GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

OK, for the last 10,000 or so miles, I have had vibration problems at 50-75 mph thru the steering wheel. I have had the tires balanced 4 times, with some improvement each time. The problem does return after a while however. I just installed brand new Yokohamas at 28,000 miles to replace the shot Bridgestones. On the way home from the shop the vibration was still there. I have known the shop owner for 30 years and watched him mount and balance the tires, so they are right. Any other ideas?Thanks

bent rim, or alignment

I had something similar, bought a new set of tires, noticed some vibration.. Took it back, they balanced the tires, still bumped a bit. Brought it back and they found one tire was somewhat out of round. They replaced the tire, which resolved that particular issue.

Old tire vibrated at EXACTLY the same speed range as the new ones. I don't feel it is the tires.

Ah. Never mind then.

uuummmm....Its the roads......Yeah, thats it!! .... Its the roads.....

Storm has the answer. Check the rims for a bent one. Does not have to be bent all that much to cuase a vibration. It happened to me. Also have it aligned. After that check the suspension.

i had a very similar issue and it was the rotors. the dealership had my wheel off as they were doing warranty work on the calipers. when i picked it up, i had that vibration (this after driving 1000km on brand new tires with balancing and alignment and a nice smooth ride). It turned out that the guy at the dealer may have tightened the nuts too hard and ended up warping one of my front rotors. I had them replaced (took the old set to the shop at work and had the machinist do a quick check to confirm)...now the car rides smoothly at all speeds.

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »i had a very similar issue and it was the rotors. the dealership had my wheel off as they were doing warranty work on the calipers. It turned out that the guy at the dealer may have tightened the nuts too hard and ended up warping one of my front rotors. I had them replaced (took the old set to the shop at work and had the machinist do a quick check to confirm)...now the car rides smoothly at all speeds.So did the dealer foot the bill for their mistake?

I feel it may be a bent wheel, too. It's not alignment. Alignment can only cause vibration when the tires are worn abnormally due to bad alignnment. Atomb, did your car vibrate constantly or just when the brakes were applied?

What did you do to determine that it was a bent rim? What was your fix?

it definitely vibrated during braking...and also at speeds above 75 or 80 km/h (approx 50mph and higher).Boxgrover: nope. they implied that the rotors 'can warp under heavy braking' so they may not have caused it. i'm done with them. i gave them 3 chances (first with my balance issues when i bought the car and that took some arm wrenching, then they screwed up my caliper when they did the 'annual brake service'....then when i went to fix that problem they screwed up one of my rotors) which is 3 chances more than others would give i think.Mark, do you feel any vibration during braking? Most notable at higher speeds....it was difficult to detect at lower speeds which goes along with the fact that the rotors weren't SUPER warped but still measurable by the machinist here at work.

Quote, originally posted by Atomb »Boxgrover: nope. they implied that the rotors 'can warp under heavy braking' so they may not have caused it. i'm done with them. Just curious Tom but where do you go now for routine servicing....an independent, another Pontiac dealer, a Toyota dealer?

I feel some vibration under braking, but it doesn't increase over the other vibration and it doesn't occur at low speeds. It doesn't quite feel like the cars I have driven with warped rotors, but I am not ruling it out. I may grab a dial indicator and check it myself.

Mark...is your Vibe still vibrating?

I had the same issues, had the tires balances and rebalanced and finally found that it is a wheel bearing. I've got 50,000 miles on the car and it vibrates at highway speeds. Kinda disappointing, I thought Toyota quality would be better then this.

When you said it was the wheel bearings..what pointed you to the wheel bearings? Was it making any noise? I heard/read that wheel bearing defects tend to make noise. I'm at 80000km (which is close to your 50000mile)..and i still have a vibration on mine. Let me know will ya? Thanks.

I don't really hear a noise but the wife says she does. The local tire shop said it was a bearing and the dealership confirmed with a listening device.

hey my vibe gt just started making a faint humming noise and it vibrates at speed but the front tires dont move when i have it in the air to check for the bearings being bad do you think its my brakes or mabye is it my bearings