Brand new 17 Explorer shakes so bad makes us sick,

[Sgt1411]

Although I picked up my Explorer on Oct. 31st, the OEM wheels were put into storage at the dealership which then put on my Winter setup. Last week I had the OEM wheels put back on and got to drive on them for the first time. During the 15 mile trip home they felt a little different ( hard to explain) than what I was used to with the Blizzacks. The next day in a 54 mile round trip they felt the same, but I thought it was just that they were new and required some 'breaking in'. Then the following day the really vibrated like they were 'flat spotted' and after a mile or two it smoothed out a little but not completely during the 40 mile trip. I called the dealer the next day about the vibration and possible need for a wheel balance and they booked me in that afternoon. They ended up balancing all four wheels. One was out quite bit more than the others. I was told that after attest drive it was quite a bit better but suggested I give it some time and mileage and then call them back to see how it is going. The vehicle drove much better but there was still a very slight vibration at the higher end 60+ but overall at least a 95% improvement. There was no charge for the service.

Peter

I have almost the exact same condition on my 17 Sport......I will try the balancing service and see what happens.

 

[Pete6114]

No, when everything is closed and going 30-40mph. My wife hasn't said anything but I notice when I'm in the car. It feels like when a rear window is open but at a lower level, enough that I notice when I'm in the car.

I noticed the same thing yesterday on our very first little trip (300km) in our 2017 EX. I checked to make sure all the windows were shut out of habit. I also found this vehicle rather noisy, and that's with the windows up and radio off. Just a lot of noise entering the cabin.
As far as the OP of this thread: I wont call him a troll or other names. He has every right to expect a problem free vehicle and just shouldn't have to deal with tire, or other issues right out of the barn. One of the cheapest tires to boot. Just wondering why the heck that didn't show up during the PDI, unless they didn't road test it.
OP has over 50,000 rights to be pissed off.

 

[Frankie Smith]

CAtoFLin1994 thank you for your info. I also have a 17 Limited with the 20" wheels. They are the Hankook Ventus S1 tires. We took ours to the dealer 3 days after purchasing because we felt a vibration in the floor. The Service manager also test drove it and confirmed there was a vibration. They re-Roadforced balanced the tires and added air. I drove it home and didnt really notice anything. My wife drove it the next day and called me to tell me it wasnt fixed. I went out and looked over the wheels. 2 wheels have 7 1/4oz weights. 1 wheel has 4 1/4oz and 1 wheel has none. I now have to call the dealer again to tell them its still doing it..

 

[CAtoFLin1994]

CAtoFLin1994 thank you for your info. I also have a 17 Limited with the 20" wheels. They are the Hankook Ventus S1 tires. We took ours to the dealer 3 days after purchasing because we felt a vibration in the floor. The Service manager also test drove it and confirmed there was a vibration. They re-Roadforced balanced the tires and added air. I drove it home and didnt really notice anything. My wife drove it the next day and called me to tell me it wasnt fixed. I went out and looked over the wheels. 2 wheels have 7 1/4oz weights. 1 wheel has 4 1/4oz and 1 wheel has none. I now have to call the dealer again to tell them its still doing it..

No problem good luck Frankie. I still have a smaller hop on the right rear and I believe right front. You really can't feel it from the driver seat, but when I was a passenger this past week I could feel it. I am just going to bring it to my mechanic I met through Tire Rack to do a road force balance. I think it may be the rim, my mechanic said could be, but has not seen a lot of it. He felt the almost 7oz. was a stretch but within range. I won't be able to get it to him until another 3-4 weeks though. I also went down to the dealer and looked at about 20 Explorers and 10+ other Fords. Only 2 had weights in amounts close to mine, an Explorer with 5oz. and a Mustang that had at least 10 -12 inches! of 1/2oz weights from the factory. I will let you know what I find, and please post what you find out on yours too but, as I stated before it is discerning having 3-4 tires out of round. I'll never buy this tire again for the Explorer.

