[Wingnutts]

I'm all dialed in with the m3 control arms now in the front and the rear. However I'm still getting a mild steering wheel shake at 70+. Car handles great until the higher speeds. I noticed last weekend that my front right strut is leaking and most likely blown after numerous pot holes in the past 4 months. I should have the new strut hopefully by this weekend and we'll find out if that is the problem. Tires are brand new Firestone Indy 500's and their balance was rechecked as well.

[Wingnutts]

Since I can't go to work, I spent the afternoon replacing the blown strut. Night and day. The steering wheel vibration above 70 mph is completely gone and the tight steering is back. I kind of figured the strut was the culprit after checking everything, but there is always the apprehension of the first test drive that if it wasn't the problem, I'd be back at square one...

[E92William]

These cars just have to be pieces of junk. No way even the dealer can't figure out what the hell is wrong with it.
I've been through 2 sets of wheels
4 sets of tires
New thrust arms
Countless alignments and balances
And still feel a vibration mostly on the seat now. 4 new Firestone indy 500s
I am inches away from selling this on offer up and buying an e9x from carmax with their bumper to bumper warranty and leave them to deal with it.
Literally sick of it I have spent enough on a 328 to put new turbos on my old 335i

[colorado.e9x]

Might not help anyone who's commenting rn.. but my best friend who used to work at a tire shop once told me to tell your tire shop to balance them perfectly. Otherwise they'll balance them just enough for 'normal' use.

My car can start to shake at speeds above 70. I didn't know that tidbit of info before I got my wheels balanced.

[E92William]

I am going back to the two places I went to to have them rebalanced. I screwed up by not getting the set from the same place. Will tell them it's vibrating at over 60 and that this car sees 100mph regularly so they know it has to be done right

[ezecaffeine]

Originally Posted by colorado.e9x

Might not help anyone who's commenting rn.. but my best friend who used to work at a tire shop once told me to tell your tire shop to balance them perfectly. Otherwise they'll balance them just enough for 'normal' use.

My car can start to shake at speeds above 70. I didn't know that tidbit of info before I got my wheels balanced.

So I’m running into a issue. People at the schomp Bmw are saying that the vibration is normal. Do you know anyone that works there that can look into more?

[colorado.e9x]

Originally Posted by ezecaffeine

So I’m running into a issue. People at the schomp Bmw are saying that the vibration is normal. Do you know anyone that works there that can look into more?

No I got no info on that unfortunately. I'm 6 hours out from Denver

[Kajun]

Dealing with this for over a year. Everyone thinks I'm freak'in crazy. My daughter refuses to ride with me because she says all i do is bitch about the vibration from point A to point B and back again. I have been working on this everyday and just spent over $5000.00 at a highly reviewed euro garage in Atlanta that specializes in BMW/Tuning/Racing. And, it worst and that's how its supposed be he says. So im reaching out trying to find some answers. I would like to know how many of you still dealing with vibration issues have had your car lowered? If so did you every have your sway bars and links checked. I read a post a couple days ago where installing adjustable end links fix several cars with lowered suspension and vibrations. Alot of people disagree with this but i have always thought this to be my issue. Also, i see a lot of post about bent rims and i think i can help. Find a tire shop that does tire truing (i think that's what its called) and have them true your tires. They shave down the high spots while they are on the car, and yes you loose some miles but they will ride buttery smooth if everything else is working.

Be safe,
Kajun (might be going crazy)
2008 e93 (i still love her, i just don't like to ride in her anymore)
Bilstien B12 Pro kit (my problem started after install)
Replaced everything on the vibration list
Roadforced (i never new a tire balance could cost that much)

Originally Posted by Kajun

Replaced everything on the vibration list

Like/such as?

What numbers did you get back after road force? If they didn't give you a reading for the runout of each wheel, tire, and final assembly road force numbers then you wasted your time/money.

