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Vibration at highway speeds

84Targa

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February 19, 2011
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Year, Model & Trim Level
2011 Explorer
My 2011 Explorer Limited has a high frequency vibration on smooth highway surfaces that starts somewhere around 65 mph. We planned to use the Explorer was for long highway trips so this is a significant issue for me.

Before I ordered my Explorer, I took a Limited demo out on a very smooth part of the interstate. For an objective, not subjective test, I put a plastic bottle filled with water up to the part of the bottle where it begins to narrow. The purpose was to see, as best I could, if there was any constant vibration over and above any slosh caused by road surface irregularities. Sure, the water sloshed around a little as I drove, but no constant vibration. It was a smooth riding vehicle for a crossover with 20” wheels so I ordered one.

(I had a set of 15” wheels for street tires and 16” (and also an inch wider) wheels for track tires on a sports car I used to take to track events so I am aware of the ride quality differences that go along with lower profile and/or wider tires. In other words, I don’t think my issue is with 20” wheels.)

When I got my new vehicle home about 6 weeks later, I noticed 10 wheel weights right beside each other on one back wheel and ten beside each other on the other. I chalked it up to a quick wheel balance job at the factory and wasn’t too surprised when I picked up vibration at speed on the highway.

I took the car into the dealership and they used their Hunter machine to do a road force balance.

The next time out on the highway, I did my water bottle test which I didn’t need to do to feel the vibration, but it helps make the test objective. I still get a consistent high frequency vibration. By that I mean the surface of the water vibrates rapidly. Of course I also get some sloshing movement of the water from road surface irregularities even on smooth interstates, but it is the vibration that makes the ride uncomfortable on road trips. When I was a passenger on a 400 mile trip last weekend I could feel the vibration in my feet. It felt similar to the feeling you get when your feet “fall asleep”, but mine weren’t. It makes a long highway trip seem longer and less enjoyable than it should.

By the way, other than this issue, I like the Explorer a lot. I like the ride around town at speeds up to 50 mph or so and have enjoyed learning the capabilities of SYNC. But I don’t look forward to long highway trips.

I plan to take the next demo Limited the dealership gets out to the highway to do the water bottle test just to make sure I was right about the demo I drove a couple of months ago.

Until then, any ideas about what is causing the vibration?
 



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You should definitely be able to enjoy road trips and driving on the highway in your Explorer. I would like to have your concern looked into and escalated. So I can help getting this issue finally resolved for you, would you mind sending me your VIN, dealer name, and approximate mileage?

Cory
 






You should definitely be able to enjoy road trips and driving on the highway in your Explorer. I would like to have your concern looked into and escalated. So I can help getting this issue finally resolved for you, would you mind sending me your VIN, dealer name, and approximate mileage?

Cory

Have you found out what has been causing this? I have a similar problem with my 2011 Ranger Sport that has a vibration I can’t pin-point. It only happens so far that I’ve noticed when driving around 65 on the highway. Feels like a harmonic vibration that comes and goes. It’ll vibrate for a ½ mile or so then go away for a mile or 2, and come back for another short time frame. Initially I thought it was a tire out of balance so I took it back to the dealer and they rebalanced all four wheels, drove it… still did it. Rotated the wheels, still did it. They swapped wheels with another Ranger Sport and it still did it. They said Ford does not have any notices out on the problem but will keep an eye out for one and keep me informed. Anybody have a thought as to what it could be. I don’t drive on the highway this time of year often, but don’t want to ruin anything if I do. Thanks for the help - Don

I should also say I bought this new Dec 10th, 2011 and just turned 650 miles on the truck... Thanks in advance for any help you can provide... Don
 






...I have a similar problem with my 2011 Ranger Sport that has a vibration I can’t pin-point. It only happens so far that I’ve noticed when driving around 65 on the highway...
Don,

I’m happy to help by arranging a call from the Customer Service Manager in your area. For me to do that, please send a PM with your mileage, contact info, dealer name/state, and VIN.

Cory
 






Yes, I solved my issue as much as it will be solved until I put good tires on the vehicle.

Background review: Before I bought my Explorer, I test drove another Limited with 20" wheels at interstate highway speed to make sure I would be satisfied with the ride quality for long distance interstate driving I would do. It rode smoothly on the smooth section of highway.

The local dealer rebalanced the tires with their state of the art Hunter machine but that didn't make any real difference.

Ford replaced two of the 20" Hankook Optimo tires which made a significant difference and improved the ride quality to a mostly satisfactory level.

I am disappointed with Ford for putting those tires, with known issues, on one of their most expensive vehicles.

Good luck with your problem and please post any solution you come up with.
 






Don,

I’m happy to help by arranging a call from the Customer Service Manager in your area. For me to do that, please send a PM with your mileage, contact info, dealer name/state, and VIN.

Cory

Thanks Cory, The dealership has always been good to us over the years. We've bought our last 3 vehicles from them. I'll give them another call and see if they know anything yet. I appreciate your offer.... I'll let you know if I hit a dead end with this.
Don

Yes, I solved my issue as much as it will be solved until I put good tires on the vehicle.

So from what information you've gathered, it's bad tires thats causing the(your) issue? I know they said they tried swapping tires with another Ranger Sport, but if it has the same wheel/tire setup then it maybe didn't/wouldn't help. I think I'll call them today and see if they have any additional info yet.

Thanks, Don
 






Yes, I solved my issue as much as it will be solved until I put good tires on the vehicle.

Ford replaced two of the 20" Hankook Optimo tires which made a significant difference and improved the ride quality to a mostly satisfactory level.

