I have a 2006 Mazda3 with about 112K miles on it and what I have noticed recently is that the steering shakes a lot. I looked up online for a possible cause and have found that wheel balancing could be a reason. I got wheels balanced and aligned but still there is still some vibration in the steering, so what do you think could be the reason? I have got rotors machined once before, like a year ago.
View 10 RepliesI have a 2008 Mazda3 (2.3L automatic, 34K miles), which has recently been annoying me.. The problem started about 4 months ago, when I got new tires and a brake job (pads + rotor resurfacing). Ever since, it has been having intermittent vibrations. I feel the vibrations mostly on the floor, but sometimes also on the steering wheel. Here's what I've done so far:
When the vibrations started, i thought it was a problem with the new tires. I had them re-balanced 3 times at two different places, with no improvement. I then took the car to the dealer, who replaced two of the three engine mounts (it appears these tend to break easily on this model). This seemed to improve the situation for about half a day, and then it went back to the same. I took it back to the dealer, who could not find anything wrong. Not being satisfied, I took it to a different dealer, who could also not find anything wrong.
So, I am now stuck with this vibration.. It is not always there, and not always of the same magnitude... it seems to be more likely to happen in the morning after a colder night (well, as cold as it gets in Los Angeles). It is most likely to be felt at around 45-50mph, but you can also feel it at higher speed sometimes. A couple of times I could definitely feel it at around 25mph. Also, I've noticed that the engine vibrates when the car is stopped, at around 1500-1800rpm (e.g. when I first turn it on). The dealer claims that this is natural for a 4-cyl engine, but I had never felt a vibration before.
My gut feeling is that this is something related to the engine, but two different dealers could not find a problem... since this is intermittent, it is hard to nail down I guess.
I have a 2006 Mazda 3 Hatchback. We recently had new tires put on and an alignment both were needed pretty bad. Before the work the car had a pretty bad vibration to begin with. After the car ran smooth for about a week and then my described it having a vibration and thought something fell off. We took it back to the shop and they checked it over and rebalanced the tires and suspected that maybe a weight or two fell off.
The car ran fine again and then this past weekend I was driving and noticed that around 60-70 the car vibrated but not consistently, as it slowed from 70 to 60 it seemed to vibrate more. I also noticed around 25 that it had the vibration occasionally and could feel a slight jerking or tug to the left.
My guess is I have a broken or cracked motor mount since its not consistent at any speed. My reasoning is that at the lower as I accelerate the engine rpms are causing the jerking and as I slow down the decrease in rpms is causing the vibration.
This past weekend, however, I took it out on the highway and found it has a pretty bad vibration. The vibration is coming from the body, not the steering wheel, so i initially suspected the real wheel balance. Next I varied my speed betwn 50-75 mph expecting to feel the vibration intensity vary, but it did not. While doing that however I realized that when I let off the throttle, the vibration stops. Given it some gas and it comes right back.
I got off the highway and pulled in to a parking lot. Driving at parking lot speeds, accelerating or not, there is no vibration. Come to a stop either in gear or neutral, and the engine is rock solid steady. Then got back on the local streets and the vibration returned but only while accelerating, even gently.
At this point I should mention that we replace a bad motor mount a yr and a half ago when we bought the car, the upper passenger side. The mount damage was easily so it was an easy diagnose. Replacing it eliminated the vibration the car had at the time. We had also planned to replace the lower rear mount at the same time but the one we bought was defective, and the one we removed from the car looked fine, so we put it back in.
So now I am wondering if the rear mount has failed, but it is not possible to see the rubber unless you removed it. Could it be an issue with the engine itself, or do all these symptoms point to the mount?
2009 Mazda 3 Since a nasty cold snap in Northeast, instrument panel has gone crazy. The meter showing RPM's works but 0 on the speedometer- dead. Gauges have been all on for a couple weeks. Just noticed now the power steering is gone. All lights seem to work normally and heat/defrost works. Radio works. Haven't noticed if odometer is working or not.
View 3 RepliesI have a 2004 Mazda 3 with 90K miles. Brakes, rotors, and rear calipers were replaced about two months ago. About a month after, I started noticing a clattering sound coming from the left rear wheel whenever I drove over rough road. (It sounds like an aluminum pot lid dropping onto the pot.) The shop that did the original brake work took 4 visits to get everything done. Instead of going back, I went to another mechanic who said the left caliper was loose. He showed me how he could shake it. He said the bolts were tight so it wasn't a safety issue.
I went back to the original shop for repair but they could not reproduce the noise and said the brakes/calipers were fine.
The noise remained. I went to a third shop which checked the caliper and said it was fine, but said that I needed new shocks. The mechanic had the car on the lift and was able to reproduce a similar noise on both rear wheels when he hit them with a rubber mallet.
The first mechanic insists the caliper is bad. The second insists it's the shocks.
A few months ago I bought a used 2008 Mazda3s sedan, and ever since I get an intermittent burning rubber smell from my rear left wheel. I recently got new tires, brake pads, and had the rotors turned, with no change.
The smell does not always happen, it will be there maybe one out of 3 or 4 times, and it is more likely to happen after long drives (e.g., one hour highway driving).
The wheel well also feels very hot. The obvious answer would be that the brake caliper is sticking, causing friction, heat, and the burning smell. However, if I touch the rotor it feels the same lukewarm temperature as the other three.
One additional thought is that this is caused by the exhaust, which is right next to this wheel well. I have noticed that the area of the floor of the trunk right above the exhaust gets very hot, which I had not seen in any other car I owned.
Could it be that the exhaust is causing the rubber of the tire (or something else) to overheat and smell bad? Visually, it does not look like the tire has a different wear or different appearance, compared to any other one.