Was the B12 kit used? You install it yourself? I find it hard to believe that those parts contributed anything to vibration unless they are faulty, were installed wrong, or the vibration was there all along and you're just now realizing it.

[thormessiah]

Recently got a new suspension setup in koni yellows with eibach springs, along with m3 control arms. I took the car to get aligned at a local Belden's but they did half- assed job and i had to retake it later that week to get re-aligned. The car still didn't drive 100% straight but I let it slide.
Anyways I also got new rims and tires (all balanced) and right after started to notice crazy steering wheel shake at 75-80 mph on the highway. I'm talking I would let go of the steering wheel & that thing looked like it was possessed. The car would still go straight though. I could mostly feel the vibration through the wheel itself. The weird part: it only happens when driving on certain parts of the highway. In some places it's more subtle or gone completely. I had spacers and removed them thinking they were the issue but they were not.

[Bideul]

Originally Posted by thormessiah

Recently got a new suspension setup in koni yellows with eibach springs, along with m3 control arms. I took the car to get aligned at a local Belden's but they did half- assed job and i had to retake it later that week to get re-aligned. The car still didn't drive 100% straight but I let it slide.
Anyways I also got new rims and tires (all balanced) and right after started to notice crazy steering wheel shake at 75-80 mph on the highway. I'm talking I would let go of the steering wheel & that thing looked like it was possessed. The car would still go straight though. I could mostly feel the vibration through the wheel itself. The weird part: it only happens when driving on certain parts of the highway. In some places it's more subtle or gone completely. I had spacers and removed them thinking they were the issue but they were not.

I have the same problem at 105km/h (~65mph).
I double check my front discs (remove, clean, reassemble with correct torque) and I have no play nowhere.
It's not related to wheels as it happens with summer & winter wheels (re balanced many times).
Can it be related to a shaft or a bearing with no specific noise ?
Thanks for your help.

[thormessiah]

Originally Posted by Bideul

I have the same problem at 105km/h (~65mph).
I double check my front discs (remove, clean, reassemble with correct torque) and I have no play nowhere.
It's not related to wheels as it happens with summer & winter wheels (re balanced many times).
Can it be related to a shaft or a bearing with no specific noise ?
Thanks for your help.

I’m pretty sure mine isn’t a wheel issue either. The rears have been balanced once at a Big O Tires, and the fronts had been originally balanced when I got the rims, then rebalanced when I upgraded to PS4s. I’ll take it to my mechanic this week and ask if it could be a mount issue

[aschwanken]

Hello all,

I wish I found this forum earlier because that would have saved me a lot of time and money. I own a 2013 520d with 120.000 km on it.
Just like the original poster, I first noticed the issue when I switched to my winter tyres (brand new 17' BMW Style 236 rims with brand new NOKIAN WRD4 winter tyres). The symptoms could be observed at ~90 km/h, like a weird low-freq in your ears along with a light chassis vibration - this is somewhat like when you lower the car window at a rather high speed. Of course, the first thing I did was rebalancing my wheels (obviously, for no benefit). After letting it slide for that winter when switching back to the summer tyres i could still notice the vibration and the booming from the rear. And then I really started to throw money at it :
1. rebalanced (even roadforce on the Hunter) and switched wheels positions (numerous times);
2. rolled the 18" rims that I use for the summer tyres ;
3. replaced driveshaft rear end bushing/guibo - no change;
4. replaced diff rear bushing;
5. replaced driveshaft - that was costly;
6. replaced front bearings;
7. replaced engine mounts;
8. replaced automatic gearbox bushing;
9. replaced the drive axles (yeah, both of them) - a bit better but not completely gone;
And the vibration/booming sound was never completely gone until I replaced this last piece which I could not even think of unless I read about it here.
10. REAR BRAKE ROTORS and brake pads.

