The Wobbling Outlander! A scary tale!
#1
03-03-2011, 03:10 PM
The Wobbling Outlander! A scary tale!
The Wobbling Outlander! A scary tale!
Check this out, everyone.
I have a 2007 Outlander, 4WD. It only has like 30,000 miles on it. Very well maintained, driven regularly.
When I was doing my usual 5,000-mile tire rotation after the oil change (full syn, Bosch premium oil filter, so I run it 5k miles), when the tire guys measured my tires and said I was at 3/32, making it almost "legally bald" for street driving.
I decided to change the Yokohamas I had on for the same size tires, but Falken tires (a decent Japanese-made brand).
AFTER the tires were changed I noticed that when I hit somewhere between 60MPH - 75MPH, the car would "jerk" and "wobble", almost like little "pulls" were happening. Very strange, never had that problem before. This only happened in the highway, and since it's kinda gusty in this are from time to time, I thought it was just wind.
Now, just to clarify, the steering wheel was NOT shaking, so it is unlikely it was an alignment problem. It was just a pull to the sides, gentle, yet noticeable but driver and front passenger alike.
So after driving it a few more days, I realized that wind or no wind, I kept getting these weird "pulls". I went back to the tire shop and had them balance all 4 tires. That did NOT help at all.
So after a couple more days driving (on edge, but knowing the pulls were not that severe to cause a crash), I noticed that the areas on the highway where there were these "cat scratch grooves", the pulls were occurring, while on smooth road, there were almost no "pulls" or "wobbling"!
This is the type of scratches I am talking about (I think they do this to help expansion of road due to heat/cold) - these rule along the road, not designed to make noise by being sideways:
NOW.... here is the kicker: the cheapie factory Yokohama tires people often bash on car forums did not do that!!
Just these Falken ones!
Anyone has any thoughts on this? Could it be the traction control reacting negatively to the types of tread-pattern on the tires???
Could it be suspension or shocks (although car only has 30k miles)?? Any other more "sinister problem" that could be causing the issue?
Any thoughts to this strange tale?
Check this out, everyone.
I have a 2007 Outlander, 4WD. It only has like 30,000 miles on it. Very well maintained, driven regularly.
When I was doing my usual 5,000-mile tire rotation after the oil change (full syn, Bosch premium oil filter, so I run it 5k miles), when the tire guys measured my tires and said I was at 3/32, making it almost "legally bald" for street driving.
I decided to change the Yokohamas I had on for the same size tires, but Falken tires (a decent Japanese-made brand).
AFTER the tires were changed I noticed that when I hit somewhere between 60MPH - 75MPH, the car would "jerk" and "wobble", almost like little "pulls" were happening. Very strange, never had that problem before. This only happened in the highway, and since it's kinda gusty in this are from time to time, I thought it was just wind.
Now, just to clarify, the steering wheel was NOT shaking, so it is unlikely it was an alignment problem. It was just a pull to the sides, gentle, yet noticeable but driver and front passenger alike.
So after driving it a few more days, I realized that wind or no wind, I kept getting these weird "pulls". I went back to the tire shop and had them balance all 4 tires. That did NOT help at all.
So after a couple more days driving (on edge, but knowing the pulls were not that severe to cause a crash), I noticed that the areas on the highway where there were these "cat scratch grooves", the pulls were occurring, while on smooth road, there were almost no "pulls" or "wobbling"!
This is the type of scratches I am talking about (I think they do this to help expansion of road due to heat/cold) - these rule along the road, not designed to make noise by being sideways:
NOW.... here is the kicker: the cheapie factory Yokohama tires people often bash on car forums did not do that!!
Just these Falken ones!Anyone has any thoughts on this? Could it be the traction control reacting negatively to the types of tread-pattern on the tires???
Could it be suspension or shocks (although car only has 30k miles)?? Any other more "sinister problem" that could be causing the issue? Any thoughts to this strange tale?
Last edited by Chris101; 03-03-2011 at 04:59 PM.
#2
03-03-2011, 06:42 PM
I am guessing the grooves in the road may be there to allow water to drain so it doesn't sit on the surface of the road. This prevents hydroplaning and if you live in an area where temps drop below freezing this can help prevent ice on the road.
