New P5 owner that needs help

[stiWRC]

I just bought a used 03.P5. It has 80Kms, and all feels great untill I hit around 115kmph. The steering wheel then starts to vibrate. I'm not sure what the problem is.
I had the two front tires balanced hoping to fix the prob, but it didn't. Also the vibrating doesn't seem to be as apparent when going around bends, but this could be due to the fact I am putting pressure on the steering wheel.
I was told it could be the tie rod ends, but when i got the tires rebalanced the mechanic said they look fine, plus the steering isn't sloppy. He suggested a tire alignment.
I am not sure how this will help but am considering it because the car does pull slightly to the left. Any help or suggestions would be awesome, I love cars but am just getting into fixing them myself, so i don't know too much. I also noticed the the previous owner put new tires on, Firestone Potenza's 205's, could this be the prob????

 

[Moonman8]

I just bought a used 03.P5. It has 80Kms, and all feels great untill I hit around 115kmph. The steering wheel then starts to vibrate. I'm not sure what the problem is.
I had the two front tires balanced hoping to fix the prob, but it didn't. Also the vibrating doesn't seem to be as apparent when going around bends, but this could be due to the fact I am putting pressure on the steering wheel.
I was told it could be the tie rod ends, but when i got the tires rebalanced the mechanic said they look fine, plus the steering isn't sloppy. He suggested a tire alignment.
I am not sure how this will help but am considering it because the car does pull slightly to the left. Any help or suggestions would be awesome, I love cars but am just getting into fixing them myself, so i don't know too much. I also noticed the the previous owner put new tires on, Firestone Potenza's 205's, could this be the prob????

If it pulls, then definitely get the alignment, $60-$90 (U.S.) depending on the shop.

Do you know if the wheels were static balanced or dynamic balanced? Dynamic is where the weights are placed on the inner and outer side while static is just on the inner. Dynamic is definitely the most accurate.

If the tie rods are fine and the steering isn't sloppy then it's something with the wheel/tire I think. Hopefully it's not a bent rim but that would show up as a "throw-out error" on the wheel balancing machine, so I don't know.

Alignment would be the easiest thing to check. When I get an alignment, I ask for printouts of the before and after specifications so I can tell how out-of-whack the alignment was and also to ensure that the tech actually did something worth paying for.

 

[Batman]

I just bought a used 03.P5. It has 80Kms, and all feels great untill I hit around 115kmph. The steering wheel then starts to vibrate. I'm not sure what the problem is.
I had the two front tires balanced hoping to fix the prob, but it didn't. Also the vibrating doesn't seem to be as apparent when going around bends, but this could be due to the fact I am putting pressure on the steering wheel.
I was told it could be the tie rod ends, but when i got the tires rebalanced the mechanic said they look fine, plus the steering isn't sloppy. He suggested a tire alignment.
I am not sure how this will help but am considering it because the car does pull slightly to the left. Any help or suggestions would be awesome, I love cars but am just getting into fixing them myself, so i don't know too much. I also noticed the the previous owner put new tires on, Firestone Potenza's 205's, could this be the prob????

Get a wheel alignment for sure. Check the tires for any uneven wear patterns, this can help you pin down the type of alignment problem and give you an indication of how long it has been outta wack.

Dynamically balanced wheels means the tires are balanced while in motion. A dynamically balanced tire/wheel will be statically balanced however this does not apply in the reverse.

 

[Moonman8]

Dynamically balanced wheels means the tires are balanced while in motion. A dynamically balanced tire/wheel will be statically balanced however this does not apply in the reverse.

I stand corrected.

 

[mryellermp5]

check

hello, have your front rotors checked. they may be warped if so have them turned (machine shop or service station)warping tends to happen when people wash their cars right after driving and the rotors are still hot. let me know what the out come is..it has happened to me on my 91 Mr2.

I just bought a used 03.P5. It has 80Kms, and all feels great untill I hit around 115kmph. The steering wheel then starts to vibrate. I'm not sure what the problem is.
I had the two front tires balanced hoping to fix the prob, but it didn't. Also the vibrating doesn't seem to be as apparent when going around bends, but this could be due to the fact I am putting pressure on the steering wheel.
I was told it could be the tie rod ends, but when i got the tires rebalanced the mechanic said they look fine, plus the steering isn't sloppy. He suggested a tire alignment.
I am not sure how this will help but am considering it because the car does pull slightly to the left. Any help or suggestions would be awesome, I love cars but am just getting into fixing them myself, so i don't know too much. I also noticed the the previous owner put new tires on, Firestone Potenza's 205's, could this be the prob????

