Honda Civic wobbling at high speed

[swageo]

Hi,

I have observed sort of wobbling when I take my Civic above 140 kmph. Steering shivers, and could feel it in my hand and visible if I take my hands off. But shivering stops, if I release the accelerator, and comes back when I just apply it again.

I recently did wheel alignment in a reputed place, my car has done just 10k km.

Any idea what could be wrong ?

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Wheel balancing should be done. You haven't gone over bad roads at high speeds and damaged your rim as well have you!

[swageo]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Wheel balancing should be done. You haven't gone over bad roads at high speeds and damaged your rim as well have you!

road was goods.. Yes, I haven't done balancing yet. But I am under the impression that it is required only if I take the tyre of the alloy.

What is worrying me is wobbling kind of stops when I release the accelerator. If something was wrong with tyre, then it should have persisted.

[manim]

My whole car used to wobble including the steering wheel when Brakes were applied at high speed. After I changed the front-brake-Discs the problem was solved (Civic-AT).

But you say your car wobbles without brakes? Only the wheels/tyres balancing could be at fault.

[shivred]

its either a wheel balancing issue( your balance weights may have fallen off) or you may have uneven tyre wear

[honda3938]

i had a similar problem with my honda city and it was solved after all the four wheels were balanced.

[Ravveendrra]

Since your car has run only 10K km, warped brake discs can probably be ruled out unless there was a foreign object stuck between the pads and disc or the pads were incorrectly fixed whicy caused the discs to overheat and warp.

The most probable causes are - wheels require balancing, wheels require alignment, uneven tyre wear, bent rims. Have all of them checked as one very often leads to the other and the wobbling never really goes away until all these are put straight.

Cheers,

[flipsyde]

Very unlikely but also get your front wheel bearings checked. Had a very similar issue in my M-1000 ages back. Turned out to be a worn out wheel bearing up front.

[R2D2]

Steering wheel vibrations at speeds of 120+ kmph are normally due to off balance rims. Eliminate this issue and see if it recurs. If it does, then you need to check your wheel bearings/tyres/alloy rims.

[raghu.t.k]

Check your wheel balancing. Had a similar case in my Alto where once the needle crosses the 120 mark, it starts wobbling, else was fine.

It took some convincing and half a day of effort for it to be fixed.

[hellstar]

balance your wheels , if it still persist i would suggest you to let out the air , remove the tyre from the rim and put it back , inflate , balance and try . I had similar issue after putting on my new alloys . The reason could be that the beading may not have been seated properly after a refit . Did you have any punctures on your front tyres?

uneven break pads or the disc can also cause this but 10k is way too fast for that unless like someone pointed out there is some foreign object in the brakes, which can happen .

[ImmortalZ]

Uneven brakes would cause vibrations only on braking. If you experience it while accelerating or coasting, it is possibly the wheel balancing. It could be more serious with a suspension fault, but that is highly unlikely in a car that has run only 10K.

[swageo]

Front tyre and brake pads looks ok. As I said, this vibration stops if I take my feet of the accelerator and comes back when I just apply it back. i.e when engine really put some force on the wheel. I suspect something more than wheel balancing/alignment.

Almost an year back, I had an accident in which an alto hit my left fender. Though it was a real bad hit, only fender got damaged. I did check any marks in alloy to see whether it hit my wheel also, but nothing was obvious. May be something went wrong with this bang..

I am taking my car to Service station. I am tired of my frequent visits.. :(

[navpreet318]

Well the most probable thing seems to be the wheels balancing.get it done again from outside.supervise it yourself.there should only be a single weight stuck on it.some guys stick weights at 2 different places because they make an error in sticking the first one.just remember that the wheels can be balanced dynamically by a single weight.

Next ask them to check the axles.if the driving axles are slightly bent.even by 1 mm they can upset the revolving balance of the axle which can be a cause.

Lastly ask them to check the right side hydraulic engine mount.a few cases have been reported at my local honda A.S.S regarding vibrations and juddering because of this.also a big problem is that if this mount fails we can't even visually see it.it fails from inside and from outside its perfect.

All this i have learnt from the very very friendly service manager/superviser at the local H.A.S.S.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by navpreet318

Well the most probable thing seems to be the wheels balancing.get it done again from outside.supervise it yourself.there should only be a single weight stuck on it.some guys stick weights at 2 different places because they make an error in sticking the first one.just remember that the wheels can be balanced dynamically by a single weight.

I fully agree, independents do a far better job.

Most balancing machines show two weights one on the inside and one on the outside of the rim. Quite often the second weight may also arise because often the weights may be quite a bit off. If teh chap has installed the weight correctly but the weight is incorrect then the second weight will show up right next to it, or diametrically opposite.