This may or may not be related: my handbrake seems to be useless If I leave it on I can easily drive with little to no noticeable slowdown... I guess the previous owner did not read the part of the manual where it says you have to release the handbrake before you drive.
I just purchased a very clean 2008 with 32K miles on it to replace my 2011 Sonata SE that has a suspension too harsh for my wife's bad back and neck. It was a one owner, driven by a little old lady in Santa Fe, NM. She is no longer able to drive and her husband didn't need to keep the car. This was a private purchase, not dealer/CPO.
During my highway test drive, I noticed a little vibration in the steering wheel above 60 mph but couldn't go much faster since I was in town and there was lots of traffic. I attributed that to nearly 6-year old Bridgestone Turanza tires in pretty poor shape. So right after purchasing I put a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4 on it. I got onto the highway later that day and at about 65 mph, a vibration in the steering wheel shows up. It seems somewhat inconsistent in that if I am accelerating or decelerating, the vibration comes and goes through the 65 - 75 mph range. I have not driven above 75 to see what happens to the vibration.
Whenever i hit speeds between 65-75 mph my steering wheel starts to vibrate enough so i can see it and feel it. Not a crazy amount just enough so i can see it moving and can feel it. I have 14000 miles on my Touareg and just had the tires balanced at the dealer hoping that would be the problem..
View 14 RepliesI've got 66,000 miles on my R32 and I notice that on certain highway surfaces my steering wheel is beginning to vibrate at around 70mph.
View 8 RepliesI have vibration in my 2012 Golf R at highway speeds. I noticed it right when I drove it off the lot. First I thought it's because the tires had a flat spot from the car sitting a few months on the lot, but it persisted.
The steering wheel vibrates very slightly and I can see the front passenger seat vibrating as well. I know it's not normal. I checked my tire pressures and they are all at 41psi as per the door sticker.
Messed up factory rim/tire balance in the R? How about hub or driveshaft imbalance?
I started to experience steering wheel vibrating while at a stop light/sign? My IS used to be very silent and smooth when I am at stop (while in gear). But now I am noticing vibrations while I am waiting at a red light. It's not from the music because I turned off the radio to see if my music was too loud. why this could happen?
View 14 Replies1981 Corvette rebuilt/restored. 35+ mph. steering wheel shakes/vibrates. Higher speed, depress clutch, smooth ride. Taken to mechanic recently, test driven to acknowledge, lift done twice, no clue.
View 5 RepliesI just got the brakes done and a weird thing is happening: I upgraded with adams rotors, ebc red pads, ecs ss lines, tyrolsport bushing stifenning kit.
Whenever I try to brake from 40+mph to 0 the steering wheel vibrates a lot. What can be the cause of it?
We have the 6.8 4x4 2001. Mostly use it for towing 6K #. Bought 2 years ago. Front and rear brakes were new and all 4 rotors were machined at Ford dealership prior to purchase. Have put on 13,000 miles since then, majority towing.
View 14 RepliesI have a issue with my golf 1.9tdi when i start the engine it shakes really bad and feels very rough when sitting in the cab steering wheel vibrates really Bad and engine looks like its going to fly out of the car but when i apply throttle the vibrations go only happens when idling.
What it could be i have done a Diesel Purge, changed the fuel filter, cleaner the EGR Valve, changed the coolant temp sensor, checked the injector loom for continuity and resistance everything was fine, checked resistance on injectors readings was all the same, flywheel seems fine when running (no movement) and no change when i dip the clutch, engine mounts i changed the right hand side one all the rest are fine and not penetrated.
I just bought a 2008 Sonata GLS 2.4L, 4-cyl., automatic, 74000 miles.
I found that the steering wheel, sometimes the seat, vibrates at idle in "D" and "R". And the vibration reduces a lot in "N".
Is this common for this model? If it's not common, how to repair this problem?
For as long as I remember (40000+ KM), I've noticed that my steering wheel vibrates when stopped with the brakes and in D. ie, while stopped at a red light. It immediately goes away when I lift off the brake or put the car into neutral.
The vibration isn't crazy. I can only feel it through the steering wheel or touching around it. However, it is certainly very noticeable and also audible.
Have this vibration through the steering wheel? (Avalon V6) I'm hoping this isn't a defect in the car...
My car is being so dangerous today. The steering wheel is squealing when I turn left or right and the gas pedal vibrates like hell. What's wrong with my car....
View 14 RepliesI have a 2005 Mazda3 with a 2.0 engine & a five speed transmission and 94,000 miles. Since June the car has twice not started, and so far three trips to two different Mazda dealers have not resolved the problem. The car had sat overnight, when I tried to start it the engine it turned over normally, and sounded normal, for just a second. Then it sounded like it started turning over much much faster than normal and the turning over sound changed to the sound of a high speed "whirl" (I don't know any other way to describe it).
In both cases the car just turned over and over and never sounded like it was going to start, resulting in a tow being needed. I've now found out that the dealer started the car by pushing the gas pedal to the floor, then cranking over the engine and then very slowly releasing the gas pedal until the engine started to fire. In the three months in between the non start days the car has started fine and it drives fine, lots of power, constant power with no surges or bogging down. The dealers have checked the compression, fuel PSI, and run computer diagnostics and everything appears to be normal. They also removed the value cover and say that as far as they can tell the fuel injectors seem to be functioning normally.
I have a 2004 Malibu Classic well maintained 2.2 L engine 20k miles. When the engine is warm in drive at idle, the engine shudders vibrates the dash and steering wheel. It idles smooth when cold. In drive it settles to a base idle about 575-600 RPM. When I raise the RPM with the peddle just a bit maybe 50 RPM it idles perfect. Otherwise the engine runs perfect, air cleaner and plugs are like new. Is there any way to adjust the idle up or identify what sensor controls the idle?
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