 

[Moonman8]

hello, have your front rotors checked. they may be warped if so have them turned (machine shop or service station)warping tends to happen when people wash their cars right after driving and the rotors are still hot. let me know what the out come is..it has happened to me on my 91 Mr2.

But wouldn't warped rotors cause the car to shake and vibrate under braking, too?

 

[Black_Protege_5]

you won't feel the rotors being warped unless you break. You just need an alignment and balance. Then your problem should go away.

 

[mryellermp5]

check

at higher speeds like around 65 mph you will.

you won't feel the rotors being warped unless you break. You just need an alignment and balance. Then your problem should go away.

 

[wiley858]

this is kind of a stupid question, but my car tends to steer right just a little. probably 1 feet right for every 100 feet down the road. the dealership said to get the wheels rotated to see if that fixed the problem. it didnt. im thinking i need an alingment. is this a good suggestion?

 

[MP5cd]

brakes???

Hello i had similiar problems on my P5.You may want to consider brakes or wheel bearing.My problem was bearings at 40 000 kms.Was not happy.Also had ABS problems, replaced from brakes ,all good now.Noise came around 115 kms, verey noticable when when wheel slightly turned.(funny part ,my mazda dealer (Erinmills Mazda(no good) did never fix under warranty,claim could not legaly test drive at that speed?????)

 

[MP5cd]

okay

this is kind of a stupid question, but my car tends to steer right just a little. probably 1 feet right for every 100 feet down the road. the dealership said to get the wheels rotated to see if that fixed the problem. it didnt. im thinking i need an alingment. is this a good suggestion?

Most cars are aligned/designed to good slightly left, this just incase person falls asleep, ect.

 

[aMaff]

Most cars are aligned/designed to good slightly left, this just incase person falls asleep, ect.

so that it drives into oncoming traffic?? (boom07)
That'll wake em up! lol

 

[.paul]

Most cars are aligned/designed to good slightly left, this just incase person falls asleep, ect.

That is quite possibly the craziest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. Where did you hear that?

 

[registering]

I'm pretty sure it's because we drive on the right in the US, therefore the road slopes off to our right to ensure water drains off of the roads (highest point of a road is in the middle, between lanes). Get an alignment in England and it should be the opposite (slight "rightward" bias since their roads slope off to their left).

 

[Silver Streaker]

I just bought a used 03.P5. It has 80Kms, and all feels great untill I hit around 115kmph. The steering wheel then starts to vibrate. I'm not sure what the problem is.
I had the two front tires balanced hoping to fix the prob, but it didn't. Also the vibrating doesn't seem to be as apparent when going around bends, but this could be due to the fact I am putting pressure on the steering wheel.
I was told it could be the tie rod ends, but when i got the tires rebalanced the mechanic said they look fine, plus the steering isn't sloppy. He suggested a tire alignment.
I am not sure how this will help but am considering it because the car does pull slightly to the left. Any help or suggestions would be awesome, I love cars but am just getting into fixing them myself, so i don't know too much. I also noticed the the previous owner put new tires on, Firestone Potenza's 205's, could this be the prob????

Had this problem awhile back as well. Going down the highway, the steering wheel would vibrate like totally crazy! It didn't hit me till almost two weeks later that I had to suddenly hit the brakes cuz some biatch cut me off and ended up locking the brakes up. Found out that I had put flat spots on my tires from stopping so quickly. So, my advice to you is, before spending anymore money, check to see if you have any yourself. You may not have done it, but the previous owner may have. Just my .02 (thumb)

 

[stiWRC]

Hey all thanks for your help! Well I went in today and got the wheels balanced dynamically balanced (for free!!) and they did the alingment. The good news is the visual vibration is gone (when I let go of the steering wheel I can't see it shake anymore). But I still have a minor vibration doing the same speed. This tho I can live with. Hopefully it doesn't get worse...

My mechanic also ran a TSB on the 03 P5's, and found that there were some problems with the steering wheel assembly (I think). Just wondering if anyone has any repairs regarding this, or perhaps has the TSB link...