Wheels Will Not Balance

[dsirjuesingh]

I have a 2010 V8 AWD that I bought in March of this year. It came with the polished 20 inch aluminum rims and low profile tires, all stock by Ford. Since day 1 at about 68mph and onwards to 75mph I can feel that the wheels are not balanced, there is a slight shimmy in the steering wheel and the car simply 'rumbles' down the road. Really uncomfortable, especially for my pregnant wife.
Ford have re-balanced the car 5 times including a Forced Road Balance and now tell me that is how the car is supposed to drive; 'its the combination of the rimes and tires and this is the best you can get'.
They will not accept that is could be a defective tire or a warped brake rotor and tell me not to drive over 65mph and that will cure the problem.

Is anyone else having similar issues? I would like to hear from others.

Many thanks.

DRS

 

[KPSquared]

I'm not sure what the problem is, but being as it's a 2010, it's not your problem. You either need to get meaner with Ford or find a new dealer to work with.

Actually, I would find a new dealer ASAP... The fact that they have said, "That's as good as it gets" is straight BS...

It's on warranty, and it's Fords problem. You just might have to get angry for them to believe that. I'd have someones head on a platter by now...

 

[corkey]

balancing tires is kind of old school,
i would say have them put the Dyna Beads in the wheels and try that also, i have 33 inch tires on my Ex and not a wheel weight on them.
for custom rims i would say that beads are much better,as they balance regardless of where the imbalance is.

http://www.innovativebalancing.com/

 

[blueka]

isn't there a lemon law???? You should contact trading standards and see how they can help, or the automotive retailer governing body... whoever they are for where you live.

Si

 

[dsirjuesingh]

I got the impression that the service manager at the dealership was flipping me off. He told me sometime ago that this is not something he really wants to deal with. In all previous 4 Explorers I have had I could drive the, beyond a 100mph and not feel the road below. I find it hard to believe that he is telling me this is how it drives.
I emailed Ford and told them of the problem. Now waiting to see what happens next.

 

[dsirjuesingh]

Not sure if this will fall into the lemon law. I am in NJ and I remember siging a document at time of purchase about lemon laws.

Would it make a difference as I lease the car? In my opinion this is Ford's vehicle and I simply rent it.

 

[blueka]

The local dealership here gave us the runaround over my gf's Ford Ranger, there was an issue with the driver's door seal letting in water and when they "fixed" it the door wouldn't close properly. We had it back n forth loads of times before it was returned with "as good as it's gonna get", so we gave it to her ex husband... and she now has an Explorer that's much better.....


Si

 

[JCat]

My 1998 Mountaineer vibrated and shimmy'd when it was brand new. Tried balancing the tires and front end alignment multiple times.....no improvement. ONLY AFTER REPLACING THE TIRES, did my ride smooth out. (different brand and design)

I am convinced that tire brands, design, size, etc. can make a huge difference in your ride. I've tried many brands and sizes on my Chrysler 300C (22" wheels/low profile tires)....and each provided a different feel or experience.
.
.

 

[dsirjuesingh]

I agree, but the tight wads at the dealership will not listen to me and tell me this is basically how Ford, oldest car manufacturer in the world, designs cars. Friggin' ludicrous.
Anyway, I have emailed Ford directly and will stir it up if I have to. $40000 is a lot to pay for something that does not work.

 

[jaydez]

Call the customer service number in warranty book. They WILL help you with this. I had to use them on my 06 Fusion and they were very helpful. They even follow up after a few weeks to make sure the dealer fixed it for you.

My dad's 05 Grand Cherokee (V8 fullt ime 4wd) had a problem like this. It turned out to be the driveshaft being out of balance and only took the Jeep dealership 6 trips to figure out! LOL

But call the number and open a complaint. They will get it fixed for you.

 

[gmanpaint]

Sounds like the stealership is holding out on replacing the tires for a reason. Read the fine print in your lease agreement carefully for anything (time frame/conditons) that may cause you to have to pay for a new set of tires.

It's always about bottom $$ with the stealership.

 

[dsirjuesingh]

I cannot believe the balls that Ford have! After emailing them they called the dealership who told them that the car is operating as it is designed, because the dealership told them so....

Does anyone have any advice?


Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding the wheels of your 2010 Ford Explorer Limited.

