Don't you just love it when the dealership pulls that crap. You're thinking "Yeah fool, I made it all up because I have nothing better to do than bring you my car with phantom problems."

By the way there were a number of 2010 models that had issues with the steering wheel vibrating at higher speeds and fixes for it ran the gambit from simply balancing the tires to total wheel and tire replacement. One guy even said that taking the clips off his lugs on the rotor fixed the problem.

 

Yet another update.

I spent another $100 today (Total $240 on this shimmy) at an exotic car shop today that deals in Ferraris and Lambos.

They balanced the tires on a brand new Hunter GSP9700 roadforce balancer.

Roadforce was as follows 29,26,9,6, the machine said up to 40 was within limits but 29 is a hell of a lot more than 6 and I think those two tires are causing the issue.

Some wheels took 3oz to balance.

STILL A VIBRATION!

Tomorrow morning I am driving 150 miles round trip to try out a take off set of 19"s from a 2010 GT that the owner said drove perfect over 80mph.

IF my cars drives fine with them I will buy them and be done with it.

IF my car still has vibes with them I think I will have to be trading it in I am sorry to say as I do not think it will ever get fixed though I will try another dealer or two first and maybe call corporate.

 

Man I hope you don't end up having to trade a brand new 2011. Ouch.

 

Me too, me too.

Sticker was 36600 and I owe 32k right now and I bet trade in is like 26k-27k if I am lucky.

So I would lose 2k that I put down and two payments of 555 so far plus another 5-6k minimum.

So 9k for 2.5 months of ownership

 

There is NO WAY I would let the dealer get away with not fixing that. The first time the dealer said they wouldn't test drive it over 65 I would've been having them call the district service dude to tell me that. And then he could call HIS boss. As far as I'm concerned, that thing should ride smooth as silk up to 140 or whatever the factory limiter is set at. And if it doesn't, THEY have a problem, and THEY need to fix it or replace it. End of story. Quit sepending your money and start making more noise.

 

First, do not consider a trade at this stage. Ford is bound by the warranty to make this right.

Does NJ have a Lemon Law? Check with your State Attorney's office.

Next contact Ford corporate and explain the situation, in writing. Send a certified letter with a return receipt. This let's them know you are serious. Keep the letter cordial, and factual. Do not bad mouth the dealer, the car or Ford, after all you want them to make things right. Remind Ford, this could be a safety issue, and you would like them to replace the car, if the problem cannot be corrected.

After Ford responds, depending on their answer, file a complaint with NHTSA, on line, referencing this as a safety issue.

Then, file a complaint in accordance with the Lemon Law.

You should not have to suffer any financial loss over this issue. Be patient, and keep your speed at the posted limit where there is no vibration, until the matter is settled.

One last thing, I realize you have had the tires and wheels balanced, several times, but have any of the techs suggested or tested the tires for being out of round. I have had tires do this when they were slightly egg shaped. I actually had tires shaved to correct this type of problem.

 

I'd say this problem isn't with your wheels/tires. Its time to start looking under the car.

Its also time to make some noise with the dealer. Like John mentioned, figure out what your state says about Lemon Laws. Be professional every step of the way, but don't budge.

 

Today with my road forced balanced tires the car shook like a leaf on the way to get my new wheels, at times I could not exceed 55mph.

I now have new (used 2k miles) 19" painted luster nickel wheels from a 2010 GT, still factory balanced.

My car now rides much better, however there is still some vibration over 80mph, much better than it was but not perfect. The previous owner stated that these wheels had no vibration on his car at 80
+mph. On the bright side the 19”s look outstanding on the car!

So I have now spent $1165 ($925 wheels, $240 on 3 balances on old wheels/tires)on this vibration and still the car is not perfect. I am never going to get any help from the dealer unless they can "duplicate" the issue.

I drove the guys 2010 GT that I bought the wheels from and it had a similar vibration at high speed as did the brand new 2011 GT I drove at the dealer. I am starting to think it is a ”feature” of these cars and maybe I am too sensitive. I do know that my wife’s 2010 Honda CR-V is MUCH more smooth at 90mph than my GT.

