I purchased a 07 accord ex 4cyl M/T fitted with Bridgestone Turanza EL41 tires 2 weeks ago. a few days after I collected the car, i noticed that there was a lot of vibration in the steering. Took it back to the dealer and they found the tires to be out of balance. they rebalanced it and road tested it and said it was fine.
While driving on the freeway, there was still some noticable(not as much as before) vibration. It felt more like road vibration rather than unbalanced or warped rotors vibration. i took it back to the dealer. the service manager took a ride with me and he agreed that he also felt the vibration. We took 2 new cars from the lot, an 07 ex 4cyl M/T fitted with the Bridgestone Turanza EL41 tires and a 07 ex 4cyl A/T fitted with michelin tires. There were no M/T with michelin tires available.
During the road test, i was surprised to find that both new vehicles also exhibited the same characteristic(feeling of road vibration at freeway speeds through the steering wheel).
My 98 accord with over 100K mi did not have that vibration through the steering wheel which is why I noticed it.
However, since now 2 new 07s also exhibited the same characteristics, i am wondering what could be the cause?
a) Tires? (tirerack user reviews rate the turanza EL41 poorly)
b) characteristic of 06/07 accords?
c) characteristic of 5 speed manual transmissions?

The dealer also said that it might go away when the car+ tires is broken in because the bushings would have worn down somewhat. There are still only 300 miles on this car so it's still in the break in period.

Any thoughts?

 

Dude same thing happened to me when I took mine to the freeway. I have an 07' SE 4cyl Manual. Mine still only has 102 miles on it though when I took it to the freeway.

 

I don't know about you guys but.. From working on Honda's all day, I have noticed that that the current generation of the Accord has a stiffer suspension, thus resulting in more road feedback through the steering wheel. I personally prefer the strong feedback, it gives me a feel for the road surface. And yes, I have tried to correct issues of this sort in both manual and auto trans vehicles. It's a normal characteristic of the vehicle.

 

Why would Honda put in stiffer suspension in a family car?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by danz75 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
The dealer also said that it might go away when the car+ tires is broken in because the bushings would have worn down somewhat. There are still only 300 miles on this car so it's still in the break in period.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PnX-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't know about you guys but.. From working on Honda's all day, I have noticed that that the current generation of the Accord has a stiffer suspension, thus resulting in more road feedback through the steering wheel. I personally prefer the strong feedback, it gives me a feel for the road surface. And yes, I have tried to correct issues of this sort in both manual and auto trans vehicles. It's a normal characteristic of the vehicle.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Just out of curiosity, what did you try to do to fix the issue?
I assume what the dealer said about when the car is broken in probably has some truth since things do get worn down to some extent.
However, if I were to put a different tire on the car, it would probably still make a difference depending on whether i put a tire that has a stiff sidewall or not, right?
This is the first honda that I've driven that has a strong road feedback to the steering wheel.

 

No, cars with softer sidewalls are more cushy on the highway, and have less road noise and less vibration in the steering column. I have adjustable bushings, lightweight steering pulley, a fresh alignment 2 weeks ago, Yokohama AVS ES100 tires 215/50/17 stock is 205/65/15(summer performance) and I can feel the road a 1000x more than stock.

A set of tires that I bought that were very soft on the road, and had low road noise, were Michelin Hydroedge tires.

If you want to feel some strong road feedback, try my car, you can feel every quirk in the road thru the steering wheel.

 

You are kind of discussing two different things. Are you actually feeling a vibration in the wheel or a tight suspension with feedback through the wheel?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by H2290 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You are kind of discussing two different things. Are you actually feeling a vibration in the wheel or a tight suspension with feedback through the wheel?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The initial vibration or wobble in the steering wheel was fixed by the dealer who determined that it was a tire issue and re-balanced the tires. Now, there is no wobble in the steering wheel but rather a vibration that <U>I think</U> is more from road feedback during freeway speeds.
However, I am trying to figure out if this is due to the characteristics of the suspension/steering etc or is it still the tire. So it could be two things that are causing the vibration but that's what I'm trying to nail down. Tire or car or both?

 

You can take your car to a tire shop and have them check all 4 tires to see if one is worn down incorrectly (the initial improperly balanced tire may have worn wrong on one side) and it might be that a tire is worn out on the inside or outside of the tread and you may need a completely new one, not necessarily a re-balancing.

