Vibration problem even after balancing of tires @ Mazda Dealership

[zmz3]

Hello Everyone,

Mods - I tried searching, but did not find anything relevant. If I am wrong, please merge or link. Thanks

Ok back onto the issue,

I just came back from QEW Mazda after noticing that I have been having some vibration problems (steering, and entire dash area in my front tires,including the pedal area) at highway speeds of around 88-100 km/h.

I told the service rep that the tires are brand new when I got the car, and before we balance, could I have all engine mounts inspected.

20 minutes later, the service rep notifies me that engine mounts are alright, so I go ahead with the balancing of all the tires.

Car was balanced and ready, so when I drove back from Oakville to Hamilton, I noticed that the vibration is really not any better, a tiny improvement at best. The service dept is closed now, however I called and left a msg noting the issue still exists.

My tires are (I know, not the best....)

Hercules MR IV Touring 15inch with steelies.


What are the chances its the engine mounts about to fail? To be honest, I am not sure what the problem could be, other than possibly crappy tires? bad balancing?

Your help is appreciated.

[coriolis]

Could also be warped rims.

[GTA Fine Cars Inc.]

I was planning to say warped rims as well before reading this response.
You may want to have that checked !


Could also be warped rims.

[07m3gt]

the dealer would have notified him if one of the rims were bent. maybe the tire has a flat spot?

[bluemazda3]

check your alignment lately?

[Skip]

I had the same issue, went from getting the wheels/tires balanced, to checking the wheel bearings...alignment..but when i got those tires taken off, and winters put on..the car is dead silent and perfectly smooth. I would check with uneven tire wear/improper balancing. Good luck, and I know how much of a pain it can be to hear those kind of noises

[sol_searchin]

wheel balance, shitty tire's or engine mount. I'm in the same boat, mine started today FFS!

[zmz3]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

In order of mentioning:

- With regards to the warped rims, that's possible, but I would suspect the dealer would check for that...
- As for the alignment, I was told it's fine. Car doesn't pull to any side and can go straight for a bit if the road is decent

I do think that the tires could play a role in this, but I am not ruling out the engine mounts (on their way to death?) or not a great balancing job. With regards to the balancing job, I have yet to receive a call back regarding the message I left on Sunday and I also emailed Tiffany about it, so there shouldn't be a "Ohh the message was not in the phone system etc"

On a side note, I did see a recognition from Mazda Canada at QEW Mazda's service center with regards to their mechanics getting the job done right the first time. Let's hope that was the case for my balancing.

Will keep you guys posted as updates come in.

[Skip]

have you tried swapping those tires/rims out? If you have another set or a friend with a set you could at least isolate it to just the rim/tires. Also you can try rotating the wheels, see if the noise transfers to the back, then you can narrow it down to one of the 2 front wheels thats giving you issues

[Iceman_F1]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

In order of mentioning:

- With regards to the warped rims, that's possible, but I would suspect the dealer would check for that...
- As for the alignment, I was told it's fine. Car doesn't pull to any side and can go straight for a bit if the road is decent

I do think that the tires could play a role in this, but I am not ruling out the engine mounts (on their way to death?) or not a great balancing job. With regards to the balancing job, I have yet to receive a call back regarding the message I left on Sunday and I also emailed Tiffany about it, so there shouldn't be a "Ohh the message was not in the phone system etc"

On a side note, I did see a recognition from Mazda Canada at QEW Mazda's service center with regards to their mechanics getting the job done right the first time. Let's hope that was the case for my balancing.

Will keep you guys posted as updates come in.

How old are the tires? I know you said tires were new when you got the car but if you didn't notice anything before, how long had you been driving on them since you got them? Also, did you get an alignment or are you just going by feel? You could not have any pull or it can go straight if you leave it alone but that doesn't mean that everything is fine with the alignment unless you check it. You could have something slightly off which is causing abnormal tire wear on one of the tires. At first it would seem fine but then as one degrades faster than the others, you start to get that vibration.

This is what happened with mine. I had a used set of tires and over time, it became apparent that either the tires had abnormal wear or something was wrong with my alignment that cause them to vibrate. There was no vibration when I first got the tires but it happened over time.

