TonySCV

Well, here's one for the techies around these parts. About 2 weeks ago I noticed a slight vibration coming from the steering wheel, and it hasn't gone away. I've had the tires balanced twice at 2 different shops. It's not the tires. The car has perfect alignment, so no issue there.

The odd part is, the vibration is noticeable as I steer the car, even at parking lot speeds. I don't seem to notice it as much when the vehicle is moving straight ahead, but the moment the steering wheel encounters any kind of resistance at any speed, I notice it. It does come and go, sometimes it's more noticeable than other times. Speed makes no difference - I can feel it at 5MPH, 30MPH, 55MPH, etc.

I know it isn't normal because after a long drive, my hands actually feel a bit numb from the nearly constant subtle vibration felt through the steering wheel.

So, is this something anyone has run into before? Could it be related to the power steering? Anything else?

- T

Old Alfa

I am currently having the same vibration problems, and have had them since day one. The dealership has been working very methodically (but kinda slow from my perspective) in narrowing down and isolating the problem(s), which seems to be more than one.

They made a major breakthrough yesterday, two (!) of the four alloy rims were determined to be out of round. This was discovered after they rebalanced the original tires (twice), checked the alignment and changed out all four original EL42's (which by the way do not flat-spot as bad as the original ones). The service manager has been personally involved and thinks it may be out of tolerance half-shafts or brakes since there is still an unaceptable level of vibration - but it's not nearly as bad as before. I doubt the vibration is power steering related, but I don't know it all - I've only had this car three months... other than that, no complaints!

dheel

I have vibration more at highway speeds. I can feel vibration in steering wheel and when I let go it will move back and forth some on it's own. It's very annoying, especially on longer rides. I have had EL42's replaced with the new EL42's and now have the LS-Z's. Some say it's the wider low-profile tires that track grooves in road and tires that have wide treadblocks. I can have it happen on fairly new smooth pavement as well. Getting Hunter RoadForce next week, maybe this will help.... Do you all have the steering wheel rock back and forth as well? Thanks for any info.

Ken7

I sure don't and I have the newer EL42s. In fact the only problem I've noticed with the new EL42s is a slight amount of flat spotting when its been cool which results in a bit of vibration at 55mph for a couple of miles. I even find these tires very quiet on most roads.

s54

I could know more this afternoon, as I am going to pick up my 04 TL w/ 3900 miles from the dealer after getting my 3rd (that's right) set of replacement tires. I've had new EL 42s put on (twice) and will get Michelins this afternoon. The second set of EL42s came right off a new TL, and they put new rims on, too, but I still had problems.

With the new EL42s the flat spotting issue went a way somewhat, but more noticeable was the 45-65 MPH vibration. ACS called me last week and said that they were collecting data on cars with vibration/flat spotting issues and said it could be due to resonance vibration (whatever that is).

ACS said for the service dept to call Acura's tech support for follow up.


More later - S

rets

How's about RPM range?

TonySCV

Well, I've now found something I believe might solve my problem, and if not, at least it'll narrow it down a bit more. I'll pass along the info to folks here in case they have a similar situation.

Given the symptoms outlined in my prior post, I was perusing the net to find out what else could be causing the problem. I stumbled across a discussion about hub centriic rings that are used to center an aftermarket wheel to a vehicle's hub. Although I'm not positive when the vibration actually started, I do have aftermarket rims installed on the car. Turns out that if the hub ring's outer and inner dimensions aren't exact, it can cause vibration at varying speeds. I also read that for FWD cars a proper fit is extremely important.

Given that, the hub ring fitment seemed like the next logical thing to check. So I removed one of my front wheels this morning and checked out the hub ring. Sure enough, although the outside diameter of the ring fits the wheel perfectly, the inside diameter does not fit snugly with the vehicle hub. There's some "play" with the ring that shouldn't be there. It should fit snugly.

So, I went ahead and ordered a new set of hub rings with the proper measurements. Once they come in, I'll let you know if that indeed was the problem. For those of you with stock rims, this solution isn't for you as those rims are made to the exact specs of the car. For those of you with aftermarket rims that are experiencing vibration problems, this is a good place to start. Rings often run $10-$20 for a set of 4.

- T