Hi Guys,

In the morning, driving on the highway while the car is still "cold" (3-4 minutes after start-up), around 50-60 mph I notice a strong vibration of the car. Is not only the steering but the whole car is vibrating. After about 5-10 minutes the vibration gradually disappears. I saw the posts for the 2004 TL's and Acura supposed to fix this for 2005. It seems not......

I have Michelin Pilot 235 /17 and they're well balanced - the car is brand new (only 700 miles onboard). I tried changing gears at 55 mph and it seems that the engine rpm does not make a difference. I am not an expert but it seems like a chassis, suspension or transmission problem...

Does anybody has any idea what could be the solution to this problem?


Costin

2005 TL with Nav. & Automatic

 

is not the chasis i have the same problem and i have bring it in to check the engine mount and realize for all our car the engine mount is kinda hard so when u are at stop your steering wheel will vibrate a bit and so does your car

Dont worry about it
its fine
Gilbert

 

It isn't "fine", it's bullshit. My '04 does the same thing when IDLING for the first 10 minutes. It's as if a Pinto 4 banger is under the hood.

 

Costin..........If I were to guess, I would accuse your tires. Any hi-perf tire with nylon belts will "flatspot" to some degree when the car is left overnight, especially in colder weather. The stock Bridgestone EL42s were famous for this and I think Michelins flatspot to a lesser degree. I think if you search on "flatspotting" you will find a plethora of anecdotal information.

 

This doesn't sound normal at all - take it to the dealer and make them fix it!

 

Does the vibration go away completely? I have a vibration as well and it is not related to the tires because it vibrates when I'm idling. Sometimes it's minor and other times it's more noticeable. Then there are times I drive the TL hard and when I come to a stop, the vibration will be gone but then it will come back. Weird...maybe it is the engine mounts.....who knows?....I've learned to live with it for now.

 

I too, like repecat, would suspect the tires... At that speed and rpm the engine would not have the vibration I think you are feeling. I'm disappointed though that this is happening with the Michelins... The EL42's are very bad on my 04 and I planned on purchasing Michelin A/S Pilot Sports... I had a set on my 04 Max on 18 inch rims and they did not flat spot what so ever.... Maybe Michelin has changed their belt composition...

It's amazing to me that any tire manufacturer would design and produce a tire that has this "characteristsic"... For a pure race/performance application yes, but not for a sport/luxury vehicle market.... The performance benefit, that most will not even realize, does not outweigh this bad driving experience....

Anyone else agree??

 

I certainly agree with you. I think I will have to do a lot of evaluating when it comes time to replace my crappy EL 42s. I may not go back to an all-season (actually a no-season) tire and just look at the summer tires.

 

mine is the same as willz822's
the first type of vibration it's barely noticeable
it's present at a stop and on the go regardless of the speed and rpms
and if i put it in neutral at a stop it goes away completely
i can see why they say it's "normal"
it takes some concentration to detect

now warming up is a different kind of vibration
no matter if i'm driving or parked
the first couple of minutes it kicks the seats with what feels/sounds like a distant tribal drum
with different intervals but roughly about once a second
again it's very weak but slightly more pronounced than the first type
and like i said it only does that for the first 2 minutes or so

 

It sounds like tire flat spotting. Very common with speed rated tires and generally the vibrations last longer with the higher the speed ratings. I have had Bridgestones, Firestones, Dunlops, and Michelins all do the same thing to some degree. This is not a problem in the summer.

 

My EL42's will flat spot in "whatever to 100" degree TX heat...... Happens every day when I leave work... Higher temps only lessen the degree and longevity of the vibe... This is my second set of Bridgestone tires the first being a set of S03 Pole Positions on my last Honda. My experience with BS, good tires otherwise, but-worst flat spotting tires I have ever owned....

 

I have no vibration at idle engine. The vibration appears only around 50-60 mph and disappers in about 10 minute of driving. No vibration whatsoever afterwards.
While I noticed the vibration I changed speeds to see if the engine RPM makes a difference. It doesn't so......the engine mounts are not the problem.

From what you're telling me, I now believe it is a tire problem. However, does any other car out there (with 235 /27 " tires) vibrates the same way while tires are still cold?! Doesn't that sound a bit.....ridiculous for a high performance tire?
Has anybody tried Continentals?