 

Back when I bought my new 06 EXL Sedan MT in July I had brought the car back wihtin a few days for a rebalance and alignment. I had the bridgestone tires. They aligned it and rebalanced all four wheels, at my request cuz I noticed the "feeling" of feeling a viration in the way at thruway speeds as I commute 40+ miles each way each day. Mostly arond 75ish it was noticable. I also had brought the car back because in 4th gear the shifter vibrates, like you can feel it vibrate at certain rpms, this only happens in fourth gear.

They balanced all four wheels, and managed to nick and scratch every single one... I was pissed.

I said I wanted to swap rims/tires with another Honda on the lot. I told them to grab a NEW car and swap mine with theirs they said OK.

The tires on the new rims were Michiliens. I would have prefered those in the first place, yet there was no other Alabaster Silver Accord on the lot.

Driving home from the dealer, at 75ish still felt it. Gay.

Bought some 18's I feel it more honestly. It is worse on the concrete part of the highway. They said it was "normal manor of the vehicle" same with the vibration in 4th gear.

Do you guys have the same vibration in the shifter in 4th? That really bothers me, I love the car, but I hate that, to no end.

 

So this is not a simple breaking in situation??

 

^^^ I would say it is not. I have put 9K miles on my car in 4 months, it is still noticable on different road surfaces. My theory is that it is worse in the beginning of the trip. I feel that the cold tire pressure makes it more noticable. After about 5-10 minutes it is less noticable this is how it felt with my 18" rims. I am not sureif this is just me making up a theory or if it makes sense.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CBL9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">^^^ I would say it is not. I have put 9K miles on my car in 4 months, it is still noticable on different road surfaces. My theory is that it is worse in the beginning of the trip. I feel that the cold tire pressure makes it more noticable. After about 5-10 minutes it is less noticable this is how it felt with my 18" rims. I am not sureif this is just me making up a theory or if it makes sense.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I also have an 06 and the issue you just spoke of is called flat-spotting and the sorry OEM tires on the Accords are known for it. The tire becomes unround after sitting for a while and once you get up to speed and the tires warm up this goes away.

Anything else you feel may be the suspension as it is much more taut than it previously has been on the Accords.

 

Well when I bought mine, it was fresh off the truck. It never spent more than one hour at the dealership cus the truck came when I was negotiating for a different car. I don't think the car have sat long enough to get those flat spots, unless it actually took that long for the shipment.

 

No, these OEM tires can "flatspot" just sitting overnight. Not permanently but just until they warm up and get rolling.

 

Oh, that's gay. Stupid OEM

 

so you're saying that changing the OEM tires will help reduce the effect somewhat?

 

Yes I am.

 

Thanks. I've figured it would help somewhat but wanted to confirm it first and make sure that it was nothing wrong with the car. Tires can be changed easily. Something wrong with a new car is not a good thing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CBL9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Back when I bought my new 06 EXL Sedan MT in July I had brought the car back wihtin a few days for a rebalance and alignment. I had the bridgestone tires. They aligned it and rebalanced all four wheels, at my request cuz I noticed the "feeling" of feeling a viration in the way at thruway speeds as I commute 40+ miles each way each day. Mostly arond 75ish it was noticable. I also had brought the car back because in 4th gear the shifter vibrates, like you can feel it vibrate at certain rpms, this only happens in fourth gear.

They balanced all four wheels, and managed to nick and scratch every single one... I was pissed.

I said I wanted to swap rims/tires with another Honda on the lot. I told them to grab a NEW car and swap mine with theirs they said OK.

The tires on the new rims were Michiliens. I would have prefered those in the first place, yet there was no other Alabaster Silver Accord on the lot.

Driving home from the dealer, at 75ish still felt it. Gay.

Bought some 18's I feel it more honestly. It is worse on the concrete part of the highway. They said it was "normal manor of the vehicle" same with the vibration in 4th gear.

Do you guys have the same vibration in the shifter in 4th? That really bothers me, I love the car, but I hate that, to no end.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have to admit that it felt a little more pronounced in 5th gear cruising on the freeway but I thought maybe it's because the engine is not reving as hard as it would in 4th gear. I figured since the steering is connected to the drivetrain(FWD) which in turn is connected to the tires and road, it all is somewhat interconnected and somehow Honda felt it was necessary for the driver to feel more of it.

I too love te feel of the car but could careless about the vibration through the steering wheel.

 

On my 06 I haven't noticed this. It's a V6 with a 6speed MT. It has the Michelin tires on it though not the Bridgestones.

 

my '06 wit 32k dont have much noticable vibrations.

got it in nov of 06. only car i saw like mine was only my own. for months

 

what OEM tires do you have on yours?