Sustained vibration at 70mph

[bwask]

I have 10000 miles on my Pilot and the vibration at 70 continues to be a problem. One thing I have found is while traveliong down a large hill at 70 I can shift the transmission into nuetral and allow the engine to idle and the vibration continues unchanged. This should eliminate the possibility of the transmission or engine causing the vibration.

My guess is the shocks may be too soft at the normal position and small variations in the road at high speeds may be causing oscillation of the front shocks. Sometimes the vibration slowly comes and goes while running at a constant speed. Usually out of balance vibrations are constants at set speeds and will stop after exceeding a certain speed. I have not determined how fast you have to go to stop this vibration or if there is one. This is just my guess though.

[rwtown99]

The issue you have is the drive line counter balance weight assy, Honda has new calibrated weight assy. fix for this issue. I suggest asking the dealer service department. ( I think they have a silent recall on this item).

Bob[IMG]http://[/IMG]

[metallocene]

Sounds promising rwtown99, is there some sort of service bulletin one can reference? Any more details that you can tell us about (ie. how were you able to find this out, what is a drive line counter balance weight assembly ?,...). Thanks!

[dpappi]

RE: Pilot Vibrates @ 60 Mph
I got my Pilot in Feb and only have 2k on it.
I've taken the car to the dealership twice before for the same vibration issues.. and they said nothings is wrong.. Besides that, my rear passenger side tire also looses air every week..
I got the following done on my own:

1) Changed the Valve
2) Got all my tires balanced

But the vibration is still there and the air still leaks. Today I blew up on the dealer and left my car overnight to be serviced. hope they find something.
They are GoodYear.....
Tomorrow, I'll post what the results are.

[bwask]

I know it's frustrating when the dealer can not or will not resolve this problem but getting mad a t the dealer won't help. The only thing that will is to call Honda customer service and complain. All complaints to Honda have to be entered into a database so the federal government can review and make sure Honda isn't hiding defects that could be unsafe. If enough people call Honda on this problem they will have to fix it.

[tonyrwc]

Originally posted by dpappi
RE: Pilot Vibrates @ 60 Mph
I got my Pilot in Feb and only have 2k on it.
I've taken the car to the dealership twice before for the same vibration issues.. and they said nothings is wrong.. Besides that, my rear passenger side tire also looses air every week..
I got the following done on my own:

1) Changed the Valve
2) Got all my tires balanced

But the vibration is still there and the air still leaks. Today I blew up on the dealer and left my car overnight to be serviced. hope they find something.
They are GoodYear.....
Tomorrow, I'll post what the results are.

Its hard not get mad at the dealership but they want your car to be repaired correctly the first time as well, they want a good "CSI" response from you as well as having you as a happy customer. The problem is having the correct service technician working on your car, preferably a drivabilty technician in this case is the key to having the problem with your car diagnosed and repaired the first time. The dealership doesnt want to see you back with the same complaint, believe me. Good luck in getting your problem fixed.

[metallocene]

Has anyone approached their dealer with rwtown99's advice?

"The issue you have is the drive line counter balance weight assy, Honda has new calibrated weight assy. fix for this issue. I suggest asking the dealer service department. ( I think they have a silent recall on this item)."

Sounds reasonable to me, ... but I still have no idea what a "drive line counter balance weight assembly is"

The vibration diminishes to nearly non existant when the pilot is loaded (4 adults and 2 kids). Loaded the Pilot still has an amazingly smooth ride... If it wasnt' for the the vibe, I'd be raving praise for this machine.

[bwask]

My dealer checked out the driveline balance assy solution with Honda and they told him that was a fix for the MDX in 2001. They had some drivelines that where out of balance. They where willing to pull the drive line on my pilot and test drive it but I told them not to do it as others on this forum already did and it did not eliminate the vib. I still think the strut or shock is the problem if you can load the pilot and the vib is almost gone.

[tim.s]

Originally posted by metallocene
Has anyone approached their dealer with rwtown99's advice?

