2015 Grand Cherokee w/20" wheels vibrates after new tires. First with Michelin Defender and now with Bridgestone Alenza. Balanced and rebalanced by Hogan and Direct Tire. 12K miles, never in accident, car is still like new. Any thoughts?
Thank you
Did either place do a road-force balance? If not, that’s the next step. You can find a place with the required equipment here:
Yes. Both did multiple road force balances.
Im completely stumped.
So, they were not vibrating with old tires?
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Any particular reason you went with another set of tires on a 12k miles car other than just a preference for something different?
Does your post mean the car came with Michelins or that you are now on your second set of new tires after the original?
You could start swapping wheels front-to-back to see if the vibration moves. Usually you feel a front vibration more in the steering wheel and a rear vibration more in the seat. If the vibration moves, then you can focus on that tire or wheel.
Have the tire/wheel assemblies each been carefully checked for lateral and radial run-out?
How about the brakes? have they been carefully checked for any drag, etcetera?
It’s possible that it’s not a “tire problem”, but rather a wheel rim, hub, brake, etcetera, problem.
CSA
Are all the tires round? I have similar symptoms on my 2007 Chrysler T&C van, and found that some of the tires are not round. Whether that is enough to cause the problem I can’t say for sure. Irregularities in sidewall flex could also be in play.
Out-of-round tires are pretty obvious and would be cause to demand a replacement, if they are fairly new. In my case the tires are years old and I have not regularly rotated wheel position, so I feel I am out of luck until I buy 4 new tires.
Years ago, I bought 4 new tires from a well known chain. Had similar vibration problems. I took it back TWICE to have the wheels balanced, still there.They tried to blame a bad rim. Took it elsewhere, had them balanced, no problems.
The point is that Hogan could have an inexperienced kid doing the balancing, and he just can’t get it right.
b
All good ideas above. Vibrations can come from tires being unbalanced, out of round, wobbling side to side, but also from the rims, the hubs, the mounting relationship of the hub to the rim, and the rest of the drive train all the way from the rear axles up to the engine.
What’s been done to isolate the problem to either the front or the rear? If nothing, that’s the first thing to do.
Another way to provide some good clues, consider: has this vehicle ever not vibrated? Or was it vibration free when new from the dealership, then it started to vibrate at some point later? If so, was there any work done on the driveshaft or other components in the drivetrain in the months prior to when you started to notice the vibration?
What I do first when I have this problem on one of my vehicles, after I’ve done a visual inspection for basic safety items, like making sure all the lug nuts are installed correctly, I’ll drive it 'til it reaches the speed it starts to vibrate, then I’ll go a little faster so it stops vibrating, then I’ll let my foot off the gas completely and notice whether the vibration happens again as it goes back down through that speed range. Then I’ll do the same thing, drive it a little faster than the vibration range, except this time I’ll put it in neutral and coast with the engine disengaged from the transmission, comparing the vibration as it again goes down through that speed range. All that info provides some good clues for your shop to what is going on.
Vibrations (with no description) cannot be assessed or resolved over the internet.
From my exposure to Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza tires, they are durable for unpaved roads and trails but are heavier than OEM tires and do not offer the same ride quality. A few years ago I asked my service writers why they were promoting these tires as they did not seem suitable for city vehicles, they didn’t know what they were selling, they were only focused on price.