spl1011

OK, here's the deal, and opinions/suggestions are very much appreciated!

For the past 2 weeks driving around town, I have noticed that the car vibrates above 40-45 mph. I can feel it in my legs, and in the steering. My front pasenger can feel it too.
Last week when I took a 600 mile trip to southern FL, the car shook constantly throughout the drive up to highway speeds (70-75 mph).
It vibrates the steering wheel a bit, not much, but it is very noticeable.
Well, The car was as smooth as silk. The only bumps in the steering were from the crappy roads here in NW FL.
So I had Acura balance the tires ($47) and they did that. I looked at them and looks like they didn't touch anything (the rims were a bit dirty and the weights weren't touched).
Took it on the highway, same problem.
A day later, I get an alignment check. The toe limits were off on 3 wheels, thats it. I had them correct it, but that would not cause the vibration anyway!
My brake rotors are warped, I can feel them vibrate when I apply brakes (I'm shopping for slotted rotora's as we speak).
The tires up front are the OEM michelins. I checked the tread and it looks fine, and parallel. The rear are a set of Goodyears that are younger but have been on the car for a while and perform well.
I hope it is not a rim, but I have not hit any potholes that would knock that out.

I am possesed to rotate the tires to see if could be the fronts.

Does anyone know of warped rotors causing vibrations while the car is moving - without brakes being applied??

Motor mounts? - mind you, the car still shakes going down hills too (yes, we have some hills here in NW FL)

Well, what do you folks think?

Love my 99

Could be your rotors but usually that's evident when braking (I have the same problem right now). Take it back to the dealership and bitch--tell them the balancing the tires didn't fix the problem. You want it fixed or you're not coming back...

spl1011

I have 53k mile and out of warranty :-(

When I went there I just asked for the tire balance - not to fix my problem...
I need to call and ask if they used roadforce to balance them. Does anyone know if they do that anyway, or if you have to request it, or the price difference. I know they have the machine.

I think I don't have much ground in order to bitch... :-\

spl1011

Someone has to have ideas....

Rusky

I had a vibration in my steering when I braked from highway speed. I had the brakes done, rotors cut, and that fixed it perfectly.

If rotors are really bad, they could certainly cause vibration when not applied. The pads may be rubbing on the rotor unevenly as the out of round presses against them. If the rotors have been bad for a long time, it may have worn out some other component. It could be tie rods, strut mounts, ball joints, etc. Having mismatched tires can sometimes throw things off. A front end inspection is very simple when the car is on a lift. I would certainly ask the dealership to do an inspection of the front end.

Regardless, if your rotors are warped, fix that. Then, if the problem persists, start inspecting the front end.

With 53K miles, it is highly unlikely anything has warn out unless you've been driving for 10K miles with some other problem. If your dealer's service can't fix a vibration, find a new place to take your car. That's pretty basic stuff. Talk to the service manager, tell him/her you have been in with the problem and it wasn't fixed. Don't get hostile too fast and they will likely make the extra effort to get you fxed up. good luck.

69ssrscam

I experienced the same vibration problem that you are dealing with. Mine turned out to be a separated belt in one of the stock Michelin tires. I'd bet you money that your problem is in the stock Michelins. I would rotate your tires front to rear to see if that modifies the feel of the vibration. In my case, I still had the vibration after rotating, but you could feel it more in the seat as opposed to the steering. Once I replaced the tires, it was smooth as glass.

Warped rotors can be felt at higher speeds, but they would have to be pretty severely warped for the passenger to notice to vibration.

Get your stock Michelins off of there and I bet that will fix your problem.

Stillen_I30

Hey, first of all, I am assuming your're in N FL since you said it was 600 miles to S FL. What dealership did you take your car to?

Anyway, I have the same symptoms as you have on two different cars (one car affected is our '00 TL and the other one is a '97 Infiniti). Both cars had the problem arise when I got new tires installed. However, the old tires were so beat up that they too were shaking, but at different speeds. Last week, I had new tires (all four) put onto the TL, and "balanced" by the shop. Turns out the shop never balanced them, adn I drove from Orlando to Miami with unbalanced tires (thats really good for a brand new set of tires). Anyway, I got them re-balanced, and now the shakes are in the floor and less in the wheel, but at speeds above 65 and then stops again around 80. My other car shakes at the same speeds. That car has gone thru a new set of rims AND tires, and i still have the problem. I dont know if these balance shops are just doing an extremely poor job or what, but it seems as if I can never hvae a smooth driving car unless its brand new and has 5,000 miles or less on the odometer. Once the shops touch the car, its never smooth again unless you're lucky (even though you're paying money for them to balance it). Anyhow, I have a feeling that when the steering wheel shakes from side-to-side, that means the problem resides in the front tires/rims. If the car shakes (you feel shakes in the seats/floor) then the rear tires are messed up. Someone PLEASE correct me if I am wrong, I really want to use this as a quicker way to diagnose the problem (since most shops dont have many smart techs to help out with these issues).

