I have a 2000 Mercury Sable. I don't drive a lot, maybe once or twice a week. Since April, almost every time I drive, the car vibrates. It is random, and does not seem to be related to accelerating, or speed - but if it has started vibrating, it will feel worse the faster I go. The car starts & idles fine. Vibration is only while car is moving. No noises. Random because the car may drive fine to where I'm going, but vibrate on the way home, or vice versa. It doesn't start the vibrating immediately but after I've been driving a while, and once it starts it doesn't stop, and unless the car has been parked for a long time (at least over an hour), it will continue to vibrate when I start driving again. I always feel it in my seat, but twice have felt it in the steering wheel. Yesterday on a 45 minute drive, the vibration felt worse than ever and was also felt in the steering wheel (steering wheel vibration started at approx 40mph). But on my return trip home (after car sat several hours), there was no vibration; car drove perfectly normal. Any suggestions of what could be causing this is very much appreciated. New caliper, brake pads, and fuel filter done recently, but problem has persisted. Also, ball joints and outer tie rods have been replaced and should be fine.

 

I would be a little suspicious of one of the CV joints up front. In the process of replacing the ball joints it is possible something up there might not be right. There are times when a wheel weight comes off and produces a balance problem, very easy to have it checked by any shop that balances wheels.

 

Thanks! I should have mentioned that the ball joints were replaced last year, and my car problems started several months after that. A small tear in my front passenger CV boot was recently found, so that could be the problem, and definitely has to be fixed. But I was told that since my car isn't clicking while turning or making any other noises, that it might not be what is causing the vibration.

 

There are many things that can cause vibration while moving. Many times when you feel the vibration in the seat it could be coming from the rear of the vehicle, but when you feel it in the steering wheel it is generally coming from the front.
Has anyone checked your tires for any problems there?
There are inner and outer cv joints. the inner ones don't usually make any clicking sounds.
Just curious, was it the same person that did the ball joints that stated it might not be a cv joint?
Do you notice the vibration more on one side than the other?
Do you know if anyone has checked the engine mounts?
Has any possible engine performance issue been checked out?
Have you noticed if it takes place after a brake application?

 

Sorry for the delayed response, and thank you for your help.

It's not just the seat that vibrates because other people in my car feel it too. Vibrating probably isn't even the right word to use for what it's doing, except for in the steering wheel. The car feels like it wants to stop and go, back and forth kind of.

Also, if I just make a quick trip in my neighborhood it doesn't vibrate. I need to drive for a while first, but it is starting sooner now.

I just took the same 45 minute drive last night and it was worse than ever. The car & steering wheel started vibrating soon after I started driving. It was definitely feeling like my driver's side front area. It felt rhythmic and like that tire had a huge bump in it. I don't think it's my tire though because my car drove normally on the back home (after the car was parked for about 4 hours) - but the car did start vibrating some (not as bad) this time when I was almost home. The funny thing is that last week and this week on my way home, I felt some vibrating while braking instead of while driving, but not real bad.

Something new happened when the car & steering wheel was vibrating badly. I was thinking of a stuck caliper, and tried hitting the brakes a few times harder than I normally do to see if anything would change. It didn't, but soon after that, when I came to a traffic light stop, I heard a metal noise when applying the brakes. I don't know how to explain the noise, but it sounded like something was stuck, or like metal trying to separate?. I also heard it when I released the brake. Then when I started driving again, I noticed that my brake pedal was not fully up. I pushed it all the way up, but that didn't change anything.

My tires were just checked, and the front passenger tire has some inner wear, so that needs to be replaced. But I doubt a tire would cause problems one way on a trip, and not on the way back home.

A few days ago, someone checked my inner CV joint (passenger side where the small tear in the boot is) for looseness and they said it wasn't loose.

The person who said it probably isn't my cv joint does minor work (brakes, outer tie rods, etc) on my car for free and is not a mechanic. The people who did the ball joints were paid.

When my car started vibrating (6 months ago) it felt like the whole car in general. But now that it is a lot worse, I can feel something from the driver's side front wheel area. My driver's side window is even vibrating now when it drives bad like that.

I was told the motor mounts seem okay.

The fuel filter was just changed. Bad spark plugs were suspected, but they are hard to get to in my car. I'm having them done by a mechanic in a few months because I also have a slow oil leak and they will do both at the same time. Otherwise it would cost a lot just to have the spark plugs done because of where they are.

I wonder if I have a stuck caliper (again?) even though it's new. It was replaced a few months ago because of my car vibrating. Right after the brake job my car stopped vibrating while driving, but started vibrating only while braking (which it never did before), then after a few weeks it went back to doing it while driving only. I can't think of many things that would cause driving problems only half the time? The brakes are going to be looked at again Sunday to see if there is a problem there.

Also, right after I parked last night, after the rough ride, I held my arm near each front wheel to compare the heat coming out. The driver's side was a lot warmer than the passenger side.

 

The temperature difference tells us something is going on with the R/F. It could be doing all the work or the L/F isn't working correctly. Let's see what Sunday finds.

 

Thank Hank! This has been driving me crazy for 6 months because I couldn’t figure out what the problem was to even know what needed fixed. And until the last few weeks, it was hard to tell where it was coming from. But I think the problem is solved. Sunday morning on a test drive, there was no vibration until I was almost back home. So it took a lot longer than it had recently been taking for it to start. This time though it was noticeably worse every time I touched the brake pedal.

Took everything apart and the pads (almost new considering I don’t drive much) had an odd pattern of wear and chipped away along the edges. But there was still plenty of pad left. Thinking it was the rotor (which needed replacing anyway) that caused both the old and the newer calipers to stick, a new rotor, caliper, and set of pads (replaced both front pads) were put on.

I went for a test drive and my car from the very start felt unusually bogged down and not as responsive when accelerating (where before it only felt that way when it was vibrating). But it wasn’t vibrating and so I kept driving. (Now I think that my caliper was slightly stuck the whole trip). On the way back I smelled something and then noticed smoke coming from the front driver’s side. Pulled into a parking lot and felt that the wheel was extremely hot (nothing like before the new brake parts were put on – before it was a noticeable difference but nothing extreme). I could feel the heat radiating while standing about 5-6 feet away, and even thought it might catch on fire. The new rotor was rainbow colored.

Well that was confusing because there was nothing left to replace. I waited for almost an hour to let it cool off and hopefully make it the rest of the way home without it getting too bad. Before I made it home the car started vibrating and I could smell the brakes again.

Since all brake parts on that side were new, it could not be blamed on the rotor. The auto parts store either sold me a second bad caliper or it was something else. When the brake hose to that caliper was disconnected (both Sunday & Monday) there was no fluid leaking out like you would expect. But the hose looked fine – no kinks, cracks, etc. Since there wasn’t much left to suspect, we replaced it. I’ve read that there can be enough force to allow fluid through to the caliper when braking, but not enough force when releasing, if the hose is clogged or internally collapsed.

So far no problems. I went pretty far for a test drive and both front wheels were just warm and felt about the same. And for the first time in 6 months on a longer drive, no vibration at all. I’m 99% convinced the brake hose was the problem, and will be 100% convinced after an even longer drive this Friday. I just hope that the new rotor isn’t warped from the extreme heat Sunday. But at least I’ll know what it is.

 

I just love when I ask the questions and somebody else does all the work.
You did all the work and figured out the problem and solved it, nice job !!!

 

What are the causes for speed-sensitive vibrations. Can anyone explain?