Winter Tire Vibrates!

[04BlkVibe]

Help...i'm not sure what's wrong..but ever since I put on my winter tires, i've noticed a slight vibration at high speeds ...and I also suspect my vehicle pulls to the left (a little...)..and it pulls more depending on which lane i'm on on the highway. I've got the front tires re-balanced today...and the problem is still there. Have I got a shifted belt on one of the tires?

[joatmon]

For vibration at speed I'd suspect tire balance, or perhaps one out of round or otherwise bad. For pulling to one side, I'd suspect alignment. if it was me, I'd probably swap the tires front to back to see if that had any effect, either increasing or decreasing the pull or vibration, thinking that if it has an effect, then that would point to a tire problem and if not, then maybe more to the alignment.Assuming of course that the tires are mounted correctly, on appropriate wheels for the tires and the car, and all inflated properly, and wheels held on with the correct lug nuts, etc.

[ragingfish]

i just had my G6 in for routine maintenance...i mentioned it liked to drift right at times...they found the right front wheel showed signs of having been "curbed" at some point...and the tire was showing surface damage...they rotated the tires and realigned the car and it drives amazingly. check your tire pressures, and it might not hurt to have your alignment checked. winter tires are different then all seasons and some tires' performance can magnify even small imperfections in the road, or alignment issues...

[jmf2]

This last year, my daughter hit a deep pothole while driving our Vibe, and we had to get the tire replaced. Since she was over 300 miles away at the time on spring break, she bought a off brand tire to replace it. the rest of the year the car would vibrate at about 60-70mph. took it in twice to the tire store (they are a chain), and they said it was fine. thought maybe the rear axle got bent too, but when I put the winter tires on, no more problems. so it turned out to be the tire. I'm going to replace the whole set with Toyos in the spring.And i'm going to stop letting my kids drive our vibe at least she didn't roll it!

[04BlkVibe]

Thanks for all the insightful info. My Vibe w/ the winters was vibrating pretty bad through the steering wheel at high speed (120km/h). Went to the tire shop..told them the problem...and they re-balanced the front tires. After the re-balance...it is still vibrating. From some advice from people from work (technicians that balances tires..etc)..they told me to go to a GM dealer to get a Force Variation study done. Cdn$150 later, and having the tire rotate to the rear...it still vibrates, but definately not as bad. Once the winter is over...on goes the all season and back to the dealer if it is still vibrating. I'm strarting to suspect that it's suspension related.

[04BlkVibe]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »i just had my G6 in for routine maintenance...i mentioned it liked to drift right at times...they found the right front wheel showed signs of having been "curbed" at some point...and the tire was showing surface damage...they rotated the tires and realigned the car and it drives amazingly. check your tire pressures, and it might not hurt to have your alignment checked. winter tires are different then all seasons and some tires' performance can magnify even small imperfections in the road, or alignment issues...Did they do the alignment under warranty?

[tnpartsguy]

Arer these tires you bought last winter and stored? If the answer is YES, how were they stored? If the answer to that is anything but flat and not stacked over 2 high, that COULD be the problem... a flat spot. We had a guy with a Corvette that we couldn't get the thup out, finally found out he parked the car over the winter, and there was a lump of concrete under a tire, left an impression in the tire's tread, which then THUMPED during every rotation

[LavaMyVibe]

What kind of wheels are you winter tires on? Aftermarket or stock? I bought aftermarket steelies and they weren't PERFECLY hub centric. No matter what I did I could not get the vibration to go away. I know it's not a suspension problem because the summer tires (Dunlops on 17" wheels) are perfect.

