ShiggityShatz

Hi All,

New member, first time posting. I've tried searching but yet to find any information that seems relevant.

Recently turned in our 2019 for a 2021 ASpec FWD. Car had only seen city driving until this evening and had less than 100 miles on it when my wife and I left for a road trip out of state.

Issue: After 90 minutes or so of being on the highway the car started to 'wobble' back and forth. It felt like the LKAS was bouncing back and forth, but much more aggressive. Wheel does NOT move with the car. Felt like quick back & forth steering upsetting the chassis. I initially thought it was the wind, but it did not stop. Almost feels like adaptive dampers going haywire, but not optioned on the ASpec. Issue came and went for the entirety of the trip. Of the 4hrs on the road tonight, I battled this for probably 20 minutes in total on and off. It is borderline un-drivable, but would go away after a minute or two.

Actions Taken:
-1st thing I did was turn off LKAS and all of the safety features, issue persisted
- Speed doesn't seem to matter, experienced the issue at 40-50, and 80 plus.
- If you apply steering input (lane change, or bend in the road) it goes away, but can come back almost immediately
- Changing 'steering' modes fixed the problem short term, but it comes back
-can not seem to replicate the issue with any settings, speed, type of road etc.
-not sure how ‘driver attention monitor’ works, but I believe that is feel through the wheel. Again, zero movement or feel through wheel when this happens again

I can't help but think this is some type of malfunction with the EPS?

I don't believe this is due to alignment, wheel out of balance, or anything 'mechanical' as the car is brand new, and I the issue seems totally random. It really feels like the EPS unit is signaling quick back & forth movement with the wheel held straight.

Any info or other forums / threads to check would be greatly appreciated. Love the car so far, and really want to avoid taking it into the dealer to have them waste days trying to 'replicate the problem'

Thanks
Austin

sonyfever

What do you mean by back and forth? Does the symptom only occur when you give steering input, by that I mean does the issue exist when the car is going straight without any steering input from you?

Flapjackura

Mine does this but only on roads that have longitudinal grooves in them, put there to make winter traction better for the masses. A phenomenon called "tramlining" or "groove wobble". Here is a great article about it: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=47

ShiggityShatz

Thanks for the reply. I'm familiar with tramlining, I used to rock an AP2 S2000 with an aggressive alignment. I don't believe this is tramlining, there is zero feel or movement in the wheel when issue happens.
I have also made this same trip from Chicago to Detroit on 94 many times before, in multiple cars (S2000) included and never experienced this

ShiggityShatz

Cruising down the highway, wheel held straight, no movement or feel in the wheel, and the chassis of the car rocks abruptly back & forth, wobbling all over, feeling comes & goes for minutes at a time. Taking a bend or changing lanes minimizes the problem. I can't seem to replicate it, or make it go away. Completely random

Below post called out trammliningwhich I'm familiar with, I really don't believe this is the case based on previous experience

ShiggityShatz

Also. The steering / car doesn’t actually move off of dead straight, and no movement or feeling through the wheel. All movement and feel is in the chassis like an aggressive wobble.

Legend2TL

AFAIK, the steering rack on the Honda electric power steering units are all rack and pinion with an electric assist (power) motor that are directly mechanically coupled in the rack assembly. If the TLX is indeed moving about the road with no visible steering wheel then something is obviously wrong and just go into the dealer to have them check it out. We have a 2017 CR-V with LKAS and the steering wheel moves for any LKAS correction (can feel it with hands and see the motion) so if you're experiencing some sort of steering shudder or wobble it could be a component failure of some sort.

ShiggityShatz

Thanks for the feedback. No movement or feel in the wheel, and the car itself doesn't actually move in the lane, just a very aggressive 'wobble' left & right in the suspension. Hard to describe via text. It feels as if the car is juttering back & forth at speed, as if you were to wiggle the wheel back & forth at speed, but aren't. all movement seems contained to the chassis itself.