In an effort to assist you, we have contacted Ed Carney Ford Inc in New Jersey. According to your Dealership’s assessment your vehicle is operating within Ford specifications. Your local Ford/Lincoln dealership has factory-trained technicians, the most current engineering service information, and the specialized equipment required to resolve your vehicle concerns. We concur with the Dealership assessment. If you require further explanation or the condition changes, please speak with Service Manager XXXXX XXXXXXX directly at XXXXXXXXXX

 

[jaydez]

At this point I would try a different dealer. Explain the problem and what the current dealer tried to do and ask if they can take a look at it. You live in NJ which is more densely populated than up here in CT. Up here we have a Ford dealership every 10 miles. You probably have 3 within 15 minutes of where you live.

Also, call the 800 number for customer care and explain the situation to them. They might be able to help. You just have to stress to them that the vehicle definitely has something wrong with it.

The fact that the dealership tired to fix something "operating within Ford specifications" shows that they believe something is wrong with it but gave up because they don’t want to spend the time to try and fix it.

Your last option would be to lemon-law the truck and get a new one.

 

[dsirjuesingh]

Why do i think this is going to go on and on?
Can I take the car to any dealer, I thought it had to go back to the original dealer?

 

[jaydez]

Why do i think this is going to go on and on?
Can I take the car to any dealer, I thought it had to go back to the original dealer?

Every Ford dealership has to honor the factory warranty.

 

[Equnoxe]

from experience I know balancing low profile tires can be a nightmare. even with using a machine road force matching, it can take forever. the main problem isn't that it cant be done, it just takes FOREVER. and even longer with a low profile.

you have to put it on the balancer, spin it up, and then mark it
you then have to deflate the tire, break the beads again, and try to line up the marks. if you have a normal tire its usually ok because you can spin them around on the rim without demounting them. but on the low profiles you usually have to take one side off the rim.
and then you have to be extra careful because its a $x.. 20" rim and not some POS steelie.
then you have to put it back on the balancer

and do it all over again, because probably your not going to get it the first time, especially on a low profile

now do that 3-4 times per tire/rim


when your working flat rate or even hourly this is extremely aggravating. because your now spending 5x the time on something that should only take 30min, and you have x many more jobs on the go, and your boss telling you to hurry up. I'm very experienced and took me 2.5 hours to balance my 33 mud kings on my truck. the road force was almost 100 on them, and i got them down to 15, and now i can do 130 on the hwy with almost no vibration or noise whereas the previous owner of the tires could barely go on the hwy.

its almost always caused by a damaged rim (which yours shouldn't be) or cheap tires, or not mounting the rim to the machine properly. not that im saying your tires are cheap at all, but the ones that come stock aren't exactly pirellis.


just go back with this knowledge and try and work something out with them. maybe get a swap for a better brand if you pay the difference, just remember its not the service guys fault. also, a low profile isn't going to ride as nice as a normal tire, there is half as much sidewall to help dampen bumps and vibrations.

 

[dsirjuesingh]

I am pulling my hair out as this saga goes on.
Took it to another dealership but the a**hole manager said he was not interested in fixing this as he would not get paid so please remove it from my lot. Wanker.
Called Ford, finally got hold of a Customer Service specialist who was wonderful. Called me everyday to give me status updates, that she was getting a Field Service Engineer to come look at the car. Today another person called me to say they have called the dealership and they no one is coming,out as the dealership says this is how the car should drive, that anything over 65mph breaks the speed limit so don't drive the car that fast. Un, friggin believable.
Just drove from NJ to Toronto and back and the car was bad. Not as bad as before as the dealership switched the tires front to back, but now the problem starts and stops telling me there is a problem with the belt in the tire.
My wife is heavily pregnant with twins and I don't want anything to happen to her.
Does anyone have any advice for me?

 

[swetrid]

We have one at the dealership right now with same problem. We road force balanced the tires and still no vibrated. We put 17" wheels and tires from stock unit and vibration was gone. So we replaced the three tires with high roadforce and still there. Now Ford had us replace the Pirelli scorpions with Dunlop Grandtrek tire and so far so good from the customer.

 

[dsirjuesingh]

I have the same Scorpions on my car. The problem is that Ford have told me that this is how the car should operate and have not even tested the car on the road themselves.

 

[swetrid]

If you read in the owners maunual about 20 inch tires it will talk about flat spotting from sitting and should go away within about 10 miles of driving. Thats probably what Ford thinks is happening.