Sarorn

Hi everyone,
I'm experiencing very strong vibrations on my steering wheel, pedals, seat, the whole car when driving on the highway going over 80km per hour (55-60miles/hour). I drove the car on the highway during my lunch and it was fine, no vibrations. But after work while driving home, as soon as I got on the highway I felt a very strong vibration, the whole car shakes and I cant go over 80km/hour or it will just shake even harder.

A million scenarios are swirling through my head right now:
Did one of my tires lose one of its counter weights?
Did I mess up the alignment somehow? But how?, it was fine.
Are one of my tire pressures too low? No indication on display though.
Rims bent? I dont think so, didnt hit any big big pot holes during lunch.

Should I drive it to the dealer tomorrow morning, or should I get it towed? I have to go on the highway to get to work and the dealership; as a matter of fact, I work across the street from the dealership, so I have to get there no matter what. Will I cause more damage if I drive it? City driving at around 40km/hour is fine, cant really feel it, only when I speed up.

Can anyone shed some light?
Thanks!
-Sarorn

PNice972

iTrader: (6)

if it bothers you a lot then just call lexus roadside assistance to pick it up. its free [or it should be anyway] but i would just drive it up there.

Sarorn

Of course it bothers me....it feels like I'm driving through an earthquake! I just might have it towed. But its killing me not know what it is.

15951

You're certainly free to call roadside assistance, but you might want to just take a look at the car first. Are there any obvious wheel weights missing (adhesive still attached to the wheel, etc.)? Did you check your pressures to make sure one tire isn't low?

It doesn't hurt to take care of the absolute basics before calling roadside assistance. Stop the scenarios from swirling around in your head and just go check the tires.

By the way, there are other causes of vibration that are less common (motor mounts, tie rod ends, etc.), but I'd be surprised if any of these issues were occuring on a 2006.

Sarorn

I must've walked around the car 20 times. All the weights are on the car. Tire pressure seems to be normal. If its low, wouldnt the TPMS tell me? The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking that one of my tire belts broke. Could it be? On such a new tire? I've only gotten 8700km on it.

Evitzee

Is the emergency brake OFF? If it is even partially engaged it can cause a shudder as the pads drag.

Sarorn

From what I can tell, yes the E brake is off. No E brake light is on. Although, it could be a possibility. I might take it out for another spin on the expressway before I go to bed tonight.

AFE712

Hi, first post here :-)

The vibration you have seems like ice-snow stuck inside a wheel. It happens to me often in winter. Maybe?

Sarorn

It's funny you mention that because we just had a very big snow storm and when I first pulled over I noticed that the wheel was rubbing against the ice/snow that froze to the wheel wells...but after knocken them off, I still get a very strong vibration through out the car. What do you mean by inside the weel?

Bichon

I was going to suggest the same thing. I've had it happen to other cars, though not the Lexus yet. (And yes, the buildup is on the inside of the wheel(s).

Sarorn

Oh Mylanta!!! You are RIGHT!!! I just removed about 5lb's worth of ice and snow from inside my right front tire...took it out for a spin on the expressway and it rides perfectly fine!!!!

You guys saved me from a lot of embarassment at the dealership as I know by morning the snow and ice would melt and there's no way I could replicate the vibrations again for the technicians.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

BounceNY

iTrader: (9)

WOW, this just happened to me! I was freakin out checked all the tire pressures i cleaned out the snow stuck in the wheel well, and vibration was still there...going back outside to clean out the snow on the "inside" of the rims. duh...

Glad I searched on the forum before callin' the dealer...thanks guys!

VikH

iTrader: (5)

This thread should be added to the FAQ! Great info. I didn't realize it was so easy for ice/snow to get in the wheel.

kryolla

This just happen to me yesterday. We just got a snow / ice storm in the northeast and my car was shaking pretty bad. I couldnt go over 50mph. Got to work and find a lot of ice stuck in the front driver side rim, knocked it off and the vibration stopped. Same thing happened to my wifes car. Lesson learned

Sarorn

I agree! I've never had this problem with any other car I have owned, but just as long as I know its only snow inside the rims, I'm cool with it!

I was freaking out like crazy when I first got the vibrations though!!