wheel vibrations

[chrislloydie]

Hi,

For the last couple of days when driving I can feel a kind of vibration/ wobbling from my front wheels. This usually happens when coming out of a bend and if the road is uneven. The vibration can be felt through the pedals and I can see my leg moving from it.

Upon visually inspecting the wheels it looks as though I have lost a few of the balance weights from the wheels while they were in winter storage or possibly from using a jetwash to clean them.

Would this cause the wobbling effect and if so is it just a case of getting them rebalanced and tracking done.

Cheers.

[IainMW]

I posted something very similar earlier on in the year.

Had exactly the same thing and it turned out to be one of my front wheels slightly out of balance and my tyre pressures were low (duff digital presure guage, now in the bin! )

Wheel shake was cured, but I clobbered a big pot hole yesterday and it's back again? Only hope i've lost a wheel weight and not buckled my front wheel???

This is my 500th post

[chrislloydie]

Congrats on your 500 post milestone!

Hopefully mine will be okay if I get them balanced again then. It sometimes feels as though the wheels are wobbling on the axle and trying to go different ways!

[Hany Saad]

Hi,
From my experience,vibrations from unbalanced wheels can only be felt at high speeds (starting 75Km/hr and over)and on the steering wheel only so if this is the case it is certainly the balance,but you mentioned you can feel vibration under your feet and I think this too much for a wheel balance to cause,so you`d better check the motor mounts and the wheel axles if the balancing does not work.

[chrislloydie]

By motor mounts I assume these are the same as engine mounts. I know a few people have had problems with these mounts before.

Getting the wheels rebalanced tommorrow so I will see how it feels after that.

[chrislloydie]

Had the wheels balanced yesterday. Took the car on a run to Gatwick Airport this morning and unfortunately the wobbling/vibration is still there.

It seems to be more prominent when I take my foot of the accelerator or when the car begins to slow down. Bumpy roads make the wobbling worse and more frequent.

The wobbling seems to be a side to side wobble and can be felt through the passenger floor as well as the drivers side.

Kinda feels as though one of the front wheels is coming loose, though its not.

Anyone else had anything similar or have any ideas? Would the engine mounts cause this sort of vibration?

[Ray]

This is my 500th post

lol.. well mine is 2671 as I wrote this...

[IainMW]

No buckled wheels or wheel weights missing from mine, checked yesterday.

Beginning to wonder if the engine vibrations I get at idle and this are related

I'm off to the dealers tonight for a chat about this I'll let you know any info I get.

[chrislloydie]

Okay cheers.

Mine is vibrating/wobbling pretty much all the time now although most of the time its very slight.

When I get out of the car after a longish drive I have the vibrating sensation stay in my feet for a while.

[chrislloydie]

IainMW, did you manage to speak to your dealer about this.

Just an update on mine, not managed to get it in to dealer yet as have had workmen doing up house all week and need to be here.

When going over bumpy roads the car moves side to side as though trying to steer itself when it feels the bump. Even on slight bumps like manhole covers etc. It feels as though its sliding along the road with no real grip.I need to hold the steering firmly all the time so as to keep the car going straight and even then it twitches etc. Kinda feels like when tyre pressures are very low.

Anyone any more ideas?

[meganeboy]

IainMW, did you manage to speak to your dealer about this.

Just an update on mine, not managed to get it in to dealer yet as have had workmen doing up house all week and need to be here.

When going over bumpy roads the car moves side to side as though trying to steer itself when it feels the bump. Even on slight bumps like manhole covers etc. It feels as though its sliding along the road with no real grip.I need to hold the steering firmly all the time so as to keep the car going straight and even then it twitches etc. Kinda feels like when tyre pressures are very low.

Anyone any more ideas?

Haver you checked that the wheel bolts are all tightened?

[chrislloydie]

Yeah they are tight. I also had the wheels rebalanced at the weekend as well but problem still persists. I'm thinking it may be something to do with the suspension?

[DaveP]

I've just had exactly the same problem that you're describing fixed on my dci120 tourer - the feeling that there's something loose in the suspension when you go over a bump mid corner was really quite scary and my vibes were getting intolerable. Mine was also vibrating quite noticably at idle so it was clear it wasn't wheel balance. The dealer replaced the usual suspect, the top engine mount (the dog bone shaped one on the top left when looking under the bonnet - not sure if the 1.5dci has this one?) this helped but didn't solve it totally. I went back again and this time they changed what they described as a "torque control arm" and "mechanical roller" I've not managed to see where these are so must be down below and only visible with the under tray off. Anyway, this seems to have done the trick as its now smooth again and feels planted on corners. Good luck with yours.

[chrislloydie]

Cheers DaveP. It gives me something else to go into the dealer armed with.

[IainMW]

Chris, going to the garage tomorrow, so no info yet.

Thanks for that info DaveP I shall check with my dealer about this also.

They've already changed the top suspension bearings/mounts, because I was also getting the occasional "twang" when I turned tight corners, but this did not make any difference, to the wheel shake or vibrations.