Vibration from front end at highway speeds

On my wheels the valve stem and one of the lug holes line up. Assuming the valve stem is 12 o’clock, on the left side both of the locking lugs are in the 12 o’clock hole, the right side the front is at 2:20 and the rear is at 4:40. Which is correct?

I just jacked up the front wheels one at a time and had my wife spin them by hand while I observed and measured. Visually they both appear straight on the inside and outside against the shaft of the dial caliper. I set up the dial caliper, the left front measured +/-.003” on the inside machined surface, outside measured +/-.005” with one peak at +.010” from center. The right front measured +/-.004” on the inside machined surface, outside measured +/-.006” with one peak at +.012”. Everything else (sway bar links, cv shafts) seems tight when I pull on it. I don’t hear any strange noises like bearings or brake issues. The left front tire has 1.25 oz of weight to balance, the right front tire has .5 oz of weight to balance.

I wonder if the tires were swapped out during buyback. Then there may be some suspect tire and wheel combos and other parts on some of the fixed cars. I doubt VW would straighten that out before putting them back out for sale.

I know that some buyback owners were pulling good wheels/tires and swapping out whatever they could to get the cars back to the dealerships.

Perhaps this is signs of questionable tactics showing up now. A car with 27 to 30k miles should drive and track perfectly and not shake down the highway.

We bought a 2007 GTI last year and the car had 103k kilos (about 60k miles) and the car it dead straight and doesn't vibrate. Drives like new!

You should expect the same performance from a car with 30k miles.

PB_NB said:

I wonder if the tires were swapped out during buyback. Then there may be some suspect tire and wheel combos and other parts on some of the fixed cars. I doubt VW would straighten that out before putting them back out for sale.
I know that some buyback owners were pulling good wheels/tires and swapping out whatever they could to get the cars back to the dealerships.
Perhaps this is signs of questionable tactics showing up now. A car with 27 to 30k miles should drive and track perfectly and not shake down the highway.
We bought a 2007 GTI last year and the car had 103k kilos (about 60k miles) and the car it dead straight and doesn't vibrate. Drives like new!
You should expect the same performance from a car with 30k miles.

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I agree that this car at 35K miles with brand new premium tires should drive straight and smooth. When I purchased the car at 26K miles it had a new set of Hankook tires (still with the sticker residue and 2017 date code). From what I’ve been told by people in the business, all of these cars are supposed to get new tires, battery, and windshield wipers as part of recon.

I wonder if the wheels could have been swapped out and perhaps they are not a match from side to side?

Probably a long shot but thought I would throw it out there.

I know how frustrating it can be to deal with these issues and the dealership.

I purchased the car in Las Vegas, 4 hours away from where I live. They were the only location with a 6MT in stock. I don’t believe the wheels were swapped or tampered with, but who knows. Either way, I’m dealing with a different dealer that where I purchased the car.

BroncoAZ said:

On my wheels the valve stem and one of the lug holes line up. Assuming the valve stem is 12 o’clock, on the left side both of the locking lugs are in the 12 o’clock hole, the right side the front is at 2:20 and the rear is at 4:40. Which is correct?

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With the valve stem and it's lug at 12 o'clock the locking nut should be at either one to the left or one to the right of that 12 O'clock lug. I guess it would be at 2:20 or 9:20. Don't ask if it is AM or PM .
This is on page 360 of my Owner's Manual. I don't think it will solve your trouble but it should help. I have a similar minor shake at about 80 mph and moving the lock bolt did help but, just a little.

I am hoping your solution, when you find it, will work for me to

CORRECTION: I just re-read the manual and it appears that the above placement for the security bolt is for cars with wheel covers only.

I corrected the lug nut position today before a 140 mile trip. Hard to tell if it helped, there were parts of the trip where the car was perfectly smooth and parts where the steering wheel is shaking.

