Has anyone had this problem before?? I mean I've looked around and see a few posts about vibrating which I understand happens from time to time but this was rediculous.

I live in NH and we just had a nice snow storm roll in yesterday so naturally there is snow and ice everywhere today. On the way to work this morning my car would uncontrollably shake/vibrate/bounce once I got over 40-45 mph so I pulled into the nearest gas station to knock the ice out of my wheel wells figuring that was the issue.

I get to the highway and its doing the same thing again, so I pulled into the breakdown lane to check and see if the lug nuts were on tight and everything seemed to be ok..

I bought the car a week ago but it was from a subaru dealership 2 hours away and I dont feel like taking it to the acura dealership in town to pay $200 or so just to have them say its from ice build up in my wheel wells..

any thoughts?

 

hows the alignment? ... have the wheels been balanced?? ... was the car in any type of accident that involved frame damage??

 

does this shaking/vibrating occurs when you are braking? accelerating?

I braking, hello warped rotors, If accelerating, a number of problems, cv joint, wheel balance, rim (s) bent. Did you hit a big pot hole recently?

 

alignment is ok, doesnt pull to any side on the highways or when I come to a stop light.
don't know if they have been balanced but it came with 4 new tires when I bought it so I would assume that they were.
and no frame damage, clean title and car has never been in an accident

 

Again, my question was, when exactly do you feel the vibratio? braking? accelerating?

Does it vibrate when you are idle?

 

I guess it occurs more accellerating and driving, not so much during breaking. I dont recall hitting any pot holes either. I hope its just the snow and ice around so something as simple as a wheel bance like both of you have suggested

nothing when i idle either

 

hmm, if doesn't pull, your alignment is fine. If it's not vibrating when idle, then everything is cool with the engine.

I can only assume its a cv join, or something as simple as one of the rims is not sitting right.

I would go to a shop, ask them to raise the car, remove the front two wheels, and have them carefully inspected for an abnormality.

 

Check for ice within the "WHEEL/RIMS", not the wheel wells...

I spent many years in MT and NE and this occurred fairly often after ice/heavy snow storms. You get a little ice build up on the inside/bottom portion of the rim on several tires and she will vibrate like crazy.

 

Even a little bit of ice in the tire tread or inside the rim can cause a LOT of vibration. You might even have a nail or some other object throwing off the balance. It could be that you have a flat spot on a wheel, or more than one wheel, does the problem go away after you drive awhile?

You really need to get it someplace warm and see if it's ice before worrying about repairs. I doubt even a Subaru dealer would sell the car with a bad CV joint.

 

You said you got new tires right. Make sure the tire tread is facing the right direction. I had a buddy of mine that had the same issue on his CL. he had all 4 tires replaced, but when the shop tech mounted them, the tread was facing the wrong direction. He was fine at low speeds, but at high speeds his entire car would shake.

 

Happens all the time here in Michigan. If the snow is wet/slushy, and some gets on the CV boot and hardens, it will cause front end vibration, usually around 45MPH. It's happened to me the last 2 winters. Just try and park it somewhere warmer than outside and problem solved.

 

Your wheels are off balance because there is snow and ice frozen into them. Once you get that out, it will go back to normal. I had it bad on Friday morning, we were suffering from the same storm.

 

ok cool, looks like its not something totally new. thanks guys

 

if the tires are new ... one may be a defective which may cause vibrations ... juss a thought

 

snow + ice builds in the rim or tire everything will for sure be thrown off try deicing the rims n tires in the garage if u can or have it looked at for axle damage make sure the motor mounts r ok also....those you can look at youself the side one would be leaking a lot of fluid the one in front would actually feel broken as u drive the engine would literally jump as it shifts. and thother u can tell because theres like 2 or 3 supporting the tranny on the side

 

Just happened to me too.

I remembered someone mentioning snow / ice can buildup in the wheels and throw it all off. I didn't notice it until I hit the expressway. I had to keep it at 50mph or less.

Went and found a car wash and blasted the wheels and axles clean. Problem solved.

-mc

 

good idea with the car wash, ill probably give that a shot next time.