Argetni

8/20/2010 - My 2011 GT Premium has 1200 miles on it now. Since day one there has always been a bit of a shimmy in the wheel which could only can be seen if you let go of the wheel and watch it rock a couple of degrees.

After the car sat for two weeks while I was on vacation the tires must have flat spotted as now there is a vibration all the time on the highway, pretty strong from 80-100 and beyond. I have driven it 300+ miles and it still is bad so something is wrong besides simple flat spotting from sitting and it is not like 2 weeks is a long time.

At times even under 55mph you can watch the steering wheels rock a few degrees if you take your hands off it.

I called the dealer (Mahwah Ford) and they said they will not drive the car 80mph, so I did not even bother to make an appointment.

I moved the rear tires to the front as a test and there was still a shimmy, but it felt different…worse maybe.

I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I took it to Euro Tire in Fairfield, NJ (very highly regarded shop) and had the tires balanced and one turned on the wheel as it had a "high spot" they said. $85 OOP.

STILL SHIMMY/VIBRATION AT 80mph

I then the same day took it to Tire and Wheel performance center in Ridgewood, NJ (another very highly regarded shop). They found 3 out of 4 tires to be out of balance, odd as Euro Tire just balanced them that day but I was in the garage when T&W did the work and the machine showed them out of balance. $55 more OOP

STILL SHIMMY/VIBRATION now from 55-80 and beyond.

8/24/2010 - Now that it was happening at lower speeds I took it to the dealer (Mahwah Ford, Mahwah, NJ) I gave them notes about what had been done so far.

8/25/2010 - Dealer gave the old “unable to reproduce customer concern” They claim they took it up to 85 MPH twice and it was smooth. Nothing more they can do.

08/27/2010 - I went right to my salesman to complain and he put me right into a brand new 2011 on the lot that had 65 miles on it. As soon as I hit the highway with the new car the steering wheel was doing the same dance, mild but there and over 80mph it had a pretty strong vibe, but much less than my car.

At this point I decided to take the car to the shop of a guy I know that owns an exotic car rental business (Gotham Dream Cars). He had his mechanic rebalance the tires on a brand new Hunter GSP 9700. He found all the tires out of balance with Road Force measurements as follows 29,26,9, 6 all within spec. $100 OOP

SHIMMY STILL THERE! MUCH WORSE NOW.

08/28/2010 – I decided to buy another set of tires and wheels to try out from a forum member. 19” Luster nickel painted from a 2010 GT with a couple thousand miles on them. On the ride to his place the car shook so badly at times I had to slow below 55 so I would not get sick.

New wheels and tires mounted, car is smooth up till 70 and pretty good at 80-90 but not very smooth 90-100+. $925 OOP

The previous owner claims his car was very smooth with these wheels.

I also drove his 2010 GT with 19s from a 2010 GT500 and it too had a bit of rocking when you take your hands off the wheel but was otherwise smooth at speeds up to 70mph.

08/29/2010 – I curb my one of my brand new used wheels and have to get it fixed for $135 OOP – looks almost good as new.

09/09/2010 – I took the factory 18” that are off the car to yet another tire shop. They find all 4 out of balance and get this one warped wheel. The guy shows me on the balancer how the wheels does not spin true. He said to put the warped one on the right rear and it should be ok. He said the warped wheel has to be a factory flaw as there is no visible damage and no bends in it, it is just not perfectly round. $45 OOP.

09/10/2010 – 2100 miles on the car now and I am not sure what to do at this point. I paid 33K for a 412HP car that is not smooth over 80mph and am at my wits end. I have spent $1345 OOP and am worse off than I when I started. I am actually debating on buying a BRAND NEW set of aftermarket wheels and tires as a test but I am not a rich man and my wife is ready to divorce me over all of my complaining about this issue.

Interesting tidbit - the shimmy is much worse when in SPORT mode.

shotzy

Did you see the TSB for the gt500 about wheel shimmy? I am still having the shimmy a little bit as well. Not as bad as before but still there.

My dealer is trying to see if ford has any updates for the EPAS. He thinks the problem is there. If not he is going to have to start ripping apart the front end.


If I where you I would try to find a dealer who will work with you. It took me 3 tries to get one. If they cant reproduce the vibration. Have them sit in the car while you are driving and show them. Then what can they say

But my current dealer on long island maybe able to help. Maybe if you call and talk to him it might help us both out. This way he will have 2 seperate cars with the same problem.

Shoot me a pm if you want his contact information.

