Steering wheel vibration nightmare.
 

The vehicle in question is a 6/06 4.8is. Mileage is 81k miles.

Possibly pertinent modifications: Brand new wheels, 2 new Conti DW tires up front, lowered permanently to access height via INPA.

For the past month or so I have slowly developed a horrible steering wheel shake that exists when cruising stictly between 45-60MPH. If i'm over 60 mph, I get the vibration temporarily under throttle, but it goes away when I let off.

2 weeks ago I had a brand new set of style 214s installed and there was no effect. Then, just this past Thursday I had the aforementioned 2 new tires installed at tire kingdom. After the tire install, the vibration was still there with the same symptoms, but seemed slightly worse.

1. I had them double check the balance on the front wheels, and it was initially off by .5oz each side (according to them). After rebabancing them, there was no change. Vibration was still there.

2. They recommended I get a road force balance...I agreed and had it done. Both front wheels were road force balanced, and STILL no change. Still the same horrible vibration/steering wheel shake between 45-60mph and when on the gas.

3. I did the shake test on the front wheels and everything is TIGHT.

So far, I am wondering if something might be wrong with one of the front wheels? This is my first X5, so I also wanted to reach out and ask some of you who have been around these for longer and see if there are any other common things that could explain this with the x5. Something with the front suspension/axles maybe?

I have asked around here at the plant in Greer, and none of the guys have ever heard of anything so bizarre. If anyone has any ideas, i'd greatly appreciate it. Im almost at the point where Im ready to swap an entirely different set of wheels onto it and see if that helps....:(

Thanks for any help in advance. I greatly appreciate it!

You mention style 214's, do you have hub centric rings on them?

Yes. But they are just the cheap plastic ones ECS sent with the wheels. Perhaps you can recommend a better one? I would really like metal ones instead of these. I thought about this too, and on Friday night, we put it up in the air and spun the wheels, and they turned round with very little variation.

FYI- should have alignment checked since you have lowered the vehicle.

Sounds as though you have eliminated balancing as a possibility though it is not unusual that a vibration in a particular speed range is a balancing issue.

I would say it is time to have the front suspension thoroughly checked over.

is there any noise? check ball joints ,sway bar, rubber grommet.tie rode ends,tight?
Also check your front drive- shaft and the gulido,there 6 bolts and the rubber connector ,go online and surf the BMW online parts site.
Good Luck

Sounds like a worn CV on one of the front axles.

correct ,I forget that.

I'm in complete agreement with you that it needs aligned. I was just waiting to see the result of this issue just in case something needed replaced and for a new set of rear tires.

The shake test was good, but I have not individually inspected everything. Depending on everyones feedback here, if there are no obvious things to look for first, I may end up just looking at everything individually.

Is there a way to confirm this/some kind of test to check for it? It would be nice to have some way to verify it before throwing an axle at it.




I forgot to mention earlier that as another symptom, in the 45-60mph window that the steering wheel shakes, if I apply the brakes, the shaking becomes more violent. Every other time they are smooth. The rotors arent even a week old...needless to say I have ruled them out as being related.

I'd vote for checking tie rods and alignment too. Hopefully will expose the culprit!

Tie rods are tight and alignment was done this morning. The alignment did require adjustment but it has not fixed the issue.

My 06 4.8iS had just developed steering wheel vibration between 70-80mph. I have yet to check it out.

You think its balance or driveline related?

what happens if you put it in neutral while it's shaking?

Suggestion of alignment was because you had lowered the vehicle not as something that would be the cause of your problem.

As I understand, your X was fine after the new tires, wheels and lowering for some length of time. The steering wheel vibration has become progressively worse over some period of time.

The vibration happens only when cruising between 45-60. It never starts at a lower cruising speed or a cruising speed over 60.

Does the vibration continue if you accelerate from 60 to 80 or so? Does it matter if the pedal is on the metal or will it happen with slow acceleration?
How many miles after the changes did the vibration begin and how many miles has it taken to get to the current level?

If your balance and alignment are both good, check the air pressure, if the pressure on the 4 tires are different then you'll develop a vibration in the steering. If your air pressure is consistent, find an empty parking lot/straight away and accelerate then make a hard stop, if you dip excessively then you need shocks/struts. Also if while braking your wheels turn to either the left of right that corresponding side may need a tie rod. Another thing you should do is check and top off your P.S. possibly replace the clamp (those single use wear out and cause a pretty significant leak which can cause steering issues) Also use white lithium grease and spray the rack and pinion. Let me know your findings. 14 years working in a tire shop, you learn that even the oddest things that may not be directly related can cause issues.

Also just an FYI if you have 2 different sets of tires or if the tires have a significantly different amount of tread left that can cause steering issues because for example if you have a set of tires with varying tread the coefficient of friction on each wheel, because one set of tires is gripping larger while the other may be gripping less causing a very slight slip. Also if you have cupped tread wear or one side tread wear that will cause vibrations. Some other things you can check are your brakes/rotors, if pads/rotors are excessively worn, aside from being a safety issue it can cause shimmying in the steering. Frozen caliper can also cause this.

I think the odds are extremely low that anything that you have mentioned in this or the previous post would cause the problem or the severity of the problem OP is experiencing.

A vibration that happens only in a given set of conditions is a harmonics issue. At a certain small range of speed all conditions are just right and a vibration occurs. For that to happen something turning or loose must vibrate. In this case that would mean something in the front suspension, tires, wheels or driveline is the problem. Often the same conditions will reoccur at 2X the speed.

Assuming the entire front suspension, tire balance, bent wheel and a deformed tire have been eliminated, I would move on to other potential cause such as CV joints and Guido (either of those should show other symptoms).

That said, because of the conditions and the miles on this X5 I am still leaning toward a suspension part(s) that is wearing out. if that is the case the vibration will expand to a wider range of conditions and just as it has, get worse. Vibration, especially those that are severe will wear or damage associated parts and should not be left unaddressed.