Need steering help! Front end intermittent shimmy

G

GarzaFX45

Member
Location
Dallas, TX
OK, ever since I purchased my 2004 FX (June '09) it has had a "shimmy" in the steering. Basically a rapid left to right movement in the steering wheel at certain speeds. Usually 55-70mph or so.
At first I attributed it to the larger 22"wheels, so I had them re-balanced, and rotated them, no change.
Had the front end aligned...no change
Sometimes it will do this when I pressed the brakes, mainly at higher speeds. So I assumed the rotors were warped, no biggie. I installed Rotorpros drilled/slotted rotors and new pads all around yesterday (I wanted them anyway).....no change! :frown:
I inspected all ball joints, steering linkages ect..but everything seems fine. The last thing I can think of to do is to install my factory 20" Infiniti wheels and see if anything changes. I don't believe its the wheel bearings, but I am out of ideas unless there could be something wrong with the steering rack itself? One last thing I can think of is that I know my 22" wheels "DonZ Genovese" are not hub centric and I noticed a little plastic ring that I assume is supposed to take up the hub space? Any ideas?

I appreciate any help.
Thanks
RG
 
I think you are on the right track, install the factory 20's and see if that cures the problem. You can also try using teflon tape on the hub ///6296
 
I am fighting the same issue. I began cursing my Toyo Proxes ST II tires after swapping tires from another FX (and the problem basically went away), but it still persists after installing brand new Hankooks. Either I have 2-4 bent rims (unlikely) or there is another issue. There is a "roughness" to the steering at times (though it is intermittent), basically the same feeling as trying to turn dirty gears that do not have any lube. The shimmy cannot be felt anywhere else in the car, only the steering wheel. My wheels have been balanced five times, two new sets of tires (though the problem began AFTER the first new set)...ugg. I am thinking my steering rack is bad or I have a bad tie-rod, but I cannot detect anything wrong. Then again, I only inspected the outter tie-rods.

What bothers me is that the other people that have complained of this problem have not been very successful in permanently fixing it.
 
Last edited:
At this point I can live with it. Its worst is from 55-65 mph. My brother just bought a QX56 and mentioned his does it at 70-75 (stock 18"s) just going to balance n align his. I may be going back to the stock 20"s with new tires for the winter and see what happens. :confused:
 
2004 FX45 Premium/Tech package, drop in K&N, 22 x 9.5" Donz Genovese wheels with 285/35/22 Toyo Proxes S/T....mods soon to come.
 
sgvxcheese said:
what kinda tires are u running on ur wheels? i had toyo proxies before and they gave huge vibrations in the steering wheel and when braking
Click to expand...

Yep, Toyo Proxes...you know now that you mention it, just today my steering vibrated when I was braking and it kinda shocked me. I just installed all new rotors and pads so I highly doubt it was that. I kept the old rotors and had the run-out checked at my buddies shop, and they were no where near warped! I have ran Toyo tires on 3 different vehicles and honestly the only one I was impressed with was the MT's on the Superduty F250 I had. But if I'm going to buy some new 22" tires Im probably going to get new wheels too. The finish on my black wheels is starting to bubble/flake, but I attribute that to the fact my ride came from the north east and took some salt abuse lol......
 
I can live with a SLIGHT vibration but mine feels like the wheel is being tugged from side-to-side when it is at its worst. A few months ago I had an EX35 as a loaner and noticed the steering wobbled side-to-side ever so slightly, so I think some is "normal" given the size of the tires.
 
Ever resolve this problem? Even after buying new tires and two additional balances, I am still dealing with an intermittent shimmy in the steering wheel. Sometimes the steering feels very smooth and absolutely no shimmy whereas other times the steering feels "rough" with a rapid wobble, even on the same road at the same speed. Driving me nuts, and the dealer (or at least this particular service adviser) blames the tires despite the fact it has occurred on two completely different and new sets of tires (Toyo and Hankook).

Not very pleased with my car right now.
 
GJBenn85 said:
Ever resolve this problem? Even after buying new tires and two additional balances, I am still dealing with an intermittent shimmy in the steering wheel. Sometimes the steering feels very smooth and absolutely no shimmy whereas other times the steering feels "rough" with a rapid wobble, even on the same road at the same speed. Driving me nuts, and the dealer (or at least this particular service adviser) blames the tires despite the fact it has occurred on two completely different and new sets of tires (Toyo and Hankook).

Not very pleased with my car right now.
Click to expand...


Have you ever been able to resolve this? I am dealing with this and out of options, so looking for ideas.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
I had the same issue when I bought mine. I chocked it up to the tires needing to be replaced. Put new tires on and it was still there. Ended up replacing the left front wheel bearing and outer tire rod end, aligned vehicle and vibration went away
 
I'm so in the same boat and ready to scrap the fx because of it! My issue is just like GJBenn describes, I have tried EVERYHTING and nothing changes, sometimes it vibrates sometimes it doesn't! I have tried 3 sets of tires, wheel hub bearings, rims, brakes/rotors, alignment, you name it and still the same shit! Like everyone else, I'm starting to think its the rack itself! It has been inspected and reinspected by numerous highly knowledgable mechanics and nobody can find anything wrong! And what I don't understand is why is it intermittent on the same road, same wheels, same tires, same speed?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top