SynisterGT

This sounds bad. Does anyone know if the 2010s had this problem? If not then it sounds like the EPAS is to be blamed.

Hub2011

Gents,

I just registered so that I could add my story to the evidence already presented:

I got my 5.0 on July 19th and within several weeks was already noticing the "shimmy" in the steering column. About the third week of August, I took it to the dealer who was very anxious to test it out. Like you all, they were unable to replicate it.

I took them for a ride and explained that they needed to get up over 60mph for it... and also explained that I drive in Sport Mode. Sure enough--they saw the shimmy then, too. Since then, I've realized that my ride is about 99% smooth in the more restrictive driving modes... it is just the Sport Mode that has this issue.

I told the dealer about the GT500 TSP for "wheel nibble" and the new calibration that was the proposed fix. The dealer agreed I must be having the same issue, and tried to install that GT500 calibration into my car, but the system wouldn't accept it. Seems we have a different cal for it...

They promised to give me a call if they saw a TSP that applied to me, but I haven't heard anything back these last couple weeks. Here's hoping Ford releases a new calibration for us soon... I think that must be the issue.

Now, when I'm on the freeway, I switch out of Sport Mode to simply "traction control off" or even the regular driving mode. I don't like to compromise like that, but it does work...

dmhines

I've had my 2010 over 100 MPH several times ... and regulary commute at 85 MPH ... No shimmy at all ... If all different sets of tires shimmy .. it's gotta be a bad spindle or something in the suspension.

Argetni

Just like me. Do not get the factory tires rebalanced as it will be worse than ever.

I found out that ford uses a 400k force matching system at the factory and it is a better balance than you will ever get from a tire shop even with the Hunter GSP9700.

It is true too, as the new used factory balanced 19" are MUCH smoother than my now 4 time balanced (different everytime) stock 18"s.

Stay active on the board, it is a great place to be!

Argetni

Here is the TSB for the GT500 EPAS issue - I am betting this is similar

http://www.modularfords.com/forums/s...=1#post1602960

Argetni

I wonder is there is some way to disable the EPAS as a test?

4x4xFord

EPAS is the only thing connecting the steering wheel inputs to the wheels - not something you can turn off...

Argetni

As far as I know the EPAS just provides the assist, there is still a direct mechanical connection the the wheels. This is not steer by wire.

Siber Express

If it is anything like my EPAS on my Mazda it just has a fuse or relay to disable, but it will throw a code.
Also turning at low speed will be a bear.
Now are any of the V6 cars having a problem, or is it only on the 19 inch wheels?

Mustang-4.6

I have not noticed it on mine and I drive in sport mode all the time.

Argetni

Take your hand off the wheel briefly at 80mph and see if the wheel rocks. The brand new 2011 on the lot did just like my car does.

Ltngdrvr

Well, seems to me like you have played with the tires/wheels multiple times and not alleviated the situation so it isn't the tires/wheels.

I would be looking at the rest of the rotating wheel end parts, rotors seem the most likely culprit, but would also check the bearing hubs.

Argetni

I was thinking about those too but the fact that different wheels and tires made such a dramatic change and the fact that at least two others here are experiencing the same issue as well as another 2011 I drove leads me to believe it is releated to the EPAS.

I only found out a few days ago during my shimmy research that rotors had to be balanced too, I wondered why it looks like pieces have been shaved off the rotors, now I know why. My research also leads me to believe the odds of a hub or bearing being the issue are very slim as hubs are allowed 0.00 runout and any bearing or hub issue would manifest itself at lower speeds as well.

tom_vilsack

I would demand a dealership figure it out...and if not i would call fords head office and demand action (tell them car is not safe...and if something doesn't get done,your going to local paper)...and as last resort http://www.lemonlaw.com/nj-lemon-law.html

fordonly

My 2010 GT has wheel shimmy occasionally from 45 to 55mph. Have really only noticed it when I first pull out on the main road from my subdivision. Never noticed it anywhere else or at other speeds. I had my dealer re-balance my wheels and tires but it is still there. So now I just accelerate rapidly to avoid any shimmy. It has to be something non wheel/tire related.

Bert

It seems you have eliminated the wheel balance as the source of the problem.

Since it changes with normal / sport mode, it seems to me that it MUST be the EPAS -- sport calibration seems to be affecting it.

assasinator

only run mine to 140 a bunch of times. nothing.

NJ3

I found some info on EPAS that makes me believe that your EPAS is the culprit as well.