Hey guys,

On the way to work yesterday morning, I had a bad encounter with a decent sized rock on the road. It was about 5" x 5" or so I'd imagine (I can't say for sure, though, as I only saw it for a brief moment). I was in moderate traffic, just keeping up with the pace (65mph or so), and by the time the SUV in front of me passed it, I nailed it. I didn't have a chance to try to avoid it, and it jolted me pretty hard. I looked back, and watched as other people tried to dodge it as well. Anyhow, I pulled off as soon as I could to check the damage. I couldn't see anything, other than where the tire hit the rock (right at the corner, where the tread meets the wall).

On the way home from work yesterday, I thought I could feel a little vibration while turning to the right (on the highway, at around 65mph again). Today, I could feel it even more. It's also not constant. It vibrates for 2 seconds or so, then doesn't for a second, and then again for 2 seconds. It's not shaking the steering wheel out of my hands or anything, but I can feel it, even through the floor a little.

So, my question is: what the heck did I mess up? I'm not sure what would cause the vibration - steering, suspension, wheel, tire, any of them?

I'm going to call the dealership as soon as I know a little more about what the problem may be.

BTW. My car is an 06 Touring 6SPD if that helps.

Thanks guys,

Matthew

 

did you see any damage to the rim itself? Even a small indention in the profile of the tire can cause vibrations...might need a new tire.

 

No, I can't see anything wrong with the rim. There are no cracks, buldges, etc, that I can see. Not even a little scratch.

 

a. You bent a wheel.
b. Front end is no longer aligned properly.
c. You bent a suspension component.

 

is part of the rock still stuck? one time i ran over a bunch of rubble and i had this NASTY sound. It was a twig stuck in the frame.

 

Dang, I don't like the sound of any of those. If I can't find anything stuck up in there like plumpzz suggested, what do I do? I guess I go to the dealership? Are these things that are covered by warrenty? I don't know about under the circumstances, though. How much do I tell them?

Thanks,

Matthew

 

I would check things out more carefully before going to the dealer. If you really just want to take it in, tell the service writer only, that there is a vibration @ speed X and a vibration while turning, but it's intermittent. Not that, going to the dealer will do much good. If the technician is any good at all, they will figure out what happened. This should be an out-of-pocket expense. If this becomes an expensive repair, you could get this covered under your comprehensive insurance coverage. After you pay your deductable. If the dealer is desperate for warranty work, you might get lucky.

Is the vibration only while going straight or only turning, or both?

Have you jacked up the car and checked all the wheels' run-out? This means spinning the tire while in the air and watching for irregularities. Are the wheel bearings making loud noises (grinding).

Have you inspected all control arms, tie-rods? Have you inspected shocks for impact markings, bends, or oil leakage?

Have you inspected the driveshaft for impact and run-out checked?

If you did hit a rock, you should be able to see some tell tale signs. There should be white/gray markings at the impact points on the car.

This should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Let us know what you find.

Please remember to use jackstands, while checking wheels etc. If you don't know where to put them please ask. GL

 

Easily to determine whether rubber/tire or metal.

Hold a steady speed with vibration, as the tire warms up it's diameter psi changes thus vibration frequency changes........wheels don't change much, however a badly warped rotor will change as you apply brakees and eventually heat it up.

Automotive vibration meters work by reading frequency and intensity this is cross referenced to rotational frequency and vehicle speed charts and pinpoints component.

http://www.vibrationdata.com/software.htm

Consider some component 26" tire that has 800 revolutions per mile at 60 mph.........800/60= 13.33 HZ..........one bad spot will yield a 13.3 HZ vibration at 60 mph [2 bad sports 13.3 and 26.6 and 40 hz depending upon spacing around tire].
As the test speed goes up in mph the frequency goes up

 

I think you just might send him over the edge of sanity with that. Play nice.

 

techcontrol: Ok, thanks for the info. I'd have to stop by a shop to have most of the things you mentioned checked out as I don't have a decent jack, stands, etc.

I think most of your questions pertain to damage caused by the rock hitting other parts of the car. By the mark on the tire, I hit the rock right at the corner of the tire, where the tread and wall meet, and I'm almost positive that the rock got ejected out to the side of the car. There is no damage to the wheel well or anything that I can see when the car's just sitting. The mark on the tire was more dirt from off the rock than anything, and I was able to wipe it off with my finger.

The answer to your first question, though, is: I can barely feel it while going straight - it's mainly turning to the right. I don't feel it too much at slower speeds either. Mainly > 50mph or so is where I can feel it. Again, it's not a horrible vibration. Nothing I can hear, or hard enough to make any noises in the car. It I can just feel it, mainly through the floor.

I hope this info helps. The more I talk about it, the more it doesn't seem that bad, but something did happen, as the vibration wasn't there before.

Thanks.

 

Just an update:

I took my car to the dealership today, and a guy took it for a drive (with me along). We were able to reproduce the vibration, and his answer for it was normal tire wear. The car only has 5,000 miles on it. Is this normal?

Maybe hitting the rock had nothing to do with it. Or maybe he guessed wrong?

Haha.

 

In other words....he didn't feel like fuggin with it.

 

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead! Anyone know the OP or if he's still around(looks like he disappeared over a year ago)? I'm having the same exact problem. Wondering if the problem was ever fixed when he changed out the tires.

Wasn't able to avoid a 4x4 piece of wood (i think) on the freeway on the way to work and nailed both front and rear passenger side wheels going about 65-70. Both front and rear wheels now have scrapes on the outer rims from whatever I hit (they don't look bent). Doesn't look like any damage was caused to any other part of the underside just the wheels. Now when I'm going over 60+ and merging the car to the right I can feel a vibration from the wheels. Can't feel it much when going straight and not at all when merging to the left. I took the car to Discount Tire to see if the wheel needed to be rebalanced and they said they weren't seeing any real issues. If anyone has had similar issues or knows the OP it would really help to know what the solution was. I think it's the tire but its expensive to swap out and be wrong. Any help is appreciated!


Oh and my car is an '08 with only 4,000 miles on it...