Hey gang,

My 2010 Fit just turned 7000miles, and I just had it to the dealer on Friday for it's first oil change, and I had a tire rotation done at the same time.

Now, having driven it over the weekend, there is a noticeable vibration coming through the steering, and it's the worst between 40-45mph (I can actually feel it through the gas pedal, and the seat)...the Fit did not make this vibration before it's visit to the dealer on Friday.

I'm not sure what's causing this, hence me posting for help here. I know a lot about cars, but not the exact mechanicals and such.

Could this maybe be caused by an unbalanced wheel, and wasn't noticeable before because it was on the rear? Could it possibly be that the wheels aren't sitting right on the hub, or aren't torqued properly?

I'm calling the dealer tomorrow, but I was hoping you guys could post some thoughts so I can maybe better explain it to them.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!

Atomic

 

Balance - Go to Discount Tire and have them balance them *should be free*

 

I'd take it right back to the dealer and let it take any needed corrective measures.

 

The wheels are just out of balance... When they rotated the rear to the front, it just became noticable...

If the dealer can get you in and out quickly then no harm done, but if youre going to have to wait a while, a tire shop would be a better deal for you bro


Good luck though, I know vibrations can be annoying haha!

 

did the service mechanic hand tighten the lugs? the Fit's lug studs are stupid-fragile.. worst case scenario, if he tightened from an air compressor then chances are they've cross threaded before clamping down and the rim isn't flush against the hub.

 

^^ this.


and the studs on the Fit is no different than studs on other cars. impact guns can be used (given they were threaded correctly) just not too much over the rated torque rating (80lbs) just like any other studs.

 

Your car is under warranty.
Definently take it back to the dealer...or at least a dealer, if you are unhappy with the one that you are currently using. BUT go to a dealer.

It's most likely simply a balance issue. BUT just incase it's something more serious, or something is physically broke...you want your warranty to cover it. It's a bad idea to give the dealership any reason to say...this happened because you took it to an independent unauthorized shop. Especially since this happened after they rotated the tires...I'd definently go back to the dealer.

If they can't resolve it, or you continue to have problems I'd look to take it to another Honda Dealership...but as long as you are under warranty...you are best served by having everything that is happening documented by Honda.

 

hopefully it's just one or more unbalanced tires.

the worst case scenario is that they didn't properly torque one or more of the wheels, which could be loose and wobbly while you're driving - that'd be pretty dangerous.

i would have the car checked where it sits by a friend or someone knowledgeable if you aren't familiar with that kinda stuff. i would only drive the car back to the dealer if i'm sure the wheels are securely installed.

 

Check the lugs by hand... Normally this doesnt happen, if it does the vibration wouldnt decrease at lower speeds...

 

Also check the wheels to see if there appears to be a missing wheel weight. It is possible that someone was a bit careless and may have knocked a weight off one of the wheels while mounting or dismounting. Yet another reason I like doing the simple jobs myself.

 

SO I take the Fit to the dealer this morning, I explain the problem, explain that it didn't do this prior to the rotation, and the Service Mgr says this:

"Ok, so we'll just put them back."

'Scuse me? Put them back?

His reasoning was that the rear tires must have been "racking", and now that they were on the front, they caused this vibration. So he put them back on the back.

I asked if the wheels maybe needed balanced, he said that's not the issue.

So then why was I charged for a tire rotation, if you're just going to put them back? And why is it ok to put them back, when the whole purpose of a tire rotation is to put the tires with the better tread on the front, so they all wear evenly?

I'm going to call MY mechanic (who unfortunately is an hour away since we just moved) and run this past him - I'd sooner take a day off work and pay to have my guy balance all 4 wheels than go back to this dealer.

And thanks to all of you who posted above, I appreciate the responses and insight!

 

What dealer is that so that I can make sure never to go?


Go to Discount Tire bro... Or any tire shop around your house... Get a rotation *now that they un-rotated them* and get them to BALANCE the wheels! THIS WILL FIX IT!

BTW - Go back to Honda, get the GM involved, and get a refund for the rotation...

 

I wouldnt have let him say a damn thing to me after he opened his fat mouth about "thats not the issue." and "We'll just put them back." I would have ripped that mother fuckers head off. Just saying.

 

I'd ask for the regional Honda manager. You may risk your tire warranty if you don't have documented tire rotations, so the dealer's "solution" (to not rotate) is bogus, not to mention will cause you to wear out the fronts too quickly.

 

sometimes it's possible to have a lot of increased road noise after rotating tires if they haven't been rotated in a long time or they've worn differently on the front vs. the rear. it happened to me one time when i rotated my tires after neglecting them for a while. they had already cupped slightly from the toe-in on the rear, so when they went on the front they sounded like off-road tires.

i would say it's more a noise than a vibration, though i guess you can kind of feel it in the steering wheel if you concentrate hard enough (on the brink of imagination).

if that's what was really happening in your case, there really is nothing that can be done about it besides living with the noise (which might go away after the tread wears down some more) or putting the tires back to where they were before the rotation.

whatever it is, good luck! you can google "noise after rotation" or something along those lines to see what i'm talking about.

 

Well, I'm sorry that sucks. That dealer service department is "bad". I'd still recommend going to a dealership if only to keep everything under warranty. BUT I'd understand if you've lost trust and/or simply want to go with someone you trust. Fortunately or Unfortunately you are still under warranty...so it would probably be to your long term benefit to try to establish a relationship with an authorized Honda service department that DOES know what it's doing.

That answer was ridiculous. You have a brand new vehicle and a complaint after tire rotation and their only answer is "guess well just put it back"?

I think it is often best to avoid confrontation and complaint when possible. But that answer is absolutely ridiculous. Complaining to Honda probably won't get you anywhere but IMO that answer is NOT acceptable. And it shouldn't be acceptable to Honda either.

 

Thanks for all the great input guys, I appreciate you all rallying in my defense!

Long story short, I'm a little gunshy when it comes to dealers - my last car (a 2009 Mini) had a major mechanical issue, that the dealer attempted to fix, then when they couldn't, they contacted a regional engineer, who said my problem was "normal", so the dealer wouldn't take care of the problem. Meanwhile, other Mini's were getting fixed at other dealers, but I was blacklisted because my issue went up the chain of command. Then even after I wrote a letter to the VP of MINI USA asking for help, they still wouldn't fix it. So I traded my 10mo old, 7Kmile MINI in on the Fit.

I just came back from a rather spirited run during my lunch, and there is still a vibration, not as bad as before - it's now just more in the back of the car. Maybe the wheels were off balance, and since this was the first time they were technically taken off the car, it un-seated them and now the unbalance is noticeable.

I'm just going to take it to my mechanic and have them balanced there. I honestly don't have the energy to fight with the dealership over this - if my mechanic can fix this, all the better.

Thanks again!

 

Where are you from? Is there a Discount Tire around the corner? GO TO a tire shop - Ask them to balance/rotate... Discount will do it for FREE to gain your business in the future! Dont drive an hour to get your tires balanced bro! Glad to help

 

Thanks Cl9lover, but I'm just outside Philadelphia PA, and there aren't any Discount Tire shops anywhere in the NorthEast...

I talked to my mechanic, and he's actually running a sale on the tires I was planning to get once these Dunlops ran out, so I'm getting the new tires put on (early) and will probably see if anyone here wants to buy the Dunlops slightly used...

 

How many miles? Size? Price shipped to 77565.