I cannot figure out what the deal is with this car. The front end just does whatever it wants to do. It will do straight and solid for a little bit then pull hard to the left, or sometimes right. The turning at high speeds feels very unstable and the short, quick turns from left to right and right to left make the car feel like its going to flip and crash. I also just started getting a very noticeable vibration in the front wheels when braking at high speeds. Steering wheel wobble and there is a judder in the pedal. The rotors are 6 months old with good pads (I previously had just the high speed brake judder and replaced the rotors which temporarily solved it). The car feels dangerous to drive. Ive checked alignment, balancing, loose/broken parts, etc. Would a wheel bearing cause this? When I turn my turn my car slowly to the right, I do hear a mild rotational tire noise. I have brand new tires on the rear and the front tires have 50% tread. They have all been balanced with same issue.

Any thoughts?

 

Wow, sounds pretty dangerous
It's been awhile Bat, you're lowered right? If so your front end links might be shot. And that rotational noise when turning slowly could be a bearing.
Be careful in the meantime......

 

Also could be a belt in the front tires. Had that happen on my old Accord.

 

I am on stock suspension. Im debating whether on dropping $400+ on two new front tires to see if that does anything. Ill check out the end links and any bushings or arms. Did this the other day and didnt see anything.

something is definitely wrong, I just dont know what...

 

Do you know if your struts/shocks are bad? Bad struts can cause symptoms of what you're having.

 

I do not know about the struts/shocks. Are there any tests to check if they are the problem?

 

had the car on a lift and did not see anything abnormal. To be safe with the brakes, I am replacing the front calipers and rotors. I now have a creaking/squeaking noise when turning the steering wheel or turning on inclines. That seemed to start today.

 

You drive an AWD, you should be replacing all 4 tires are the same time. What kinda tires are you running? Tires can make a big difference.

My car drives like a boat too but I don't think i'd say it is dangerous. Is this something you have noticed get progressively worse? Was the car driving solid before? How many miles are on the car?

 

Sorry to hear the problem is still a mystery, so many parts in the front steering/suspension that can contribute to what you're experiencing. Lower ball joint, upper A-arm joint, bushings, etc. Shoot a PM to TVPostSound and list what you've been going through. He's the suspension guru around these parts.

 

Well I figure that since the car is RWD until it needs AWD, that replacing in twos is alright. I replaced with the exact same tires, continental xtreme contact dws. when I say dangerous I mean that the car will just jerk to one side out of nowhere. Whether the tires are catching grooves in the road or what. I have to use force just to hold the wheel in place when driving down the highway. Any time there is rough road or a bump, the steering will also kick out. Car has 75,000 miles on it. Everything seemed to start happening after I ran over that bungee cord that popped my rear tire.

Thanks Newt, I may give him a shout.

 

Hi bl, are you referring to sway bar end links or steering components? The reason I ask is that I'm having a similar issue to bat where I get steering wheel shudder when braking from 70-80 mph.

Bat, I don't mean to jack your thread my friend, but I'm hoping to track this down as well so hopefully, the more info we have, the better.

For reference, mine is a RWD 2010 S Sedan with Hotchkis sways. I'm on RacingBrake two-piece rotors and pads (Akebono's) all around that have 30k miles on them. The rotors can't be turned as they're slotted. I don't really feel the typical "warped rotor feel" in the pedal. Tires are brand new Michelin Pilot A/S 3's (stock 18" size) but this also occured on my 19's (also Michelin A/S Plus) that were on right before the A/S 3's. I'm at 84.5k miles total.

 

Bat, I know this is a different car but when I had my 2004 G35 Coupe, I had an issue with the car pulling to the right. There was a TSB for it at the time but the dealer wound up replacing the right compression rod.

I haven't heard of anything similar on our cars though. When I owned that car, I decided to replace the tires and they were wearing such that I had to replace the rears first (stocks were Michelin Pilot Sports). Went with Nitto NT555's and they were terrible. The rear end of the car was real squishy and walked around at highway speeds, as in following every groove in the pavement as you mentioned. I went back and had them taken off for Michelin's and the unsteady feeling went away.

I don't have any experience with Continental DWS though. Are the tires different brands between front/rear? Or differing in speed rating?

 

Technically, you're supposed to push down on each corner of the car and if it's bouncing up and down, the struts are probably done. However, I've tried that on our cars and it's inconclusive, at best.

The rear of my 2010 Sedan started to feel unsettled, almost unsafe, when going over uneven pavement at 75k miles on the highway. I replaced the stock struts with Koni Yellows and that unsettled feeling went away.

Also check to see if you're getting strange flat spots on the inner edge of the rear tires as that can be indicative of struts failing. Mine exhibited the flat spots (down the the steel belts) on the tires, so much so that the tire would not roll in a straight line when it was off the car when I was getting it changed.

My experience so far in two Infinit's has been that the rear struts seem to wear out before the fronts and I experienced the same "unsafe" feeling beginning at around 75k miles in both of them. The 2004 Coupe also developed strange wear patterns in the tires.

I'm in Texas and we have some hot summers so that could be contributing to somewhat premature wear, but the dealer said to expect about 80-90k out of stock struts. As enthusiasts, we're more connected to our cars and may tend to notice these things a little bit sooner than the average driver does.

 

Tires are exactly the same on the front and rear. I have had the initial set for 2 years without issue. Like I said, I ordered new rotors and calipers that will be here next week. That will hopefully take care of the brake shuddering for good. the steering issue is still a mystery. I have an appt with the dealer next week. At first I was thinking its the tires, whether uneven wear or unbalanced. I hear a womp-womp-womp-womp from the front when I bank to the right at low and high speeds. The creaking in the steering usually happens when I am turning right or up/down a hill, or once the car is placed in park.

 

It definitely sounds like a combination of issues going on. Do you have Akebono sport brakes or no? The stock pads have a reputation for building up on the rotors and causing a warped feeling so the new stuff should rule that out. The womp noise could be a wheel bearing issue. How many miles do you have on the car? Did you purchase it new? I would definitely take it into the dealer. Is it possible to record the creaking sound from the steering?

I took mine to the dealer (Sewell in Dallas) for a noise issue that they pinpointed to be coming from my Hotchkis sways. They greased them and it went away. When I asked how they located the source, they told me they have a tool called "chassis ears" that is able to pinpoint the location of such noises so you may ask them about that when you take it in.