Intermittent Shaking-Vibration in car

scootchu

Member
I thought I solved the problem by replacing the side and front motor mounts, but the problem still remains. The car will drive smooth, now smoother with new mounts, and then shake, usually after stopping. I haven't tackled the rear mount yet.

It's an all over vibration felt everywhere. It will then go away. I replaced a rear caliper last year I thought was causing it, as well as the front and rear rotors.

I am perplexed. Would a bearing do this? There isn't any noise and I cannot locate it specifically. I can drive 60 miles one way on a highway and it won't do it, turn around and it does it for 5 miles, smooths out and might do it again.

Any shared experience would be greatly appreciated.

The P5 has 123,000 miles on it. Auto tranny.
 
Have you checked your trunk for a trapped hooker that might be trying to escape?



Hahah but in all seriousness, does the car vibrate only when you're stopped? If so, what's your rpms like at idle? Or is it vibrating while you drive?
 
No not at idle at all. It can happen at 35mph and shake harder the faster you go or be smooth up until 55mph and then shake OR it could vanish completely and 85mph is as smooth as glass.
 
Sounds like a wheel bearing. Mine did something similar and got worse. Has it gotten sorse over time or stayed the same?
 
^+1

I had bad front wheel bearings and the car would start to have this weird whirring sound from 15mph-50 mph then stop after. I could also feel it under my feet.
 
Same problem to the tee....

Hello everyone,
Newbie here to the forum. I just bought a p5 about 2 weeks ago from a used car dealership. It's a 2002 automatic with only 55,000 miles so it was a great find (why i was willing to drive 2.5 hrs to buy it) but, I don't want to drive to the dealership to get it worked on under my 30 day warranty (50% parts/labor split) until I can figure out if what's causing the intermittent vibrations is worth the gas money and time to use their half of the parts and labor. I'm guessing it's a wheel bearing or balancing issue, but, what throws me for the loop is that it comes and goes so randomly. Steering right or left doesn't seem to affect it when it's happening and I put it in neutral once when it was vibrating and bypassing the drivetrain seemed to have a minimal affect if any, and it has happened at various speeds. When it happens, there is a low sound that has slowly developed with the vibration over the past week and the steering wheel shakes every time it happens. I would appreciate any help if anyone has figured this problem out since this thread was started. Thanks!
 
My issue was a snapped rear sway bar bracket.

Also as mentioned I would look into balancing. A wheel bearing will definatly make a rubbing/grinding/annoying sound. Is there any difference when going over bumps?
 
I think I figured out my problem, and why it's intermittent

This one probably isn't that common (or maybe it is) but, after putting some things together and troubleshooting day and night, I noticed that my passenger wheel (on a car I just bought clean and detailed 2 weeks ago) was covered in brake dust. I paired that with the fact that when I jacked up the car and put it in neutral, the driver's side wheel free spun but it took a fair amount of effort to move the passenger wheel. This is what I think has happened: The dealership replaced the rotors and pads on all wheels (I'm guessing because they heard the passenger side grinding) after doing all this, on the test drive and drive home I couldn't notice because no major issues had set in, but, the caliper was seized/not retracting and caused massive brake wear, eventually grooving and warping the new rotor (there's my shaking) and the reason it comes and goes is because when you first start off driving, you use your brakes, pushing/resting the pad against the warped rotor, making the shaking violent and noticeable and as I drove a fair distance (on the highway) , the pad was able to wear down because the brakes weren't in use, making the shaking go away. Use my brakes again, repeat cycle....I ran this by a mechanic buddy and he agrees this is what's happening, he just wants to figure out if it's a bad caliper or collapsed hose. I hope this was helpful to someone because this situation drove me crazy! I'll report back once all repairs are complete.
 
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