"The issue you have is the drive line counter balance weight assy, Honda has new calibrated weight assy. fix for this issue. I suggest asking the dealer service department. ( I think they have a silent recall on this item)."

Sounds reasonable to me, ... but I still have no idea what a "drive line counter balance weight assembly is"

The vibration diminishes to nearly non existent when the pilot is loaded (4 adults and 2 kids). Loaded the Pilot still has an amazingly smooth ride... If it wasnt' for the the vibe, I'd be raving praise for this machine.

It does seem reasonable. If the prop shaft going to the rear axle (or some other component) has a natural frequency which corresponds to the 70mph speed, then changing its mass or mass balance could eliminate the problem. The counter balance may make the natural frequency occur at a lower speed where it is less noticeable or occur at a higher speed drivers are less likely to reach.

I've read that this has been a problem with "cross-over SUVs" (a vehicle which is normally front-wheel drive, but has a 4-wheel drive option, or a all-wheel drive option).

[tordinar]

I tried 95 mph & I have no problem.

[tim.s]

Yeah, the thing about a natural frequency vibration is that it only occurs at one speed (rpm) and multiples of that speed (i.e., 70 and 140 mph). And it's likely that one vehicle could have the problem and another doesn't

(Been out of school for a while, hope I'm using the correct terms.)

[sblvro]

its got 10,000 miles already, have you rotated the tires? as this are 4 wheel drive systems, wear of the tires on each axle are different hence, rotating it will even out the tires, balancing will help but not all the time.

[csimo]

I'm a newbie here, I don't own a Pilot, and I'm just considering buying one.... so I'm reading about the problems. There is a published TSB (Technical Service Bulliten) on the NHTSA site regarding "Steering Vibration" you may wish to discuss with your dealer. I don't know the content of the TSB but Honda must know about some problem with vibration of some kind... it may not be what you describe at all. I'll cut and paste what NHTSA publishes (hope it comes out OK):

Make : HONDA Model : PILOT Year : 2003
Service Bulletin Num : 010603 Date of Bulletin: JAN 06, 2003
Component: STEERING
Summary:
EVALUATION OF STEERING VIBRATION. *TT

[bwask]

I continue to seek a solution for the 70mph vibration. A new problem has surfaced. If you hard brake from high speed over 70 the vibration increases rapidly to what seems like a strong shimmy until you release the brake. As of today my dealer has been working on this probem for the last 2 weeks and here is what we have done.

The goodyear tires have been match balanced to the wheels and one wheel had to be replaced due to it could not be balanced to specs. Still the steering wheel visibly vibrates side to side and now it has developed a pull to the left.

I decided to get rid of the goodyear tires at my own expense and has 4 new michelin cross terrains installed. The side to side vibration and the pull to the left are gone. But now there is a different vibration in the steering wheel. It is less intense and the steering wheel does not move side to side but the more severe shimmy like vibration still can happen if you brake hard at high speed. The Michelin tires are much better and quieter than the goodyear integrity.

My dealer has removed the drive shafts to the rear end and test drove it and the vibration was the same.

Has anyone found the solution to this type of problem?

[Jet-Pilot-64]

Originally posted by bwask
I continue to seek a solution for the 70mph vibration. A new problem has surfaced. If you hard brake from high speed over 70 the vibration increases rapidly to what seems like a strong shimmy until you release the brake. As of today my dealer has been working on this probem for the last 2 weeks and here is what we have done.

The goodyear tires have been match balanced to the wheels and one wheel had to be replaced due to it could not be balanced to specs. Still the steering wheel visibly vibrates side to side and now it has developed a pull to the left.

I decided to get rid of the goodyear tires at my own expense and has 4 new michelin cross terrains installed. The side to side vibration and the pull to the left are gone. But now there is a different vibration in the steering wheel. It is less intense and the steering wheel does not move side to side but the more severe shimmy like vibration still can happen if you brake hard at high speed. The Michelin tires are much better and quieter than the goodyear integrity.

My dealer has removed the drive shafts to the rear end and test drove it and the vibration was the same.

Has anyone found the solution to this type of problem?

It sounds like warped brake rotors to me...