JSW Shakes At 43mph

So I've had my 2013 JSW for a couple of months now, and I've consistently noticed a vibration at 40-44mph, which seems to be worst at 43mph. Since having the car, I've had the tires replaced, wheels balanced (one replaced, it was severely bent), replaced the suspension with MK6 Golf R suspension, and aligned, and actually wheels balanced again. Has had this vibration since the day I got it. It is independent of gear, I'm thinking axle? I'm likely going to replace an axle, but I'm curious if anyone has experience with this being a CPO car. I'm guessing they are not going to cover this under warranty? I don't want to chance having to pay a diagnostic fee if it is not likely to be covered, since I would just replace an axle myself. The car has 24k now, had 23k when I got it. As another side note, they were unable to get the driver front camber into spec even with a subframe shift (ended up at -1.2deg IIRC). Maybe the PO hit a bump hard enough to bend the wheel and maybe spindle and/or axle? Thoughts? Thanks

If it is the axle, they probably won't cover it since it isn't a manufacturer's defect. However, with it being that new (to you) and a CPO... you might be able to talk the salesman or dealer into doing it... but I wouldn't hold my breath for that.

It might be worth your time to crawl under the car with a straightedge and start checking parts. Rotors are another thing to consider.

USMCFieldMP said:

If it is the axle, they probably won't cover it since it isn't a manufacturer's defect. However, with it being that new (to you) and a CPO... you might be able to talk the salesman or dealer into doing it... but I wouldn't hold my breath for that.

It might be worth your time to crawl under the car with a straightedge and start checking parts. Rotors are another thing to consider.

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Good point. Pads and rotors are brand new, so unlikely to be that. I guess I will get out my straight edge! Dealer wouldn't replace the severely bent wheel, even when I had only put about 100 miles on the car, so not worth it to even try with the axle. Thanks for your input!

You might find this useful, as well.

"Axle Shaft Runout Measurements" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXWQAEVRWTY

Weber State University (WSU) - Automotive Technology Department - Transmission Lab. The on-car measurement procedure of wheel axle shaft runout. Axle shaft runout and can cause first order tire speed related vibrations.

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Interesting, thanks! I definitely don't have the tools to do that though... Wondering if I can do some "ghetto" tests in my driveway before I take it further. Wondering if jacking up one side at a time and then letting it idle in 1st would show anything? I am thinking I would have to turn off traction control so that it wouldn't try to get the other wheel spinning and pull itself off of the jack stand... might not be the safest idea. Curious if there is any other way I can test for a bent axle

You can get the magnetic block and a Dial Indicator from Harbor Freight for $30. You don't need the precision, so Harbor Freight tools will work fine.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-in-travel-machinists-dial-indicator-63521.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/multi-position-magnetic-base-with-fine-adjustment-63663.html


As far as the redneck check method... I'm sure you could do that. Chock the rear wheels, put a set of jack stands under both a-arms to level them like they would be while on the road, have a second set of jack stands to support the body and then proceed. A lot of inherent danger involved; not recommended. But it's something.

It'd be nice if there was common inspection rack that allowed for the inspection of parts while simulating it driving. Like an elevated dynamometer that also allowed for the simulation of bumps, etc. I know manufacturers have such devices, but it's not something you'll find at your local tire/suspension shop. Like this, but also with rolling wheels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmoEcDFSiZY

I would suuspect some sort of "accident/incident" related damage that cauused the camher and rim issue. The rotating vibration as secondary damage from the same. The axle could be suspect but I would look very close at the stub axle and/or wheel bearing. Ive seen the stub axle bent and wheel bearing damaged enough to cause a rotational vibration like yours
Good juck

Helped my parents with the rear wheel hub/bearing replacement on their 2009 Jetta. Tightening spec was 200Nm plus 180° on the big M18 XZN bolt; couldn't get more than 90° with our breaker bar before it snapped. Figured "close enough".

Took it for a drive, though, and there was speed-dependent vibration. One at around 70km/h, and then much more noticeable around 115km/h (went away once you got past 120km/h).

