Steering Vibration

[OKCXC70]

I have an 04 XC70 with 75K miles that has recently developed a vibration at 70+mph. I have the dreaded Pirelli's. I have about 8K miles on the set. After three unsuccessful balances by two different places of business, I sought out the road force balance. I had a road force balance in late Sept and they determined that one of the tires is barely within spec. but that it was safe. That tire is currently on the right rear. I went to the independent service place that did the balance after a long drive to Kansas City and back when the vibration was back. They took the tires off and checked the balance but said they were fine and put them back on. I took a drive with the mechanic when he could not detect the vibration himself. On the drive, I could barely feel it again. They said they didn't do anything, but if they did, they didn't charge me. They are suggesting that if I want to ditch the Pirelli's, they recommend Kumho. Their other suggestion is very expensive tranny work. They say that until it becomes more pronounced, they will have a hard time diagnosing the problem. I had two sets of Pirelli's while stationed in Germany and had absolutely no problems with them besides the fact they don't last very long. That's why I got a third set. I will add that I have not had a front alignment in about 40K miles and have never had a four wheel alignment. It has not been suggested to me that anything is wrong with the front end, only the rear drive shafts or something like that.
There is another independent place on the North side of the city; I might go get their opinion on the situation since the vibration is becoming more pronounced. However, these were guys who serviced my XC70 and never noticed a bad wheel hub. I will only go to Volvo of OKC under extreme duress. I would drive to Tulsa or Dallas first. So, if anyone has anymore constructive advice for me or Loma besides change tires, I'd love to hear it. It is nice to know I'm not crazy and that other people have this problem!!

[OKCXC70]

Loma,
Did you get new tires? Anything new to report?

[Loma Prieta]

Loma,
Did you get new tires? Anything new to report?

See my initial post for full details. Thanks to all of you for your valuable insight. New tires are on.

In summary, I have vibration through the steering wheel of an '07 XC70 occurring at speeds above 65 mph. The vehicle was purchased new, scheduled services are followed, don't go off road, and in an effort to keep the vehicle for many years, I do not "tax" the vehicle or drive in an overly enthusiastic manner. Volvo Service has told me the vibration is a tire thing, and I should replace the orig tires (Pirelli STR). They were not interested in exploring what might cause this problem or that I previously owned XC70s with similar problem or that the loaner car they just gave me vibrated. They said the tires were not bad and wearing normally.

Multiple balances and road-force balances did not fix the problem, but changed the character of the vibration--from 70 mph to 55 and back again. A different Volvo dealership re-rotated the tires back to the position that resulted in minimal vibration. Excellent deduction and problem-solving, Volvo! Way to go! Pardon the sarcasm here, but a luxury vehicle should quite simply drive like one.

I owned an '02 XC70 with the same problem, which by the way, was found by Volvo to have a faulty/improperly wearing arm or bushing (I cannot recall exactly, but think it contained a ball of sorts). Nevertheless, the faulty part was happily replaced by Volvo and for the next few thousand miles the high-speed vibration was dampened before the shaking returned. The same part was replaced a couple times before I traded the vehicle in on the purchase of the current '05.

To qualify the vibration I speak of in the '05, it causes your hands to feel slightly "stingy" after 90-mins highway driving. Like when your foot falls asleep and blood again begins flow? That tingling sesation? Who-ahh!

Additionally, I experienced wheel vibration in one of the XC70 loaner cars. So between that and from folk on this forum who also have streering vibration problems, I knew I wasn't imagining things.

Here's what I did: I replaced the Pirellis after 48,000 miles. I've had the vehicle for 3.5 years and could have kept going on original rubber--tires had life in them. After much feedback and research from the forum though, I went with Yokohama AVID TRZ. Purchased from Tire Rack. The tire's H-rating--the sidewall stability-- is lower than OEM. Tire Rack was good to point out to me that curves might feel squishy. An aside: I do like the quieter ride and suppose the existing vibration is somewhat absorbed/dampened by the new rubber.

You know what? The vehicle feels as it did on Day 1--a slight vibration in the wheel at high speed. Not worth bringing to Volvo's attention. I'll live with it.

I don't want a fight with Volvo seeking Nirvana, but feel I may now be repeating the first 48,000 miles. I hope this vibration truly was entirely a tire issue, but history indicates that I should doubt it.

Who else has a vibrating steering wheel? Let's all shake together.

