Honda Car Forum

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

> 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.

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

highkm wrote:
> 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.
>
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.

"highkm" <ic3po@mac.com> wrote in message
news:1189521722.027080.63710@r29g2000hsg.googlegro ups.com...
> 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

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)...

On Sep 12, 5:08 pm, "JM" <j...@ns.sympatico.ca.ns> wrote:
> "highkm" <ic...@mac.com> wrote in message
>
> news:1189521722.027080.63710@r29g2000hsg.googlegro ups.com...
>
> > 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
>
> 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

highkm wrote:
> 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.
------------------------------

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

'Curly'

On 9/11/07 9:42 AM, in article
1189521722.027080.63710@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.c om, "highkm"
<ic3po@mac.com> wrote:

> 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.
>

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.

On Sep 13, 12:13 pm, E Meyer <epmeye...@msn.com> wrote:
> On 9/11/07 9:42 AM, in article
> 1189521722.027080.63...@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.c om, "highkm"
>
>
>
>
>
> <ic...@mac.com> wrote:
> > 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.
>
> 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.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

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

highkm wrote:
>> On 9/11/07 9:42 AM, in article
>> 1189521722.027080.63...@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.c om, "highkm"
>[quoted text clipped - 47 lines]
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
>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.

--
Message posted via http://www.carkb.com

loewent via CarKB.com wrote:
> Is it just me, or are Honda's more sensitive to tires being out of balance
> than other cars?

they are more sensitive.


>
> 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?

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.


>
> t
>
> highkm wrote:
>>> On 9/11/07 9:42 AM, in article
>>> 1189521722.027080.63...@r29g2000hsg.googlegroups.c om, "highkm"
>> [quoted text clipped - 47 lines]
>>> - Show quoted text -
>> 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.
>