2008 Kia Optima LX Steering wheel shake

Scott Dorsey wrote: > wrote:

Ummmm... what does balancing have to do with anything?

You can balance a bent rim and it's still bent.

Plus, for all you know, it could be the tire and not the rim.

You're not any closer than you were before.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Scott:

'If the rim is even slightly bent or wobbles on our machine, we'll never be able to zero it out.' Later: 'See, your rim & tire balances' (Machine did in fact display zeros on both sides.)

Town Fair Asst. Manager's exact words.

So who's right and who's wrong here? I was offered the balancing, I did not ask for it.

wrote:
> Steve W:
>
> Well, I went to Town Fair yesterday(Weds) the day after rotation to
> explain this. I showed them all the receipts, and told them I think
> they replaced the wrong rim(a good one, which they discarded at the
> time of the work back in March) and left the bad on on the car!
>
> The asst. mgr insisted that was impossible, and that Kia dealership
> probably screwed up. I told him that could not be, because I
> returned and refunded the incorrect rim town fair sold me, leaving me
> with three rims. So I went to Kia with the TEMP on that corner,
> which they replaced with the proper oem rim.
>
> The Town Fair manager said they owed me nothing for a rim, insisting
> that only TIRES(not rims) were moved around in february when I got
> two new ones(the best of my olds were moved to the front and the new
> ones mounted on rear axle). The bad rim, which was diagnosed and
> shown to me last summer, was moved to the back axle at that time to
> minimize vibration.
>
> In February, that tire - and rim - were moved to the front as one of
> my "best"s, and the new tires - with one incorrectly ordered by town
> fair rim - went on the rear.
>
> That is why, on Tuesday, the wiggly steering wheel went away when
> they did that rotation.
>
> Yesterday the asst mgr offered me a free balancing on the rears, to
> "prove" there were no bad rims on the car. The right rear(the bad
> one all along) took 2.75grams of weights to zero out, the left, 2.25.
> I told him I wanted to see the numbers on the machine as his tech did
> it, and he read the riot act about customers not allowed in the bay
> for "safety" reasons. I insisted, and he acquiesced a bit - allowing
> me to stand at the rear of my car, where I could still see the rim
> move and the display panel. The rear wheels were both balanced and
> went back on their exact same locations.
>
> After this balance, At over 60mph, the steering wheel no longer
> shimmies, but I now feel a strong pounding vibration through my seat
> and the floor at progressively higher speeds - AFTER yesterday's
> balancing.
>
> Now what?? I'll drive it for a few day to see if the wheels just
> need to work in to their new locations and balances.

You need to go to a different shop. You have either a bad tire or a bad
rim. Balancing does NOTHING for either one. You proved that when you say
you still feel a "strong pounding vibration through my seat"

Go to a different shop OR pull that tire off and look it over. Either
the rim id damaged or the tire itself is the problem. The machine may
balance out the tire but if it has a bad belt or is out of round it
won't matter if it's balanced. You can balance an egg but it's not going
to make it round.

--
Steve W.

Steve W.:

So just start fresh, go to the dealer or another shop and tell them I have a pounding vibration from the back?


The funny thing is: Monday(and for the previous 3 years, no matter what was thrown at this car, the steering wheel shimmied at 60mph & up. No vibration in the body.

Tuesday before work, I had a rotation done, front to back, and subsequently my drive to work there was no steering wheel jiggle or body vibration.

Wednesday(yesterday) I went back and the asst manager performed a free balance on both back wheels, now the car is vibrating like a jackhammer at anything over 60mph - read: AFTER said rear balance.

So what next? Just forget about Town Fair?

On Thu, 5 Jun 2014 14:41:18 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

>Steve W.:
>
>So just start fresh, go to the dealer or another shop and tell them I have a pounding vibration from the back?
>
>
>The funny thing is: Monday(and for the previous 3 years, no matter what was thrown at this car, the steering wheel shimmied at 60mph & up. No vibration in the body.
>
>Tuesday before work, I had a rotation done, front to back, and subsequently my drive to work there was no steering wheel jiggle or body vibration.
>
>Wednesday(yesterday) I went back and the asst manager performed a free balance on both back wheels, now the car is vibrating like a jackhammer at anything over 60mph - read: AFTER said rear balance.
>
>So what next? Just forget about Town Fair?