Just circling back to see if the OP or anyone else fixed this issue. I picked up my 2015 CPO Passat a couple of months ago, and I'm having the same issues. Replaced all four tires with a set of Michelin's, and the problem is still there (though it improved slightly with the new tires). All four tires have been road force balanced. This car sat somewhere for over a year in a holding lot while they figured out a fix, so I'm wondering if that may have affected anything.

following

TexasPassat12 said:

Replaced all four tires with a set of Michelin's, and the problem is still there (though it improved slightly with the new tires). All four tires have been road force balanced.

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I am sorry to hear that the new tires didn't solve this. I do have this problem also and plan on new tires next fall. I was thinking that this would solve the problem for me, now I am not so sure.

UPDATE: New tires and an alignment did not fix this for me June 2019

Check for a bent rim.

A vibration that is basically in the steering wheel (right to left) and comes and goes is often due to worn rear lower control arm bushings.
These set up an oscillation between the left and right sides that is passed through the steering rack.
Been there, done that.
The LCA bushings I pulled out looked good, but the new ones solved the problem on my Jetta.
On the Jetta I was able to use a ratchet strap and various tools of destruction to change them on Rhino Ramps, but it was not easy.

Both of my cars exhibited similar symptoms. The 2015 only had 11K when I bought it and had the intermittent vibration. Put 4 new tires with road force balanced and the vibration is still there. In addition, my 2010 also had similar issue. However, the last weekend, I had changed front rotors and the brake pads. (Bought them as a kit from a reputable vw online store)
I had cleaned the hubs with a steel brush before installing the rotors. Tighten the wheel nuts, caliber nuts and caliber bracket nuts to the exact torque value provided by the Bentley.
To my surprise, the very vibration that is present for many months has now gone.
I accelerated all the way to 90 mph this morning going to work and felt no vibration. So I am thinking the rotors were the culprit?? Now I wonder If I should do the same for 2015 which only has 22K on it.

Nice Tdi54

tdi54 said:

I had cleaned the hubs with a steel brush before installing the rotors. Tighten the wheel nuts, caliber nuts and caliber bracket nuts to the exact torque value provided by the Bentley.

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caliper

good catch on spelling!!!

hey nothing wrong with hittin up the forums after destroying a 6 pack

i just didn't know if you were using your sidearm to aid in your brake job.

740GLE said:

i just didn't know if you were using your sidearm to aid in your brake job.

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Can be tempting when things aren't working right.

Just to update for anyone searching steering wheel vibration/shake. Mine was solved by new wheels (not tires) up front

Mine is still bad vibration wise, and now my front brakes are shaking badly on highway grades at 53K miles after being replaced at 26K miles.

BroncoAZ said:

Mine is still bad vibration wise, and now my front brakes are shaking badly on highway grades at 53K miles after being replaced at 26K miles.

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I never would have put new wheels on but the tire shop messed up and I got two wheels free. You said you work with a dealer. Can you borrow a set of wheels from a loaner or demo and try them on the front of your car?

Only thing now on my car is a slight pull to the right. I think I can live with that for a while.

BroncoAZ said:

Mine is still bad vibration wise, and now my front brakes are shaking badly on highway grades at 53K miles after being replaced at 26K miles.

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Did you resolve this? I'm at 60k now and i've got a vibration which sounds similar to yours. It is very noticeable at around 75 mph, but not all the time. I feel that my LCA bushings are a touch loose, so i'm going to replace them 1st. I've had my wheels balanced and rotated them a couple times with no change. (but my tires are nearly new)

My car is also a 2015 6 speed.

yatzee said:

Did you resolve this? I'm at 60k now and i've got a vibration which sounds similar to yours. It is very noticeable at around 75 mph, but not all the time. I feel that my LCA bushings are a touch loose, so i'm going to replace them 1st. I've had my wheels balanced and rotated them a couple times with no change. (but my tires are nearly new)
My car is also a 2015 6 speed.

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Not resolved. I have been reading threads on warped front brakes in this forum today, I'm pretty sure my front rotors have issues. I'm looking at ordering new front rotors and pads. I don't expect brakes to change the general vibration at highway speeds. One of the VW techs I spoke to this week suggested slotted or drilled rotors to dissipate heat faster. A standard brake kit with rotors and pads is about $110, the drilled rotors are not much more.

