Hey guys, it's probably been said a million times. I am having vibrations at around 40mph and up 80s give or take. The car is an AWD, auto and has 161k miles. Just bought it used from 1 owner. What are some things i should be looking for? The drive shaft support bearing? I'm going to check the wheel bearings for all 4 in a day or so. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

-had the wheels rebalanced, it helped a little but is still very noticeable.

 

I'm having the same problem with my 2006 IS250 also AWD. if you find the problem can you lmk. If i find somthing ill post it

 

For both you I'd recommend you ask to watch the tire balance process personally and tell them you are looking for repeatability in their balance. i.e. don't allow them to PULL OFF existing weights. Spin them up, as is and show you what amount they are off.

While spinning look for inner and outer wheel run out. The lip and bead area should never move. Do the same with the tire. If there is runout on the rim, you have a bent rim which is pretty common on cheap aftermarket wheels. OEM wheels are pretty durable but potholes can be brutal.

If the wheel is good but the tire has run out, maybe you replace or run it until the tread is gone. Up to you how bad it vibrates..

FWIW: worn bearings, ball joints, and shocks do not cause vibrations. They will allow an existing problem to amplify but rarely are they the source.

Look at the reciprocating components for oddities. Example is rust on the hub so the rotor isn't true, thus the wheel isn't running true. If some has had the driveline out, verify it is assembled correctly and that the rubber couplers are not damaged.

That's where I'd start.

 

I have a 2011 AWD

Several years ago I was experiencing weird vibrations, tire tramlining, and overall poor ride ....I couldn't figure out what it was. I checked for out of round tires, unbalanced wheels, leaking shocks, loose suspension parts but couldn't find anything.

At the end, I replaced the LCA bushings with RCF ones and it made a huge difference in the ride quality.

 

I did just notice 3 of the tires are the same and 1 is different tread pattern/brand. Not sure how much of a difference that could cause.I was driving yesterday and it seems like the beginning of vibrations starts very softly at 40 and increase at about 50-75 and once I'm cruising at 80 it seems fine or very minimal. When it's in the most intense vibration the driver and rear view mirror are vibrating so much everything is blurry but the passenger mirror stays normal? I put my hand where the driveshaft hump is in the car when it's happening and it feels like it's right there.

the struts are perfect. Haven't checked much else yet. I will be checking the drive shaft as well as the wheels.

 

I'm experiencing it too. It's probably a bent wheel. See if any wheel has more weights than the others. If they aren't road forced balanced.

I'm waiting on a new set of wheels. So once I get them mounted. I hope the vibration is gone. One thing you can do is check for rust build up on the hubs. Making sure the wheels are clean of debris as well.

Another make sure wheels are properly torqued. I mount the wheels raised. Then lower just enough to prevent wheel spin, and torque to 76ft lbs. In a star pattern. About 3 times each wheel. Then after 100 miles or so torque again. This has eliminated some vibration. I still get it above 90 mph. Maybe some tramiling due to running wider tires 245's.

 

I just realized mine vibrates between 40 and 100 km/h and engine speed is between 1000 and 2000 rpm. someone told it might be transmision, i really hope its not

 

I was going to take it in again to discount tire, which they say they use a hunter road force balance to see if there is issues with the rim. I'll check the weights when I go out to the car. Thanks everyone.

what are the stock rims for the 07 Lexus is250? Mine have some scrapes, nothing huge but noticeable on the rims like they ran against the curb parking which they painted over. I love other people's headaches! Hahah

 

I mentioned rust under the hubs forcing a rotor/wheel wobble. That said, this should be detectable via soft pedal and wheel wobble.. For cars ran I winter salt it is a real thing!

It can be checked by securing nuts to the studs that clamp the rotor down and place a dial indicator on the rotor. Although not 100% confirmation, it will give some information they need.

I.e. meaning, although rotor runout may not be rust related, it could be part of another problem that needs addressed.

 

I just checked my tire tread amount and 3 of them are very bad (the 3 that match) the other 1 has very good tread but is a different tread style. Could this place a part in any of this or keep checking other things?

btw, the brake pedal feels very firm, no spongy or soft at all. It's actually very nice.

thank you.

edit: looks like in a week or so I'll be going to discount tires to get all new tires and have them balance them. If that's completed and the problem still persists, I'll start more thorough checking of parts.

 

Update:
went and purchased 4 new tires. Had them balanced on the road force machine. It helped the vibration ever so slightly but it's very much still there. Now the fun begins.

this weekend l am checking the wheel bearings, brake components and front axles for any damage. I'll keep posting here to hopefully shed some insight onto what the vibration was once it's fixed.


edit 2: I checked both front wheel bearings. No play either side, ball joints are tight. I did notice the passenger front tire had quite a bit of resistance when trying to turn compared to the driver side, this is with both wheels off the ground and supported.

a) side note. Had my temp gun and the driver side rotor was about 30-40* cooler than the passenger side after a short 10 min drive with normal braking.

axles looked good with no play in them.

I'm going to pull the brakes apart and see if there's any issues with that. At this point I'm kind of at a loss.

Any other suggestions regarding the vibration?

 

I've looked through many vibrations threads. Not much help there. Does anyone else have any other ideas??

exact symptoms:
0-30mph it's smooth
30+ I can hear it start to slowly go woom woom
at 45 up to at least 100 mph its steady vibrations and the driver/rear view mirror are steady vibrating but passenger is clear nothing, no vibration.
can be felt in the steering wheel not in the brakes when pressed though, it's smooth.
Closer to 80-100 mph the vibrations lessen a little.

I had an AWD Mitsubishi Eclipse 1991. There's no way that thing ran smoother than this "luxury" car....

 

Do you see any cracks on the LCA bushings?

I tell you I had a hell of a time troubleshooting my rough ride and found out it was the LCA bushings.

 

Maybe try swap the front wheel around, and see if the vibration follow the wheel. I had the samilar issue like yours before, it was a combination of sized caliper and unbalancee wheel at the front driver side.

 

I didn't see any when I was doing the wheel bearing check but when I pull the brakes off I will definitely be looking closer at the control arm bushings/ball joints. It's so weird, it's smooth up until about that 40 and has a vibration that's pretty steady. Can feel it slightly in the steering whee but it mainly the vehicle itself. The mirrors are shaking, feels just not right.

thanks for the idea!