Intermittent vibration at highway speeds (03 WRX)
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Intermittent vibration at highway speeds (03 WRX)
Hi all... I have a 5-speed 03 WRX with ~28,000 miles on it. On about five different occasions, my car had a pretty severe vibration when I was driving on the highway (approx. 60 - 70 mph). On all of those occasions, once the car came to a complete stop and I started driving again (even back up to highway speeds), the vibration did not come back.
I mentioned this to the dealer the first time it happened, and they test drove it and took a look at it, but they could not find anything wrong.
I'm pretty sure that it is not related to the engine/clutch/transmission because the last few times it was happening, I pushed the clutch in, revved the engine, changed gears, etc. With all of those "tests" vibration stayed the same. When it happens, it gets more severe the faster I go, so I was thinking along the lines of suspension/wheels/differential(s)/etc.
The only thing I can equate the feeling to is the way a car feels when the lug nuts are loose on one of the wheels. However, I just checked those too and they were all were on tight.
Can anyone offer any ideas as to what this might be ? I'm kind of anxious to get it fixed as I have to take the car on a long trip in about 2 weeks. But, since it is such an intermittent problem I'm a little concerned that the dealer would not find anything (again). (It only happened 5 times in the last 2 months. 3 of those times in the last 2 weeks)
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
I mentioned this to the dealer the first time it happened, and they test drove it and took a look at it, but they could not find anything wrong.
I'm pretty sure that it is not related to the engine/clutch/transmission because the last few times it was happening, I pushed the clutch in, revved the engine, changed gears, etc. With all of those "tests" vibration stayed the same. When it happens, it gets more severe the faster I go, so I was thinking along the lines of suspension/wheels/differential(s)/etc.
The only thing I can equate the feeling to is the way a car feels when the lug nuts are loose on one of the wheels. However, I just checked those too and they were all were on tight.
Can anyone offer any ideas as to what this might be ? I'm kind of anxious to get it fixed as I have to take the car on a long trip in about 2 weeks. But, since it is such an intermittent problem I'm a little concerned that the dealer would not find anything (again). (It only happened 5 times in the last 2 months. 3 of those times in the last 2 weeks)
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
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From: Funtown
Car Info: A limousine with a chauffer
are you feeling the vibration through the steering wheel or through your butt (the rest of the car)?
I was having some wierd vibration and it turns out it's a combination of things in my case.
1. I replaced my steering rack bushings. You can order some stiffer whiteline bushings from www.isrperformance for about $30.
2. I need to replace my harsh *** tires. I have aftermarket 17" tires and I bought them when they first came out so there was no customer review data for them yet. That's the cost of living on the bleeding edge I guess
Could also be some wierdo alignment issue, or an issue with a wheel being out of balance. Have you recently replaced your wheels?
I was having some wierd vibration and it turns out it's a combination of things in my case.
1. I replaced my steering rack bushings. You can order some stiffer whiteline bushings from www.isrperformance for about $30.
2. I need to replace my harsh *** tires. I have aftermarket 17" tires and I bought them when they first came out so there was no customer review data for them yet. That's the cost of living on the bleeding edge I guess
Could also be some wierdo alignment issue, or an issue with a wheel being out of balance. Have you recently replaced your wheels?
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It's definitely a "butt" type rumble. :-)
The steering wheel stays pretty stable, it's just the rest of the car that shakes like hell.
As for my wheels, they're the plain old stock 16" wheels. The rest of the car is stock too. I did have the rear brake pads replaced about a month ago, and I had the tires rotated at that time, but the first time this vibration occurred was before any of that service was performed, so I don't think it's related to that.
The last time it happened "severely", I hit the brakes and it was definitely something that I could feel through the brake pedal. However, the rotors are definitely not warped (at least not SO warped that it would vigorously shake the car when I'm driving) so I don't think that's it either.
I just drove the car on the highway again today for about 20 miles or so, and there is definitely a slight vibration now that wasn't there before... It's nothing as severe as the 5 situations I described before, though. It feels the same as before (meaning that it is the "butt" type of shaking), it's just not as intense as those other times.
Not sure if this gives you any more useful information.
Thanks.
The steering wheel stays pretty stable, it's just the rest of the car that shakes like hell.
As for my wheels, they're the plain old stock 16" wheels. The rest of the car is stock too. I did have the rear brake pads replaced about a month ago, and I had the tires rotated at that time, but the first time this vibration occurred was before any of that service was performed, so I don't think it's related to that.
The last time it happened "severely", I hit the brakes and it was definitely something that I could feel through the brake pedal. However, the rotors are definitely not warped (at least not SO warped that it would vigorously shake the car when I'm driving) so I don't think that's it either.
