Delta447

I did a search before posting this question, but didn’t come up w/anything definitive. I bought my wife a new TL-S last week. Great car. I noticed when driving home from the dealer (had 6 miles on odometer) that the steering wheel had a slight shimmy to it and that when applying the brakes, it sounds as if the surfaces of the rotors are not completely smooth. The rotors are definitely not warped, but braking does produce a little vibration sound in the car. Based on past experience, if the rotors are not in spec (or if the wheels aren’t balanced properly) this could be causing the wheel to shimmy as well. As far as the shimmy goes, if you have your hand on the steering wheel w/fingers spread out, you can see a slight, but definite wobble coming through the steering wheel. This is a test I apply on any of my cars when I think the tires need balancing, and even the Honda Civic I traded in did not produce this kind of wobble through the steering wheel. However, each car is different, and one of the comments I’ve read on the TL-S is that you get more road feel coming in through the steering wheel. Additionally, sometimes break-in is required for a car to settle in. So my question is: Are these items typical in the TL-S model, or is this something to be expected during break-in? We’re following the break-in rules, i.e. no hard braking for first few hundred miles, vary tach/speed, no WOT, etc, and after 300 miles, these items are still apparent. Thanks.

SK2003TypeS

That doesn't sound normal for a brand new car. Usually (if it's brakes), you feel the front through the steering wheel and the rears through the seat.
I kept it under 2500 RPM during the first 1000 miles. Was very hard to do.

Delta447

Wife said the vibration noise much less pronounced today and shimmy seems to be gone. So it's possible that rotors just had to wear in a little. She really likes this car and is looking forward to winding out the TL-S.

SK2003TypeS

I guess so....just keep an eye on it. Might want to check your tire pressure too. I know it's not the same thing, but I read here that someone had a brand new car and all 4 tires were different pressures.
Hope she's able to lay off the pedal for a little while. It is tempting

Delta447

That's a good idea. I'll check them when I get home tonight. The wife is a friggen lead foot if I ever saw one. I see cross drilled rotors and carbon fiber brake pads in my future. Probably have to install K40 radar to keep her out of trouble.

Vicman17

I bought mine in July and had some of the same symptoms you talked about. My work is close to the highway, so I'm thinking I didn't warm the car up properly before going high-speed, coz I only notice the shimmy driving home from work, not the other way around.

About the brakes- I had to bring it back top the dealer twice, before they lightly sanded the rear rotors and it improved the braking tremendously. They said that if the car sat on the lot too long after being shipped, the rear "disc/ drum develops several layers of rust that doesn't go away after being driven normally.

As for being a lead foot, get your wife to get used to using D3 or D4 while in the city. The gearing for the Type-S is too steep and you would be seriously speeding without knowing it.

Otherwise, congratulations with the car. The reason why I got mine 'coz it's a last year model and it's one of the best ones out there.

vperkins2

Heh, heh, heh... I like your wife already! I own an '02 WDP TL-S and love every moment I spend in it! My only complaint is that my lead-foot causes me to fill up my gas tank too much.

Good luck with your new car!

later,

V.

Delta447

My wife stopped at the dealership today to pick up the license plates and asked them to look at the rotors. Turns out there was some rust on the rotors and rather than sand them, the dealership just replaced all of them. They must keep these in great supply. Dealership also balanced the tires and my wife said the car feels way smoother now. That’s some pretty good service.

r10apple

THAT IS great service!!! Glad they found your problems!