binary_10essee

My '00 TL, since I've had it, has a shake at 60MPH and above. It's at its worst at 60MPH. I can feel it slightly when I get up to around 50MPH and it progresses as I get to 60, and the higher I go above 60, the less shake I feel. However, when I'm up around 80MPH, it has a consistent off-and-on shake. I'm guessing it carries over from the 60MPH shake, but different because of the speed.

The car drives straight. I can let go of the wheel and it continues on a straight path with no problem. I don't hear any noises along with it. It doesn't get worse when braking. What could it be? I plan to have my tires rotated/balanced this weekend, but I need to have my lug nuts broken off and replaced first. Key didn't come with the car, apparently. I'm hoping maybe the rotate/balance will fix it.

But if it doesn't, what else should I look at?

01tl4tl

depending on what locks you have the tire shop may have the right tool to remove them- without breaking them off
Its an everyday occurrence for owners to leave without leaving the wheel lock key!

Have you looked in the obscure places like under spare tire or in jack tool area, even ck the pockets on back of seats
Never know where someone will stash the wheel key

what could be wrong? axle bearing/cv joint assemblies/axle, HUB Bearing and ck everything that moves!

binary_10essee

I'll double check the trunk area, but I've pretty much checked everywhere I can. I'll check the seat pockets as well.

As far as this problem, I will check into all the moving parts. Seems to me like it'll be something relatively simple, but you never know.

Thanks!

binary_10essee

Come to think of it, I forgot to add something here this morning.

I have noticed that I do feel a bit of a "wobble" when driving at very low speeds. Say, cruising ahead a bit during rush hour traffic (stop-and-go, if you will). It feels like to car sort of wobbles side to side, slightly but noticeably.

I imagine this has something to do with the vibration at higher speeds. It would make sense.

NBP04TL4ME

If your wheel locks are OEM/Acura pretty much any dealer can take them off without breaking them. I don't remember the number but there are only so many wheel lock patterns made and your dealer has the masters.

binary_10essee

Yeah, I was thinking about talking to them. I'm not sure if they're factory, but it should be quick and easy to determine if they are.

3.2TLc

First thing to check would be the wheel's lugnuts for proper torque.
Then have the suspension, steering and brakes all inspected at an alignment shop. Often times these shops will offer a free evaluation of any worn parts along with an estimate for repairs.

With our aging cars accumulating higher mileage, the original stuff tends to wear out and cause problems such as you're presently experiencing. Could be almost anything such as rim damage, tire balance, warped rotors, worn tie rods....ball joints....bushings....bearings....etc.

Dabu

I also suggest taking it to an alignment shop.

binary_10essee

I'll call some alignment shops throughout the day when I have time and I'll get it checked out. I'd prefer to find one that has a free evaluation, but I'll pay if necessary (if the price isn't outrageous).

hotclick56

Are these factory wheels or after markets wheels? If after market ones, then make sure it is mounted on the hub with hub centric adapters (64.1mm).

Check the rotors, tie rods, and other suspension components. If your lug nuts are torqued to the right specs (80 ft lb), wheel alignment done, and tires balanced, then the last place to look are your wheels. You may have bent wheels as I have with my factory ones.

I replaced all 4 wheels & it eliminated the shaking.

binary_10essee

I do have the factory wheels. When I bought the car, the wheels were a little banged up. Scratches and things like that. Is there an easy way to tell if wheels are bent, or would I have to go through looking at alignment, balance, etc., and look at wheels if those don't fix it?

01tl4tl

be less concerned with finding a ~free~ inspection, and more focused on= do they deal with Acuras on a regular basis
and is their guy a good mechanic, or just follows what the machine tells him to do?

a good tire balancer will show if the rims are bent, excess weights are good indictor too!

you dont need acura to get the lug locks off! any good tire store and alignment shop has the right tools for the job

binary_10essee

These aren't OEM are they?

http://imgur.com/gyrCufL

I looked everywhere for a key, just to be sure. Seat pockets. Glove box. Center console. Trunk, including with the spare tire. No sign of a key anywhere.

A shop said it'd cost about $39 (half hour labor) to break them off.

NBP04TL4ME

No that doesn't look OEM, but at the same time it also looks like something you would be able to get off yourself with a hex-ratchet set. Most lug nut lock sets have an unusal pattern in the top where you need an unique key to fit and be able to unlock. If all of your lug nuts look like that, you should be able to do it yourself

binary_10essee

After I took that pic I realized that it's probably not difficult to do myself, using a hex socket as you said. I'm not entirely familiar with locking lug nuts, so I wasn't sure what to expect. After doing several Google searches, it seems like these aren't the typical "locking lug nuts" with that unusual pattern in the top. These are open.

I'll give that a look and see what I can do.

binary_10essee

Spoke with a local tire shop. Guy said he should be able to get them off, since they just look like a large hex key/allen wrench. Said he'll take care of it no extra charge. I just need to get a rotate/balance done, and have him check out the alignment, suspension, etc.

WheelSupreme

It won't apply to normal sized tires as much but check for bubbles in the tires too, both inside and outside. It's a simple check. I had a weird shaking at random speeds, turned out I had many small bubbles forming on my tire sidewall. Hopefully balancing your wheels and the alignment does the trick though!

The bubbles look like this:

hotclick56

Have your car up on a lift & ask your mechanic to use a dial indicator to check the wheel run out and out of round condition. This will be the most accurate way of determining if the wheels are bent or not.

binary_10essee

Thanks, guys! I'll keep all this info in mind when I go to the shop.

01tl4tl

you probably have what are called spline locks,
my local Americas tire has a board with several sizes of them for the techs!!
said its very common type and as long as no funky thing on top of lock- they will come right off

stop calling shops for quotes! they will `guess` a minimum of half an hour
go see a professional