I just drove the car on the highway again today for about 20 miles or so, and there is definitely a slight vibration now that wasn't there before... It's nothing as severe as the 5 situations I described before, though. It feels the same as before (meaning that it is the "butt" type of shaking), it's just not as intense as those other times.
Not sure if this gives you any more useful information.
Thanks.
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 48
From: Toronto
Car Info: 2003 wrx
I have the same problem with my 03 WRX, about the same speeds. Enough to make my watch rattle. The difference with mine is the rotors are warped as well so I gotta get them replaced. Just have to find a vendor in Toronto for slotted rotors. I still have the OEM tires (new) so I don't think it's from them. Mine hopefully is just a rotor problem as there is a good shudder when applying about 40% braking, as just picked up the car used about 1 month ago.
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Just to follow up on this in case anyone is interested...
After having this happen so many times, I kind of eliminated most of the major components being the cause (engine, transmission, clutch, etc.) and with the help of sonicsuby's comment (thanks BTW), I pretty much narrowed it down to the wheels/tires. My thought was that if the wheels were pretty far out of balance, and when they were vibrating in phase with each other, the car could probably shake pretty hard. To me that also explained why it could be so intermittent, as every turn I took, the tires would rotate at different speeds, and they would line up slightly differently with each other. I was a little unsure of that theory, though, because the steering wheel didn't have the tell-tale shaking that accompanied wheel balancing problems that I had with my previous cars, and when the shaking did occur, it was pretty intense.
The most recent time that this happened, I happened to be on a straight portion of a highway with no cars behind me, so I tested it out.
(It used to be that when I stopped, and started again, the shaking would not re-occur, however it didn't occur to me that the fact that I had turned a those stops might have made a difference).
Anyway, I came to a full stop, waited for a couple of seconds, and then started moving again. Sure enough, the vibration happened again when I got up to speed. After a couple of turns, though, it faded.
So, I ended up taking my car in for it's 30,000 mi. service this week and mentioned the shaking problem to the service manager again. After they looked at it, they said that it WAS just due to the fact that the wheels were out of balance. They rotated and balanced the tires, and the shaking problem hasn't happened since (it's only been 2 days, though). However, it was so intermittent in the past that I guess I can't say for sure that balancing the wheels definitely "fixed it". I have to drive it about 700 miles this weekend, though, so I guess I'll have a better idea after that.
There's still a hint (much less than before) of the rumbling noise that accompanied the shaking, but the shaking itself has not reoccurred. I'm guessing that the noise is due to the fact that the stock tires are nearing the end of their useful lives, so I'll probably end up replacing them pretty soon. Hopefully that will take care of it.
Sorry for the long post. Hope this information helps someone else someday.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.
After having this happen so many times, I kind of eliminated most of the major components being the cause (engine, transmission, clutch, etc.) and with the help of sonicsuby's comment (thanks BTW), I pretty much narrowed it down to the wheels/tires. My thought was that if the wheels were pretty far out of balance, and when they were vibrating in phase with each other, the car could probably shake pretty hard. To me that also explained why it could be so intermittent, as every turn I took, the tires would rotate at different speeds, and they would line up slightly differently with each other. I was a little unsure of that theory, though, because the steering wheel didn't have the tell-tale shaking that accompanied wheel balancing problems that I had with my previous cars, and when the shaking did occur, it was pretty intense.
The most recent time that this happened, I happened to be on a straight portion of a highway with no cars behind me, so I tested it out.
(It used to be that when I stopped, and started again, the shaking would not re-occur, however it didn't occur to me that the fact that I had turned a those stops might have made a difference).
Anyway, I came to a full stop, waited for a couple of seconds, and then started moving again. Sure enough, the vibration happened again when I got up to speed. After a couple of turns, though, it faded.
So, I ended up taking my car in for it's 30,000 mi. service this week and mentioned the shaking problem to the service manager again. After they looked at it, they said that it WAS just due to the fact that the wheels were out of balance. They rotated and balanced the tires, and the shaking problem hasn't happened since (it's only been 2 days, though). However, it was so intermittent in the past that I guess I can't say for sure that balancing the wheels definitely "fixed it". I have to drive it about 700 miles this weekend, though, so I guess I'll have a better idea after that.
There's still a hint (much less than before) of the rumbling noise that accompanied the shaking, but the shaking itself has not reoccurred. I'm guessing that the noise is due to the fact that the stock tires are nearing the end of their useful lives, so I'll probably end up replacing them pretty soon. Hopefully that will take care of it.
Sorry for the long post. Hope this information helps someone else someday.
