...the harmonic vibration I experienced did come and go in waves even when at constant speeds.

Obviously an RL is not an SUV and should have better capabilities of squelching vibrations. And not to dismiss the diligent approach you have taken, but have your tried to swap wheels & tires from an RL with no vibrations? Perhaps Acura CS will mitigate that for you to validate if the vibration is resulting from wheels / tires (a simple fix) or if it is somehow from the car chassis / platform?

***Greetings from Barcelona***

 

I'm thinking that's my next step .. It just sucks because I pretty much slammed my dealership's customer service dept. on the "rate your experience" feedback email. Not that I was mean, but if you're going to replace the driveshaft, please tighten all the brackets. I had to go back for them to redo it after I drove it for a day. Sounded like the driveshaft was going to fall out on the way back to the dealer. Fortunately they took care of it quickly .. but I've been WAY too nice about the whole experience. Time for some 300 style carnage on my next visit

 

I feel your pain.

I would really open a case with Acura CS and have THEM discuss the issues with the dealer. They can mitigate on your behalf. And likely another dealer may be suggested for your frustrations.

***Greetings from Barcelona***

 

Now thats a perfect reason to have an after market warranty!!

The dealers dont know what there doing the one here has a Ferrari in the show room in stead of an RL???!!! Retards

 

b0n3 you are not making me feel good about my recent purchase! I bought an '08 RL about 4 weeks ago and noticed a vibration between 75-80. I travel a lot so getting the car into the service dept. is a hassle. I had it in last Monday and they balanced the tires. Well, the vibration is not as consistent as it was before, but now it comes & goes between 65-80. I am going to get my money's worth out of the CPO warranty!

 

sorry man .. it is a hassle though. I just got another road force balance and my issue is still there.

On my next visit, I'll be taking the service tech out on a test drive. I need to show them exactly what's going on because evidently they are not feeling it on their test rides.

 

I'm curious if you've had any luck? I am going through the exact same thing with my '06 RL. Have put on new tires and had them all road force balanced, still can't get rid of the 65 mph vibration. Am now starting to look at the rotors (I do get a slight pulse when I press the brakes), but I'm not optimistic that will fix it based on your experience. My mechanic did find the center shaft had a little bit of play in it, but he wasn't sure it was enough to cause the vibration...I'll keep posting any steps I take and let you know if they have any effect.

 

Your tires could be out of round.

Are you sure you had them road force balanced? Verify your shop is listed at this website:

www.gsp9700.com

Chris

 

I agree. I did think road force balancing was overkill, until I had vibration issues above 60.

They road force balanced my tires and could not get two of the four tires balanced. They dismounted the two tires and checked the wheels, and found them to be perfect. Nevertheless, they swapped the worst of the bad tires to the front wheel of the unit that needed the least amount of road force balnacing and still could not balance out the bad tire.

The tech was of the opinion that the tires were likely installed incorrectly, but I did not notice the vibrations because it happened that the "bad" tires were installed in the rear. So when rotated the rears to the front, the vibrations showed up. The tech's opinion was that the original installer improperly stretched the bead on two tires during installation so that the bead was slightly egg shaped. This is what caused the vibrations at higher speed, essentially a cam effect. He said this can easily happen with large diameter low profile tires and an inexperienced installer or one that did not have the proper equipment.

 

I feel your pain. my 05 does the vibration at 1500 rpm , no matter the speed. no one has an answer. Which tells me that htere is a recall coming!!!

 

Yup- the shop that did it is listed on the site, and they even brought me inside to show me the machine and also allow me to poke around under the car. I couldn't see a damn thing that looked remotely wrong and the tech agreed he couldn't see anything that would give us a hint, either.

 

I read this entire post and there is one thing that has not been done that should have been after the 2nd time the car came back to the shop. I would have put the car on a hoist, raised the car in the air so the tires/rims are at eye level. Have the mechanic in the car drive the car at speed so that the technicians can see the wheels moving. This eliminates the road, allowing viewing of the entire drive line while the car is accessible. I have done this exact procedure several times looking for a culprit that couldn't be found after chasing "rabbits".
You could have a weak strut, allowing the wheel to vibrate in an up and down motion, causing an oscillation.
You have done due diligence to find the cause...bent rims, brakes, axles, tires, balancing, drive shaft.
Once you identify the corner that the vibration is in, then you can go after the source. If it is in the front, remove both front rims and drive the car on the hoist again and see if the vibration continues.
It could be a warped rotor or the rim is not seating on the hub properly. It could be that someone installed the wheel wrong on a hub and it sits cocked.
Check the axles for up and down run out at the transmission end. If the inner hubs (where the bearings run in the race) are worn / out of tolerance, it can set up a vibration in the axle. Acura/Honda have excellent rebuilds to new specs, and that would be the only ones I would install.

Report back after this has been done and I can almost be assured you will find the problem on the hoist.

 

glad to hear it! I had vibration issues on another vehicle of mine..couldn't get rid of it.. but once i found a shop with the hunter road force balancing mahcines - bingo.... car rode like a dream.

my Acura dealer does NOT have one. you can go to hte hunter website and it will allow you to search for locations that DO have the equipment...

maybe the bent wheel is an excuse to upgrade wheels...

 

OK, so we took this step this morning. My mechanic put it up on a lift, had one of his guys take it up to 30. I was under the car with him and we were able to verify the wheels are spinning perfectly (and they have been RF balanced). He finds that the right rear strut appears to be vibrating quite a bit, so we zero in on that. Take the wheels off, spin her up again and he starts feeling everything. He grabs his stethoscope and listens to the front transfer case and he thinks that is where the vibration is coming from. He had me feel it while the car was doing 30 and I can definitely feel a lot of "play." There was a lot of what felt like uncontrolled movement within the case. He did say it could be the rear transfer case, but he thinks the front is where we should start. We are looking at replacing the front transfer case/output shaft bearings.

Any thoughts?