Francis K

My 97' LX450 vibrates heavily to the point where it's embarassing me in front of my passengers. At first I though i need to rotate the tires. I just had my 30k service and they supposedly rotated the tires, and the problem persisted, could it be that they actually didnt and lied about it? How could I tell if they did? What else could cause this problem, I feel the vibration heavily in the steering wheel and my friend asked me if the car was gonna fall apart driving down the highway to a wrestling meet! Any insight is appreciated, thanks!

RealMarty

Check the balance on the front tires (might as well check all 4) and your alignment. Either could cause vibration in the steering wheel, but if they really did rotate the tires and it's still shaking the your front alignment is suspect. Are the tires wearing unevenly?

Sometimes it can be as simple as tire pressure -- low tire pressure can cause vibration also.

If that's not it start looking for an out-of-round tire or damaged wheel (but that would have given you a shake in the rear that you would feel in the seat of your pants before they rotated the tires).

Francis K

well what if I sent it back to the dealer telling them they didn't perform the 30k properly, isn't the wheel alignment part of it?

RealMarty

Frankly, I don't remember what's included in the 30k (or what you had them do). How long ago was it done? Are you sure you paid for an alignment? Did it vibrate before the 30k? If so, did you tell them about it?

If not, you may be sol. They can always say it happened since it they want to be difficult.

Francis K

and it was happening before the 30k. But no, I never told them about it.

RealMarty

What does the bill say they did? Did they road test it?

Francis K

does that help?

RealMarty

Well, if they road tested it and it was vibrating when you picked it up after the road test, that was a good time to mention it. Wonder if they got over 10 mph during the road test...

Look, if they say they did an alignment and the car is vibrating you have a reason to bring it back and tell them that. But since you didn't tell them about the problem beforehand they may dance out of it (the -- "You must have hit a major pothole 10 minutes after you left the shop. That's not our fault." -- excuse). It's worth a try to bring it back and tell them.

So, try the direct approach and tell them they didn't fix the vibration when they did the 30k. In the best of worlds they'll just smile and fix it.

In the future it would help you and the repair shop if you tell them about problems you are having so they know what areas to look more closely at...and you will have more recourse if they don't fix it. Then, after you pick up the car check out what they were supposed to fix and if they didn't tell your service writer about it and if necessary have him ride with you for a test drive so he can see it for himself.

Francis K

Okay, the said the rotated the tires and checked for alignment in the reicept. Well my cousin, who is a foreign car mechanic, says it's a balance and alignment problem, wasn't that supposed to be taken care of during the 30K?!

DevilDog

First of all, the alignment on a LX450 is nothing more than adjusting the front toe. Nothing else can be adjusted. If they road tested the truck around the block they would not have noticed it. You should have mentioned it to them, or even demonstrated the condition to a technician. That's what I would have done. Take it back and show them the problem. I bet you they won't charge you for the inspection since you just brought it in for a service.