Vibration/Rumble while braking/slow speeds - 2009

[DennisLee]

OK, I picked up a 2009 Vibe a week ago. It's got less that 75,000 miles so they had to give me a 30 day/1000 Mile warranty so I need to figure this out asap.

I'm getting some kind of vibration moving forward at slow speeds, kind of a low rumble like I was driving over really small rumble strips, or like I had studded tires (if anyone else is old enough to remember those ). It's most noticeable when I'm braking to a stop, when I get under 5 - 10 mph before I come to a complete halt. I don't seem to feel it when I back out of the driveway in the morning, but it is still present when I pull away from a stop sign. At first I thought it may be the brakes but it doesn't seem to be the grinding I've had in the past when a pad gets down to the rivets. I think it is front because I think I can feel the vibration on both the brake pedal and the steering wheel. I've checked the tires and it doesn't look like there is anything in the tread, and the tires still do have plenty of tread left. The tires are Sumito A/S with a M&S rating. I don't know where the previous owner picked them up, they were on the car when I bought it. I'll stop when I'm out today and make sure all the tires are up to pressure, but I think if they were really low I should see something from the TPM's, right?

Any ideas?

[bluneon]

sounds like some pretty cheap tires. i would suspect the cheap tires and inspect them closely.

[trb]

Tires can make a real difference! Probably swap the tires front to back and see if it changes. Might be worth having a tire/brake/suspension place look at it, or even a GM dealer. It still has a 100K mile powertrain warranty, so if it is an included item, it would be covered by GM, such as cv joints or bearings in the transmission. Wheel bearings are not covered, but they are certainly a possibility.

Hopefully someone else has more ideas.

[Zimm]

the rumbling you describe sounds a lot like the steering column issues that a number of us have had. i don't know of an definitive way to diagnose it, but if you have play in your steering wheel, i'd strongly suspect it.
the fix is to replace the steering column. apparently they've found a problem with the design and have corrected it. swapping mine out made a massive difference in how my car performs.

[star_deceiver]

like I had studded tires (if anyone else is old enough to remember those )

My studded tires never made any sort of vibration.

You may also want to check out all the heat shields on the exhaust.