 

[613GT500]

I can safely state that the vibration is likely due to the stock Hankook tires on the 20" rims.
Now that I'm back on the all-seasons, I feel much more road feedback and vibrations.
When on winters, it was actually a much better ride, with the obvious being a softer rubber compound and smaller 18" rims.

 

[Frankie Smith]

well I called my Dealer. He wants to talk to the Service Manager and do some research. after researching this issue and seeing how many complaints have been made with this Hankook Ventus tire I feel pretty confident that the tires are the issue. They were already recalled last year for having a defective sidewall. That doesn't give me comfort. Still a little puzzled that Ford would use a Korean tire to begin with.

 

[peterk9]

well I called my Dealer. He wants to talk to the Service Manager and do some research. after researching this issue and seeing how many complaints have been made with this Hankook Ventus tire I feel pretty confident that the tires are the issue. They were already recalled last year for having a defective sidewall. That doesn't give me comfort. Still a little puzzled that Ford would use a Korean tire to begin with.

As I have mention before, these are a passenger car tire, not an SUV tire according to the Hankook website.

Peter

 

[CAtoFLin1994]

No problem good luck Frankie. I still have a smaller hop on the right rear and I believe right front. You really can't feel it from the driver seat, but when I was a passenger this past week I could feel it. I am just going to bring it to my mechanic I met through Tire Rack to do a road force balance. I think it may be the rim, my mechanic said could be, but has not seen a lot of it. He felt the almost 7oz. was a stretch but within range. I won't be able to get it to him until another 3-4 weeks though. I also went down to the dealer and looked at about 20 Explorers and 10+ other Fords. Only 2 had weights in amounts close to mine, an Explorer with 5oz. and a Mustang that had at least 10 -12 inches! of 1/2oz weights from the factory. I will let you know what I find, and please post what you find out on yours too but, as I stated before it is discerning having 3-4 tires out of round. I'll never buy this tire again for the Explorer.

To bring everyone up to speed I have had 3 of my 4 tires replaced under warranty due to tire hop with the Hankook Noble model. Technically it really is 4 because they couldn't get one of the brand new replacements in tolerance during the installation and balancing. I bypassed my dealer this last time and brought the Explorer to our Tire Rack installer and he found the right rear to be just on the border of out of tolerance. He was able to get it down to 21lbs. on the road force balance from a worst of 24lbs to 44lbs!. He rotated the tires 180 and was able to shave 3 oz. of weights off the original 6 3/4oz. The rim was checked and rechecked and is near perfect. The first words from my guy were these tires ( and just like Peter has said), are more for passenger vehicles being a 105 vs a 109 for heavier vehicles. The tires actually perform pretty good, they are quiet and they handle the rain we get here in Southwest Florida.
I doubt I will keep these tires for anywhere near their expected life though. I am headed on a 1,100 mile trip so I'll report back if any more issues crop up. I'm done with ever putting Hankooks on this Explorer though. I have never in 40+ years of driving had anywhere near the issues that these tires have given us. Michelin here I come.

 

[17sportny]

I find it amazing how many people had the same experience we have had with vibrations. The tires still flat spot sitting for only a couple of days. It goes away after a few miles.I gave up with the dealer as they said nothing was wrong. Seems like the tires are the problem. We drive over the same road with our Morano with 20 inch wheels and zero vibrations. We love the truck overall. Too bad Ford didn't go with Michelins.

 

[peterk9]

........... Too bad Ford didn't go with Michelins.

Or Hankook's SUV tires.

Peter

 

[Gldaugh]