spl1011

Your absolutely right, if you ass shakes, then it is the rear. But if it is bad enough, you will feel it in the wheel, but your ass will feel it first.

Well, I am thinking of buying a set of Rotora's for the front and rear (how does $262 for all 4 sound?) and will be looking into new tires to replace the stock Michellins in the front. I would like to rotate them and place them in the rear. If the vibration intensifies in the steering wheel and on the floor then I know it is the rear set. If it goes away a bit, then its the old Michellins.

Im glad to hear that no one had major drivetrain issues in order to repair a vibration problem. Someone suggested worn engine mounts may be the cause. I kind of rulled that out since at 70+ mph when I feel the shake, I still feel it after placing the car in N and the engine idles.

Thanks guys!

fast-tl

Could also be motor/transmission mounts. Took mine in for a a clunking I elt under accleration but I had the shakes also. Replacing 2 mounts took care of the clunk and the shakes (at least 95% of them, anyway)

spl1011

well, I dont think it is the mounts since it happenes even after putting the engine in N at speed. acceleration, deceleration ( no engine load), AC on or off, doesnt matter... it shakes...
I ordered new Rotora Slotted rotors for 300 even all around. Im in the process of tire shopping.

Its not a horrible vibration, rather subtle but annoying. Something I expect from my 120k plus mile Taurus, not from a 50k+ Acura TL.

blulegend

Well if the car is bouncing around, the engine and tranny will too. So if you don't have good mounts, the vibration can be pronounced and transfer to the steering column and floor.

TeknoKing

yeah, i know the pain. My rotors are warped, and it is pissing me off everytime i have to slow down from high speeds, the wheel shakes.

My previous car, nissan maxima, i rode 90K never had a problem with the rotors...its frustrating, just need to get the iRotor or Rotora. saving money.

Stillen_I30

Does anyone know why my car can shake at highway speeds when the wheel is straight, but then if a bend comes around and I have the steering wheel lightly turned coming around the highway bend, the vibrations disappear, even if my speed had not changed? Then they reappear when i'm going straight again. My vibrations are sometimes there and sometimes not there, all at the same speeds where i usually do notice vibration. This is happening on two totally different cars of ours!! and i hate it! any ideas?

spl1011

Sounds like alignment to me - more like a control arm being loose or what not.

That would be my immediate guess before I go changing tires.

spl1011

OK, IM freaking pissed off here....

... I finally got new tires put on my car and guess what...

The car still fucking shakes!!! Now its more my ass, I think, but I can feel it in the steering once in a while as well.
I have new slotted rotors coming in on Friday and will put those in. Those I KNOW are warped. I step on the brake and it shakes like a salt shaka...
But man... I am all out. 3 guesses are left - and they are not cheap (nor were the tires!!!)
Bent rim, warped rotors, or engine mounts.
After friday I will eliminate one of those guesses.
I sure hope it is the culprit. I notice too, that it is an intermittent problem, it happens almost like clock work, but not 100%.

Im even more pissed because I took it in to get an alignment done and they said it was off. They straightened it out and put it to specs. Well, now the car pulls to the right, big time!! It was as straight as an arrow before, now they gone and fucked it all up.

Argh I am pissed.

Can anyone shed some light/hope or inspiration on this?
Thanks

mdavisii

I too have a slight steering wheel shimmy that occurs between about 55-70MPH that began when I upgraded my stock TL-P rims for those of the TL-S. Multiple road force balances from different shops show that my force variance on all tires (Yokohama V4s) are good, but yet I always have a shimmy that occurs. Today, after riding on my TL-S rims for about six months now, I decided to mount my TL-P rims back on just to see how the car behaves. I found out that all of my shimmies went away immediately. Is it possible for a wheel to be slightly out of round although the Hunter road force says otherwise? I don't understand how my 16" rims with the messed up tires ride better than my 17" rims with the better tires.

