How Many Miles On Your Shocks?

[HRTKD]

How many miles are you getting out of the OEM shocks before you replace them?

I'm getting a vibration above 65 MPH that I'm fairly certain isn't from the tires. I had a set of new Ecotopia tires put on and had them rebalanced a number of times and the vibration wouldn't go away. The tire store did a road-force balance and also put their machine on technical mode. I then went with a replacement set of Michelin tires and the vibration is still there.

The wheels I put on were supposed to have centering rings and those were left off, causing a consistent vibration. This went on for a few weeks before they figured that out. I wonder if the vibration created by the missing centering ring caused some damage to the shocks.

The vibration seems to be coming from the rear, not the front. I feel no vibration in the steering wheel, other than what I feel in the seat.

I'm open to suggestions. If I have the time I may dismount the rear shocks and give them a test off the car. My experience with shocks is when they're toast, manually compressing/decompressing them is a fairly accurate way to tell if they're still working right.

 

[TLeaf]

I'm at 68k on my original shocks and am not having any issues. I've certainly not been babying the car, either; I've never been one to shy away from speed bumps or washboard roads or potholes...

 

[Nubo]

Might be worthwhile to have the tires checked for roundness. Missing the centering rings could have resulted in uneven wear. Might need to have the tires "shaved" back into true.

Since you're not getting vibration at the front, the easiest thing to try first would be to swap front and rear tires to see if there's any difference.

 

[HRTKD]

Might be worthwhile to have the tires checked for roundness. Missing the centering rings could have resulted in uneven wear. Might need to have the tires "shaved" back into true.

Since you're not getting vibration at the front, the easiest thing to try first would be to swap front and rear tires to see if there's any difference.

The tires that were on there as of 10 days ago were extensively balanced. They were road-forced balanced and they also turned on "Technical Mode" on the balance machine for fine tuning. The vibration was still there. So they put on a new set of tires. No change. The vibration is still present. I don't think moving the tires around is going to help unless the tire shop has been putting the exact same wheels back in place each time and the problem is with a wheel.

I haven't had time to remove the shocks.

 

[Nubo]

Might be worthwhile to have the tires checked for roundness. Missing the centering rings could have resulted in uneven wear. Might need to have the tires "shaved" back into true.

Since you're not getting vibration at the front, the easiest thing to try first would be to swap front and rear tires to see if there's any difference.

The tires that were on there as of 10 days ago were extensively balanced. They were road-forced balanced and they also turned on "Technical Mode" on the balance machine for fine tuning. The vibration was still there. So they put on a new set of tires. No change. The vibration is still present. I don't think moving the tires around is going to help unless the tire shop has been putting the exact same wheels back in place each time and the problem is with a wheel.

I haven't had time to remove the shocks.

Seems like you've got it figured out then. Is all this fancy balancing being done by the same folks who forgot the centering rings?

 

[HRTKD]

Seems like you've got it figured out then. Is all this fancy balancing being done by the same folks who forgot the centering rings?

Ha! I wish I had it figured out. I've never had this much problem with vibration at highway speeds. At this point, my 1 Ton truck rides better than my Leaf.

The wheels I have on my Leaf are the same model (different size) that are used for the winter tires on my wife's Hyundai Santa Fe. They forgot the rings on those too. Apparently it's not something they have to do that often.

 

[Nubo]

To my mind, shocks dampen vibration but they don't cause it. New shocks may well help but may not be the root problem. Do you still have the original wheels with tires mounted? I always look for proximate cause to rule out and this all seems to have started with the new wheels. That would be the first thing I'd try to rule out, if possible.

If you're going to disassemble to test the shocks, I'd also pay close attention to how well the new wheels and centering rings are mating with the hub, and check the hub bearings. Vibration from the missing rings could have affected them also.

 

[HRTKD]

I no longer have the original steel wheels. This is a slightly sore subject to me because after the second or third attempt to resolve the vibration with balancing, the diagnosis was that one of the wheels was bent. They offered to find one steel wheel, but I opted for new wheels that were more pleasant looking (no hubcaps needed). In retrospect, the steel wheel probably wasn't the cause of the vibration so new wheels weren't warranted. I like the new wheels and upgrading from the steel wheels was something on my wish list, so I'm not going to complain.

My line of thinking on shocks is, if the road is causing vibration and the shocks aren't dampening that vibration, then the shocks are the problem. I'm limiting my vibration assessment to smooth sections of asphalt that I drive on every day, in different lanes.

Admittedly, the vibration isn't huge. I suspect my wife wouldn't even notice it. What has me trying to resolve the vibration is:
1. I don't recall the vibration with the old, worn tires on the steel wheels.
2. I don't recall the vibration with the winter tires/wheels (Bridgestone Blizzaks on the same model of wheel as the new summer tires).

I could put the winter tires/wheels on and see if the vibration is still there. Maybe I'm misremembering the experience. While it's too hot to be running winter tires, one run up the highway shouldn't be detrimental.

The guys at Discount Tire have been very patient with me on this. The missing centering rings is on them, of course. But they have been professional and helpful the entire time. They gave me full credit on the Ecotopia tires when we switched over to the Michelins.

 

[Nubo]

Ok, so the vibration began after changing to new tires, before you got new rims, and wasn't there with the old tires? That would definitely make me suspect tires but then you say it has persisted through two different sets of new tires...

Odd. So far the only common denominator is the tire shop :lol:

I'd definitely try the snows. Swap all four though, otherwise the traction/stability control might act up.

 

[GerryAZ]

I agree with Nubo--most likely tire or wheel problem(s). I had 50k miles on original shocks with no issues when 2011 met its demise. The 2015 had original shocks with no leaks and no handling issues when I traded it in with 82k miles.