I'll get my tires balanced again this week and remark them to see if the tires are still moving on the rims. I'm generally pleased with the Pirelli Cinturato p7 tires in terms of wear and performance both summer and winter. I may need to see if I can find another set of wheels (maybe craigslist) to confirm if bad wheels are the issue on my car like Funguy had.

Looks like Tirerack has wheels at about $90 a piece. I don't want to send you down that $$$ road and maybe you won't fix the trouble.

Can the wheels be put on a balance machine without tires to see how they look while spinning? I read that a finger on the wheel while spins can show you where it is warped? I would put a protected finger first on the outer and then the inner sides of the rim and then on the edge of the rim. I have never done anything like this myself so it might be dumb or dangerous????? Check this https://www.derekweaver.com/learn/wheel-balancer/

I’ve checked wheels for runout or a warp on this car by jacking it up and setting up a dial indicator on the rim itself, I did that before I replaced the OEM Hankook tires with these Pirelli tires at about 30K miles. The rims were straight and true at the time both inside and out. I’ve railed some potholes, so I should probably check them again.

The tires rotating on the rim is the real mystery in this equation. I didn’t mark them on the last rotation, so I don’t know they slipped again but am assuming since the balance when to crap after one trip to Phoenix. It’s only been the front tires and in the positive direction (acceleration or pulling a hill). The tire shop used a bead sealer on them and they still slipped. I don’t know if a different set of tires on these wheels is worth pursuing, but I could probably get the tire shop to warranty out the Pirelli for something else. I guess my other choice would be Michelin, I just want a quiet tire with decent all weather traction that I don’t have to rebalance every 2500 miles.

I am not familiar with how a dial indicator works but according to the link above it only takes 1/8" out to cause a problem. Can the dial indicator be set up on the EDGE of the rim like the ridged side of a quarter instead of on the sides? or on the tread of the tire?

I was talking about new wheels at Tire Rack not tires.


I have to agree that the tires rotating on the rim is weird, especially on a commuter diesel like our cars. When you first posted that I had to look it up. I hope you solve this

A dial indicator on a magnetic mount can measure down to .001” in the vertical plane. I set up the dial indicator against the rim edge horizontally and at as steep of an angle as possible on the bottom edge next to the tire both inside and out. I didn’t see more than .003”-.007” of lateral runout, well within acceptable tolerances.

BroncoAZ said:

Not resolved. I have been reading threads on warped front brakes in this forum today, I'm pretty sure my front rotors have issues. I'm looking at ordering new front rotors and pads. I don't expect brakes to change the general vibration at highway speeds. One of the VW techs I spoke to this week suggested slotted or drilled rotors to dissipate heat faster. A standard brake kit with rotors and pads is about $110, the drilled rotors are not much more.
I'll get my tires balanced again this week and remark them to see if the tires are still moving on the rims. I'm generally pleased with the Pirelli Cinturato p7 tires in terms of wear and performance both summer and winter. I may need to see if I can find another set of wheels (maybe craigslist) to confirm if bad wheels are the issue on my car like Funguy had.

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I will be doing control arm bushings on mine in the next 2 weeks or so. I will try to post the results here when the job is done. I know that my wheels are well balanced. The intermittent nature of the vibration had me thinking about flat spots, but give that it can vibrate at any time, i doubt it.

Yesterday I took a look at the two "old" wheels that came off my car. One or both were causing the vibration in my car. They were both manufactured at the end of October 2014. Dates October 31 and Oct 26th stamped in different places along with the code 1993 above and below the date in one spot and the code 214 in a circle above and below the date in another spot. These dates are visible only with the tire removed from the wheel. There were some other markings also.

I was just wondering if the cars having this vibration at 70mph were all from the same batch of wheels. Would be difficult to find out though since the tires have to be dismounted and I am not 100% certain that these are manufacture dates or what?