| RC98 |
2001 SS MDX touring w/ 54K miles
got the michelin's and love these tires...still have good tread on them at 54K. i have, however, noticed that at speeds over 70 mph, the steering wheel starts to vibrate. nothing major, however, it is definitely noticeable and rather annoying.
is this just a sign that my tires are nearing the end of their functional life? alignment is fine (as far as i can tell from driving). do i need to get my tires balanced?
anyone have similar experience? |
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| Warzau |
| Not normal at all, take it to your dealer if the car is still under warranty. Ask them to check the balance of the tire. Also I recall a Member had a problem where as the tire was defective, and only felt the shimmy at 65+ mph. The tread was wobbly in all four. Anyone recall who it was. But still get it checked out. If its not under warranty a good place is discount tires. |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by RC98
2001 SS MDX touring w/ 54K miles
got the michelin's and love these tires...still have good tread on them at 54K. i have, however, noticed that at speeds over 70 mph, the steering wheel starts to vibrate. nothing major, however, it is definitely noticeable and rather annoying.
is this just a sign that my tires are nearing the end of their functional life? alignment is fine (as far as i can tell from driving). do i need to get my tires balanced?
anyone have similar experience?
Uneven wear, off center steering wheel, etc. , repeated pulling in one direction even on different roads would certainly be good preliminary checks for alignment.
Alignment can still be out without being very noticeable, but will rob some mileage from the tires over the long haul. You are probably at a good point to check both alignment and balance if you have not done either in some time, or have racked up a lot of mileage. And you certainly want to do it before driving off with new tires. |
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| kimsta |
| If you haven't had the problem before, and it just started recently, then its probably a balance issue. |
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| tvmdx03 |
My car is shaking past 75 mph and beyond. I have tried two sets of tires, two sets of rims, a new drive shaft and now everyone is stumped at the dealership. Car had the problem at 2000 miles and no one can get rid of it. They have tried force balancing 11 times!!!.
I just went into the dealership to drive 4 different 04 models as suggested by the dealership and two of the 4 had the shaking. They are trying to tell me that it is a normal resonance of the MDX but I can't believe thats true.
do you still have the problem? I have 8000 miles on it now and the car has been into the shop for a total of 33 days. |
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| RC98 |
wow, that's horrible.
the shaking is pretty faint, rather minor...and started up around 50K miles. i was going to get my alignment /balance checked....but will just go ahead and wait until it's time for new rubber.
there is no excuse for vibration of any kind under your circumstances. take this problem up the ladder at your dealership!! |
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| thill381 |
It sounds like you have a force vibration problem. This has nothing to do with balancing, hover it is corrected by a road force balancer. Wheel Force Variation is most frequently due to wheel runout or uneven tread. Runout is when a tire or rim is out of round when rolling.
Uneven tread or sidewall stiffness can be found in new or worn tires. Tires by design are never uniformly flexible throughout nor are they perfectly round. And no two tires are exactly alike in these characteristics. What the road force balancer can do is measure the run out in the tire and the run out in the rim. This will find the "stiff" spot in the tire, and the low spot in the wheel. The balancer then has you mark each spot, break down the tire / wheel assembly, and match up the to marked spots. This puts the stiff spot of the tire in alignment with the low spot in the wheel, creating a round assembly again. It is the stiff spot in the tire that is causing the vibration every time it hits the pavement. You need to find a service center or tire shop that has a Hunter GSP9700 road force balancer, or tell your Acura dealer to take your car to one. It is not uncommon for dealers w/o GSP's to sublet work to people who have one, but seeing that your vehicle is out of warranty I would not pay the dealer to sublet work.
Here is a link to a technical explanation. http://209.176.154.132/pub/technical/4202T/5THEO004.cfm |
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| DaleB |
BTW RC98, where is your location? You should post it on your signature. Sometimes knowing where you are makes it easier to help each other, or meet up and compare X's or have a brew!
thill381: Very interesting! Maybe the shops that have invested in the Hunter machine are more astute at dealing with balance problems, etc. Found several in my area. Thank for the info! |
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| RC98 |
wow, never had a clue about that. thanks for the info.
as it stands, i think i will wait it out until it's time for some new tires. im keeping an eye on my tread wear indicators and i figure i have about 10K or so left on my michelins.
i will definitely get the balancing done (w/alignment) with the new tires.
speaking of tires, does the full sized spare add a lot of extra weight? i wonder if i should pick up a new FSS when i buy the other 4. |
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| DaleB |
Cool, San Jose! Just moved from there about 10 months ago. It was my home for a long, long time.
Usually went to Wheel Works for those tire, wheel, brake jobs. They never let me down. Plus would match Costco on tire prices.
Do searches on the FSS. It's the only way to go. A donut on midsize luxury SUV is insane. |
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| RC98 |
right on DaleB! im from chicago, moved here during the tech boom in 99 (that soon died :()
which wheel works did you visit? |
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| DaleB |
quote:
Originally posted by RC98
right on DaleB! im from chicago, moved here during the tech boom in 99 (that soon died :()
which wheel works did you visit?
I came there out of the service, during the first tech boom!
Before it was even called silicon valley. Anyway, I digress as well as I age.
It depends 'where' in San Jose. They have lots of them. I used to go to the one off Keily and Stevens Creek, the one on King road, 2 blocks west of Capitol Expwy. or downtown, on the Alameda near the train station. About a mile west of the Arena. Got the same good service from all of them. |
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