steering wheel/seat vibration 55-75+ MPH

[Cazwizzle]

I had a very low-impact accident where another car struck the front driver's side corner of my Stinger, coming into contact with bumper, fender, and an aftermarket ASA front wheel. Outside of the body work which was done well, the driver's side strut and wheel bearing were also replaced. Within a week of getting the car back after it had been repaired, I was quite annoyed to notice a new vibration when driving at my customary 75 MPH on the highway. The car never did this before. The vibration is evident when lightly holding the steering wheel at the 12:00 position as the vibration transmits directly though to my hand. The vibration also makes the HUD projector fuzzy and out of focus while vibrating, and I can feel it in the seat bottom as well.

I immediately returned to the body shop, and they blamed the issue on everything from wheel balance to tire round, etc. I've since had all my tires/wheels rebalanced and rotated at another shop that I trust. The vibration problem persists and has not changed in any way. Now, the body shop wants me to wait until my new rotors are installed under factory warranty before they will inspect further. Of course those rotors are on back order and I have no idea when they will come in.

Does anyone have any ideas? This is driving me nuts because the car was so smooth and composed at speed prior to this minor accident, and now I gristle at the thought of highway driving in my once beloved Stinger. It's been 2 months since the repair was completed, and the last thing the body shop manager said was something to the effect of the mileage I've put on the car since the repair was completed, could possibly be a factor.

I'm really tired of the constant run-around and would love to hear any suggestions that you all may have to offer.

 

[robz32]

Definitely sounds like a wheel or suspension issue.

Depending on the impact, the wheel may have suffered vertical damage, which basically means the wheel will not sit properly against the center of the brake disk. This is not captured when balancing wheels the normal way.
Another possibility is the brake disk could've suffered some damage as well and is causing the vibration when not under braking.
Checking all front suspension components that were replaced and those that were not will also help determine if something was not installed properly. This is very critical, becasue if one them fails or comes completely loose it can cause an accident.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I know that "our" @Gordo had a slow speed impact where a car pinched his between the impacting car and the curb. He had to go in several times and have various things replaced, in order for his car to be put totally to rights. Even a slow impact can affect many different parts of the damaged suspension. For instance, counter to your experience, his wheel bearing was not judged initially to be damaged; all tests showed it to be uncompromised. But a while later the noise and feeling coming from the (iirc) LF wheel caused him to return and they replaced the bearing and he was good to go after that. So, the lesson is, return and insist until it is all fixed up right. Don't let them give you crap reasons (like "high miles" WTH?!).

 

[Billy M]

Go back, and say it didn’t have this issue before, I insist that you fix it. If they won’t investigate, call your insurance company and let them know that repairs haven’t been made to your satisfaction.

 

[Gordo]

I had a very low-impact accident where another car struck the front driver's side corner of my Stinger, coming into contact with bumper, fender, and an aftermarket ASA front wheel. Outside of the body work which was done well, the driver's side strut and wheel bearing were also replaced. Within a week of getting the car back after it had been repaired, I was quite annoyed to notice a new vibration when driving at my customary 75 MPH on the highway. The car never did this before. The vibration is evident when lightly holding the steering wheel at the 12:00 position as the vibration transmits directly though to my hand. The vibration also makes the HUD projector fuzzy and out of focus while vibrating, and I can feel it in the seat bottom as well.

I immediately returned to the body shop, and they blamed the issue on everything from wheel balance to tire round, etc. I've since had all my tires/wheels rebalanced and rotated at another shop that I trust. The vibration problem persists and has not changed in any way. Now, the body shop wants me to wait until my new rotors are installed under factory warranty before they will inspect further. Of course those rotors are on back order and I have no idea when they will come in.

Does anyone have any ideas? This is driving me nuts because the car was so smooth and composed at speed prior to this minor accident, and now I gristle at the thought of highway driving in my once beloved Stinger. It's been 2 months since the repair was completed, and the last thing the body shop manager said was something to the effect of the mileage I've put on the car since the repair was completed, could possibly be a factor.

I'm really tired of the constant run-around and would love to hear any suggestions that you all may have to offer.

Did they do a four wheel alignment for you? I had a similar low speed impact as @MerlintheMad already mentioned but my car was actually pinched between the other car and curb. The impact of the other car was enough to make the wheel bearing slightly oblong and I didn’t notice until I did some freeway driving a few months later. Initially they had replaced the tension arms and control arms on both sides as well as both knuckles and brand new factory wheels and a full alignment. Everything felt really tight after the repair and I thought all was good until I had the same vibration you are experiencing a few months later on the freeway. That’s when I took it back to the body shop. I had to have the estimator drive my car to experience it since they too said the roll out on the bearings was within limits when they checked the roll out the first time. They reluctantly said they would take another look at it. This time the mechanic drove the car some distance and got the bearings warm and then did a roll out test and said he noticed a lot more roll out after the bearings warmed up and new that the bearings must have been crushed if the lateral impact hit the wheel just right. At that point they ordered new hub assemblies for both sides which included new bearings inside the assembly. It made it better but didn’t completely get rid of the vibration and brake pulse I noticed at higher speeds. I just got the last of the vibration fixed yesterday but the final fix for me was a spin balance. I found some wheel weights on my garage floor that had fallen off a while back. I was off balance by 1 ounce on my front left wheel. Doesn’t sound like much but they said with this car you would definitely feel it at highway speeds This also seemed to correct the pedal pulse and vibration I had felt while braking at higher speeds as well. Get a list of all of the parts they replaced on your car and make sure they replaced the whole hub assembly and not just the bearings alone. Good luck. I understand your frustrations. I also read an article in all my research that said you could actually crush new bearings if they are over torqued after being installed. I’m no expert on that but maybe some others can weigh in.