Constant vibration at cruising speeds...

[ellisina4]

I took a delivery of 2015 X5 xDrive50i last Saturday. This is the car for my wife and the first BMW we ever had. We mostly have been loyal to Audis and had a few Infinities. The car came with 20” wheels with Dunlop RFs. Due to being in Chicago, I already had a set of Continental DWS tires waiting to be installed. They went on this Monday, 2 days after we took delivery of the X5. We did not really drive the car between delivery and the new tire installation.

Anyway, on Tuesday my wife calls me and states that while she was driving the car on the expressway somewhere between 50-70mph, the car vibrates (she mainly feels it in the shaking driver’s seat).

I drove the car for 2 days on the expressway at various speeds from 60-90, also drove it on regular roads and I feel the same vibration. Today I drove 30 miles on the expressway and had my head up against the headrest and when arrived home I literally had a headache from the constant shaking/vibration of the headrest.

I went to the shop that I had new tires installed and had them recheck the balancing of all tires. All was good. I used this shop for 15 years and they are top notch and I trust them 100%. They do have road force balancing machine.

I did forum searching and noticed that some people complaint about vibrations between 55-65mph and was eventually taken care of by having dealership replace factory defective Run Flat tires with the same new ones.

My plan is to go tomorrow morning and have the shop put the factory Dunlop RFs on and see if vibration is there. If it is gone, it is possible then that the DWSs are defective and I will get them replaced. If the vibration is still present, then I will bring the car to the dealership and have them deal with it.

Any input/suggestions/similar experience would be greatly appreciated.

[opasha]

What you're going to do is exactly what you should do. Also, is this occurring when you're braking? Is the wheel shaking as well when you feel the vibration? What kind material is the highway you're driving on made out of? Is this on Lakeshore drive by chance? Let us know.

[ellisina4]

Originally Posted by opasha

What you're going to do is exactly what you should do. Also, is this occurring when you're braking? Is the wheel shaking as well when you feel the vibration? What kind material is the highway you're driving on made out of? Is this on Lakeshore drive by chance? Let us know.

Does not occur during braking, just while cruising. Wheel does not shake. Highway is 94 from WI to where 94/294 split by Lake Cook Rd.

[opasha]

Originally Posted by ellisina4

Does not occur during braking, just while cruising. Wheel does not shake. Highway is 94 from WI to where 94/294 split by Lake Cook Rd.

Ok, saw a video of this highway. It's just regular pavement so it's definitely not the road that's causing the issues as it contacts with the tires. The tires are most likely the cause. You said you feel it more on the driver side. Have you and your wife ridden together in the X5 and noticed where the vibration primarily occurs with both of you in the car? I'm just trying to get a sense of the location/locations.

Oh...totally forgot! What are your PSI readings for all four tires??? Check the live tire pressure on the iDrive as you drive. Thanks.

Also, is your setup a staggered setup and what is the tire size you put on for front and rear with the DWS tires?

[ellisina4]

Originally Posted by opasha

Ok, saw a video of this highway. It's just regular pavement so it's definitely not the road that's causing the issues as it contacts with the tires. The tires are most likely the cause. You said you feel it more on the driver side. Have you and your wife ridden together in the X5 and noticed where the vibration primarily occurs with both of you in the car? I'm just trying to get a sense of the location/locations.

Oh...totally forgot! What are your PSI readings for all four tires??? Check the live tire pressure on the iDrive as you drive. Thanks.

Also, is your setup a staggered setup and what is the tire size you put on for front and rear with the DWS tires?

We drove separately so only observed it in the driver's seat as no passanger was present. It is a staggered setup so DWS tires are the same size as the factory RFs. Just went for a short drive and the pressure is 34 front, 37 rear (cold tires). A little lower than 37/41 that is recommended. That delta should not be causing the vibration.

I understand that this is my first BMW and may be this is normal... do these cars really ride so differently than other cars. May be the seat/headrest should be vibrating/shaking as you are supposed to feel every inch of the road?

[opasha]

Originally Posted by ellisina4

We drove separately so only observed it in the driver's seat as no passanger was present. It is a staggered setup so DWS tires are the same size as the factory RFs. I have not checked the tire pressure. Can this be done while the car is parked in the garage?

No, the car must be driven at least 15-20 mph for 2-3 minutes for the TPMS to send the correct tire PSI to your iDrive. This is located in Vehicle Info. RFTs are very noisy compared to non-RFTs. Also, I helped another member with his tire pressure - he had really bad vibration because his tires were over-pumped with air. He lowered it to better settings and his issues completely disappeared. Let me know what yours are.

[ellisina4]

Originally Posted by opasha

No, the car must be driven at least 15-20 mph for 2-3 minutes for the TPMS to send the correct tire PSI to your iDrive. This is located in Vehicle Info. RFTs are very noisy compared to non-RFTs. Also, I helped another member with his tire pressure - he had really bad vibration because his tires were over-pumped with air. He lowered it to better settings and his issues completely disappeared. Let me know what yours are.

Just went for a short drive and the pressure is 34 front, 37 rear (cold tires). A little lower than 37/41 that is recommended. That delta should not be causing the vibration.

I understand that this is my first BMW and may be this is normal... do these cars really ride so differently than other cars. May be the seat/headrest should be vibrating/shaking as you are supposed to feel every inch of the road?

[opasha]

Originally Posted by ellisina4

Just went for a short drive and the pressure is 34 front, 37 rear (cold tires). A little lower than 37/41 that is recommended. That delta should not be causing the vibration.

