Bad Vibration After Tire Rotation

mcfarlrm · Oct 28, 2022

I took my ST in for an oil change and tire rotation on 10/18. I then drove the next day at highway speeds with no issues at all. Fast forward to yesterday and I noticed a bad vibration and slight wheel shake at highway speeds. I called into the Ford service department and asked them if the tires were rebalanced and they said no then proceeded to tell me that this can be normal and the issue can correct itself over time during a "break in" period. I have put roughly 150 miles on it since so I find that hard to believe especially since there was no issue whatsoever a day after at highway speeds. Any thoughts or has anyone else experienced this?

Peterfor · Oct 28, 2022

Did you ever feel a vibration in the rear prior to rotation that is now moved to the front? I believe that a "break in" period is BS, either they torqued the lugs way off (most likely just impacted them on and did not torque at all to spec) or a weight fell off the back. Did you drive through any mud that could be caked in the rim?

mcfarlrm · Oct 28, 2022

I agree that the break in period is BS. I have never had an issue with any other car after rotation the 20 years I have been driving. No vibration whatsoever prior to the rotation. Nothing on the wheels/tires that would cause the vibration.

Chamorro85 · Oct 28, 2022

mcfarlrm said:

Thats a cop-out. If you're feeling a vibration you need to have it checked asap. Most common things can be (uneven tire wear/bent rim) being moved to position you can feel now or they didn't put the wheels on correctly; not torqued properly like Peterfor mentioned.

Do a quick check of the lugs if you have a wrench (or use the one in the trunk) and take back to them. Too important if you're driving on highway regularly. Not trying to make you paranoid but there shouldn't be any vibration and there is no such thing as a 'break in' period. Whoever told you that needs to be educated before talking to another customer.

I ran a shop for too long to tolerate people saying stupid stuff like that...sorry to rant.

TMac · Oct 28, 2022

Peterfor said:

This is the very first thing you should check- a missing wheel weight. Visually check for a "clean" rectangular area on the inside of the rim. Mud might also be a possibility as would be a severely "barked" tire. The other likely culprit as stated by @Chamorro85 might be an improper tightening of the lugs- between the time you drove it and it was fine and later when it wasn't they might have loosened up. That's a very dangerous situation.

Peterfor · Oct 28, 2022

TMac said:

More I think about it definitely check the lugs. Not sure if the dealer did it but even the oil changer guy/girl/unidentified/kid at the dealer should know what to torque the lugs to. An independent shop may not care or check but when I first saw the owners manual saying 150 foot lbs a lug I had never seen anything that high on aluminum wheels. Normally 80-100 ft/lbs. although I have been out of the car repair game for years.

Chamorro85 · Oct 28, 2022

Peterfor said:

Exactly...its unfortunate but you don't always know who's working on your car. That two seconds to confirm the torque specs or someone that doesn't want to use a torque wrench cause, "its all the way across the shop" and then someone has a wheel-off...

l1tech · Oct 28, 2022

I agree about checking the lug nuts but something makes me think they are probably fine. As far as a "break in period" goes that is BS. They are just hoping that you get used to it and don't notice it anymore. It is not unusual to develop a vibration after a tire rotation, we see it all the time in the shop. A tire that is slightly out of balance, say .5 oz, you may not feel on the rear of the vehicle but chances are you will feel it when it is moved to the front.

mcfarlrm · Oct 29, 2022

Trust me when the service advisor told me that there is a break in period, I told him that's BS. Unfortunately, the dealership cannot schedule me until 11/2 to check it out. I did take it to a local tire shop while I was out running errands who checked the lugs real quick and everything was tight. His impressions were either lugs not torqued to spec or that the tires need to be rebalanced but could not get me in that day either to confirm.

mcfarlrm · Oct 29, 2022

Typo ^^^ dealership can't take it until 11/8.

Chamorro85 · Oct 29, 2022

mcfarlrm said:

You got the vehicle back in diff condition then when you took it there. Thats when I simply tell them its not good enough. Whats the point of having them service it if they can't give it back the same way they took it or better.

l1tech · Oct 29, 2022

I can honestly say in 30+ years of spinning wrenches professionally I have never seen a tire vibration caused by improperly torqued lug nuts (there's a 1st for everything though) unless they were so loose the wheel was wobbling and dam near ready to fall off. Now I have seen over torqued lug nuts cause brake vibration but never a tire vibration but that was primarily with composite rotors, thank god they realized how much of a bad idea those were on passenger vehicles. I would imagine that if you had a wheel runout issue caused by some weird lug nut torque issue then you would feel it even at lower speeds and it would probably decrease as you went faster. Being that your issue occurs at freeway speed there is a better than average chance it is a wheel balance issue. As I said it happens and any tech worth a dam will tell you the same thing but they should have had you come back in at YOUR CONVENIENCE and handle the issue immediately. At my shop, comebacks, no mater how insignificant the tech may think it is, are always a priority and receive the shops full attention immediately. I hope you don't reward the place you took it to with any more of your business for the way they are handling this. I can't imagine how they would attempt to handle a more serious issue.

