Vibration While Cruising

[TomCt]

On Sat I went to Sears for 4 new tires. While there, I also had the front rotors re-surfaced and the brake fluid flushed out. Since then, there is a very noticeable vibration when cruising at speeds anywhere from 35 on up. I took the car back for 2 re-balances, yet no improvement. I finally had different tires put on, but no change. Now the only thing I can think of is that the brake job somehow initiated this problem. I do know that the emergency brake drums on my rear brakes are out-of-round because I get a similar vibration if I cruise with the emergency brake engaged.

Could the fluid flush / bleed have affected the position of the emergency brake shoes in relation to the drums, thus rubbing and causing the vibration? This is the only thing I can think of.

Any ideas?

[crashman]

On Sat I went to Sears for 4 new tires.  While there, I also had the front rotors re-surfaced and the brake fluid flushed out.  Since then, there is a very noticeable vibration when cruising at speeds anywhere from 35 on up.  I took the car back for 2 re-balances, yet no improvement.  I finally had different tires put on, but no change.  Now the only thing I can think of is that the brake job somehow initiated this problem.  I do know that the emergency brake drums on my rear brakes are out-of-round because I get a similar vibration if I cruise with the emergency brake engaged.

Could the fluid flush / bleed have affected the position of the emergency brake shoes in relation to the drums, thus rubbing and causing the vibration?  This is the only thing I can think of.

Any ideas?

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"Sometimes" when the rotors are removed there will be a piece of rust or some other kind of debris that will be between the hub and the rotor, and that will give you a vibration.

THE crashman

[steviej]

is the vibration in the entire car or do you feel it most in the steering wheel?

If the vibration is in the car and not the steering wheel, then try this: move the rear wheels to the front and the front wheels to the rear positions. Then go drive as speeds where you would feel the vibraiton. If the vibration is now in the steering wheel, then I would suspect the wheels that are now mounted on the front. If the vibration remains in the entire car and not in the steering wheel, then it may be rotor related and not specifically wheel/tire related.

Another suggestion would be to find a wheel shop that has the Hunter RoadForce balancing machine. This machine applies a pressure to the rotating wheel as it is balanced to emulate the force of the road on the tire while it is spinning. Many tire shots just do a routine spin balance that does not apply this additional pressure on the tire, so what is balanced in the shop may not feel balanced in actual use.

steviej

[TomCt]

I made an appointment at the Toyota dealer to have them diagnose. Indeed they used the Road Force Tester and found the rear tires bad! Can you believe it? Two full sets, the first set was Kumho and the second set was Bridgestone, and both sets had bad tires in them. I guess you get what you pay for! Anyway, I went back to Sears with the dealer report and settled for Michelins.

Thanks for the replies!

[91L3xus]

When you get your tires balanced, small weights are added to the rim to help even out the weight of the rim on the hub. I've seen them on all of our cars (toyota/Lexuses that we have owned/ currently own). So check if you have small weights on the edge of the rim and the tire. The place you took it to might not add that kind of balance.

See picture; yellow circle is an example of a weight. On our 2 Toyotas, 1 Lexus and 1 Volvo, weights range from "5" to "50", not sure what measurement though.

[LexKid630]

When you get your tires balanced, small weights are added to the rim to help even out the weight of the rim on the hub.  I've seen them on all of our cars (toyota/Lexuses that we have owned/ currently own).  So check if you have small weights on the edge of the rim and the tire.  The place you took it to might not add that kind of balance.

See picture; yellow circle is an example of a weight.  On our 2 Toyotas, 1 Lexus and 1 Volvo, weights range from "5" to "50", not sure what measurement though.

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I too always wondered what those things on the rims were....on my rx300 each rim has a different size weight LOL

[91L3xus]

That's because each wheel is not created perfectly, so it needs a little more wieght in certain positions to balance it out.

[SW03ES]

They also mayuse stick on interior weights which are fine, most modern wheels can't have exterior weights put on anymore.

I'm sure its a balance issue, Lexus are very hard to balance properly and I've had problems with Sears before. Let the dealer balance them or find someone with a road force balancing machine.