Vibration at highway speed anyone?

[Lexicon]

Just curious if any if you are having this experience. I used to drive a Camry Hybrid prior to purchasing the FFH, and the Fusion has a noticeable vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds. The dealership has performed a wheel balance but the issue persists.

 

I don't think the vibration is coming from the engine, I slipped the car into neutral at highway speeds to minimize engine operation and there was no perceived change in the sensation. Wondering if I was spoiled by the refined engine and the smooth suspension in the Camry and whether the Fusion is just transferring more "road feel" through the steering or if I have a more severe problem?

 

The vibration isn't severe enough to actually cause a slight left and right wiggle in the steering wheel, but when grasping it firmly you can feel your palms vibrating. When I rest my hand against the door panel, I can feel that same sensation. Normal?

[xmech2k]

Doesn't sound normal. Needs further troubleshooting. Bent rim, maybe? Or maybe something physically wrong with a tire, where it will balance OK (assuming they don't have a new guy doing the balancing or something...), but internal seperation or something. Maybe rotate the tires and see if the sensation is gone from the wheel, at least?

[lolder]

Just curious if any if you are having this experience. I used to drive a Camry Hybrid prior to purchasing the FFH, and the Fusion has a noticeable vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds. The dealership has performed a wheel balance but the issue persists.

 

I don't think the vibration is coming from the engine, I slipped the car into neutral at highway speeds to minimize engine operation and there was no perceived change in the sensation. Wondering if I was spoiled by the refined engine and the smooth suspension in the Camry and whether the Fusion is just transferring more "road feel" through the steering or if I have a more severe problem?

 

The vibration isn't severe enough to actually cause a slight left and right wiggle in the steering wheel, but when grasping it firmly you can feel your palms vibrating. When I rest my hand against the door panel, I can feel that same sensation. Normal?

There is a very slight vibration I feel that I attribute to the engine when it's cruising at low rpm. It waxes and wanes over a regular several second interval. Putting it in neutral at highway speeds doesn't stop the engine.

Edited June 20, 2010 by lolder

[sullied]

Just curious if any if you are having this experience. I used to drive a Camry Hybrid prior to purchasing the FFH, and the Fusion has a noticeable vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds. The dealership has performed a wheel balance but the issue persists.

 

I don't think the vibration is coming from the engine, I slipped the car into neutral at highway speeds to minimize engine operation and there was no perceived change in the sensation. Wondering if I was spoiled by the refined engine and the smooth suspension in the Camry and whether the Fusion is just transferring more "road feel" through the steering or if I have a more severe problem?

 

The vibration isn't severe enough to actually cause a slight left and right wiggle in the steering wheel, but when grasping it firmly you can feel your palms vibrating. When I rest my hand against the door panel, I can feel that same sensation. Normal?

I've never felt this...doesn't sound normal to me. I seriously doubt a car company would design a car to have vibration in the steering wheel.

[DaveM]

I've never felt this...doesn't sound normal to me. I seriously doubt a car company would design a car to have vibration in the steering wheel.

I too have never felt this in the year we have owned our Hybrid. I'd have the dealer rotate the tires to see if this is the problem and if it goes away then they can replace the two that were on the front with new wheels and tires. If it still vibrates then they could borrow a couple from another new car and if still a problem then they need to do some investigating. Also make sure they have done a complete front end alignment.

[Lexicon]

I should have mentioned that the dealer actually did swap out my rims and tires. The vibration seemed quite a bit more pronounced before, and as part of the troubleshooting, they took the rims and tires from my salesperson's car (he happened to be driving a brand new FFH also). I felt the vibration was reduced and they just decided to leave these tires on my car.

 

What do you propose that I do next? I've been to two dealerships and they both say that the vibration is normal, although the posters thus far seem to disagree. Should I be pushing for an alignment or could it be a more serious problem?

 

I appreciate your comments.

[ralteredstates]

I should have mentioned that the dealer actually did swap out my rims and tires. The vibration seemed quite a bit more pronounced before, and as part of the troubleshooting, they took the rims and tires from my salesperson's car (he happened to be driving a brand new FFH also). I felt the vibration was reduced and they just decided to leave these tires on my car.

 

What do you propose that I do next? I've been to two dealerships and they both say that the vibration is normal, although the posters thus far seem to disagree. Should I be pushing for an alignment or could it be a more serious problem?

 

I appreciate your comments.

No dealer that I know has the ability to do a "road force balance" that requires a special balancer (Hunter GSP 9700). Check your local tire stores and ask if they do it. It is getting very popular in the last few years because of its ability to balance difficult cars. It puts a load (like the road) on the tire as it is being balanced and can make a significant difference in the end result. I had a BMW 7 series a few years ago that was very sensitive to tire/wheel balance (as BMWs typically are) and the road force balance was the only way to get rid of the front end shake at highway speeds. A defective tire can also cause this.(broken belts) and this will often not show up on regular balancing. Alignment will not cause what you are feeling. Good luck

[drolds1]

No dealer that I know has the ability to do a "road force balance" that requires a special balancer (Hunter GSP 9700). Check your local tire stores and ask if they do it. It is getting very popular in the last few years because of its ability to balance difficult cars. It puts a load (like the road) on the tire as it is being balanced and can make a significant difference in the end result. I had a BMW 7 series a few years ago that was very sensitive to tire/wheel balance (as BMWs typically are) and the road force balance was the only way to get rid of the front end shake at highway speeds. A defective tire can also cause this.(broken belts) and this will often not show up on regular balancing. Alignment will not cause what you are feeling. Good luck

 

Don't know about where you live, but plenty of new car dealers around here have them, including mine. Lexicon doesn't have to get up from his keyboard to find one. Hunter has a locator on their site here.

[Lexicon]

I checked and the service receipt from my last visit indicates that the balance performed was indeed a roadforce balance. I confirmed with the locator mentioned above that the dealer does have this device. Should I assume that the balancing was performed incorrectly and have an independent tire shop do another thorough roadforce balance? I recall reading that the machine can perform several tests and suggest multiple corrective actions, but the tech may not perform all of them. Or, given the facts, should I be considering another source of the trouble?

[akirby]

I checked and the service receipt from my last visit indicates that the balance performed was indeed a roadforce balance. I confirmed with the locator mentioned above that the dealer does have this device. Should I assume that the balancing was performed incorrectly and have an independent tire shop do another thorough roadforce balance? I recall reading that the machine can perform several tests and suggest multiple corrective actions, but the tech may not perform all of them. Or, given the facts, should I be considering another source of the trouble?

 

I would have a good tire shop check it - they know more about this stuff than the dealers. Could be a bad tire also.