vibration

[markbehr]

Ok my mazda 2 is only three months old and i'm already feeling vibration in my steering wheel. I'm guessing my wheels are not balanced any longer or my front end is out of alignment. Is there any other possibilities i might be forgetting?

 

[Richard_rsp]

Well, Check your lugnuts and make sure they are all there - and are tight - I know that sounds silly, but that happened to a friend of mine and he was riding around on ONE lugnut. Also, check to make sure there isnt a buildup of mud or debris in the wheel well, as it can unbalence your wheels. Also, worse case, it could be a bent wheel...

 

[markbehr]

ok thanks i definately will check it out

 

[fam]

keep us informed on what you find out.

 

[markbehr]

i did a quick look and didnt notice anything wrong. the wheel weights looked fine, the lug nuts looked fine, and didnt see any debris, so im thinking its out of alignment but what do i know.

 

[Racebrewer]

Try hosing all the dirt, etc, out of the inside of wheels. It doesn't take much to cause an imbalance. I had it happen last winter with snow and ice. Quick flush solved it.

If that doesn't work, just get the front two re-balanced. If that doesn't solve it, there may be a bad tire or bent rim.

Try swapping one side front to back. If no change, swap the other side front to back. Process of elimination. No, not that process of elimination. The other process of elimination.

John