I have to say that I ruled out anything that could possibly come from the front end of the car. The mechanic removed the rear wheels, raised the car on the car lift, I put it in drive and brought the car to that speed where I knew the vibration was occurring. The sound and the vibration was noticeable even with the wheels out of the way and the front end not moving. Didn't think to remove the rotors too at that point, it would have saved me the cost of the drive axles .

I hope this is helpful for others as well.

[thormessiah]

I got my rims checked today as the problem persists and they are perfectly fine. I also got new engine and transmission mounts so the car handles like a dream until I hit 65 and then the vibration starts. Idk what it could be at this point

Originally Posted by aschwanken

10. REAR BRAKE ROTORS and brake pads.

I have to say that I ruled out anything that could possibly come from the front end of the car. The mechanic removed the rear wheels, raised the car on the car lift, I put it in drive and brought the car to that speed where I knew the vibration was occurring. The sound and the vibration was noticeable even with the wheels out of the way and the front end not moving. Didn't think to remove the rotors too at that point, it would have saved me the cost of the drive axles .

I hope this is helpful for others as well.

Crazy dude...congrats to sticking with it though.

How can this even be possible..?? What did you notice (physically on the rotors themselves) when replacing them which pointed to them causing this?

[aschwanken]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

Crazy dude...congrats to sticking with it though.

How can this even be possible..?? What did you notice (physically on the rotors themselves) when replacing them which pointed to them causing this?

The side that I was able to see looked perfectly fine, however the other one was rusted really bad. The rotors were BMW labeled and i believe they were the original/factory ones (120k+ km).

[noisebot122]

Created a profile to comment on this thread. I bought a 2011 e91 m sport about a month ago and am tracking down the source of my vibration slowly but surely. Started with balancing wheels and alignment. Changed rear shocks as they were leaking and generally bad shape. Installed new rotors, calipers and pads all four corners. Changing the rear brakes made the most difference as the vibration i felt on the highway was completely gone. parked the car overnight and it came back on my way to work.
WHAT I THINK IS HAPPENING is there is some restriction in the soft lines restricting brake fluid flow in and out of the caliper basically making them drag. I noticed neither rear line dripped all that much fluid when i removed the old calipers. When i removed the old front calipers there was much heavier flow of fluid. I got the hoses on order and Will post next week with results.

[thormessiah]

Originally Posted by thormessiah

I got my rims checked today as the problem persists and they are perfectly fine. I also got new engine and transmission mounts so the car handles like a dream until I hit 65 and then the vibration starts. Idk what it could be at this point

Just wanted to update and say I got a new rim which I decided to swap out for one of the front ones that had curb rash. I took the car to discount tire and got both front tires d road force balanced and the vibration is 80% gone. There’s is still a little bit once I hit 80 mph and over certain parts of the highway but it’s way better. Maybe the rear tires need the same treatment?

[thormessiah]

Originally Posted by thormessiah

Just wanted to update and say I got a new rim which I decided to swap out for one of the front ones that had curb rash. I took the car to discount tire and got both front tires d road force balanced and the vibration is 80% gone. There’s is still a little bit once I hit 80 mph and over certain parts of the highway but it’s way better. Maybe the rear tires need the same treatment?

So after getting the Rear tires road force , there is still a slight tremor in both B the steering wheel and pedal at speeds of 80 mph or more. It’s not as jarring as it used to be but still enough to be perceptible and annoying. In fact it almost feels like I was driving over very small gravel rocks. I’m at a loss for what it could be at this point, but it’s for sure not the tires or the rims. I sort of feel it could be coming from the rear of the car, but again I’m not sure.

[e90yyc]

Car is 2007 328xi with 200k miles.

I've been having vibration issues for a while now, so here's a summary of what I've done. So far I've replaced parts that are clearly worn, but I'm at the point where I'm going to start looking for specific culprits in what might be causing my vibration issues.