As far as the wobble, I could see where this may happen. It's possible the tire may be riding on top of the grooves and not always making full contact with the road. If that's the case and the grooves are not in a perfectly straight line, the tire is going to follow the contour of the grooves which may explain the wobble.
As far as why the Yokohama's didn't do this and the Falken's do, it just may be something related to the tread pattern of the 2 different tires. Tire manufacturers test their tires on a wide variety of road surfaces, but this may be one the Falken people never tested on.
I doubt it's a problem with your suspension, but you can make sure by finding a highway without the grooves and speed up to 60-75 mph to see if you have the problem.
If this really is a problem with the Falken's and you can't avoid these roads in your everyday driving, contact their factory rep or the dealer where you bought the tires to see if you can exchange them for another set of Falken's with a different tread design.
As far as the wobble, I could see where this may happen. It's possible the tire may be riding on top of the grooves and not always making full contact with the road. If that's the case and the grooves are not in a perfectly straight line, the tire is going to follow the contour of the grooves which may explain the wobble.
As far as why the Yokohama's didn't do this and the Falken's do, it just may be something related to the tread pattern of the 2 different tires. Tire manufacturers test their tires on a wide variety of road surfaces, but this may be one the Falken people never tested on.
I doubt it's a problem with your suspension, but you can make sure by finding a highway without the grooves and speed up to 60-75 mph to see if you have the problem.
If this really is a problem with the Falken's and you can't avoid these roads in your everyday driving, contact their factory rep or the dealer where you bought the tires to see if you can exchange them for another set of Falken's with a different tread design.
Last edited by azjake; 03-03-2011 at 06:50 PM.
#3
03-03-2011, 08:56 PM
Grippier tires will tend to follow those lines more than cheaper ones. Since the Outlander has pretty decent steering feel (i.e you can't use a finger to turn the wheel), they have more impact on the direction the tires are going. That's why it "pulls" towards wherever those are going.
Its totally normal, I have a sportier car that pulls like crazy on any bumps because I have grippy tires plus the steering feel is even less assisted than the Outlander.
Btw, those lines do a number on your tires, they shouldn't be using them on roads unless they are about to pave them. I've never seen those on bridge decks even here...they are supposed to be perpendicular to the road surface and should be made during the concrete pour before it hardens like they do on sidewalks.
Its totally normal, I have a sportier car that pulls like crazy on any bumps because I have grippy tires plus the steering feel is even less assisted than the Outlander.
Btw, those lines do a number on your tires, they shouldn't be using them on roads unless they are about to pave them. I've never seen those on bridge decks even here...they are supposed to be perpendicular to the road surface and should be made during the concrete pour before it hardens like they do on sidewalks.
#4
03-03-2011, 11:32 PM
My Outie does the same thing and I have the same tires. It is caused by the rain groves not being perfectly straight. Strange feeling but not to worry about. My Outie and Montero act weird also when the pavement is depressed from heavy trucks, I get pulls and more movement than I like while driving.
#5
03-04-2011, 05:05 PM
the pulling of the vehicle could very well be an alignment problem.
it is recommended that when new tires are installed, an alignment inspection and adjustment should be done.
if you were getting vibrates through the steering, yes, it would be a balancing issue.
but you are getting vehicle pulls, which is more of an alignment issue.
maybe if you could, take another car, go on the same road, see if theres any pulling on that road; did the yokos pull too when you drove there?
i say very likely is the road being not paved properly can contribute to the issue as well
i would read reviews on the tire online, see what other people say about them. bring it back to the installer, have them test drive and see. these tires might be defective, and the installer can return them back to falken if require. falken makes good products, if the tire's rain groove is not straight like above said, thats not normal, it would be a defective tire if it was new. if the tire wears out like that, then your vehicle have alignment issue. if the installer was kind, they would actually take another set of tires, maybe different name, and install it on your car to see if you have the same issue or not. if same issue occurs, maybe is something else. damaged wheel bearing, links, etc.
it is recommended that when new tires are installed, an alignment inspection and adjustment should be done.
if you were getting vibrates through the steering, yes, it would be a balancing issue.
