help - car vibrating

[Zhariff]

Good day everyone -

I had to take my car to the dealership a few weeks ago and after I got the car back, I started to feel a vibration when going between 35 - 40MPH - at every other speed the car runs like a champ -

I took it back to the dealership - of course they said they didn't do anything to the car that would cause that - and did some small adjustments, but the car still vibrates at the noted speeds -

Any thoughts?

all input is greatly appreciated!!http://www.m3post.com/forums/images/...dthethread.gif

[m3ray]

Tires, wheels, wheel bearings, worn suspension parts.. on and on. It's a process of elimination.

[Genericuser1]

$100 says it's uneven wear on the tires. I have vibration at the same speed but then my front and rear tires have different tread wear and my front left/right also have different tread wear. Fronts will be replaced in the spring.

Vibration disappears when I switch to my winter setup (almost brand new).

[jpuzas]

Most likely then knocked off a wheel weight or bent a wheel when test driving. What was was the car in for? What area of the car were the work on? Are you feeling the vibration in the steering wheel or more in the seat of your pants?

[Rupes]

Agreed on the wheel weight/ tires on being the first course of inspection.

In the meantime take your wife / GF for a ride and see if they enjoy the car more now at 35 MPH.

[4corners]

These cars will vibrate with the slightest thing off. You could have a dirty hub surface, a bad tire, a lost weight, simply swapping a tire left to right, if your tires allow, can fix it.

[MTM]

The first question to ask:
What did you take the car for at the dealer? Rule number 1 is always go back to the last you worked on when trying to diagnose a new problem. Looks like you asked the dealer but posting up the specific tasks on this forum might elicit a few ideas.


jpuzas asked the next best question...where do you feel the vibration?


Other helpful information:
Is it repeatable? i.e. does it happen EVERY time? If only sometimes, what are the SPECIFIC conditions under which you observe the issue?

Any difference when turning versus going straight?

Any difference with or without throttle? Try this: drive until you feel the vibration, then shift in Neutral. Is it still there?

Does it go away when you brake lightly? What about when you brake heavily?

[ghost4blind]

if you were a woman, I am sure you would be ecstatic about the way your car runs now

[Sinful]

The douche bags at the dealer probably did something. Wheel weights, something that they did misaligned it, or I would say tire wear, but if it wasn't vibrating before you dropped it off then unlikely the tread wear. Many things could cause it, but if it wasn't vibrating before the idiots got it...has to be a non wear problem and more of a idiot messing it up problem.

[Tracyis300]

It could be the control arm bushings? When they start to wear out, it causes vibration to the steering at even speeds.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Spacers ?

[bimmerfrk]

Ugh i have the same issue. Did an alignment didnt go away. I replaced a tire with a bubble front right wheel. i think its also bent. Going to have it looked at and fixed on Saturday.

For me it starts around 60mph. I guess the size of the bend impacts at what speed you start to notice it.

[Zhariff]

Thx for all the replies -

just a quick note for everyone -

the car was taken in for a fault issue - loss of power -

prior to taking the car in - no issues at all with vibration.

no spacers - and the problem is repeats at 35 - 40 MPH religiously -

I been traveling a lot so have not driven the car much lately, but every time I do, I get

upset - and there's only one BMW dealership in town, so I'm going to have to find somewhere else to take my car too...

Small towns stink when it comes to these cars.....

[Patrón]

Originally Posted by Zhariff

Thx for all the replies -

just a quick note for everyone -

the car was taken in for a fault issue - loss of power -

prior to taking the car in - no issues at all with vibration.

no spacers - and the problem is repeats at 35 - 40 MPH religiously -

I been traveling a lot so have not driven the car much lately, but every time I do, I get

upset - and there's only one BMW dealership in town, so I'm going to have to find somewhere else to take my car too...

Small towns stink when it comes to these cars.....

have your tires/wheels rebalanced. i'd start with the drivers side front, then the passenger side. if you can, highspeed/roadforce balanced.
i have a bad feeling somebody hit something/pothole during your test drive...you know those AB streets are murder.

[WingZeroX5]

I've had this issue with my 330 zhp and now recently fixed M3. This is what i did:

On the 330:
-New tires (helped a little)
-New rims (a little)
-RF Balanced (a little)
-new brake rotors & rebuilt calipers (solved issue of vibrating when braking)
-new control arms (barely)
-New steering guibo (did nothing)
-Had tires rebalanced properly. After getting new tires, the heaviest part of the tire was not directly opposite of the valve stem, which explains the abundance of weight strips. This solved 90% of the vibration. The other 10%, isn't that bad, probably the tires. Sold the car anyway haha

M3:
-New tires PSS (old ones were shot an all 4 corners) with alignment
-Fixed 2 bent rims
At this point, I checked CA and other bushings. Discovered bad wheel bearing on front driver side. Replaced that, car doens't shimmy when highway speeds. Still had pretty BAD vibrations when braking. Concluded must be rotor/brake issue.

-Bought HAWK race pads. Rocked that for 4 days to get all the deposits off the rotors. You can hear and feel the pads just "sanding" the rotor. Front two rims were FILTHY and caked with Hawk dust after that. Installed Akebono Ceramics and lubed the guide pins with caliper grease. Problem solved.

Now, no more vibrating on highway and braking.

[jphughan]

Just to be clear OP, are we talking about a vibration you can feel through the steering wheel, or is the whole car vibrating? If it's the latter, definitely get that checked out because that shouldn't be happening. If it's just the former though, I agree with others that maybe the wheels just need to be rebalanced. The other potential causes mentioned are all valid, but the timing makes them less likely IMHO. If it really bothers you, get the wheels rebalanced, but honestly I'm not sure I'd even bother with that. Frankly I've given up dealing with those types of vibrations. As others have said, it doesn't take much at all for this car to vibrate a bit in a narrow speed range as you're seeing, and it's even worse if you track the car because wheel weights can be chucked and even the tire rubber can slide around on the tire while molten and then harden in a different spot. I get my wheels balanced when I get new tires so I start off optimally, but once the inevitable vibration turns up, I just wait until I get new tires -- which isn't terribly long anyway.

[bmwm3driver3241]

goodluck to you