Chevrolet Malibu Forums banner

Need help, weird vibration, very frustrated

3133 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  E_Net_Rider
I am very frustrated, and need some ideas. I have a 2008 Malibu 2LT with a 4-cylinder. It has all of sudden developed a weird vibration that comes and goes, and it isn't there all the time. I have a 25 minute commute and it starts about 15 to minutes into the commute on the highway. It starts midly and then gets progressivly worse. I feel it int he front of the car, through the stering wheel, and as it get worse, when I step on the brake pedal. But after I have used my brakes a few times, or the car sets for a few hours it is gone, sometimes it comes back, and sometimes it dosen't. I have had it to the dealership here on two different occassions, and the second time it was there for 3 days, and it never accted up for them when they drove it. It feels to me liek it is coming from the left front, and after it acts up and I stop, it feels like the left front wheel area is much hotter then the right front. So I thought maybe a sticking caliper, but they said they checked it it everything is fine. But everthing is not fine, and I am begining to get very frustrated. I have never had a single issue with this car till now, and I am more frustrated with the dealership, I am not sure they are doing enough, anybody work in service have any ideas? Like I said it comes after about 15 to minutes of highway driving, and I feel it in the sterring wheel and the brake pedal when I step on the pedal, and it always goes away after I use the brakes a few times or he car sits for a while. And the left front feels hotter then the right front after it acts up, I havent noticed any excessive brake dust or burn marks on the rotors. HELP!
Status
Not open for further replies.
1 - 1 of 4 Posts
First, get a torque wrench and insure that all wheel nuts are to the proper spec.
This is a just in case cause it sounds like there have been a number of opportunities for someone to screw that up since the factory.
That reminds me of a situation I went through recently. I had tires rotated at Active Green & Ross (It's chain of all around service centers, i think it operates in canada only). Big mistake. Almost immediately after I got on the highway on my way home I started getting a violent shake. Carefully went off the highway and pulled into a Chrysler dealership that happened to be near. Sure enough, the lug nuts on one of the wheels were not nearly up to the proper torque. Pretty disturbing. I remember that the Green and Ross guy test drove the vehicle before giving it back to me. Also I remember feeling some shake driving off the their lot, but it was not constant and I thought it was the road surface. It fully manifested at about 60 mph.
I mean, seriously. Why bother making a test drive if you basically not paying attention while doing it...The whole situation was outright dangerous.

So, I now made it a rule to always check the torque after anyone touches the wheels.
1 - 1 of 4 Posts
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top