Steering Wheel Vibration
Steering Wheel Vibration
Hello all,
I am going to in length describe the problem I have been having with my 2010 RA, and the steering wheel vibration... My hope is, that maybe this will save someone the aggravation it has caused me and save them some time!
A little background: I bought my Tarmac black RA in April of 2010- love the car and am very excessive compulsive with it. Its garaged each winter, over maintained and cared for. Its never been in any kind of accident and only has 28k on the odometer. I've done a few mods, but more for reliability and enjoyment.
I used to take the car exclusively to the dealership where I bought it, until I noticed the mechanic (at Mitsu dealership) did some damage. Now, I do all of the maintenance with the exception of alignment and tires. Soon you will see why...
At the first tire rotation, the ride home (about 45 miles) I picked up a slight steering vibration at @65mph. It seemed to smooth out a bit, but never went away. When I was underneath the car a few weeks later, I noticed the front lower control arms had been used as a lifting point by the dealership, and the bottom gusset plates had been bent. Since everything seemed intact, it bothered me but I didn't attribute it to the vibration. The factory service manual is quite clear that these are not the correct lifting points. Never went back to that dealership again, and life went on. Before you say it, yes I should have but in no way did I want those obvious hacks to even touch the car again! **note** these were the factory wheels and they are perfect- never even brushed a curb.
So over the last couple of years, I have lived with the vibration and done everything in a very methodical troubleshooting regiment to fix the issue as my budget and time allowed. So far, I have gone through 2 sets of new wheels (Bremmers and Enkei's)- settled on Enkei Raijins, all with correct hubcentric rings.. 2 sets of tires (Toyo T1R, and Eagle F-1's) all road force balanced multiple times. 2 front end alignments by very reputable shops, 2 full sets of brakes all around (EBC slotted/EBC slot-dimpled)red-stuff pads, yellow stuff pads. 2 sets of calipers, this was mainly so I could have the calipers powdercoated. Installed swift springs and was extremely careful to get the correct clocking. Struts are perfect, no leaks or defects. I even went so far as to change the clocking of the rotors. All of the end play and runout is well within spec. There is no detectable play in the front end, and during the annual state inspection its looked at by the station. **note** current tires have less than 100 miles on them and they are nitrogen filled at 35psi. Also tried varying pressure in the past with no effect.
Keep in mind that I have spent the last 20+ years working on aircraft systems, so I am obsessive when it comes to torque specs and following the service manual to the letter. Last alignment was this weekend, and when I compared the print outs from the shop, the left toe seems to keep creeping out of spec.
At this point, going back to when the problem originally came up was after the dealership had it on there lift. That being said, I just created an account through Mitsubishi and looked at my service records. They list 3 repairs to a rear marker light, that to the best of my knowledge never took place. I keep a binder with every slip and receipt, every time any maintenance is completed- just like we did for aircraft. Never any write up from the dealership- ever.
I am convinced that those lower arms are the cause of the problem. The paint around the welds has flaked, indicated the metal was stressed. If you look at those arms, those pressed in bushings were never meant to support the weight of the entire vehicle. The left is more damaged that the right and its the left that the toe keeps creeping out of alignment. With this low mileage, I have a hard time believing the wheel bearings are causing the problem. Its been on a drive on lift, and I have gone over the undercarriage with a fine tooth comb- the only items that ever showed any signs of damage or stress are those arms. I even checked the torque on all the subframe mounts.
My next step is to order 2 new arms. There is a new dealership on the Cape, and am waiting for a price quote. Still going to install them myself, and send it right back for an alignment.
I have been searching this forum for months looking for a possible solution. If this indeed fixes it, I will be sure to update in the hopes it can save some others the time and aggravation.
I am going to in length describe the problem I have been having with my 2010 RA, and the steering wheel vibration... My hope is, that maybe this will save someone the aggravation it has caused me and save them some time!
A little background: I bought my Tarmac black RA in April of 2010- love the car and am very excessive compulsive with it. Its garaged each winter, over maintained and cared for. Its never been in any kind of accident and only has 28k on the odometer. I've done a few mods, but more for reliability and enjoyment.
I used to take the car exclusively to the dealership where I bought it, until I noticed the mechanic (at Mitsu dealership) did some damage. Now, I do all of the maintenance with the exception of alignment and tires. Soon you will see why...
At the first tire rotation, the ride home (about 45 miles) I picked up a slight steering vibration at @65mph. It seemed to smooth out a bit, but never went away. When I was underneath the car a few weeks later, I noticed the front lower control arms had been used as a lifting point by the dealership, and the bottom gusset plates had been bent. Since everything seemed intact, it bothered me but I didn't attribute it to the vibration. The factory service manual is quite clear that these are not the correct lifting points. Never went back to that dealership again, and life went on. Before you say it, yes I should have but in no way did I want those obvious hacks to even touch the car again! **note** these were the factory wheels and they are perfect- never even brushed a curb.