I went out and looked at what tire I have and they're different, Goodyear Wrangler RT/S P255/70R16.... Maybe not the tires then :( Don
 






Yes, I solved my issue as much as it will be solved until I put good tires on the vehicle....Ford replaced two of the 20" Hankook Optimo tires which made a significant difference and improved the ride quality to a mostly satisfactory level...
84Targa,

I’m glad the ride quality improved; keep us in the loop.

Thanks Cory, The dealership has always been good to us over the years.
You got it, Don; I’ll be happy to lend a hand if needed. :)

Cory
 






Rack and pinion!

I would bet a hundred bucks its the rack. Grab the steering shaft right were the bolt tightens to the rack and gently move right to left, right to left and so on. If it feels like it moves slightly and the tires don't move at all, it is the r&p.

I accidently figured this out, and temporarily solved this problem while doing a 2" body lift. With the steering shaft pulled tight it caused the gear in the rack to bind just enough to lose the shimmy. After about a month of hard driving it came back with a vengeance! Careful! Could look like this!

IMAG1933.jpg
 












Looks like that Explorer did some landscape work.
 






I had my 2012 Explorer in the shop today again today for both a hard shift as well as a similar vibration problem. To my surprise they could not reproduce either problem (sarcasm). It was even road test driven by the shop manager (I did not get to talk to him). He concluded (again) there are no problems and this is normal behavior for my vehicle.
With Cory's help (thanks Cory - no sarcasm) I was able to coordinate this additional troubleshoot through my regional Customer Service Manager in my area, but to little gain as she will likely defer to the assessment of the service shop. I did get an extended maintenance plan from her, but I'm probably going to need an extended warranty - unless I don't hold on to the truck. I had my last Explorer for 9 years and now regret selling it. I will try to convince my CSM to let me take it to another Ford dealer, or maybe an independent service center. From what other wrote in this thread, it seems like I might have to buy new tires if I really want to correct vibration fixed. Also, I will check the rack and pinion for excessive play.
 






This sounds very similar to my ongoing vibration issue. At least your dealer did something about it. My service manager drove it and said, "I don't know what I could do about it." Then he pretty much dismissed it by saying he test drove other vehicles on the lot and they vibrate too.

The vibration in mine actually suddenly became noticeably worse last week and is present more often than before, so maybe I'll give them another chance to tell me it is normal.
 






This sounds very similar to my ongoing vibration issue. At least your dealer did something about it. My service manager drove it and said, "I don't know what I could do about it." Then he pretty much dismissed it by saying he test drove other vehicles on the lot and they vibrate too.

The vibration in mine actually suddenly became noticeably worse last week and is present more often than before, so maybe I'll give them another chance to tell me it is normal.
I personally don't understand why any kind of vibration in any vehicle would be considered 'Normal'.
If you are driving with the 20" wheels, then a vibration is considered normal for a mile or two because the bigger tires are prone to flat spotting. I noticed that with mine with the OEM wheels after it had sat for a while but I haven't had that problem now that I'm running the 17" wheels for Winter.
If you were to test drive others on the lot with the 20" wheels you would get the same vibration but it should clear up after a couple of miles.
If you are experiencing an ongoing vibration over and above what I have described, then, in my opinion, there is a problem. It is NOT normal.

Peter
 






:D

But you and I are not Ford trained, so what do we know?
 






My 2012 Explorer does have the 20" tires. My dealer has attempted to fixed the vibration on several occasions, but after the first couple of tries they had go to Ford's to get approval of what to try next in order to get paid. After rebalancing, test driving, force balancing (replacing one tire as out spec), the vibration was reduced, but still there. They tried a set of the same tires off another vehicle, but said the vibration was still there. They concluded the vibration was a characteristic of my vehicle, thus normal. Customer service intervened to get another look at this and another problem, but now they say they didn't duplicate the vibration (??). For the record the vibration is there between 60-70.
 






My 2012 Explorer does have the 20" tires. My dealer has attempted to fixed the vibration on several occasions, but after the first couple of tries they had go to Ford's to get approval of what to try next in order to get paid. After rebalancing, test driving, force balancing (replacing one tire as out spec), the vibration was reduced, but still there. They tried a set of the same tires off another vehicle, but said the vibration was still there. They concluded the vibration was a characteristic of my vehicle, thus normal. Customer service intervened to get another look at this and another problem, but now they say they didn't duplicate the vibration (??). For the record the vibration is there between 60-70.
I realize that the dealer tried it with a different set of 20" wheels but I wonder what would happen if they tried it with the base model 17" wheels. If the vibration is still there, I think you would have pretty well eliminated the wheels as being the culprit.

Peter
 






I've taken the Ranger on two fairly long trips in the last month... one to Louisville KY (1500 miles)and the other to Pine Bluff AR(1200 miles) from Lincoln, NE... What I noticed was that starting out driving at 65 the vibration was there.... most the trip I drove 75 to 80... no vibration. On the way home, even when driving at 65 I really didn't notice it as much... either that or I was tired from driving all day and getting in at 2am. I'm going drive to Peoria, Il in two weeks which is another good haul... I'll try to make note of the vibration again.
Don
 






I realize that the dealer tried it with a different set of 20" wheels but I wonder what would happen if they tried it with the base model 17" wheels. If the vibration is still there, I think you would have pretty well eliminated the wheels as being the culprit.

Peter

Yes, the dealer tried a different set of 20" inch tires/wheels. Good idea about trying the smaller wheels. If I get another chance to have the dealer look into it further I will suggest they try that.
 



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Just to give you a heads-up, I have tried the smaller tires from a stock unit on one of our customers' explorers with the same results, still a vibration. I have even worked with a field service engineer along with other ford engineers with no luck. There is a characteristic to this vehicle of a vibration. I had my customer tell me that loaded up for a trip it lessons the vibration almost to the point of being gone. There is no known " fix" but I would think if you could alter the pinion angle it would go away.
 






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