Front Vibration

[DaddyKuel]

Opinions please!! I have a slight vibration felt in the steering wheel at 70-80 mph. Tires have 40K and show some even wear, have been rotated and balanced. Breaks were replaced about 60K, new pads but not rotors. Vibration increased upon light breaking. Car has 90K miles but is still under CPO warranty. Wondering if there could be anything in the suspension that could be failing or if its just tires, rotors, bent rim or other. Its not terrible and I plan on getting new tires soon anyway. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[m5runner]

Normally a tire balance would fix that problem. Check your wheels to see if your weights fell off. Could be a warped rotor also.

 

[Detrich]

my bmw recently started having the same issue. so, i called to ask my service shop. and, they told me that the vibration on the steering wheel while braking is normally caused by rotors that need re-surfacing, turning, or replacement. i'm going to just wait until i need to get new brake pads (about every 20k) and have them replace the rotors. for german cars, i was told it's generally better to just replace the rotors- but obviously it depends on the extent of the warping.

so, sounds to me like u need rotors re-surfaced or replaced. ($) hope this helps.

 

[CosmosBlack]

Well, if you are feeling the vibration even when NOT braking, it can't be the rotors.
Bad rotors could be contributing to the vibration when you brake, of course, but I'm thinking there is another cause for the vibration.

Check your control arm bushings, 90k miles sounds about right for them to go.
And they do cause your steering to shimmer/vibrate on braking as well as at speed. Braking feels worse usually.

Have you had an oil leak from the control arm bushings? It's a very light hydraulic oil, so if you've had an oil leak and couldn't find the cause, that could be it. The rubber bushings have a plastic casing inside that is filled with hydraulic oil, when that casing breaks, the oil leaks...means time to replace.

Good Luck! And let us know what you find.

 

[m5runner]

that could be it also. if left alone, the vibration can become even more voilent and you will notice it during braking and accelerating within a 10 mph radius. that's how it was with my buddy's 94 740il

 

[DaddyKuel]

Vibration

Thanks for the input. I seem to be leaning towards ttheupper control arm bushings also. Found an article on Bav Auto Works Web that indicated the bushings. Rotors could be warped , but since there is vibration when brakes are not applied and mostly at higher speeds, I think that is the route to go. thanks again for the input, I'll let you know the results.

 

[joeyjr]

I had a similar problem w/ my 88 535i, and if none of the above recommondations work, then it may likely be the the centering rings that need balanced in the wheels. I had my tires balance ,front end alignment and center link tightened,and still had the same problem. It wasnt until my new mechanic found the problem working on other cars having the same issue.
Good luck

 

[DaddyKuel]

Update.... Purchased new tires the other day, vibration decreased but did not disappear, still have aminor shake in the steering wheel around 50-60 mph. Smooth @ 80 and above. No vibration upon breaking. Still leaning to bushings as the culprit. Willl be taking to dealer for service maybe next week. Will update later-cheers!

 

[wifey]

Vibration in my 540i

I have a 1997 BMW 540i with 84,000 miles, I have new tires, (Cooper Zeon 225/55 R16), I had Bridgstone Pontenza tires in the past and had no problem. I replaced the lower control arms and still have a little vibration around 45-55 mph. The lower controls helped alot but still has a vibration. Had the tires balanced and rotated, still a vibration. The mechanic inflated the tires to 51 lbs of pressure and this stopped the vibration but the ride is not as smooth. I reduced the pressure to 45 in all tires and still a little vibration. Any suggestions?

 

[Big Daddy]

Sounds like the fault is in the tires, have them trued.

 

[wifey]

Vibration

What do you mean by "trued"? Does anyone have a suggestion on a brand of tire that's best for a 540? Also, what amount of pressure do you have in your tires? Do you have different amounts in the front and back? I'm going on vacation and need to get this resolved.

 

[Big Daddy]

If your tires are out of round, evidenced by excessive weight required to balance tire, or vibration not corrected by other means, they can be trued. This id done by the tire rotating on a machine while a blade cuts the tread to "round" or true the tire.

Your proper air pressures should be inside the drivers side door on a placard attached to the body of the car.

 

[Wallie05]

Well, if you are feeling the vibration even when NOT braking, it can't be the rotors.
Bad rotors could be contributing to the vibration when you brake, of course, but I'm thinking there is another cause for the vibration.

Check your control arm bushings, 90k miles sounds about right for them to go.
And they do cause your steering to shimmer/vibrate on braking as well as at speed. Braking feels worse usually.

Have you had an oil leak from the control arm bushings? It's a very light hydraulic oil, so if you've had an oil leak and couldn't find the cause, that could be it. The rubber bushings have a plastic casing inside that is filled with hydraulic oil, when that casing breaks, the oil leaks...means time to replace.

Good Luck! And let us know what you find.

Good call on the bushings. Before I traded in my old 323, I was noticing a lot of vibration and shaking as well (had about 95K miles on the car). Sure enough, took it to the shop and the right front bushing was all worn out and the left one wasn't much better.

Another thing that might be attributing to the shaking are flat spots in the wheels. My old car used to be parked for days, sometimes weeks at a time and flat spots developed in the wheels and tires that were pretty much permanent, and always caused slight vibrations, even after balancing.

 

[DaddyKuel]

The verdict is in!! Had the inspection II done since warranty is still in effect and felt plugs, filters oil change etc should be checked out. Even though I had brand new tires installed and balanced it still turned out to be a balance problem in the left front wheel. they broke the tire down and balanced the wheel (hub maybe) and reinstalled the tire ($52) Could not get much more info on this but they said the bushings were ok and everything else checked out with the front suspension. Whatever, the problem went away. So I guess joeyjr gets the prize for the closest answer. They also gave me a 07 525 to drive for two days (even though there was a B7 Alpina in the showroom) lol . You guys are great and thanks for all the responses. Hoping to get another 100k miles with all the sevice updated.

 

[wifey]

vibration

I'm glad you have yours fixed. However, mine is still not right. The motion is back and forth in the steering wheel. I have noticed that it's worse when my car is cold. The vibration is still there when warm but not as much vibration. I had the power steering fluid changed just in case it was causing it to stick, that didn't help. My lower control arms have been changed, they checked out the upper control arms and they are ok. Any more suggestions on why it will vibrate more when it's cold? I only had 8000 miles on my tires, got new tires today and it's still vibrating.

 

[uscharalph]

my bmw recently started having the same issue. so, i called to ask my service shop. and, they told me that the vibration on the steering wheel while braking is normally caused by rotors that need re-surfacing, turning, or replacement. i'm going to just wait until i need to get new brake pads (about every 20k) and have them replace the rotors. for german cars, i was told it's generally better to just replace the rotors- but obviously it depends on the extent of the warping.

so, sounds to me like u need rotors re-surfaced or replaced. ($) hope this helps.

BMW rotors should be replaced not re-surfaced.

 

[RBrooks01]

Same problem. I bought new tires helped some but did not eliminate. I had tires rebalanced. Still did not eliminate. Mechanic stated that it was front bushings. Still did not eliminate. (Falling apart at 100K+ miles)