anyone feeling steering wheel vibration,its werid my steering wheel?, it did it with my stock steelies and my new wheels, anybody having this problem

 

At what speed? Is it constant when it happens? Check for brake drag hot wheels and brake rotors . . . if it happens with both sets of rims then it could be a drive shaft problem - jack it up and spin the front wheels slowly by hand and look at the shafts to see if they wobble.

 

good idea,i never thought of that,i took it to the dealer and they didn't feel it, they wanted to do a balance check but i knew it wasnt that,not wit brand new wheels and the steelies having the same vibration in the steering wheel

 

You could have the dealer check the balance on the car if they can do that. That way everything spins in the front end so you can see if you have something bent or warped. Also just spinning the wheels while in the air will show any brake drag and out of round tires from uneven brake drag. Also check for any mud or buildup inside the rim that would throw it out of balance. Really bugs me when a mechanic balances the tire with dirt in the rim which goes out of balance when you wash out the dirt later. No flat fix inside the tire right?

 

nope no flat fix,the dealer wanted to charge $100 to do some super wheel balance,it was twice as much as the the regular wheel balance,i said no, the tires might jus have a bad ride,i dont kno, it only happens on certain roads,its real weird....its like my steering wheel is giving me a massage while i drive,its like a pulse feeling, it doesnt shake,its pulses...dunno....

 

There was something posted about a power steering problem that made the wheel shake side to side. When it happens try applying the brakes gradually and see if it changes. Also try swerving side to side when it happens - but stay on the road. Some roads have been driven on by tractor treads from a bull dozer or a paving machine and it leaves ripples in the raod surface and it is not your tires. You can also try rotating the tires front to back and see if it changes. That is why I DIDN'T rotate my tires. Oh yeah and check your tire pressure 28 psi at least and 32 or more would be better.

 

if it does it with either sets of tires on, its definitely something with the drivetrain/brakes. i know that ABS will give you a pulsing in the wheel and pedal on certain surfaces or braking during cornering. does it do it while you are braking or cruising? does it do it in the same spot on the roads? there are some roads by my house that have a washboard problem developing with them, even though they are pavement, because heavy trucks drive on it. its subtle, but it makes you think something is wrong the first time you drive over it.

 

have you changed your brake pads or anything with your brakes lately? this happed to my dads car, and turns out that one of his brake pads wasnt seated correctly.

 

Ya know if it is road sensitive then maybe just changing the tire pressure higher will take care of it. Could be the crown on those certain roads sets up some weird alignment issue and makes the tires wander around a little.

 

all my tires are set at 28psi,how much higher should i go?....

 

I run 40-42 in mine cold - stock steel wheels 2006 xB - they ride a little hard but corner great and don't squeel at all in crazy turns. Really the first thing is to see if they are out of round or your brakes are draging. Uneven tire size can affect the ABS sensors but it sounds more likely that you have a weird road surface that is causing some suspension reaction. If the car wasn't new I would think worn ball joints - if you have worn out a set of tires already it could be ball joints. They are fine on level roads but add a little laterial loading to only one wheel up front and weird things can happen. With two people in the car it may change the suspension height and cause the front alxes to tilt and wobble less than when you are alone.

 

Not sure why dealer would want to charge $100. Wouldn't this issue be under warranty? I would let them at least rebalance the wheels (no cost) if that's what they think will help... and when you still have the issue, then you can say they need to try plan B. I think it's a drive train issue of some sort. It's kinda like you can feel the transmission vibration in the wheel. I don't know how to explain it.

 

is it an automatic transmission? if so, get your torque converter checked, it could be bad, and it should be under warranty, also another sign that it's the converter is that the car doesn't shift smoothly when it's cold.

 

A friend had a high speed vibration in a beater car he recently bought and it got really bad - went the route of tire balancing on the car and everything - turned out the axle flange on the output shaft of the transmission was worn and the entire shaft was not staying centered between the tranny and the wheel at high speeds. He could only see the problem when he spun the wheel off the ground with the engine in gear and got under the car to watch what was happening. It's the sort of thing that may only happen when something that is slightly loose moves into the wrong position once in a while. So get under the car and grab the shafts and check for something loose and check the boots on thr ends of the shafts for any leakage.

I assume when the tires are balanced that they are spin balanced and not static balanced.

Oh and maybe check the power steering fluid level behind the engine on the left down low. AND the POWER STEERING BELT! I forgot about that too! If that is loose you can have all sorts of weird things happen.

 

It sounds like something is wrong with your tires. I hope you get it sorted out.

 

Hey happy Birthday oboogie!!

my xB was 3 years old this past monday.

 

Thanks, Jan!

 

i still have my steering wheel vibration, i think its the tires but i still have ent figured it out yet, it does it all the time, it just maked the car very uncomfortable to drive, the tires are brand new, stupid dunlops, i have aftermarket 16" wheels i bought off of tire rack,i swapped them out with my steelies, they look very nice, but i had the same vibration with my steelies and my new wheels(same tires on both), i might have to put my steelies back on and take it to the dealer,that way they cant blame it or try to blame it on my new wheels. I really need this crap figured out ASAP!,i would get underneath my car and look at things but its to cold! lol, i will keep everyone posted

 

Don't run them too long with that vibration or you will damage more of the front end. Shocks struts and ball joints the rack and tie rod ends all get beat up from this vibration problem. It was warm a couple of days ago . . . where were you? Hey the other thing to do is to jack up the front end and with the tires off let the axles spin in the air and if it still vibrates . . . it's not the tires. You could also try the tires on another Scion - are we talking about an xD or xB?

Funny there is an Ad on the screen right above this typing window "Got Vibration in your new wheels?"

 

im gonna get my wheels and tires and wheels road force balanced at the dealer, its $96 plus tax, i read up on this procedure, it should take care of the problem, this machine is 10x more efficient then a regular cheap wheel/tire balancer, it should take care of my problem here's the link on this machine if u want to read up on it
http://www.gsp9700.com/index.cfm
it should make my car ride as smooth as a lexus lol