Thanks to everyone for your comments.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 17
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Car Info: 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX
Same kind of thing happens to me at EXACTLY 30 and 60mph. Took it in and they said it was a problem with the rear diff. and replaced it (also yanking my warranty at the same time, since they felt it was abuse. Not sure that is possible, especially since i baby my STOCK wrx). Anyways, they sent the car home with me only for me to discover that it is still there! Hope it helps knowing it probably isn't the rear diff! But you may already know that!
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From: Driving the Green Beast
Car Info: Version 7.5 2002 STi
I was about to post, rebalance your tires... but I think you got that covered. My old car did that at one point, but it was due to one front rotor being warped slightly.
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Yet another follow-up...
When I was just starting my return trip this weekend (after driving to my destination two nights before that, with NO PROBLEMS), the vibration happened again. I pulled off the highway for about 2 minutes, then got back on and it was gone. It came back for a few minutes a couple hours later, but not as bad as earlier.
When it happened, it felt like it was coming from the front left of the car, but I couldn't tell for sure. Also, when I pulled off the road there was strong pulsation coming from the brake pedal like there would be with severely warped rotors, but when the car is "behaving normally", this pulsation does not exist.
It feels like something comes "loose" on the car, but then after a little break (i.e pulling off the road for a couple of minutes), it feels fine again. Is there anything on a car that could come loose and then "magically" tighten itself up again ? Something heat-related, perhaps? But then again, if it is something heat-related, why does it only happen on very rare occasions and not everytime I drive the car enough to heat it up ? Ugh.... I guess I'm still puzzled.
Since this is my first AWD car, I'm a little nervous about it being one of the differentials too. If it is, I hope it fails in the next 6000 miles because I'm getting a little close to the end of my warranty.
I'll probably replace the tires in a couple of weeks to see if that makes any difference. If nothing else, I guess it will eliminate that as a possibility.
I'll keep you all posted. Until then, any other comments/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks again.
When I was just starting my return trip this weekend (after driving to my destination two nights before that, with NO PROBLEMS), the vibration happened again. I pulled off the highway for about 2 minutes, then got back on and it was gone. It came back for a few minutes a couple hours later, but not as bad as earlier.
When it happened, it felt like it was coming from the front left of the car, but I couldn't tell for sure. Also, when I pulled off the road there was strong pulsation coming from the brake pedal like there would be with severely warped rotors, but when the car is "behaving normally", this pulsation does not exist.
It feels like something comes "loose" on the car, but then after a little break (i.e pulling off the road for a couple of minutes), it feels fine again. Is there anything on a car that could come loose and then "magically" tighten itself up again ? Something heat-related, perhaps? But then again, if it is something heat-related, why does it only happen on very rare occasions and not everytime I drive the car enough to heat it up ? Ugh.... I guess I'm still puzzled.
Since this is my first AWD car, I'm a little nervous about it being one of the differentials too. If it is, I hope it fails in the next 6000 miles because I'm getting a little close to the end of my warranty.
I'll probably replace the tires in a couple of weeks to see if that makes any difference. If nothing else, I guess it will eliminate that as a possibility.
I'll keep you all posted. Until then, any other comments/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks again.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 173
From: New York
Car Info: 2002 WRX wagon
Weird! My "sensation" at about 105 mph on a super-smooth NY parkway (yes, Virginia, there are some) turned out to be the radio antenna vibrating like mad! It sounded like I had been shot and even the wheel shook (vibrated, at least.) in my hands. Cure: Obvious: put down the antenna when you go fast. Honest!
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 720
From: The Hunted Forest
Car Info: Mazda Protege '02 (Wishing protege has AWD and a H6 twin turbo)
Originally Posted by nypatrick
Weird! My "sensation" at about 105 mph on a super-smooth NY parkway (yes, Virginia, there are some) turned out to be the radio antenna vibrating like mad! It sounded like I had been shot and even the wheel shook (vibrated, at least.) in my hands. Cure: Obvious: put down the antenna when you go fast. Honest!
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 48
From: Toronto
Car Info: 2003 wrx
I'll try the antenna trick, my rotors were remachined and the pulsing while braking is gone. Still have a slight rumble feeeling and can feel it more when coasting down a hill. Also felt it as floored it from 100 kms to 150 kms so under power as well. I know it's not the clutch or tranny as it still occurs when clutch pressed in or put in neutral.
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Let me know what the dealer says about it. I could not get a strait answer on the specs for a worn out bearing from the dealer. I have disassembled both the left and right sides of my car and they both feel different. The right side has play in it and the left doesn't. This is with the axles removed and the knuckle refitted to the strut. I was told that the slop in the spindle to knuckle without the axle was normal. I called BS on this as the other side has no slop. I reassembled the suspension and the drove the car and it still shakes. I am at a lose as to what to do next except to start with a new OEM knuckle and buy the tools to press in the bearing myself and see what happens.