2006 HHR

Yesterday while on a road trip I noticed that when I hit 65 MPH I could feel front vibration. My steering was fine no shakes. When I hit 75 it would somewhat go away. At one point I can not go faster then 65 afraid that the front tire was not going to make it. Note: I had hit a pothole several months back and the tire did have a small bubble. Since I was about 4 hrs away from home I stopped At a local Wal-Mart and picked up two tires ( that’s all they had for my car). We took the rear tires put them in the front and the new tires at the rear. It did ride better but still vibration (no shaking). I know I need a wheel alignment.
When I had my brakes done in 2010it was suggested that I replace the front struts.

I purchased my 2006 HHR on 7/15/2010 with 3,922 miles. Current mileage is 88,136. Been happy with it

I have had the previous tires on for about a year and a half. I also had change the rims and have not had a problem until yesterday.

Any suggestions:

 

Wheel alignment will not cause shaking, a bit of a myth that surrounds bad alignment. Bad alignment can cause odd wear patterns in the tires that can cause noise and premature wear.

You might have a bent rim, if the pothole broke belts in the tire, which caused the bubble, you more than likely have a rim that's now out of round. Another possibility is that the rear tires have "cupped" due to worn shocks, cupped tires will give you a rumbling noise but they can also shake at certain speeds.

When you get back from your trip have the rim that hit the pothole checked for being out of round, check the former rear tires for cupping, and at nearly 89k miles its time to think about struts and shocks all the way around. Also have the balance on the new tires checked, Wally World isn't known for exacting workmanship when fitting tires.

 

Thanks for the tip.... I really like to put the original rims back on.

 

Been there done that. Some worn suspension scalloped my front tires. They made noise like I was running snow tires. But I had less that 10,000 miles on the tires initially and kept running them for about two more years. Out of balanced front tires will cause shaking at various speeds, usually above 55 mph. I finally got the front realigned and put on new tires, no more shakes, or road noise. I have 91K miles on my 06.

 

Thanks Old Lar

I will probably start small and have the rim checked first, balance the front tires and get the wheel alignment. Next couple of months have work
on struts and shocks.

 

If you know where a shop uses a Hunter* "Road Force" Wheel Balancer, that is the ultimate in checking tires & balance & making it all good, plus ya get a computer print out of exactly what was done..

edit: & with a keen operator, he can tell you the rim run out as well..

If your rims are true & tires look ok, look to see if you 'tossed' a wheel weight.. That could explain the sudden bad vibe..

 

Do check the balance and wheels first. Weights get tossed often on aluminum wheels.

Sometimes you don't notice it and other times it can really shake. Changing with speed is common.

Alignment in its self normally does not create shake unless you have a ball joint, tie rod or bushing. Then you also normally will have a clunk.

Most times if out of alignment the tires will feather. Cupping is a sign of a bad strut or shock most time but in a rare case alighnement could do it.

Also never discount the chance of a bad tire too. Belts can slip in a tire though rare and it can create a shake or out of round.

Most spin balancers will show a bad tire or wheel. JUst make sure the place doing it knows what they are doing. With low miles I am betting on a tire or wheel is out. Even check for a tar rock or something stuck inside the wheel.

 

I just changed rear shocks, front struts, coil springs,both front wheel hubs, had front end alignment done, balanced the tires, and still have noise like snow tires, I had my neighbour come over ( he has 2010 HHR with new set of tires ), he offered to let me swap out all four rims and that silenced the noise, I put my two fronts back on and the noise came back changed back to his 2 fronts and my 2 rears and the noise was not there, I put my left front on and the noise was from that tire the right front was quite. I rotated the tires front to back and 3,000 Klms later the noise is starting to go away, I've determined the left front was the point with leaking strut and whining hub bearing had just a little feathering on the outside treads.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice.....

 

Well took the car to the shop... Got the balance done... Mechanic informed me that I needed to replace two studs that are damaged. When I picked up the vehicle yesterday the guy said my studs were damaged due to the wheel resting on the studs. He tried to explain in the middle of the rim there should be like a coupler/center piece that is like a support.

Does this sound right?

Anyway took a ride on the interstate this AM.. And I still have the issue.

Any thoughts.