Ok so I got new tires mounted balanced in the front 225/35/18 and used tires mounted and balanced in the rear 235/45/18. Went to get my alignment and toe adjusted. Oil changed as well. On my way home my car was vibrating on and off. Sounds like a loud bass vibrating the whole car. No music was on. Pulled over and check my lug nuts (bolts) they're all tight. This only happens while I'm driving. Anyone know what can it be?

 

Do you feel the vibration in your steering wheel? If so, it would be related to something in the front, Bent wheel? Did you have any vibration before the tire change? If you can feel it more in your seat then it would be something in the back? Possibly related to the used tires you had mounted.

Just curious, why would you mount used tires on your car?

 

Agreed. Also does the vibration change if your speed changes?

 

A lil vibration on the steering wheel. No vibration before the tire mounts. Drove couple of days after the tires was mounted and balanced no vibrations at all til an hour later after the alignment and oil change. Had to get used tires cuz local tire shop didn't have my tire size. These are just temporary til my tires come in.

 

The vibration comes on and off don't matter what speed I was goin.

 

Have you tried road force balancing using a Hunter GSP9700 or a unit like that?

I highly doubt it has anything to do with the alignment. How are your disc rotors? New/worn/dead?

 

No I have not used road force balancing. Just had the shop do it. And rotors and brakes still looks good. Car got 66k miles on it. I've never had this experience before. Kinda confused lol

 

Just some thoughts.

1) Probably not the rotors because the issue did not happen prior to you swapping tires.

2) Doesn't sound like an alignment related issue. I mean, many dealerships offer a free "check" in my neck of the woods, so if you can get a free check, well, I mean it doesn't hurt, right? If I were a betting man, which I'm not, I still would bet my funny money on the fact that this has nothing to do with alignment problems.

3) The only thing here that has changed, IIRC, is that you had the tires swapped. So the issue, as Holmes would put it, is most likely the tires. Roadforce balancing can help with balancing the nasty tires out there that are out of round, and the reality is that balancing using a roadforce or roadforce like machine is great for balancing tough tires. I do still believe that this is a balancing issue.

Can you swap out the tires and try another set? If not, try roadforce balancing.

About a decade ago I had a similar issue. Years later I realized what my problem was - warped rotors. That said though, I tried road force balancing and tried new/different tires so I knew it had to be rotors as that was the only thing I never tried replacing. Slightly different than your case.

 

I think all dealerships do road force if that is where you got it done. The last time I got tires I still went back to the dealer to get a road force done.

But the issue sounds like the tires.

 

Road force is not available at the two dealerships near me in Toronto. Just a FYI, and even at locations where it is available, it's additional $ to get it balanced using Roadforce as there is slightly more labour involved to balance when that steel drum is rammed against the tire as the system is picky and asks for a number of different variables to be met. (PSI), hi/lo position of tires, etc.

 

I'm waiting for my new tires to come in to swap it out. And I don't think my rotors are warped since the car doesn't shake when I brake.

 

The latter is not a definitive behavior to indicate that your rotors are not warped. Wait for your new tires to come in, swap them and report back the result. I think many of us are eager what that result is!

 

First thing that strikes me is the used tire size 235/45r18 vs 235/35r18, thats no good. I hope you made a typo on that because the wrong tire size for the car will throw the alignment off for when you get the new ones. word of advise, ONLY do an alignment with the proper setup and the setup (tires/wheels) you will be driving on.

Second is you bought used tires, I understand the situation so ok. But used tires are hit or miss, could be good or could be crap and I can easily suspect them being the problem. Of course you could also have a bent rim, both of which a road force balance can counter act for a smooth ride and I would highly recomend it for low profile tires.

I was having a light vibration at higher speeds on the highway not long ago, I had just gotten 2 bent wheels fixed and swapped the all seasons on the others. I suspected it was the balancing not done right and took it back to the dealer. They said it must be the brakes and quoted me like 1600, I don't think they even re-checked the balancing. little while later took the car back to get the wheels refinished for the summer (I love my wife ...) and they found 3 bent wheels this time. HMMMM . Anyway, all 4 got refinished and 3 straightened. guess what? no vibration after .

Road force is also more expensive to do, here its around $40-$50 per wheel vs say $20 so not cheap but worth it to me. Did you go to a Mercedes dealer and they didn't have a road force balancer? It's pretty much a standard shop equipment item when your talking high end cars....

SuperAngryPinguin (can I call you S.A.P for short from now lol ???), I have never, never had a vibration while just driving with warped rotors when not touching the brakes. I can understand the thought but neither me or a good friend of mine (master BMW tech) ever heard or seen rotors causing that kind of a problem. my rotors are warped now and thats not happening. It's kinda weird to hear that being the cause once for you.

 

I was having this same issue, but it was also time for a front rotor change. Changed the rotors and the vibration went away...food for thought.

 

For sure. SAP is usually what I'm referred by, but call me whatever you want

I'm thinking purely based on the parts I changed and the logical steps I took to diagnose the issue on that previous vehicle. Logic dictates that the rotors were next on the list, and no matter how unlikely something is...if all things point to it, then it must be it (thanks Sherlock Holmes)

Yeah, I mean, it makes perfect sense. A rotor is a free spinning heavy chunk of metal. Sure, the torque that it exerts as it spins is far less than a tire as Torque = Force x Distance and Distance from the center is pretty small as it's well...a rotor, but it still generates torque as it spins around. If the torque generated as it spins is not uniform around the entire rotor than a vibration would occur. Simple physics methinks

 

I recently had a similar problem after installing new tires
The car and steering wheel were vibrating and shaking , the cause of my problem was poor tire mounting, they didn't put enough grease on the tire while installing so it didn't sit properly
After reinstalling tires again problem solved and ride was smooth again

 

Maybe try swapping the front tires from side to side to see if the vibration changes at all.

 

I find my car is very sensitive to correct wheel bolt torque. I had to bring my car back somewhere because I thought a front wheel was massively off balance.. but it turned out to be balanced perfectly fine. It slightly improved on the way home. Inspected it myself at my own shop, took the wheel off, found nothing, remounted and torqued the wheel while it was still off the ground and voila, no more vibration.

 

I don't think it's the tires or rotors. As I come to a complete stop and put it in park the vibration goes away. Put it back in drive let the car roll(not stepping on the gas pedal) vibration comes back and the faster I go the heavier the vibration gets. But still waiting for new tires to arrive to swap out the used ones I had mounted on for temporary.

 

What happens if you let the car roll forward while the car is in neutral gear?

(far too long a post for me to explain why I'm asking, but if you can report back, that'd be great).

I'd disagree that the cause for your issue is the same cause for the OP; however, I'd be more than curious to know in your case if you/or your mechanic is tightening bolts to a) the correct torque spec and b) in the right manner. e.g. Tighten bolt 1. Bolt 2 should be directly across on the other side etc.

 

[QUOTE=superangrypenguin;7206576]What happens if you let the car roll forward while the car is in neutral gear?

(far too long a post for me to explain why I'm asking, but if you can report back, that'd be great).



Let the car rolled and threw it in nuetral and it was still vibrating. But...Fedex dropped off my new tires today. I had my new tires mounted and balanced in the rear and now the vibration is gone!! Thanks everyone! U guys are a lot of help!