Vibrating When Over 65 Mph

[akhtar1817]

Hi guys

as the topic suggests, my IS starts vibrating quite badly as soon as I go over 65MPH. I have had the wheels balanced twice by 2 different garages yet issue persists, the rear drivers side shock absorber is dead, oil leaking I think, can this be the cause?

will be replacing the shocks this weekend btw

geo done by wim a year or so ago so dont think the cause is with alignment

[lexynik]

Could still be balancing or a tyre with a carbunkle or just gone misshaped - different places and machines do find different problems

[mattc]

Could still be inbalanced wheels.

Also as you say suspension bushes, track control arms, ball joints all worth checking.

[true blue]

Hi as said previously,wheel balance is favorite I had this problem a while ago and after a through check 1 wheel was found to be buckled (pot holes again :tsktsk: )check with a straight edge when balance machine is rotating slowly .One tyre may also not be truely round

All O K now but I need a cheap 16 inch as a spare as spare was like new so I replaced bad wheel with that

[lexynik]

would be my guess trueblue - as mattc said though akhtar u should get it all checked though in case its something more serious

[akhtar1817]

would be my guess trueblue - as mattc said though akhtar u should get it all checked though in case its something more serious

thanks for the responses guys, there's also the dreaded knocking sound when going over bumps which i have had checked by at least 3 mechanics and they cant seem to find any issues which is very annoying. I will change the shocks over the weekend and ask the mechanic to check front suspension also including ball joing, drop links, etc, etc

the fact that the rear wheels are not balanced wouldnt cause it would it? normally the steering vibrates quite badly hence balancing front wheels but in this particular case, the steering wheel vibrates, but so does the rest of the car which I'v not experienced before.

...and the car used to be so smooth on the motorway

[mattc]

If the whole car is vibrating then this could be any items and something seroius. Like a suspension component

You should get the rears balanced as well.

[akhtar1817]

If the whole car is vibrating then this could be any items and something seroius. Like a suspension component

You should get the rears balanced as well.

ok, so took it out for a drive over the weekend, up to 100mph and the car was stable, eased of a bit and it started vibrating until back down to 65, backup to 90 and was vibrating again, very strange.

[reeves1985]

this may sound daft but i had a similar problem

have you checked your discs and that you dont have a seized caliper

i had a slightly warped disc on mine coupled with a seized caliper and at 65mph the vibration/judder was terrible

but note it was also bad under braking and dived to one side if i broke hard

also with this problem when i got to about 70-80 the car felt normal

[Mr.Leki]

I had a similar problem,

Warped brake discs,

As you have described it sounds like your wheels are buckled..

If not as the advice has been given above it is something mechanical and everything needs to be checked thoroughly:

track control arm

ball joint

brakes

discs

calipers

drop links

wishbone

[reeves1985]

if the wheels are not buckeled i would put a bet on it being warped disks and a seized caliper!!

warped disks are more common than people think on the is200

[akhtar1817]

if the wheels are not buckeled i would put a bet on it being warped disks and a seized caliper!!

warped disks are more common than people think on the is200

I replaced the discs and pads 3 months ago, mintex discs and lexus pads....

if the wheels are buckled, would rotating them back to front be a good test?

[reeves1985]

i replaced my discs and pads on mine and within 3 months it was back i remember reading that if this hapens it is something to do with the hub what the wheels and discs sit on being warped also

and it it worthwhile checking you dont have a seized caliper

if mine was stood for over a day it woul stick again but as i was trading in and didnt really get what i was after i thought sod it im not going to bother

although in hindsight it maybe was a ok price

it was a 52 plate is200 nav with 95k on clock

slight average reapair on driver door along the crease line (so always see some evidence of repair as its the creaseline)

engine management light on (bank 1 emissions fault maybe o2 but couldnt be sure)

and a weeping brake hose causeing handbrake and trc lights to flash (£60 fix)

got £2600 for her about a month ago so maybe wasnt so bad after all

but i would check your caliper, check discs again and the "hubs" (or whatever there called which the discs attatch too checked)

take tyres to a different shop and have them checked for being buckled then go from there

im affraid its going to be a elimination process which is even more frustrating. I know how you feel

[oedipus]

Hi guys

as the topic suggests, my IS starts vibrating quite badly as soon as I go over 65MPH. I have had the wheels balanced twice by 2 different garages yet issue persists, the rear drivers side shock absorber is dead, oil leaking I think, can this be the cause?

will be replacing the shocks this weekend btw

geo done by wim a year or so ago so dont think the cause is with alignment

If you feel the vibration clearly in your bottom/feet/footwell, it's coming from the rear axle. If you feel it more in your steering, it's probable on the front axle. All tyres should be balanced well of course.

My experiences: I had vibrations on several occasions...

- once at higher motorway speeds (just above 65mph) it proved to be one of my Conti's that had developed a big bump on the inner side on a rear wheel. That had to be sorted immediately, it can cause the tyre to blow, with all possible consequences. At lower speeds, it could almost not be felt, which seems rather strange to me.

- a second time when I had vibrations, it was at lower speeds (20-30mph). That was caused by a warped rim. It was on the back side of the car. After having the rim repaired, it was gone.

- the third time it was due to one of my P Zero Rosso's that was slightly misshaped and which couldn't be balanced out. There was nothing else wrong with the tyre and it still had a lot of rubber on it. The garage has done a rear/front change, with the misshaped tyre put on the front axle. There it could almost not be felt anymore. The reason seems to be that the further away the vibration is from the steering wheel, the more the vibrations are amplified through the chassis. They had clearly made me feel that when the inbalance is on the front axle, you feel it in the steering, when it's at the back, you feel it in the footrest or on the floor of the footwell. The tyre is still on btw.

- the most recent vibration occasion was after my last trackday session at the Nordschleife: warped brakes. The vibrations can be felt under harder braking and increase with the brake force applied. Solution: new rotors.

Hope this helps. I'd recommend you to go to a good tyre shop. Most of the time, they sort these kinds of things quickly.