zicogold

We are experiencing an unusual blast of winter. What is unusual, is that we got relatively high amount of snow during low temperatures, -10 C highs and -15 C lows. Snow normally only falls when temperatures are near freezing.

What happened with the car is that we noticed after a day of this weather a fair bit of vibration that you could feel through the steering wheel and the seat of your pants. I tried clearing the wheel wells and the problem persisted, so the car was put in our garage overnight, that is at or above freezing. There was run-off and some chunks if ice on the garage floor in the morning, but the car is now behaving itself. I figured there was build up of ice in the rim wells. Anyone had a similar experience?

jscgs350

Does the vibration go away after a few miles of driving? Could it be so cold that flat spots developed overnight, and once you've driven around awhile the tires have warmed up just enough to have the flat spots go away? Snow in the wells won't cause the vibration, only something on the wheel would do that. When I lived up North, my G35 sedan experienced what you describe in your post.

sydtoosic

i would blame the ice build up as the culprit. an undercarriage wash would have solved the problem, but you have to go to a carwash to have it done. i don't believe in going to car washes so i would have been riding in a giant vibrator. i'm going to clean my own undercarriage and apply some Hydro 2.

axiom00

Yup..happened to me too and a quick wash removed all the snow/ice from the rim and underbody. No more vibration.

dagwag77

Syd, how do you clean your own undercarriage? Do you use ramps or have access to a lift? Thanks

Flying3

Ice and snow buildup on the wheels can throw of wheel balancing.

zicogold

Yes I wondered about the flats as air pressure in the tires drops off in the cold weather. I had topped up the air in the tires Saturday morning and the problem manifested itself Sunday morning. The problem did not go away after a couple of 15 and 25 km drives. There is both automatic and jet-wand car washes nearby and that will be my next course of action if the problem re-appears.

I think there is sheathing between the chassis and body so there will be a minimum of ice collecting up underneath the car.

Well the temperatures are heading up to well over freezing mid-week and I have a service appointment scheduled for Christmas Eve at the dealer. They will purge, refill and rotate the tires and I will ask for them to inspect for any flat spots.

Rexus300

iTrader: (1)

YEP, build up of snow will cause vibration/shimmy. I had to kick some of the snow off the inner rim to get the car to run smooth on the highway.

JEFFOS69

iTrader: (1)

As already mentioned it's the wheels. Take it to a self service wash bay and blast the wheels.

FishBike

This is very common here in Canada in the winter. All it takes is snow or ice building up unevenly on the wheel. Happens a lot when parked in a snowstorm, where the wind blows the snow into the bottom of the wheel, or even just parking with the wheels in deep snow. Usually you don't notice anything is wrong until you get on the highway, then it feels like the car is going to shake itself apart. I've occasionally been able to "fix" this by dragging the brakes lightly for a little while and getting the heat to melt the snow off. Probably not a good idea as it could easily overheat the brakes, but it has worked.

NoDak

ice buildup is usually harder to see in the inner wheel surface. to knock out snow and ice from this area, i usually buy a cheap wood hammer handle to shove inbetween the rim openings. just be careful and to be mindful of where your weights are located at. they knock off pretty easy when its cold out since the adhesive is cold and brittle.

sydtoosic

you can use a ramp, although it will be a chore as opposed to putting her on a lift. i'm going to do it the hard way and put her on a ramp. i don't trust anybody touching my car. we don't get snow so i won't be under there that long.

hacker_720

It's strange you mention this, I am having the same problem, and I was going to talk to the dealer about it. I am aware of the ice build-up problems, but it has never been this bad. It must be something to do with the rim design as I get vibrations almost every time there is snow. I have only had the car for two weeks (one of which I was away on business) and I have already washed the car 4 times to get rid of the vibration issues.

zicogold

So when were you experiencing the vibrations as about week ago there was a fair bit of snow and low temperatures? Now of course there is temperatures close to or above freezing and a lot o rain and snow.

mickeyt

How do you even drive the LS400 in snowy weather? They are horrible. I don't think snow tires would even help.