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Hey all!
Just a quick question,
When I hit 55mph or I hit 2500 rpms in fifth gear, The car vibrates pretty bad. It stops as soon as I get to 60mph or 2700rpms.
This normal? Just seems kind of odd for it to vibrate at a certain speed and gear.
Just curious.
No, its not normal.
What part of the car vibrates?
Seems to come from the tires into the steering wheel? Something like that.
Sounds like its wheels are out of balance.
That is kinda what I was thinking. Any way I can fix that myself?
No, unless you have a wheel balancer. Most shops will do it for $20 for all 4
Double check for mud or anything like that caked into the wheel. Around here with the dirt roads/mud/ice in the winter it can get clumped in the rim and cause a pretty bad vibration until it's hosed out.
Definitely sounds like a balancing issue.
Do you hear any odd noises when it happens?
No weird noises. Just the rumbling. I also feel it in my seat. I wonder if the balancing issue is what is causing this other problem. When I hit a bump on the highway, going around 60 mph. The car jerks to the left and right, it vibrates from what feels like the wheels to the steering collumn. Would the off balance also cause that? I would love to be able to get that fixed. Hate going over a series of bumps feeling like I am going to fly off into another lane.
Now what you are describing (the jerking over bumps) sounds like a balljoint on its way out (starting to become loose and sloppy from wear). If the car all of a sudden seems to steer or jerk you one way or another over bumps it is likely balljoint or other suspension pieces/bushings. A worn balljoint can be very dangerous if it actually fails at speed - I would have this checked ASAP.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrJakob
The constant vibration/rumbling at certain speeds still sounds like a balancing issue, so you may have two or more issues in total.
For the vibration issue, you can try putting the rear wheels on the front of the car. If it changes the vibration problem, then it confirms your balance issue.
However, your bump/steer problem might be contributing to the vibration also. I once had a worn bad ball joint in a VW Rabbit that also caused a steering shimmy. Definitely look into that, as a worn out ball joint that busts = lots of damage, loss of steering control.
I will try and fix that as soon as possible. Any idea how much it may cost me to fix up? I have very limited experience with working on cars, so I would probably have to take it to a shop.
Not trying to be critical of your driving, but why are you going over a series of bumps? Are the roads where you live so bad that you can't avoid them by moving around in the lane? Every time you hit a bump or pothole, something happens to the suspension/steering systems. Accumulated up over time, all of these impacts will ruin various components, and typically they go South one-by-one (each time another big expense). So the more of those road problems you can avoid, the better.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrJakob
Now as far as your current problem, did you have any tire work done recently? If so, take it back to the same place to see if it's balancing, as others have already mentioned. If not, you'll have to get an estimate for whatever is wrong. The cost could vary by quite a bit, depending on what the problem is.
It isn't that I am hitting every bump on the road. I know to avoid as many as I can. The problem lies mostly on this ramp on the highway. Everyday after school I take this ramp onto a bridge to get home. The road seems to be sectioned off as if it has been placed piece by piece to get the incline. So when I go over each piece the bump that runs the entire length of the lane veers my car off. I hit about 20 of these from the start of the ramp to the end of the bridge on the other side. There is no way of avoiding them. So when I hit these series of bumps, my car is continuously trying to veer off. Make sense?
Yes, I understand how that situation can't be avoided. Is that entire ramp with the bumps curved, or is it straight? If it's curved, then centrifugal force is probably what's going on there. Or perhaps there's a sideways pitch that's hard for the eye to pick up. Aveos aren't rock solid to begin with, and it wouldn't take too much of a pitch in the road to push one sideways. Do you know of any friends or coworkers who travel that same ramp? If so, does anyone else have similar experiences with their vehicles? If there is any doubt, you should take it in to be checked out. Most shops don't charge too much (or maybe even 0) to check out the suspension/steering and give you an estimate for any repairs. Relating to the vibration, how about the question if there has been any recent tire work done?Quote:
Originally Posted by MrJakob
The ramp is curved and the bridge is obviously straight. Seems to happen on both the bridge and ramp. Unfortunately I do not know anyone that goes over that bridge. I commute an hour to Louisville KY for school. Most of the people I know don't go all the way out there. I'll definitely get it checked out. Not sure if there has been any recent tire work done. I bought it back in Feburary used. It has been happening ever since I got the car so it is pretty likely that whatever work they did on the car before I bought it, they most likely didn't balance the tires correctly.Quote:
Originally Posted by avguy