I have replaced four new tires four times in as many months. My old tires wore down so I thought I’d replace them with the same brand, model, etc. since the old tires had performed so well. But I replaced those four new tires three times and recently settled on another four tires from the same manufacturer but a different model and also suitable for my Honda Pilot. Each time the tires would vibrate as if out of balance, this was after the tires were balanced. I was told the steel belts can sometimes shift, hence the replacement of these tires so many times. Now, the current tires also vibrate but not as badly. I took my car to the Honda dealer twice to have them balance the tires since that is the type of vibration I feel. they said the tires were out of balanced and fixed it. But I still have the vibration. Could it be it’s not the tires and something else with the Pilot?
It certainly can be…It can be quite a few things actually… Drive line issues, suspension issues, ball joints etc… Need more info please
2007 Honda Pilot, 57k miles, almost all highway driving. I never bang it up. Asked Honda dealer to look at it when they balanced tires, didn’t see anything but ‘look at’ may not be the same as inspection. Not sure I can add much more at this time. Suggestions welcome.
I can say the vibration is rhythmic or oscillates with the speed/rotation of the tires. The suspension has never been an issue, car still feels tight on the road.
I would make sure they are doing a “ROAD FORCE” Balance… It is possible you have a bad rim, and the Road Force balancer will tell them this. It is also the best way to truly balance a tire, as it simulates real driving conditions. Many shops don’t have one because its about $9,000 on the low end to buy one.
Wonder if one of the wheels has been damaged.
Thanks guys - all helpful. I will get the wheels checked for damage and ask if Honda/tire dealer uses a ‘road force’ balancer.
You can find a dealer that does road force balancing at:
http://www.gsp9700.com/search/findgsp9700.cfm
Is the vibration the same when the tires are hot or cold?
It ought to only take 1 (one) exchange of tires to point that the problem isn’t tires. The odds of getting 4 sets of tires that vibrate is so astronomical!! Something else is going on.
Exactly.
While CapriRacer is our resident tire expert, the OP should not need an expert to point out the obvious, namely that having the same problem persist with 4 sets of tires effectively rules out tires as a source of the problem.
Have you checked to make sure the lugnuts are tightened on all the rims?
Comparatively low miles does not mean that a loose wheel bearing, loose suspension component, or an alignment problem does not exist and one has to wonder about a shop that repeatedly throws tires at the same problem; all assuming it was the same one.
I just replaced 2 outer tie rod ends on a car today and both ends were total garbage. What’s so unusual about that? I just replaced those ends 8 months and 25k miles ago and the road surfaces have killed them already.
They’re MOOG joints by the way.
Honda Pilot’s have a fault of vibration. I was looking at purchasing one but found it in a test drive of 2 of 4 different Pilots around 60-70mph.
Sadly my 07 MDX exhibits a little.
Google “honda pilot vibration”
Thanks again to all. The thing with stating the obvious is that neither the tire company nor the Honda dealer did, so while it seems obvious today you’d think at least the tire dealer who was swapping out the tires at no cost to me would have said something. And yes, it did take ‘the obvious’ knocks to my head to finally get me on to this chat! Appreciate all your comments.