Tiffiany is usually pretty good at getting back to people but sometimes it's taken her awhile as A) she's not in every day and B) is usually very busy when she is in calling people/responding to email/dealing with people in the dealership. If you still haven't heard back, give her another call. I'm pretty sure she'll try to work something out to help narrow down the problem as that's what she did for me when I had this issue in the summer.

I've so far found that the notice from Mazda Canada about their dealership getting it right the first time has been true for as long as I've been going there. They've been quick to notify me of any upcoming issues and if I didn't like their first work or an unseen issue popped up after, they've been quick to listen and deal with it appropriately.


have you tried swapping those tires/rims out? If you have another set or a friend with a set you could at least isolate it to just the rim/tires. Also you can try rotating the wheels, see if the noise transfers to the back, then you can narrow it down to one of the 2 front wheels thats giving you issues

+1 for this! This helped me narrow down my problem last year.

[Rapster]

I would think that since you just took them in and the mechanic put them on the machine to balance them he/she would have noticed if there was:

A. A bent rim
B. A tire wearing unevenly
C. A tire with a shifted belt

Could be a bad balance job, or could be something in your suspension. Did you get them to check out ball-joints/tie-rod ends? If you have a loose tie-rod you'll get a vibration.

[TheMAN]

inspecting the motor mounts alone is not enough to determine if they cause the vibrations... the TSB must be followed for repositioning of the powertrain and if that doesn't work, mount replacement.... that's right, there's that special TSB for the 90km/h vibration... and it has nothing to do with broken mounts.... I'd go back and have them follow that TSB

if the wheels were statically balanced, it could explain the existence of vibration... all wheels should be dynamically balanced, and if they weren't, the dealer/tech was being lazy!
if the wheels are dynamically balanced, then they road force balanced to check for tire defects

if you have aftermarket wheels that are not hub centric and you are not using centring rings, then that is also a probable cause for vibrations.... all mazdas are designed to use hub centric wheels, and using lug centric wheels will cause vibrations!

[zmz3]

Thanks everyone for your help.

The tires were installed brand new when I bought the car a month ago. They were also balanced, but clearly not half as decent.

I forwarded my concern to Jason, and he as usual, was great. He texted me the moment I sent the email notifying that he received it and assured me that it will get fixed. Within few hours, Tiffany scheduled me in and apologized for the incomplete job and made sure that it will be resolved, free of charge. And if needed, a replacement vehicle for use while in repair, also free of charge. Impressive team to say the least!

They will rotate the tires, check the alignment and the mounts again, I attached the relevant TSB regarding the cruising speed vibration. I mentioned all that suggestions that you guys told me about in order of relevance in my email to Tiffany. I hope it gets fixed this time around.


Thanks again for everyone contributing, much appreciated!

I will keep you posted. Appointment is upcoming Tuesday morning.

[zmz3]

I would think that since you just took them in and the mechanic put them on the machine to balance them he/she would have noticed if there was:

A. A bent rim
B. A tire wearing unevenly
C. A tire with a shifted belt

Could be a bad balance job, or could be something in your suspension. Did you get them to check out ball-joints/tie-rod ends? If you have a loose tie-rod you'll get a vibration.

Included in the email to Tiffany. They will check for that.

Thanks for tip!

[zmz3]

inspecting the motor mounts alone is not enough to determine if they cause the vibrations... the TSB must be followed for repositioning of the powertrain and if that doesn't work, mount replacement.... that's right, there's that special TSB for the 90km/h vibration... and it has nothing to do with broken mounts.... I'd go back and have them follow that TSB

if the wheels were statically balanced, it could explain the existence of vibration... all wheels should be dynamically balanced, and if they weren't, the dealer/tech was being lazy!
if the wheels are dynamically balanced, then they road force balanced to check for tire defects

if you have aftermarket wheels that are not hub centric and you are not using centring rings, then that is also a probable cause for vibrations.... all mazdas are designed to use hub centric wheels, and using lug centric wheels will cause vibrations!

I mentioned that to Tiffany in my email. They will check the TSB as well.

Thank you for the input

[zmz3]

have you tried swapping those tires/rims out? If you have another set or a friend with a set you could at least isolate it to just the rim/tires. Also you can try rotating the wheels, see if the noise transfers to the back, then you can narrow it down to one of the 2 front wheels thats giving you issues

Yeah I have tried rotating it, the vibration was still there, but not as bad. It could still be balancing? Not sure. Although they will rotate the tires and keep determining the issue.


Thank you for your input