TMac · Oct 29, 2022

As far as loose lugnuts. I know of two cases of that happening. Now it may not be statistically significant, but they were people I know- in one case the tires were rotated and in the other, they were having new tires put on. In both cases the lugnuts were not torqued properly on one of the wheels.

One was corrected after the vibration (wobbling) became apparent resulting only in some cosmetic damage to the wheel. In the other case, my brother-in-law noticed his car beginning to exhibit the same symptoms, but figuring he'd picked up snow pack during the Michigan winter, continued on to work only to have the right front wheel depart the car at 60mph. Of course, this resulted in significant damage to the wheel, spindle, rotor, and accompanying body damage.

My point is...it does happen. Thankfully your shop @l1tech makes sure it doesn't!

Note for those who think some things never happen: My ex-wife once filled up my GMC Typhoon with diesel. Over $500 to flush/fix everything not including the tank of diesel.

Peterfor · Oct 29, 2022

TMac said:

As far as loose lugnuts. I know of two cases of that happening. Now it may not be statistically significant, but they were people I know- in one case the tires were rotated and in the other, they were having new tires put on. In both cases the lugnuts were not torqued properly on one of the wheels.

One was corrected after the vibration (wobbling) became apparent resulting only in some cosmetic damage to the wheel. In the other case, my brother-in-law noticed his car beginning to exhibit the same symptoms, but figuring he'd picked up snow pack during the Michigan winter, continued on to work only to have the right front wheel depart the car at 60mph. Of course, this resulted in significant damage to the wheel, spindle, rotor, and accompanying body damage.

My point is...it does happen. Thankfully your shop @l1tech makes sure it doesn't!

Note for those who think some things never happen: My ex-wife once filled up my GMC Typhoon with diesel. Over $500 to flush/fix everything not including the tank of diesel.

Typhoon was my dream car as a kid. Ended up building an 85 S-10 Blazer with a 400 small block. 12.06 fastest run on street tires, strip said I needed a roll cage to continue. Sold the thing 20 years ago for about 1/7000th of what was put into it.

mcfarlrm · Nov 8, 2022

Update after dropping off this morning. Service advisor informed me of a bent front passenger wheel. No idea when and where this could have happened since I put maybe 15 miles on the car after picking it up from the oil change and tire rotation until when I first noticed it (smooth back roads and some highway from dealership to my house). Not once did I ever have that OH S##T moment of hitting anything that would have remotely caused this. Proving that the dealership did something to caused this during the rotation, which became worse the more I drove it will be impossible. Long story short they want $2,189 plus taxes for one new wheel!!!!!!! Or, $400 from a wheel repair vendor. Any suggestions on how to proceed here will be more than welcomed.

GearHead_1 · Nov 8, 2022

I think missed the part where you mentioned the type of wheel on your vehicle. Is it the factory street/track pack black wheel? If that is the case these wheels can be found on Ford's website for about $900. I have no doubt they can be found cheaper. As far as getting one from a wheel rebuilder, I've seen wheels come from them that you literally can't tell from new.

mcfarlrm · Nov 8, 2022

21" black street pack on a 2020.

dolsen · Nov 8, 2022

mcfarlrm said:

This to me does not sound like the dealer bent the wheel. If you drove it the next day with no issue, but then on 10/27 you had a bad vibration, it sounds like operator error to me.

Short of taking a sledge to it, I have no idea how the dealer would've bent the wheel during a tire rotation. It seems to me that you hit/ran over something and didn't realize there was an issue until days later

dolsen · Nov 8, 2022

Quick ebay search pulled this up:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2558077866...5l99T1W|tkp:Bk9SR_DA_4WLYQ&LH_ItemCondition=4

mcfarlrm · Nov 8, 2022

dolsen said:

Yeah, that's most likely the case here. Probably hit something and didn't notice. Depending on bad it is bent (still waiting on confirmation), should I go the repair route?

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Bad Vibration After Tire Rotation

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