So over the last couple of years, I have lived with the vibration and done everything in a very methodical troubleshooting regiment to fix the issue as my budget and time allowed. So far, I have gone through 2 sets of new wheels (Bremmers and Enkei's)- settled on Enkei Raijins, all with correct hubcentric rings.. 2 sets of tires (Toyo T1R, and Eagle F-1's) all road force balanced multiple times. 2 front end alignments by very reputable shops, 2 full sets of brakes all around (EBC slotted/EBC slot-dimpled)red-stuff pads, yellow stuff pads. 2 sets of calipers, this was mainly so I could have the calipers powdercoated. Installed swift springs and was extremely careful to get the correct clocking. Struts are perfect, no leaks or defects. I even went so far as to change the clocking of the rotors. All of the end play and runout is well within spec. There is no detectable play in the front end, and during the annual state inspection its looked at by the station. **note** current tires have less than 100 miles on them and they are nitrogen filled at 35psi. Also tried varying pressure in the past with no effect.
Keep in mind that I have spent the last 20+ years working on aircraft systems, so I am obsessive when it comes to torque specs and following the service manual to the letter. Last alignment was this weekend, and when I compared the print outs from the shop, the left toe seems to keep creeping out of spec.
At this point, going back to when the problem originally came up was after the dealership had it on there lift. That being said, I just created an account through Mitsubishi and looked at my service records. They list 3 repairs to a rear marker light, that to the best of my knowledge never took place. I keep a binder with every slip and receipt, every time any maintenance is completed- just like we did for aircraft. Never any write up from the dealership- ever.
I am convinced that those lower arms are the cause of the problem. The paint around the welds has flaked, indicated the metal was stressed. If you look at those arms, those pressed in bushings were never meant to support the weight of the entire vehicle. The left is more damaged that the right and its the left that the toe keeps creeping out of alignment. With this low mileage, I have a hard time believing the wheel bearings are causing the problem. Its been on a drive on lift, and I have gone over the undercarriage with a fine tooth comb- the only items that ever showed any signs of damage or stress are those arms. I even checked the torque on all the subframe mounts.
My next step is to order 2 new arms. There is a new dealership on the Cape, and am waiting for a price quote. Still going to install them myself, and send it right back for an alignment.
I have been searching this forum for months looking for a possible solution. If this indeed fixes it, I will be sure to update in the hopes it can save some others the time and aggravation.
Last edited by SPSERG; Jul 28, 2014 at 06:11 PM.
Control arm pic
control arm 1.jpg
20140727_170141.jpg
Keep in mind these are not the best pictures, but you can make out how the lower plates have been tweaked by the lift. Right side is not as bad, but still there...
20140727_170141.jpg
Keep in mind these are not the best pictures, but you can make out how the lower plates have been tweaked by the lift. Right side is not as bad, but still there...
Last edited by SPSERG; Jul 28, 2014 at 05:20 PM.
It should fix it. They may have crushed a bearing or dented/distorted the race when they lifted it.
Oh, I understand the whole DIY psycho-about-correct maintenance (I have 22 years flight line maint experience me'self
)...
Oh, I understand the whole DIY psycho-about-correct maintenance (I have 22 years flight line maint experience me'self
)...
Control Arms
I would love to help you out, but I'm pretty sure those would kill my back- I'm an old fart after all! Not to mention the first time my wife drove the car, there would be a "FOR SALE" sign on it... They look well put together though. Good luck with it!
BTW: Cape Mitsubishi called. The arms will be in by Friday. A+ so far for the new dealership!
BTW: Cape Mitsubishi called. The arms will be in by Friday. A+ so far for the new dealership!
Last edited by SPSERG; Jul 29, 2014 at 03:50 PM.
That is beautiful!
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: San Angelo, Texas
Trending Topics
: D 
Control Arms
Well, the arms are in- everything installed exactly to factory specs. The originals sure were bent up. Not to all: Never use the arms as a lifting point! I'm sure the occasional floor jack is not huge, but those arms will not support the entire weight of the car.
Also checked wheel bearing runout, which was well within factory spec. Very close inspection of the CV shafts, they appeared to be fine but I obviously did not remove them.
I am going to schedule another alignment, and take a short highway run to do some diagnosis. So far, no vibration but the last 2 days have been just around-town and under 65.
Also checked wheel bearing runout, which was well within factory spec. Very close inspection of the CV shafts, they appeared to be fine but I obviously did not remove them.
I am going to schedule another alignment, and take a short highway run to do some diagnosis. So far, no vibration but the last 2 days have been just around-town and under 65.
Vibration Resolved!!
Very-Very happy to report that after a long highway ride, varying speeds from 60 mph up- the vibration has been eliminated!! Not going to say this fix will cure the woes of everyone suffering a steering wheel vibration, but its worth checking...
Vibration
A-1 Mitsu correspondence school no doubt! Very frustrating that you spend hard earned dollars on a vehicle (my first in 20 years) bring it back for service, and get damage.
Evolving Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
From: Miami
I should check mine out! I was actually moments away from trading the darn thing in because after a year I cant deal with it anymore. I went through the same thing (new wheels, brakes ect.) and nothing. I literally hate driving my car on the highway at this point and all the reputable shops around me cant find anything wrong with it. Thaks for the info!