Accord Steering Wheel Wobble

Has anyone encountered a problem on an Accord 2003 or newer where they
could not get the vibrations out from the front end. I recently
purchased a new set of tires Toyo Versado LX. I had them balanced
several times including rode force balanced under the assumption that
the tire balance is causing the steering wheel to wobble as soon as
one gets above 90 km/h. If I cruise at 100Km/h it shakes but after a
while the shake stops but then several minutes later it starts again.
The vibrations reduce as you increase the speed. It is not too bad at
140Km/h. It is absolutely horrible at 170km/h (not near any population
or drivers near me). I assumed that the problem was the brakes so I
serviced them by completely disassembling the front and the rear
calipers. Needles to say they were partially responsible for the
shaking during the starts from 0 Km/h. The brake pistons had a lot of
varnish, rust and dark grey fluid. I was surprised since I bled them
every 50,000Km (I have over 325,000Km - 2003 Accord 4 cyl). I also
have new front and rear disks, so I am sure they are not warped i.e.
the whole barking system now works as good as when the car was new. I
also rotated the tires to see if the vibrations start at different
speed. It had no effect. I went to the dealer for inspection. They
claim there's nothing wrong with the suspension i.e. struts are OK,
joints are OK. Everything is still tight. Some dealerships are
suggesting that I replace the half-shafts. However they could not
claim with high degree of certainty that it is the shafts. I am
planning to put my winter tires on to see if the car shakes with them.
I know that it did not the last spring prior to taking them off. Any
ideas or experience with this kind of situation?

thanks.

 

"highkm" wrote

Did this vibration begin after the new tires were installed? That is, did
you have this problem with the old tires?

 

if the winter tires are ok, you know it's the new tires, not the car.
i'd try that change asap. if it's the car, you need a new mechanic
because whoever you're taking it to now doesn't know their business.

 

I had a very similar problem with my 2001 Accord when I bought it. The
dealership I bought it from checked it out top to bottom, put new tires on,
and couldn't find the problem. They had me take it to the Honda dealer at
their expense, where they *balanced* all four tires and 99% fixed the
problem. Either a) the original dealer's mechanics had no idea what they
were doing, or b) their balancer was out of calibration -- which could be
considered the same as a)...

 

If I had to guess I'd say it was one of the tires.

See if you can be there when they are balanced and see if one of the
fronts looks odd when spinning. It could be a belt has slipped causing
the tire to no longer ride truly.

Peter H

 

------------------------------

Has anybody suggested it could be low fluid or a problem with the power
steering?

'Curly'

 

It is definitely possible if the problem coincides with the introduction of
the new tires (and precedes all the other suspension changes) that you just
got a set of bad tires.

You say new front and rear disks - were the hubs properly cleaned before
installing the new disks? A little rust buildup on the hub can prevent the
rotor from seating properly and cause a wobble.

Another (more remote) possibility: I had a similar episode on the 2000 TL
with excessive vibration at highway speed whenever the brakes were touched.
Thought it must be a warped rotor. Dealer wanted to replace the rotors (at
my expense of course). The problem turned out to actually be a bad upper
ball joint on the left front. The excessive movement in the wheel had
caused a build up of material on the rotor. The user discernable symptom
was that particular wheel was noticeably hotter to the touch than the others
after a 10 minute highway drive.

 

I finally found some time and put on my winter tires and rims. The
vibrations disappeared. I contacted Toyo and they stated that they
would be glad to replace one or all four tires if need be.

Cheers.

 

Is it just me, or are Honda's more sensitive to tires being out of balance
than other cars?

Nobody I know has the same issues with their detroit junk or other import
makes. I have made it part of my maintenance ritual every year to get all 4
tires balanced.

I have spoken with more than 6 other Honda owners that have the same issues.

What gives? It seems like more than coincidence... does it have something to
do with the suspension setup or maybe designed with less isolation between
the tire and suspension systems?

t

 

they are more sensitive.

both. but you make it sound like it's a problem. i /want/ my car to
talk to me. if a wheel is out, i /want/ to know!

if you don't like that, go buy a buick - you can watch those things
rolling down the freeway with an unbalanced front wheel bouncing so
badly, it's hardly touching the pavement, yet the steering wheel is
steady as a rock. /that/ is a dangerous situation because the slightest
brake pressure will lock that wheel as it's not touching the ground
properly. and it won't corner properly at speed either. give me a
wish-boned honda any day - you'll /never/ be in ignorance of such
dangerous defects.

 

I guess my topne said I thought it was a bad thing.... I guess when I think
about it, most of the problems I have experienced is due to bad tire quality.
Shows how many bad tires there are out there I guess.

 

Finally, my car vibrations have been resolved. The problem was with
the balancing of tires. This was determined by Toyo Canada. My last
balance was a Road Force Balance at one of the Honda dealerships in
Ontario. The dealership service manager has been contacted, who
subsequently apologized and gave me service credit for the amount of
the balance ($150 CDN). What is interesting about the whole episode is
that 3 Honda FACTORY trained dealerships did not have a clue how to
balance the wheels/tires. The Road Force Balance technician told me
after the service that the vehicle has no vibrations at any speed even
when going over 120Km/h. (He never tested the car after he performed
the work.) My first drive at 120Km/h nearly broke my front suspension.
It was later determined and I have seen it with my own eyes, that some
weights that were installed by Honda delaership made no sense at all.
One weight looked like it was 0.5 lbs, and beside it was another
smaller weight. I usually go for an alignment and balance when I get a
new set of tires, as in this case. Note that Toyo Versado LX is
probably the best tire I have owned for normal highway cruising (up to
130Km/h). I get approximately 10% more kilometers per tank-full of
gas. The tires are also quiter that the OEM Michelins MXV S8s.

 

thanks for posting the follow-up - successful resolution is great for
the archives.