Steering Wheel Vibration

[JOE MAMA]

We just picked up our 5 almost two weeks ago and have racked up just over 2,000km. But from day one, I feel a vibration in the steering wheel when travelling 110km/hr and above. It doesn't visibly shake, but when my hand is on the wheel, there is a distinct vibration. I took it into the dealer and they said one wheel was out of balance by 15 grams, but after taking it home, the steering wheel vibration feels the same.

I can't discern if Mazda simply has a more pronounced "road feel" or if I have flat spots on the tires or perhaps a slightly out of round or bent rim. I'm comparing our new 5 to our old 2011 Grand Caravan which had terrible handling, but there was no vibration of any kind in the steering wheel.

Our 2011 Mazda 2 also has steering wheel vibration/road feel, but it seems to be less pronounced than the 5, which is why I wonder if something is wrong.

 

[torquelover]

Swap the front tires to the rear and see if there's any change. I should mention that the Toyos on our 5 tend to flat-spot a bit when parked for a few days. After about 5-10 miles they warm up and the vibes dissipate.

What tires are on yours? The Bridgestones on the GT I test drove did not exhibit this trait.

 

[JOE MAMA]

We have the Toyo A20 tires on the 16" rims. We've driven 2,600km in less than a two weeks, so hopefully any flat spots are long gone. I'm beginning to think I have an out of round tire or maybe even a bent rim.

Is steering wheel vibration (even if a small amount) normal in the 5?

 

[torquelover]

Is steering wheel vibration (even if a small amount) normal in the 5?

Aside from the flat spotting from being parked for a bit, I would say no from the two that I drove and talking to other MZ5 owners. What kind of balance machine does your dealer use? I had a Camry that had these issues and they were not resolved until I switched tires/wheels and rebalanced them myself at my friends shop after doing a fresh recalibrate on his machine. Times have changed since then, there is much better equipment out there for this. Find a shop that uses the Hunter GSP9700 and let them know that you're having vibration issues that the dealer didn't resolve so hopefully they'll be a little more thorough checking balance/runout/etc.

 

[JOE MAMA]

I'm going to bring it back to the dealer and have them confirm the rims are true. I may even have them re-mount and balance the tires and maybe even switch the fronts to the back if there is no change. I have a new set of OEM steel rims and winter tires that I can swap to see if anything changes too.

I'm not sure what balancer the dealer uses, but I'll make sure they're more meticulous this next time around. Based on the problems with the Toyo A20 tires with Toyota owners, I wouldn't be surprised if I have a bad one!

 

[JOE MAMA]

I just moved the front tires to the back and the back tires to the front and the vibration is gone! I plan on taking it to the dealer Monday so they can determine is the problems rests with a rim(s) or tire(s). I looked at the rims and neither look warped or bent, not to say one isn't out of round.

I have a feeling I have a bad tire...

 

[90210]

I have the 17" Toyo on mine. Had same problem. There is a thread here about it, you can search it. After going to dealer few times back and forth, they swapped me all new tires/wheels, and problems were cured.

 

[numba41]

I also have the Toyo A20 tires on the 16" rims and noticed the vibration when I drove the car home from the dealership. I checked the tire pressure and they were set at 40 lbs. The recommended tire pressure from the driver door well is 35 lbs. At 35 lbs. the vibration is almost non-existent and the car rides much smoother.

 

[hykerwilson]

Hello, not sure what you have experienced in the past year or so with your 5, but I am curious.

I just bought a 2014 5 and I believe it has Good years on it, I can't be certain because it is back at the dealer for the second time with that same vibration problem. I noted the issue after 68 miles on it. I wanted to make the dealer aware ASAP so that it is on record. It now has 400 miles on it and still doing it.

wheels were checked for balance the first time. I had gotten an email for a survey of the dealer for the new car experience. Well I gave some of them a good mark and some not so good. I specifically noted that they told me the "flat spots" would run themselves out after a few thousand miles. I could not believe that this brand new car vibrated more than my 1995 geo tracker does. Unacceptable I wrote in the survey.

The very next day (yesterday) I got a phone call from the dealers' owners' grandson telling me they were going to RECTify my problem. They had me come in and they swapped the tires and wheels off of a just received mazda 5, less than 7 days USA old. I was all excited. I left the dealer went up the road 2.25 miles turned around and dropped off the van. worse, these "new" "better" wheels and tires shook sooner and with more vigor than the originals.

So Now I wait till Monday to see what they will come up with. I have, by the way, copied your letter with hopes to not have to send a version of my own to Mazda. Ridiculous, seriously, if I wanted a car that drove this poorly I would have bought something for 1500 off craigslist and saved the rest of the money for renting a nice car once a month or something.

 

[JOE MAMA]

My problem ended up being the rims. The dealer has a brand new Hunter Roadforce balancer and no matter how many times they tried, the wheels wouldn't stay balanced.

After replacing all four rims, the problem went away and has never come back. The dealer thinks there may have been air pockets from the molding process. They are made in China after all.

 

[ricksmz5]

I recently bought my 2010 Mazda5, with 75k miles, from the original owner. The tires had been replaced recently with Dunlops at the Mazda dealership. At 70 mph, there was a definite vibration in the steering wheel. I took it to Discount Tire and they rebalanced all four and swapped front to rear. Their tech remarked that this vehicle was "notorious for eating the inside edges of the front tires- a lot of movement in the front suspension..." It was better for the first month, but I am starting to feel the vibration again. Does seem to be more pronounced when tires are cold. Guess I will keep an eye on it, and rotate more frequently. My 2000 Jimmy (190k miles)rode quieter and smoother than this!