Flapjackura

I believe what I have experienced is actually "groove wander" which is similar to tramlining - caused by rain grooves designed to mitigate hydroplaning. Only happens on I90 between Elgin and O'Hare in the Chicago area, and on I-94 in southeast Wisconsin where the rain grooves are most pronounced. First time it happened, my shorts were full of bricks - I thought there was a severe problem with the car. This was my first weekend with it. At the time - my tires were way over-inflated so I bled off some pressure - and this mitigated the issue somewhat. The big test was a road trip I took to St Louis a few weeks later. Didn't happen hardly at all on that trip, but no rain grooves on pretty much any of the I-55 pavement except a bit around Bloomington; where sure enough there was a mild wobble. If your problem is happening regardless of road/pavement conditions, then it sounds indeed like it's a problem with the car. Bummer. By the way - let's see some pics of your new ride!

ShiggityShatz

Any feel through the wheel while experiencing 'groove wander'. I immediately dismissed anything to do with the road (94 through IN & MI) tramlining etc as I've traveled this route hundreds of times, in cars with much more aggressive alignment and never had this experience
Great call on the tire pressures, I believe (will have to check after work) that I saw 40-42psi last night when I checked on the digital dash, they should ideally be 30-32. Tires may simply be over inflated....

Flapjackura

As you said - hard to describe the feeling in words. Whole car wobbled for sure. Feeling it through the steering wheel? I guess some - but more a feeling like the car was coming lose from its own wheels. Unsettling for sure. Dealer had my tires inflated at least to around 40-42 PSI off the lot. Way too much, even for late November. Running around 34 PSI now and I am now thinking more and more that even that might be a bit too much. I think recommended PSI is indeed 32.

ShiggityShatz

Similar feeling here, nothing through the wheel.
Just checked, cold (20 outside in Detroit right now) and pressures are at 37, which would explain the 40ish I saw while driving last night. Will drop them and go for a drive.

Appreciate the feedback, I'll be elated if tire pressure is the issue, and nothing more serious.

ShiggityShatz

White over Red ASpec, filthy after the drive. Need a break from the in-laws later today will get her cleaned up & post a few pics

leomio85

Does this only happen when you're using LKAS? Acura's system is pretty bad, honestly. If left to its own devices, it basically just ping-pongs across the lane.

If it's while driving even without the LKAS activated, I'd bring it to the dealer immediately, as its likely an issue with the steering wheel communicating with the steering rack ... or something similar in nature. I feel like I heard about a similar issue occurring on the 3G RDX, but I can't find the thread now.

I highly doubt being 5psi over in tire pressure is going to create your issue.

Either way, I'd take it to the dealer and have them do a once-over. Who knows, maybe a bolt in a suspension component decided to spring for freedom on the highway. Or, maybe your car was built on a Friday afternoon and they just forgot to put sway bars on your car. =Þ

ShiggityShatz

1st thing I did was take off all driver aids, including LKAS, this is MUCH more aggressive and concerning than the typical lazy LKAS bouncing back & forth
Pressures were really high, 42 cold, lowered them to 32 but have yet to have any real highway driving.

Heading back home to Chicago Sunday, will see if I run into the issue again and take it to our local dealer immediately if the issue persists

Thanks for all the feedback. Glad to see forums aren't dead

sonyfever

Keep us updated. On RDX, some owners said sometimes keeping the car straight takes more effort. I recall back then most agreed the issue might be tramlining on groves pavements. Tire pressure definitely affects how strong tramlining pulls on the steering wheel, but you said you did not feel anything on the steering wheel when the chassis was unsettled.

Flapjackura

I turned off my road departure mitigation permanently quite a while ago. Annoying and useless - I know how to drive and how to stay on the road! LKAS I usually keep off as well but don't think the ping-pong effect is all that bad. I'll turn it on when I'm in cruise control and starting to get tired - long enough to get to an exit and take a coffee break. My "groove wobbling" really has only happened on the aforementioned rain-grooved pavements. Shiggity's issue is sounding like it could be something more severe.

ShiggityShatz

Well, it’s official. It was ‘groove wander’. Much less pronounced with the tire pressures where they should be! Still can’t believe that’s what it is, but relieved. Hundreds of thousands of miles driven and have never experienced anything like that. Still odd there is zero feel or movement through the wheel..guess that’s lackluster EPS feel...

Thanks for the feedback. Mods can close this thread or I’ll update initial post once I’m home.