I understand that this is my first BMW and may be this is normal... do these cars really ride so differently than other cars. May be the seat/headrest should be vibrating/shaking as you are supposed to feel every inch of the road?

Nope, it shouldn't be that bad. Definitely get this checked.

[MysticBlue]

More than likely a bad rear tire. If it was a front, you would feel it in the steering wheel. Seems odd that it wouldn't be picked up by the road force balance machine, but it sure sounds like a non balanced or defective tire or wheel. Mine is buttery smooth at all speeds.

[DavidTSG]

Agree w/ other's comments - seems more like a defect of some sort. I still have RFT's on mine, and I don't get the vibration you describe. It's actually almost too smooth (coming from prior year BMW's), feels as though I'm in a Lexus or something. Good luck on ferreting out the issue. Hopefully it's a simple matter of a tire defect and can be easily remedied.

[skalberti]

If the seat is vibrating then it's one of the rear tires. To save you the trouble of going back to the dealership, the tire shop that has the road force balancer should be able to tell if you have a run out issue with one of the tires on the balancing machine. Also ask them what your road force values are for each tire after they balanced them. I bet they don't know or they say around 27. Your road force values should be 10 or less. Also ask if they did a force match on the tire and wheel. Just because they have the machine, doesn't mean they know how to use it. I had to show my BMW dealership how to use theirs. If you have a slipped belt or out of round tire the balancing machine with tell them that the road force value is too high even for a force match. Force match is where the machine aligns the heaviest spot on the wheel with the lightest spot on the tire. So you get a truer balance with less weights. I have DWS on mine as I pulled the RFT even before I took delivery. The conti's are prone to vibrations, but with a good road force balance it will be smooth as silk. My road force values are 6 on the rear and 4 on the front.

[Windy City]

Read here: http://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho...t=X5+vibration

PM me for more information.

[ramsal]

Originally Posted by ellisina4

Just went for a short drive and the pressure is 34 front, 37 rear (cold tires). A little lower than 37/41 that is recommended. That delta should not be causing the vibration.

I understand that this is my first BMW and may be this is normal... do these cars really ride so differently than other cars. May be the seat/headrest should be vibrating/shaking as you are supposed to feel every inch of the road?

Had this issue myself and took a long time for the dealer to diagnose and fix. They even road-force balanced the wheels and that did not fix the problem. It ended up being a tire manufacturing defect. By now this issue must be documented somewhere at BMW so just tell the dealer to look into to. I'm now vibrations free with new Pirelli's.

[MRV99]

Did they check for bent rims? Just because it is a new vehicle does not mean you have a defective rim. It could be bent.

[THEX5BEAST]

Hello all, New to this site. I've owned 7 BMW's to date. Currently own a 2015 535D M Sport well equipped and a brand new 2017 X5 XDrive D. I have a vibration in the X5 that is most noticeable at between 65 and 85 mph. This SUV has almost every option offered by BMW. I wanted the DHP option in the event that I tow something plus the claims of a smoother ride. It has rear air suspension as a part of the DHP too (I believe). My dealership replaced the tires. Pirelli Scorpion Verde to Michelin's. The dealership said the Pirellis had flat spots on all tires. This car sat at a dealership for only 3 months waiting for a buyer. The vibration was only marginally better after the swap to the Michelin's. This is the third attempt now and has been at the dealership for about 4 days. Apparently the rims were checked during its road force balance and passed. I realize the lemon law might apply here but we love the car and just want it fixed. Beginning to lose confidence that it can be. Cant imagine 2 sets of tires being bad. Anyone had similar issues resolved? Thanks

[nyalpine90]

I have Contis DWS06 with 22k miles, rears need to be replace. The tire itself is rated for 50k. I was also experiencing slight vibration between 60-70mph on steering wheel and passenger seat would shake.(no occupant)
I had front wheels rebalance and it seems a little better but passenger seat still shakes a bit. Maybe wheels are not being balance correctly?

[sycd]

Originally Posted by THEX5BEAST

Hello all, New to this site. I've owned 7 BMW's to date. Currently own a 2015 535D M Sport well equipped and a brand new 2017 X5 XDrive D. I have a vibration in the X5 that is most noticeable at between 65 and 85 mph. This SUV has almost every option offered by BMW. I wanted the DHP option in the event that I tow something plus the claims of a smoother ride. It has rear air suspension as a part of the DHP too (I believe). My dealership replaced the tires. Pirelli Scorpion Verde to Michelin's. The dealership said the Pirellis had flat spots on all tires. This car sat at a dealership for only 3 months waiting for a buyer. The vibration was only marginally better after the swap to the Michelin's. This is the third attempt now and has been at the dealership for about 4 days. Apparently the rims were checked during its road force balance and passed. I realize the lemon law might apply here but we love the car and just want it fixed. Beginning to lose confidence that it can be. Cant imagine 2 sets of tires being bad. Anyone had similar issues resolved? Thanks

Could you get this fixed eventually? I've had similar ongoing issues with our 2016 X5.

[splitsensetam]

When I had my DWS balanced, the shop noted one of the rears had slight vibrations issues and called it a defective tire. I purchased them from tire rack and they happily replaced it.

[ComasF15]

How many miles on the car? Enough miles that u-joint or cv joint that needs service?

[x5wntd]

Unexpectedly got the same issue. What's the right way to find out the cause? 15 x5 35d m rims R20