but you are getting vehicle pulls, which is more of an alignment issue.
maybe if you could, take another car, go on the same road, see if theres any pulling on that road; did the yokos pull too when you drove there?
i say very likely is the road being not paved properly can contribute to the issue as well
i would read reviews on the tire online, see what other people say about them. bring it back to the installer, have them test drive and see. these tires might be defective, and the installer can return them back to falken if require. falken makes good products, if the tire's rain groove is not straight like above said, thats not normal, it would be a defective tire if it was new. if the tire wears out like that, then your vehicle have alignment issue. if the installer was kind, they would actually take another set of tires, maybe different name, and install it on your car to see if you have the same issue or not. if same issue occurs, maybe is something else. damaged wheel bearing, links, etc.
Last edited by ShortyRider; 03-04-2011 at 05:11 PM.
#6
03-05-2011, 11:49 AM
Is it normal for it to wobble under winds of about 40mph avg under smooth pavement. i been getting pulling or wobbling which kinda surprises me cuz the steering is tight and it drives straight when its calm.
#8
03-06-2011, 08:18 PM
how strong is the wind? how bad is the wobble?
where you on a freeway with just empty land, or in the city with building around?
-pulling and wobbling are different.
- pulling = vehicle actually pulling off the road to one side. this is cause by alignment problem. the steering wheel could be straight, and it could still be pulling left or right. pulling usually dont stop itself, it will continue to pull (of course, hands off the wheel). most mechanic test alignment problems by driving the vehicle at speed on straight smooth roads, hands off steering for 4-5 sec. if no pulling occurs, alignment is good.
- wobble = vehicle wants the go straight, but due to strong wind or bad condition of the roads, it doesn't. it may want to have very small pulls to the left or right, but it wont stay there for long. meaning car will pull for 0.5 of a sec., then stop and functions fine again.
to test vehicles' performance when it comes to these issue (pulling, wobbles, vibration in steering), best to drive at 100 - 110 km/h on a smooth straight road. thats the speed where must issue will kick in, and as the driver, you could feel them thru the driving experience.
Last edited by ShortyRider; 03-06-2011 at 08:20 PM.
#9
03-07-2011, 02:23 AM
it really depends.
how strong is the wind? how bad is the wobble?
where you on a freeway with just empty land, or in the city with building around?
-pulling and wobbling are different.
- pulling = vehicle actually pulling off the road to one side. this is cause by alignment problem. the steering wheel could be straight, and it could still be pulling left or right. pulling usually dont stop itself, it will continue to pull (of course, hands off the wheel). most mechanic test alignment problems by driving the vehicle at speed on straight smooth roads, hands off steering for 4-5 sec. if no pulling occurs, alignment is good.
- wobble = vehicle wants the go straight, but due to strong wind or bad condition of the roads, it doesn't. it may want to have very small pulls to the left or right, but it wont stay there for long. meaning car will pull for 0.5 of a sec., then stop and functions fine again.
to test vehicles' performance when it comes to these issue (pulling, wobbles, vibration in steering), best to drive at 100 - 110 km/h on a smooth straight road. thats the speed where must issue will kick in, and as the driver, you could feel them thru the driving experience.
how strong is the wind? how bad is the wobble?
where you on a freeway with just empty land, or in the city with building around?
-pulling and wobbling are different.
- pulling = vehicle actually pulling off the road to one side. this is cause by alignment problem. the steering wheel could be straight, and it could still be pulling left or right. pulling usually dont stop itself, it will continue to pull (of course, hands off the wheel). most mechanic test alignment problems by driving the vehicle at speed on straight smooth roads, hands off steering for 4-5 sec. if no pulling occurs, alignment is good.
- wobble = vehicle wants the go straight, but due to strong wind or bad condition of the roads, it doesn't. it may want to have very small pulls to the left or right, but it wont stay there for long. meaning car will pull for 0.5 of a sec., then stop and functions fine again.
to test vehicles' performance when it comes to these issue (pulling, wobbles, vibration in steering), best to drive at 100 - 110 km/h on a smooth straight road. thats the speed where must issue will kick in, and as the driver, you could feel them thru the driving experience.