[jasonvibe]

I also have a minor shake in the wheel above 65mph. I know the tire shop did not do a perfect job on the winter balance. I will go to another shop to check all 8 of my wheels. I don't go anywhere that will not allow me to watch. The best shops do a check after the last weight is put on. Hope they can spin balance OEM aluminums. Yes, I am a pain...perfectionist. If I read the manual correctly...Alignment and balance are covered for 7500 miles. But again, Dealers don't let me hang around and watch. Basically I don't trust them at all. 90% of all dealer reapirs I have had were done half-arsss. Loose bolts, panels not installed properly....UGH!....These aluminum wheels are not to be put on using impact wrenches... and only torqued to 76 ft-lbs....do they know this?

[1oldbanjo]

Jason: I have had several battles with several tire dealers about impact wrenches. I used to work at a tire dealer and we would use the impact wrench to remove the wheel and to put the nuts back on loosely - but then tighten the wheel nuts with a torque wrench. Where I work we had one tire dealer that always replaced one or two wheels studs when we took a truck in for tires. Once when I picked up a truck I took the factory tire wrench before I left the dealer and tried to turn the lug nuts - they were so tight that you couldn't even budge them - it is no wonder they kept breaking wheels studs. I went in and explained that they were waaay too tight and it would be impossible for us to change a tire if we had a flat. I am at the point in my life right now where I just take the wheels off the car and put them in the back of my truck and then take only the tires to the dealer to be balanced or tires replaced. This routine started when I went to a dealer for new tires on my Chevy truck, and a free alignment was part of the package. When I picked up my truck and turned left there was a big scraping sound. The tire dealer had bent my metal inner fender up to allow easier access to the adjustment for the upper A arm - and did not bend it back. When I went to the dealer to show them how they had butchered my truck, the mechanic came out with some big vice grips and a hammer. I told them they had done enough damage and I would make the repairs. I have decided that it is easier to just avoid letting them damage my car by taking in only the wheels.Dave

[Atomb]

i went through some headaches after my dealership warped by rotors while using an impact wrench to tighten my wheels....it took me a while to figure out what the hell they did. when i went back they responded with 'there are MANY other things that would warp your rotors...did you stop really hard recently, etc. etc.'that was the last time i've stepped foot in that dealership. since then i've replaced my rotors and all is well.then one day recently i brought my car into my local tire place to get the wheels rotated (weather wasn't great enough for me to do it at home). they ended up doing the same thing to a much lesser degree. The next decent weather day, i took off each wheel and then re-tightened using a torque wrench and the vibration is gone again.a good way to tell is to raise the front of your car, or either one of the front wheels. put it in neutral (or out of gear) and rotate the wheel a full turn. if the lug nuts are too tight, you'll actually hear your brake pad rub the rotor only on part of the revolution. i used this method + a torque wrench to get it right and it worked.

[jasonvibe]

over tighening is not usually a cause of warped rotor. Since the rotor is flush against the spindle anyway. BUT yes, over tightening is a bad thing. especially on a alloy wheel. Also has anyone changed a rotor on a Vibe themselves? AND Anyone else notice the rust on the drive axles??? Regarding the rusty axles @ 6k miles, I am just deciding whether to file a warranty service call with the dealer when I put the alloys back on. Like I said, I have never seen this in such short a time.

[04BlkVibe]

My regular (all seasons) vibrate as well at 120km/h. Took it to the dealer and they said that it's the tires. Did a road force variation...and it still vibrated. Finally said ..screw it and took my mom's vibe in w/ steel rims and exchanged my aluminum wheels w/ hers. The vibration has significantly reduced, but it still feels like a buzz. I drove my mom's vibe before and after the tire change, and it doesn't vibrate. So...it's definately not the tires. I'm not sure what else it could be. Axle?

[Mavrik]

there would be an issue with your drivetrain by the sounds of it if it doesn't follow the wheels. Also its kind of hard to get a dealership to look for a problem if it requires speeding to produce it lol.Your front and rear axles and suspension have any damaged/loose/bent componants?

[Raven]

Mine seem to get smoother the faster I go. There's one stretch of smooth highway where I routinely hit 150 KPH+ (slight curves, no chance of radar) and I wish I could go 175 KPH it feels so right!