What I've replaced/done so far:

• Front and rear shocks, mounts, bump stops, etc. OE Sachs.
• Front wheel bearings
• Sway bar links and bushings front and rear
• Control arms, tension struts, full tie rods (original tie rods were tight even at 200k miles, but I replaced anyway since I had parts)
• New front tires (due to pothole impact, but vibration unchanged before/after)
• Four-wheel alignment at dealership

Some of the shimmying I had was characteristic of worn tension struts, and replacing them definitely improved that greatly. But, I've still got some subtle vibration in the steering wheel and more noticeably in the seat at higher speeds. It seems most noticeable on new pavement—I suspect rougher surfaces "mask" the feeling better.

Further diagnostics:

• Remove front driveshaft; inspect u-joints and drive vehicle without shaft installed to check for vibration

  U-joints seem tight with no play. I've been driving the vehicle without the driveshaft in for a couple months now and haven't noticed any difference in vibration. Car is more fun to drive though!

• One key diagnostic test I did that I've seen only a few people mention here is to raise the car and run it up to speed. When I did this prior to removing my front driveshaft, I noticed a definite vibration at speed. I had removed my front wheels as well, so tire imbalance could not have been the culprit.

  The mistake I made here was not getting a helper to run the car while I looked/felt for the source of the vibration. Thinking the culprit might be the axles, I set my phone to record each side as I sat in the car and ran it, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I was in a time crunch so I just took off the driveshaft and won't be able to repeat the test until I reinstall the driveshaft (even with DSC off the car freaks out).

What's next?

• Inspect all four brake calipers and rotors for sticking and uneven wear
• Re-attach front driveshaft and have a helper run vehicle to highway speed with wheels in air while I look and check for vibrations

  I plan to take this test further by removing all four wheels in order to eliminate the possibility that a bad rim/tire is the culprit. I fully suspect the vibration to persist without the wheels on.

• Inspect rear driveshaft, guibos, and center support bearing

[thormessiah]

I'm starting to suspect it might be something to do with my brakes. Theres a slight vibration in the steering wheel when decelerating from 60 mph>. I'll check the calipers and rotors for warping to make sure, but both sets are 2 years old.

[e90yyc]

As promised, here's an update. Pasted and marked up from my post above.

What's next?

• Inspect all four brake calipers and rotors for sticking and uneven wear
  

  Nothing of note here. All four calipers slide freely on their pins, and the pads are not showing any signs of uneven wear. No reason to suspect warped rotors either as the car does not vibrate under braking.

• Re-attach front driveshaft and have a helper run vehicle to highway speed with wheels in air while I look and check for vibrations
  

  Re-attached front driveshaft and re-tested vehicle for driveline vibrations. There was a very noticeable vibration that was tied directly to vehicle speed, beginning around 50 mph and worsening as speed increased. I only ran it up to about 75 mph. As far as I can tell, this would point to the driveshaft given what I've replaced so far. All four wheels were removed for this test, so there is no way this is wheel related. I did not get a helper for this, but did get some video of the driveshaft at the rear diff. Too hard to tell if this is the culprit, but given the guibos and CSB are original with > 200k miles on the car, it's time to replace them anyway.

• Inspect rear driveshaft, guibos, and center support bearing
  

  Due to heat shielding obstructing my view, I was only able to inspect the flex disc at the rear differential. It was cracked, so I imagine the front disc would be cracked as well. I was unable to inspect the center support bearing.

Now what?

• Replace front and rear flex discs (guibos)
  
• Replace center support (full assembly incl. bearing)
  
• Replace driveshaft end bushings (BMW calls these centring mounts)

I've obviously been dealing with multiple vibrations of different origins along the way, and thankfully have seen improvement as I've replaced parts (particularly control arms). If the driveshaft work I'm about to do doesn't take care of this vibration—and I'm fully expecting it will, given the vibration seems to be coming from the middle of the car and not through the steering wheel—then I really don't know what to look at next.

I'll provide another update once I'm done this work in a couple weeks.