I do not think it is drive shaft or trans/engine related as putting the AUTO trans into neutral at 80mph makes no change.

I guess the next step will be to try another dealer.

 

put your old wheels back on (ones that you say shake and cant go over 55)

make a appointment with another dealership...take them out...demand head tech guy (you drive just over 55) then get him to drive....if issue,demand new tires/wheels....

your spending all this money for nothing...you have a warrenty...you just have to me a bit more aggressive with ford dealerships and or company itself....

 

You shouldn't have spent all that money on wheels and balancing on a new car that had vibration issues and is still under warranty. This is completely insane. It is a dealership ( Ford) problem. They should keep the car as long as the issue is not solved period. End of discussion.

 

Now here is the weird thing. After the nasty shaking ride to the guys house I let the car sit for maybe 5 minutes. I then let the wheel seller drive my car and it was smooth at 70mph until after a few minutes of driving then the shimmy started again even at 55mph.

 

The thing is that you should have been pushing the dealer harder, not spending YOUR money.
I have two different cars with two different types of GT rims on them
Neither of my cars has any issue with high speed vibration.
It is not normal.

 

What can I do when they say unable to duplicate?

 

If you haven't escalated it to the GM, that would be my next step. If you have and they still won't work with you, then start calling Ford.

I had (have) a similar situation with the brakes on my Taurus. I was one of the first to report an intermittent grinding, and I heard the same song from the dealer. Can't duplicate it, we don't wanna look at it. Even when they heard it while driving with me, they still wanted to replicate the problem later before working on it. There's a TSB now, but it's not fixing the problem for me and a lot of other folks. It's frustrating enough when you have a KNOWN issue and can't get it fixed... you must be pulling your hair out.

 

at that point you get the serv manager inthe car and dont let him out til the car vibrates.

"unable to duplicate" is a way they can charge ford for the warenty work and NOT do anything to the car..

had an issue with my brakes on my 95 gt.. if i hit them hard enough the light on the dash would turn on..

brought the car to the dealer 2 times "unable to duplicate".. took the car out of the lot duplicated it right there.. drove back in to the shop.. told the serv manager to get inthe car..

slammed on the brakes and said watch the dash.. guess what.. I DUPLICATED IT ..

they kept the car for 3 day to track the issue.. fixed it.. never had the problem again..

get the MANAGER in the car and dont let him out til is start shaking.. then say.. i guiess its duplicated..

and STOP SPENDING YOUR MONEY TO FIX A WARENTY ISSUE, and put the :"factory tires on" not the new ones..

 

Just a thought if you do decide on putting on the wheel locks let the dealer do it ! why well when I ordered mine I let them & then when they went to rotate the tires one day the broke the key & one lug , they said that because I put them on I'd have to pay for the fix ! Ah check your facts look up my order they did it they fixed it & I never will use them again , the same thing happened to me on my 05 Mustang.
vibration at 80-85 ish sounds like maybe something could have been bent on the car being tied down in shipping, or a bad tire. I'd tell them if something happens because of this problem you reported (HAVE PROOF) then tell the dealer it'll be on thier head !

 

Interesting tidbit, the shimmy is MUCH STRONGER when SPORT MODE is enabled. The sport mode must change the EPS settings.

 

about the locks if say the wheel was cold & the key was warm one of them snapped, I'm sure it was what happened to me so just maybe having both key & lug close to same temp may be better ? dunno

 

is this also now happening with your new wheels/tires (shimmy after about 5 min)?

im getting feeling something is wrong other then just said wheels/tires.....

 

I had a similar issue with a car of mine. Took the the car to a tire shop and what they discovered was very shocking...lol. It turns out that the vibration issue was caused by water! Thats right, you heard right! there was water inside the tire. The guys told me that sometimes there is a lot condensation that builds inside air compressors and transfers into your tires. I never would of thought that!!!

They removed the water and no more vibration!!

Something to consider...



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