BTW, I noticed it takes 8 sticker weights (2 oz) to balance the inner section of all of my TL-S rims. My 16" rims only require a 1/4 oz weight to balance.

ABLUETYPES78

your rims might be bent.....i had to replace one type s rim already since it was completely shot and that had stopped the vibration. Now i have another bent one. I feel the vibration but i will just get the wheel balanced for now and put it in the rear.

makers

I had the same problems that spl1011 has about 3 years ago on my 99. I did the whole routine as well - brakes, new tires, four wheel alignment (didn't do the motor mounts, however).

I got it down to one wheel that was causing it - passenger front. If I would brake while turning slightly right (loading up that particular wheel) it would get more pronounced. However, same action while slightly left made it magically disappear.

Found out that on the 99's (and maybe on the 00's/01's?) Acura put on some less than Honda/Acura quality front bearings. Had the passenger bearing replaced ('bout $75 for the bearing and about 1 hours labor, if I recall) and the whole thing went away and has not reappeared. Your's might be one or both, however.

You may want to call your dealer and/or search the web or the other forums here - I think there was a TSB (free replacement?) issued for this not long after Acura figured out that these things were failing all over the place.

AcuraTl203

Same thing happened on my 2000 TL and my piece of crap rotors are warped too but the vibration i was getting turned out to be bad wheel bearings. and if your only at 53k bring it back to acura and insist they cover it free since u have been in several times already. at worst u pay for it then call acura customer care and yell then they will give u a reimbursement check. hope this helps

99TLHeather

I had the same problem and I brought it to get my wheels balanced. They were able to balance 2 of them perfectly and the other 2 were somewhat bent in the centercore (You can't see that it is bent, but a rim repair shop would tell you)...One of the mechanics I went to forgot to make sure the hubcentric rings were in place. I replaced all 4 rims and the shake is gone!

jmai

Anyone know how much it should cost to have the engine/motor mount replaced at the dealers? I think mine is going out. Everytime I turn on the ignition...I hear a "thunk" and also while driving my steering wheel shakes.

RHunter69

Had one mount replaced when my mechanic replaced my timing belt and water pump and saw that it was broken. I had felt a clunk whenever I floored it and now it's smooth again. He didn't charge me extra for labor since they already had so many parts off already. The mount was cheap (>$50), but figure a couple hours' worth of labor?

mdavisii

now you may be onto something with the wheel bearings. i just recently changed my rotors/pads on my 99 TL because of a lumpy feel i was getting while braking, most pronounced between 40-30 MPH. after changing rotors/pads i still experience the exact same issue. can't really feel the brake pedal vibrating, nor the steering wheel. it just feels real lumpy at times. heck, i've even noticed that under acceleration the car will feel a bit "lumpy" between that 30-40MPH range as well. as far as whether or not the wheel is slightly turned in one direction i cannot recall as i type this, but i will definitely pay more attention to this tomorrow. does anyone know of a test i can do to pinpoint a possible bad bearing? i eliminated the rims/tires by swapping my TL-S rims with my TL-Ps, only to find the same results.

spl1011

Hey guys!

Wow, strange to see this ressurected. I know I have another thread here that also addresses this problem (that I started) and well, I forgot about this one.
An update is in order:
It was a bent rim.
Took it to a wheel shop and got it straightened out. Not a problem now.
I still get an intermittent shimmy at the steering wheel and I do feel the car grind when I turn the tires each way. I think they may be the Fuzion tires, but it does it at any PSI.
Hearing that folks are having bearing problems is a mixed blessing. Good to hear that it can be a common issue, bad that it may also be my issue.

So after about a grand of tires, alignments, brakes (that needed to be replaced anyway) and wheel balance visits, it was a bent rim.

I wonder if PSI has anything to do with it. How much pressure were in your tires when you guys had gotten bent rims?
I've upped my PSI up to 40. The Fuzions handle the ride and the pressure pretty well. Better than the MXM4 on there previous.

Thanks once again.

bkzjimmy

maybe u have a bubble in ur tire???

spl1011

What????

Who are you talking to?

bkzjimmy

you,,,i just got a bubble in my tire from a pothole...now theres some vibrating

mlionel

Sounds like wheel bearings. If your wheel bearings have a play, you taking it out by going around the corner, because car shifts toward one side. Then, vibration goes away for short while. By making left or right turns you can pinpoint which side bearings are shot.