Found a bigger lever, jumped up and down on it to get the bolt all the way around to 180° - no more speed wobble.

Interesting, maybe I should investigate the axle bolt. Yeah, I was almost wondering if the steering knuckle was bent. Maybe accident related, there was nothing on the history but I know that those are not always very complete. I'll probably dig further into this this weekend. It isn't terribly bad, but just bad enough for me to notice. It seems to be worst at 43mph, it comes back slightly at 70-75mph but not as noticeable. I just don't really want to throw a $300 axle at it without knowing that is the issue. I'm almost certain it is driver side though. Thanks guys!

I had an axle (right side) replaced under warranty on my 2013 Golf. The vibration was notable when under acceleration, and especially notable during acceleration and turning right. The service manager couldn't reproduce the effect, so I took him on a very short ride, which convinced him that something was up. He felt it right under his feet as I accelerated quickly in a sweeping right hand turn. They had my car 3 weeks while waiting for a new axle from Germany. I also had a new DPF installed at that time due to the CEL on. All at no cost to me. I had only put 300 miles or so on it at the time. Can't see why they wouldn't replace it under warranty. The service manager at my dealer is very good at his job, IMO.

I had a similar problem on my 2010, maybe still have some of it. A serious vibration around 80 mph and front alignment which would not come into spec. I replaced shocks, upper strut mounts and LCA bushings followed by an alignment which didn’t make much difference to the vibration, although steering precision was much better. The car also pulled left annoyingly on some roads but not all. None of this had existed when I first bought the car.

I had already repaired one wheel as a result of hitting dunnage at speed and had a vague recollection of a family member reporting an impact with a curb on an icy road. The alignment problem was/is left front and the dunnage was hit right front.

This spring I replaced all tires and wheels- no more problems, doesn’t pull, seems smooth at any speed I’ve run at recently including a few passing manoeuvres around 80 mph. I’m inclined to think I had a second bent wheel causing the vibration and uneven wear on the tires was causing the pulling.

Wilkins said:

I had a similar problem on my 2010, maybe still have some of it. A serious vibration around 80 mph and front alignment which would not come into spec. I replaced shocks, upper strut mounts and LCA bushings followed by an alignment which didn’t make much difference to the vibration, although steering precision was much better. The car also pulled left annoyingly on some roads but not all. None of this had existed when I first bought the car.

I had already repaired one wheel as a result of hitting dunnage at speed and had a vague recollection of a family member reporting an impact with a curb on an icy road. The alignment problem was/is left front and the dunnage was hit right front.

This spring I replaced all tires and wheels- no more problems, doesn’t pull, seems smooth at any speed I’ve run at recently including a few passing manoeuvres around 80 mph. I’m inclined to think I had a second bent wheel causing the vibration and uneven wear on the tires was causing the pulling.

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Interesting, I actually used a dial indicator and found about 3mm of runout on the passenger front wheel. I'm going to rotate wheels front to back (tires are directional) and see if it changes. These wheels (Portos) seem really easy to bend!

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Volkswagen wheels seem to bend fairly easily. The stock Long Beaches that came on my MK4 GTI would bend if I looked at them wrong. Solved a lot of vibration issues when I switched them out.

Well I rotated wheels front to back which seems to have solved the 40-45mph shake. The slight shake at 70+ is still there and seems to be worse on throttle so I'm guessing there is a slight bend in one of the axles. Oh well, it's not too bad, so I might not worry about it immediately. May have to figure out a different wheel setup eventually. I had a set of long beaches on my Mk4 as well that were all bent!

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I glanced back and saw no mentioj of possible tire damage. Are the "accident" tires on presently? Pulled/damaged/seperated cords can be hard to visually see but do strange things

JELLOWSUBMARINE said:

I glanced back and saw no mentioj of possible tire damage. Are the "accident" tires on presently? Pulled/damaged/seperated cords can be hard to visually see but do strange things

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Tires are brand new! I replaced them right after I bought the car

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