Costin

 

If the tires are flatspotting why does the vibration only occur at the same speed 50-60mph?

 

My vibration occurs at all speeds until the tires have warmed up a bit. It usually takes about 4 to 6 miles of driving at 35-40 mph. As summer approaches, I hope they will smooth out in shorter distances. Very much temperature related.

 

Exactly. If the tires are flatspotting then the vibration will happen at all speeds. The 50-60mph vibration feels like the transmission or motor bogging at low rpms combined with the auto-trans in 5th. Switch to 4th gear in manual mode or wait until car warms up and no more vibration.

 

I'm not saying its not something else but will admit that the flatspotting vibration is definitely more pronounced at 50-60 mph. Yes it's there up to that speed and beyond, but for some reason that is where my "fs" vibe peaks...

 

My 04 does the same thing. I only notice it when the car is cold. It really doesn't feel like the tires, transmission or engine because the vibration is the same no matter what the speed or RPM I drive at. Its kind of annoying but not a big deal. I have the EL42's with 6500 miles on them.

 

I noticed that at any car, regardless the size of the tires, when wheels are unbalanced.....there is a certain speed (specific to the car or tires) where you feel the steering wheel shimmering. The worse the wheels are unbalanced, the lower the speed where the drivetrain resonance appears. Basically, the wheels vibration will reach a resonating frequency matching the rest of the car; that explains why the vibrations appears only at a certain speed. Flatspotting will actually mimic this unbalance effect untill the tires reach the "working temperature" and the "flat spots" disappear.

This is the best theory I can come up with. I am convinced now that the car is fine.

Costin

 

I have the Conti's ExtremeContact. And yes they vibrate when I drive off in the morning. It goes away after 10 minutes or so.

 

This sounds like it could be emissions related, the 3rdG TL's are ULEV vehicles, and they work really hard at startup and warmup to reduce emissions.
Have you done any performance mods I.E. intake, exhaust?

 

2 birdman204
no. no mods
and i only have 1500 miles on it
it's been like that since day 1
it's very slight though
you have to be looking for it to feel it
you're probably right about emissions

 

The wife has only let me drive the new TL twice. I'll listen for it next time.
Mods usually seem to emphasize this behavior in newer cars. My BMW starterd doing something similar to what you've described when warming up when I put on a performance exhaust. I think it's nothing to be worried about in this case.
Sorry , off topic.

 

My 04 AT TL also is rough at idling in the morning in the cold weather. I think it's normal. My last three cars did the same thing, basically. As for the flatspotting, it's the stupid EL42 tires. I can't wait for the EL42s to wear out so I can replace them. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the $800 I'll have to spend to replace them with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S.

Joe

 

They are coming from the purge soloniod in the exhaust sys that keeps the emission low until the exhaust temp rises to burn them off effectively

 

No offense, but I don't buy this arguement. My steering wheel has a minor vibration ALL the time. It'll go away after a long cruise on the highway but will gradually come back after a bit.

 

Its the FREAKIN tires. Enough said.

 

How do tires cause a vibration when the car is not moving??? That's my dilema.

 

My throttle body fix is still working... have you taken it into the dealer to have them check your throttle body readings to make sure it's to spec?

I admit, it's still a little rough in colder weather when I'm at a stop light, but in 70 degs + weather it's quiet!

 

Unfortunately my service manager does not work on the weekends and I have no time during the week. Come to think of it, all this started happening back in Oct. when the weather turned cold. I think I'm going to wait till the weather gets warmer and see if the vibrations go away.

 

I have not had to deal with an engine vibration, just the tires for me. Most the time I can't even hear the motor let alone feel it

 

Yeah, I think we're talking about 2 different noises here. Sorry for the confusion.
The is a Chassy vibration while driving is most likely related to the tires.
The engine vibration is most likely the emissions (from the purge solenoid referred to above).

If you experience both, I wouldn't worry about the 2nd, as if it is emissions related, all TL's will show this. The tire issue is fixed by , as mentioned before , getting new tires. Although I've never had it happen to me, I can't say this many people having it happen , are all crazy and imagining things
Drive it hard!







Then get new tires.