vibration after driving in snow

[blake31]

ok, i've had this happen twice now.the day after i drive in a snowstorm (6" or more), when i get up to hwy speed, the whole car starts to vibrate, almost like my tires are off balance. i do not have snow buildup in the wheel wells. the first time this happened, it went away after 3 days of driving on the expressway, probably 200 miles total. i even scheduled to take it in to the dealership for them to look at it, but on my way in, it didnt do it anymore, so i cancelled. and it didnt do it anytime after that, until this morning, after i drove around in the snow this weekend.anyone else experience this?

[ToolGuy]

Quote, originally posted by blake31 »i do not have snow buildup in the wheel wells. Right but do you have snow built up on the inside of the rims? Snow on the inside of the rim will give you a vibration...

[blake31]

i don't think so. i think it would all melt away while it's parked in my garage (all the other snow on my car does), but i'll double-check later today.

[ToolGuy]

I would check your tire pressures too... Make sure they are all the same. Tires lose a few Lbs in the cold then it increases when warmed but they still need to be the same in the cold. Last thing to do would be check for balance. A wheel weight might have been thrown off the rim but I doubt that since when your car is not in the snow you get no vibration.

[ColonelPanic]

Had the same thing happen with mine after the last big winter storm, which consisted mostly of sleet. So there was quite a bit of ice built up on the inside of the wheels (stock 16" alloys at the time.) It took quite a long time parked in a garage to get that stuff to melt, it was pretty thick.If there isn't snow, definitely follow MiVibe-ToolGuy's suggestions - tire pressures, missing weights... Just speculation, but if you've got the 16" alloys, I'm wondering how easy it would be to knock a wheel weight off, since they just stick on inside the wheel... If you had a bunch of snow and ice packed in there, I wonder if that could help knock the weights off easier... Hard to say!Let 'er thaw out some more, check the tire pressures, and keep your fingers crossed!

[blake31]

oh yeah, forgot to say... the first thing i checked was the tire pressure. all were ok.i've got the stock steel wheels on for winter.

[michaelgt]

You may want to go to a coin car wash and spray the wheels real good. I have found that snow, ice, sleet, dirt, mud, etc. will act as weights and make the tires out of balance. Using the high-power spray has always worked for me.

[myredrs]

Just drove to work after that wonderful blizzard we had in MA and I had major vibration. It's the snow buildup in the rims for me. That's the only problem that I usually have after snow.Greg

[nismo]

Yeah. The Vibe really gets affected by snow in the tires. Sucks. O well. I get that $hit out fairly easily. I use the ice scraper and brush thing. I use the handle end just kinda break all the snow off and it works out pretty well.

[tecton]

sometimes, if its very cold outside, and the car sits for a while, you will get flat spots on the tires....where it is parked, the cold rubber wont be as flexable to regain its shape...that could be what your expirencingthat or snowsnow is my bet

[dsegundo]

hey blake,I just had the same problem. Took it in and they did a front wheel alignment but told me that snow and ice are stuffed up in there. Oh well, the alignment cost me only $35 and it needed it anyways...

[esjones]

My sister-in-law had that problem with her Honda Accord. It was snow packed inside the wheels ("rims," to you rednecks....).

[ragingfish]

Funny you guys mentoin this, my front left wheel vibrates VIOLENTLY between 50 and 60 since the blizzard...Prolly snow and ice...Dammit!

[blake31]

Quote, originally posted by tecton »sometimes, if its very cold outside, and the car sits for a while, you will get flat spots on the tires....where it is parked, the cold rubber wont be as flexable to regain its shape...that could be what your expirencingi thought about that too, but if my garage is warm enough to melt snow on my car, then i didnt think it would be cold enough to disform my tires.i checked my wheels last night before i left work and couldn't see any snow packed inside them, but it did vibrate when i got on the hwy, but stopped after the first few miles. no vibration this morning on the way in to work. must've been some snow somewhere, but it's gone now.

[debi5475]

Thank you, The same thing just happened to me. I knew I didn't hit a snowbank or anything. I went through a carwash, andh it is better. I will go spray it out tomorrow. I thought something serious was wrong when the carwash didn't work.

[ragingfish]

Yeah, my vibration just totally disappeared after one day of driving...Musta been snow!WOOOO! Thank goodness!

[sidewinder]

Yes, been there done that. I can't believe that snow inside the wheel was the problem as I have never had that happen to any other car I have ever owned and I have lived in snow country my whole life. Oh well I got out and with the wheels turned to one side and then the other I was able to dig enough snow out with my ice scraper to make the rest of the trip without severe vibration.

[Merzbow]

I have this problem every now and then. Mine was not caused by snw or anything else. Tecton's explanation was the cause of mine. I'm glad I found out about this because my friend has a Saturn SC2 that does the same thing and he started freakin out about it. I took it for a ride and told him the reason and he was happy that he didnt have to buy all new tires and that he didnt bend his wheels or something.

[coratz]

a trip through an automatic indoor carwash usually melts your vibrations away.

[Therileys6@msn.com]

I had that happened a couple of days ago.You need to check for Ice and snow build up in the back of your rim it only take a little bit to make vibrate like crazy.

[greenfire]

I get this problem all the time. Almost every time I drive through deep snow. Alls it takes is just a little piece of ice stuck to the inside of the wheel (think of how small your wheel wieghts are) to cause a vibration. And this is the first car ive ever had this happen on too.

[Frosty2005]

I can't say for sure that snow is the cause, but today, after driving through snow, then travelling on a bare highway, I noticed vibrations that I never noticed before. If this happens again, I will check for snow and ice build-up in the wheels. This might just be the reason.