Well I'm new to the forum and late to the dance here. I had a 2015 Explorer that had a vibe that drove me crazy, I forgot to mention that I bough the vehicle with 5000 miles on it as certified pre-owned. tires were original to the vehicle. Dealer rebalanced the tires twice but I was not satisfied. I also find it amazing how many people are not sensitive to vibration but I digress. So I took the vehicle to a local tire store and explained the situation. They took the vehicle for a ride and said they couldn't feel the vibration. So I went for a ride with their Tech and explained what I was feeling and how I was feeling it. It was like a light lit when he finally felt it. Seems most people check for vibes without placing any part of their body against the door or center counsel etc, what's with that?.
Any way he took it in and pulled all 4 wheels for balancing. First thing he noticed was the amount of weight on each wheel. He stripped the weights and balanced each wheel, he wound up using only 25% of the weight he took off. Test drive was amazing! 95% of the vibration was gone. I deemed it a victory and was happy with the outcome.
Unfortunately 4 weeks ago I got T-Boned while making a left turn and the 2015 sport was totaled. So I got a new 2017 Sport! Like the OP here I am experienced HEAVY vibes on my initial drive home, mirror, shiftier and steering wheel shock noticeably at 25+ mph and above. I was just about to turn around when things started to settle down. I have 130 miles on the Sport now and the vibe is still present and I will be visiting the Dealer's Service Dept. tomorrow. I will keep y'all advised as to the outcome...

 

[Pete6114]

Too bad Ford didn't go with Michelins.

It's been years since i seen Michelins on even the highest priced Fords/Lincolns. You'd think the bean counters would save money at places other then the Tires but it seems as long as they shareholders are happy, all is well. Considering the prices on vehicles, getting close to 100.000 in Canada, (Not the Explorer, but other's) it's just a matter of time till they price themselves into a hurting.They keep saying that their quality is comparable with German brands, but i don't see that and the Tires they choose to put on are the cheapest available.

 

[613GT500]

It's been years since i seen Michelins on even the highest priced Fords/Lincolns. You'd think the bean counters would save money at places other then the Tires but it seems as long as they shareholders are happy, all is well. Considering the prices on vehicles, getting close to 100.000 in Canada, (Not the Explorer, but other's) it's just a matter of time till they price themselves into a hurting.They keep saying that their quality is comparable with German brands, but i don't see that and the Tires they choose to put on are the cheapest available.

Or have options to upgrade to better performing tires.
On the Sport for the US market, they offer performance summer tires.

 

[peterk9]

..........Unfortunately 4 weeks ago I got T-Boned while making a left turn and the 2015 sport was totaled. So I got a new 2017 Sport! Like the OP here I am experienced HEAVY vibes on my initial drive home, mirror, shiftier and steering wheel shock noticeably at 25+ mph and above. I was just about to turn around when things started to settle down. I have 130 miles on the Sport now and the vibe is still present and I will be visiting the Dealer's Service Dept. tomorrow. I will keep y'all advised as to the outcome...

Welcome to the Forum.
I had the vibration issues with my tires as well. The dealer balanced all wheels and it was much better as mentioned in my previous post. Now that I've put on almost 2k miles the vibration although still barely there at certain speeds is no longer an issue at this point.
Please update your profile with your new 2017 Sport. Thank you.

Peter

 

[Gldaugh]

Before buying my 2017 Sport I drove a Platinum and an XLT. Comparing the ride to those vehicles to the Sport I noticed a more car like ride. The suspension on the Sport is different form the non Sport models and I came to the conclusion that the "Sport Tuned Suspension" is prone to be more sensitive to vibrations,

 

[JAPeterson]

It's been years since i seen Michelins on even the highest priced Fords/Lincolns. .

I have Michelins on my 2016 from the factory.

 

[PapaGary]

It's been years since i seen Michelins on even the highest priced Fords/Lincolns.

Uh, my '17 Base came with Michelins.

 

[ttime500]

Or Hankook's SUV tires.

Peter

I'm having my new wheels and new Michelin Latitude Sport 3 tires installed tomorrow, I'll let you guys know how they are. Don't love the hankooks at all.

 

[peterk9]

Uh, my '17 Base came with Michelins.

When the 5th generation Explorer came out there were 3 brands used. Goodyear, Michelin and Hankook. Hankook was on the Limited but I can't recall for sure which of the other brands was on the Base and XLT. I believe the XLT had the Michelins.

Peter

 

[Sgt1411]

Or have options to upgrade to better performing tires.
On the Sport for the US market, they offer performance summer tires.

Ya I tried to pull some strings and get those on my Sport but as usual, the Canuckistan Government doesn't allow those tires according to my contacts at CAP. Something to do with Transport Canada which is very odd because you can go to various tire stores and buy them.