What kind of wheels - alloy? If they use the wrong weights, they can
come off pretty easily. If you're sure it wasn't vibrating at all
right after the front to back move, then they either ****ed up the
balance, or the weights came off. There seems to be something very
wrong with that shop.

wrote:
> Steve W.:
>
> So just start fresh, go to the dealer or another shop and tell them I
> have a pounding vibration from the back?

Yep.

>
>
> The funny thing is: Monday(and for the previous 3 years, no matter
> what was thrown at this car, the steering wheel shimmied at 60mph &
> up. No vibration in the body.
>
> Tuesday before work, I had a rotation done, front to back, and
> subsequently my drive to work there was no steering wheel jiggle or
> body vibration.
>
> Wednesday(yesterday) I went back and the asst manager performed a
> free balance on both back wheels, now the car is vibrating like a
> jackhammer at anything over 60mph - read: AFTER said rear balance.
>
> So what next? Just forget about Town Fair?

Maybe. If they claim that the tire is balanced but you can feel it
shake, there is something wrong.

Either the tire has a problem or the rim has an issue. You have a donut
spare correct? How about a test, Stick the spare on the right rear and
see if the problem goes away. If not switch to the left side. If it goes
away either time that tire/rim is the problem.

--
Steve W.

Steve, Bill:

I'm through with experimenting. By the way the rims are steel.

I'll just go some where I haven't been to yet, or in a long time.

The problem is, how does one diagnose an out-of-round wheel or tire? A thousand shops could put it on their machines and get all zeros back(it was just balanced). By sight? Even at high speed on the balancer it's hard to see some eggs.

On Fri, 6 Jun 2014 02:38:34 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

>Steve, Bill:
>
>I'm through with experimenting. By the way the rims are steel.
>
>I'll just go some where I haven't been to yet, or in a long time.
>
>The problem is, how does one diagnose an out-of-round wheel or tire? A thousand shops could put it on their machines and get all zeros back(it was just balanced). By sight? Even at high speed on the balancer it's hard to see some eggs.

I might be repeating myself, but I've had road force balancing done on
my tires for the past 10 or more years.
Haven't had any issues.
The machine will tell if the rim or tire is bad.
Hunter makes the machine and most Just Tires shops use it.
You've probably been dealing with "not too sharp" shops.

On Friday, June 6, 2014 12:44:39 PM UTC-4, Vic Smith wrote:
> On Fri, 6 Jun 2014 02:38:34 -070m wrote:
>
>
>
> >Steve, Bill:
>
> >
>
> >I'm through with experimenting. By the way the rims are steel.
>
> >
>
> >I'll just go some where I haven't been to yet, or in a long time.
>
> >
>
> >The problem is, how does one diagnose an out-of-round wheel or tire? A thousand shops could put it on their machines and get all zeros back(it was just balanced). By sight? Even at high speed on the balancer it's hard to see some eggs.
>
>
>
> I might be repeating myself, but I've had road force balancing done on
>
> my tires for the past 10 or more years.
>
> Haven't had any issues.
>
> The machine will tell if the rim or tire is bad.
>
> Hunter makes the machine and most Just Tires shops use it.
>
> You've probably been dealing with "not too sharp" shops.

_____________
What is road force balancing?


I'm at my wits end right about now. I'm about to go to another tire place, purchase four new tires, and order three additional OEM rims from Kia, and just get it the hell over with!!

> wrote:
>
>I'm at my wits end right about now. I'm about to go to another tire place, purchase four new tires, and order three additional OEM rims from Kia, and just get it the hell over with!!

But you've already ruled out two of the four tires, now you have two to
check the last two. Put a doughnut on, and drive around the block a few
times. I don't understand why this is so difficult.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Scott D:

Can't drive around my block, safely at least, at the speeds I stated throughout this thread at which the vibrations are occurring. It's at least 10 minutes to either of two high speed motorways, assuming light traffic.

I'll just replace the two remaining older tires and the rims, and get this behind me.