ever so slight vibration felt in steering wheel
Asked by OJ Jan 02, 2017 at 07:47 PM about the 2003 Ford Explorer XLS V6
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Vehicle tracks straight and true, no vibration in brake pedal or gas pedal.
At about 30 miles per hour I can feel a slight vibration, almost not
perceivable in the steering wheel only, not jerking at all. If I turn the wheel
slightly to the left it goes away, but returns when I go straight. Minute
vibration continues if I turn slightly to the right. If I slow below twenty MPH
the vibration goes away as does the extremely slight and low growl which
can barely be heard. Any ideas? Power steering pump full as per slight
glass. Would a bad pump act this way. Turning the wheel one inch to the
left to change lanes cause the sound and vibration to go away? Changed a
lot of bad pumps, but never ran across a situation like this.
14 Answers
Possible that a wheel bearing is starting to go, should have it checked at a repair shop.
A growl is associated to a worn wheel bearing.
Yes thank you, just sat home and watch the ball drop, I woke up just in time to see it drop. Happy New Year to you also....
Rowe, i live in New York and went there one time in the lare 70's I froze my butt off it was like 20 degrees , the only people that go to the ball dropping now in New York is tourist...no bathrooms, they where adult diapers....
I have only watch it on tv. 20° is the norm here in the U.P. but threw the years it has ben warming up for the winters, like right now it is 33° out there. My trivia question for this evening was how many people in 2016 were at Times Square for the ball drop? 1,000,000 was the answer so there must be a lot of indecent ex-poser tickets given out since there are no bath rooms, hea?
I rent a lot of new Ford explorers and Flex models on a monthly bases for the past 6 years and i noticed this slight vibration only on AWD ford vehicles and it started approx 2 years ago, maybe it has something to do with their AWD system, just a suggestion...
2019 Ford Explorer 4 cyl. vibration from day one. Replaced the drive shaft, still there, changed from summer to winter tires, still there, replaced left and right axles and that helped for a few miles and then it is back. WTF is this? Brand new vehicle. Makes me nervous.
I have the same issue and they tell me they can’t duplicate the issue. I know I’m not crazy!
Ford Canada told us that the vibration is 'characteristic of the Explorer'...well, I have owned a few and never had that issue before. It is very unsettling to start a vehicle and drive with a vibration and the growl that makes one wonder if it is a ticking time bomb precluding loss of control or a collision. I also took a few 2019 Ford Explorers out for a test drive and they all had that vibration going on, to some extent. Although, I had a rental 2019 out and it was perfect, no problems. Afraid to move up to the 2020, as it has its own brand of issues that held it up at a Michigan plant for repairs. Losing confidence here...
Guru9DLSVX answered 3 years ago
I have the same problem now with my 2016 Explorer XLT. Vibrations start when accelerating & most vibration is felt between 40MPH & 65MPH. Have done wheel alignment, wheel balancing, tire rotation & dealer diagnostics. Dealer "thinks" it's an axle issue. Has anyone gotten this problem fixed?
Guru9ZRR94 answered 3 years ago
I have a 2020 Explorer ST. When I go through a turn around and accelerate there is a vibration in the drive train. I was told by the dealer that was normal but I know it is not. Also when just cruising 35-50 there is a low pitched vibration. Not sure if its exhaust or drivetrain. Ford did a lousy job in refining this vehicle. Yes it handles, drives and stop great. Very fast acceleration as well, Much better with a rear drive bases chassis. Too bad Ford did not finish the job. Plus the dash design is awful. Looks like the stick on screen is an afterthought.
Yes, we had hideous problems with vibration and wobble, felt all through the cabin of vehicle. We replaced tires and rims, drive shaft, left front axle,nothing fixed it. Between 40 and 60 mph at different times, you could feel the imbalance in the steering wheel, the hood flexing, you would swear was a bent rim or drive shaft. FORD says that is normal to the Explorer. We traded for a 2020 Ford Explorer XLT 4 cyl. There are still issues with it...not nearly as bad YET as the 2019 we traded but should not be there. I told Ford to fire the engineers and go back to the drawing board. Good luck,everyone, stay safe.
Guru9ZRR94 answered 3 years ago
Its too bad that Hackett did not understand how to make sure the engineering was top notch on such an important vehicle as the Explorer. I blame Ford for hiring someone with no automotive experience at all. The engineers started with a good chassis but failed to finish the job. For as long as Ford has been making the Explorer this new model should have been head and shoulders above all the competition. Just like they have done with the F-150. Comsumer Reports said it drives, handles and accelerates better than the front drive competition but it ends there. Ford did not finish the job. That is unacceptable.
