GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

So I've been dealing with a weird vibration that peaks at about 75mph. It's been bugging me for quite a while now, but finally reached the point where I had to do something about it. I've had the tires balanced and rotated on a regular basis. Just had it done again (primarily to get them balanced).Almost fixed the problem. Most of the vibration is gone, but it is still there. Any ideas on what could be causing it. To the best of my knowledge, I've had this little vibration the whole time I've owned the car.Thanks

give us a bit of info on the car.... year make modelOff the top of my head I would suggest that you check to make sure the rims are torqued properly. they should be at 76 foot pounds.

Sorry about that...'03 Base, 5 speed, 16" factory aluminum alloy wheels. ~28000 miles on BFG Traction T/A tires.I'll double check the torque this weekend (assuming I can find my torque wrench--I'm in the middle of a move and everything's in storage).

I hope it all works out... BTW, there's a meet coming up around your area, if you are intrested:Central Florida Meet, April 2007

I agree with the lugnuts, maybe it;'s a "different" vibration now, and the tire balence fixed the origional....Man V, lol, you are selling this meet all over town.... I like it.

At first I was thinking the that the tires might be at fault (slipped belt?) but you said that you rotated the tires so all four tires can't be bad. But maybe two are (could happen)? Have you had the car aligned??

Quote, originally posted by Ol’ Timer »At first I was thinking the that the tires might be at fault (slipped belt?) but you said that you rotated the tires so all four tires can't be bad.I wouldn't rule it out if all 4 were purchased at the same time and may have come from the same manufacturing batch. We had persistent vibration problems with our '75 VW Rabbit and the original Uniroyal tires. Eventually all 5 of them (this was before mini-spares were used) developed bulges and bubbles indicating internal belt problems. But long before the tire failures became evident visually they were already off enough to create steering shimmies despite repeated balancing.

It's hard to diagnose vibrations over the internet.Is the vibration from the front or back?Most vibrations are from the tires,so if you always had those tires on the car,might be time to change them.But could be a rim also,suspension.

Ok what I would suggest is that if you have a friend who has a 5x100 bolt pattern to change out your rims for his/hers... drive it around to see if you do still have the shimmy/vibration. Don't worry about the tire side wall size it's just a TEST not for you to leave on their tires for weeks. It will throw off your speddo but you will be able to illimate the tires/rims as your problem once and for all. If the issue is there there then the answer is the tires or rims causing the problem. If it's still there, have someone check your axles front and back for anything out of wack. Have you been taking it to the same shop for all the work you have mentioned? If so try a diff shop. They could be blowing smoke up your bung hole, telling you they did something when in fact they never touched the car. My 2cents...

I haven't seen this mentioned, but check out your front brake rotors as well. I replaced mine due to warping and noticed 90% of my vibration (over 60mph) was eliminated just due to a simple rotor replacement. They could just be enough out of spec that it would seem as if the tire/wheel is out of balance.

when i first rotated my tires after i got my car last year the same thing happened. at first the shaking started at 60. but once i took the tires off, reseated, and then torqued them on to 100 ft/lbs the shaking subsided and it doesn't start until 75. try taking them off and reseating. that's what messed mine. as soon as i get a warm day up in illinois i'm going to rotate again. hopefully all shaking will stop. hope yours does also. it's kind of annoying being on a highway for a long time and having your hands and arms shaking due to something like that.

Quote, originally posted by tribalman »when i first rotated my tires after i got my car last year the same thing happened. at first the shaking started at 60. but once i took the tires off, reseated, and then torqued them on to 100 ft/lbs the shaking subsided and it doesn't start until 75. try taking them off and reseating. that's what messed mine. as soon as i get a warm day up in illinois i'm going to rotate again. hopefully all shaking will stop. hope yours does also. it's kind of annoying being on a highway for a long time and having your hands and arms shaking due to something like that.You do realize your over torquing the wheels right?

its the tiresreseating them will "change" it but probably not get rid of it.

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »You do realize your over torquing the wheels right?Specs call for 75 Ft. Lbs. I'll have to assume, for a moment, that this is for ALL types of wheels. I don't think 100 Ft Lbs would damage the front rotors but it is something to think about. At this time, however, my vote is to replace the tires. But at the same time I would get the front end checked/aligned and also check the front brakes/rotors.