[nick i]

Our recently acquired 05 XC70 had a vibration which started at 100 kph on. Despite a four wheel balance and four wheel alignment there is little change.

I pumped 40psi into the front tyres and 36psi in the rears and would you believe, there was less vibration. Why - who knows?

Under warranty the dealer replaced the lower control arm bushes and the top engine mount bush was badly cracked. The dealer said that this would make a big difference in reducing the vibration.

I have yet to drive it, and will report the result.

It seems the Pirellis are problematic. I also wonder what impact constant vibration has on other components - would this cause premature wearing of suspension bushes, drive shafts etc, thus further agravating the initial problem.

Over here in AU I have been recommended Cooper Tyres by the importer, when I need replacements. The suggestion is a Cooper Tire designed for touring and all wheel drive, Model CS4 215/65R16. They come with a 80,000 klm warranty.

Cheers .. Nick

[wakebums]

When we first got our 02xc70 it had a slight shake also. So we replaces the tires. It only lasted a week. So on this forum someone told me to replace the cv joint or half axle. Which made it hard due to we did'nt know which one it was. So we took a gamble and got a great deal for the half shaft.. We didnt install it for like a month due to I could not figure it out. (At least that what I told the wife, I was to busy) The shaking then got real, real bad.. So I took it to our local shop and they changed it out for 120.00. The car worked PERFECT! Thats all it was! And I at first thought it was my tires.. Even though the half shaft looked new.. It was all messed up.. Hope this helps..

[OKCXC70]

I bought an 08 at the end of Dec of 08 (the car was mfg in April 08). When we test drove it there was a slight vibration that could be felt in the seat, not in the steering wheel. We had them check it and when we went to pick it up, they said they had checked the tires and it was fine. Well, it seemed fine when we test drove it again so we took it home. Within a week, the vibration was more pronounced. So we took it to the dealer and they said they balanced the tires and the guy even said to me "We believe we have fixed the problem". I politely said that I would be the judge of that and would bring it back if it started vibrating again. Which it did. So this time they do a road force balance and discovered that one of the brand new tires on the the back has a value of 78. Apparently, the value should be much lower, like around 13 or something. The other rear tire had a value of 32. The front tires were fine. Both rear tires were replaced and it is perfect now. These were brand new tires, the car only had about 30 miles on it when we bought it. They are Continental 4x4-contact 235/55/17. I guess my point is that while for some it might be a half-drive shaft problem, I would still try the tires first and just because they are brand new doesn't make them perfect. I think the road force balance is the answer. All four tires must be close to the same value. That is the key! If you swap the tires front to back and the vibration follows the tires, its the tires. A road force balance will tell you if it is the wheel or the tire.

[Loma Prieta]

In late 2008 I asked this forum about steering vibrations in my 05 XC70. Many suggestions were offered, mostly about tires. I bought four Yokohama Avid TRV from tire rack as replacements for the original Pirelli scorpions that were believed by many on this forum to be causing an annoying high-speed steering wheel vibration. They had 45,000 miles on them, none off road.

Initially, a new vibration was noticeable at about 65 mph, but was eliminated by adjusting pressure only slightly in all four tires. Eleven months later, say 16,000 miles, there is a slight vibration felt in the wheel (not seat, thank you) at approx 70 mph, but this vibration is not numbing over a drive of three hours. One of my original points was that a $43,000 vehicle should not have steering vibration, but hey, it's not the Space Shuttle is it?

The Yokohama tires make a different sound from the Pirelli, to some this might be annoying at first, but I no longer notice it. There's also no problem in deep snow 14" plus.

Overall, I give high marks to these tires. Thanks to all for your help.

Loma Prieta is quiet until the next rumbling begins.[/FONT]

[sparkplug]

I have a 2003 XC70 and i just replaced the rack with a re manufactured unit with a 24 month warranty. After the install i get a shudder momentarily when I turn left after taking my foot off the accelerator while slowing down. I have checked the ATF fluid in the system and all seems fine. The shudder occurs intermittently and not on a consistent basis.
Any suggestions?
2003 XC70 75,000 miles

[BillAileo]

Although some of the owner's manuals state ATF goes in these units, its incorrect. The proper fluid is Pentosin 11S. I doubt, however, that this is causing what you describe. Perhaps the lock to lock exercise described in this thread might help:

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showth...ng+rack&page=2

[Ocean Racer]

Take the Beach Boys cd out of the player