Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Intermittent vibration is back!

Was driving back home from the inlaws last Sunday (about a 2 hour drive) and the front end started that nasty vibration/shake again!
The car ran just fine going up there on I-75 and hit 80 mph several times with no shake.
On the way back, even my wife noticed the shake right before we hit the highway. It did that for a short time, then it disappeared!
I have had this recurring problem since last summer. It seemed to go away after I got new tires. I inspected the front end components and nothing seems to be worn or damaged.

If you hit the wheels to some obstructions on the road, this may bend them resulting in such vibrations. Also, the wheel bolts might be tightened without properly placing the wheel into its place. Try switching the front wheels with rear wheels and see what happens. Also you may do this switch one at a time to see which one is damaged (if any).

Hope this is useful for you.

I tried rotating the tires before with no luck. As for the rims being bent, I think that would cause a constant vibration.
The crazy thing about mine is that it happens only intermittently. One drive last summer, it was so bad, I had to stop the car. Other times, nothing.
New tires did seem to lessen the frequency and severity, however.

I have had the same problem I took it to Firestone and they said it sounds like a tranny problem I did some research online about the tranny and problem and found several possibilities.

1. CV joints
2. TCC solenoid
3. Speed sensor
4. torque converter
5. tranny itself

I just got it back from the tranny shop and they said they were sure it was not the tranny but did get engine codes. I am taking it back to Firestone on friday for further checks but feel it is the speed sensor sending the wrong shift times to the tranny. I have also noticed that it feels like the speedometer is off by 10mph. I will no mre friday and repost.

I am inclined to believe it is either one of the CV joints or possibly the wheel bearings.
But the mysterious thing is that the front end doesn't shake all the time, only on occasion.

I would expect a wheel bearing problem to be consistent. Not all the time, but everytime you turn the wheel a certain direction. Usually they will vibrate when you turn the wheel either left, or right, depending on which wheel is at fault. Also, a wheel bearing vibration should be slight, mainly felt through the steering wheel, not drastic like a wheel out of balance.

I've been fighting a vibration problem myself, for several months. I've corrected probably half a dozen things, all of which helped, but I still have a slight problem. I believe that there can be a lot of things that could cause a slight, almost un-noticeable vibration problem by themselves, and under certain conditions, all of these little vibrations come together to shake the beedoolies out of the car.

In trying to correct my vibration problem, I've replaced both driveaxle/cv units, replaced front and rear motor mounts, aligned all four motor mounts, adjusted the exhaust system, installed front rotors, installed struts, tightened a loose water pump, replaced all four tires, replaced one wheel, replaced ball joints....Heck, I've just about got a new car, and I still have a slight problem.

DanB,

My guess is out-of-round tires, and possibly something in the front end causing uneven wear resulting in out-of-round tires. Find a shop with a Hunter GSP9700 balancer/analyzer and have your wheels and tires checked for balance, out-of-round, runout, force variation, etc. - all the things that the Hunter GSP9700 can find. See this web page for a machine locator.

Good luck!

Scott

Thanks for the input guys. I am very hesitant to just start replacing items without being sure they are bad - mucho dinero and time.
I am leaning toward one or more CV joints and may replace them regardless. I found a place on the internet who sells them cheap called RAXLES. I think i'll take the boots off first to inspect. Maybe that will reveal something.