Vibration/Shudder at Speed

[Blue By You]

I have the faintest whine in my M. I'm pretty sensitive so most people probably wouldn't notice it but I do. And I've replaced both diffs, transfer case and tranny fluids.

The issue I'm having is a subtle vibration/shudder that starts around 80 and becomes more pronounced at 100 and beyond. It's rotational and happens in D and N on any kind of roads. (I've ruled out road chatter by driving in all different conditions and on two different sets of tires that have been road force balanced multiple times)

My wheels and tires are true/in great condition and dealer says that everything looks great. But I suspect that something might be starting, like a wheel bearing, bushing, carrier bearing, pinion bearing, drive shaft, or the transfer case itself.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[X5MNY]

Originally Posted by Blue By You

I have the faintest whine in my M. I'm pretty sensitive so most people probably wouldn't notice it but I do. And I've replaced both diffs, transfer case and tranny fluids.

The issue I'm having is a subtle vibration/shudder that starts around 80 and becomes more pronounced at 100 and beyond. It's rotational and happens in D and N on any kind of roads. (I've ruled out road chatter by driving in all different conditions and on two different sets of tires that have been road force balanced multiple times)

My wheels and tires are true/in great condition and dealer says that everything looks great. But I suspect that something might be starting, like a wheel bearing, bushing, carrier bearing, pinion bearing, drive shaft, or the transfer case itself.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Just by reading it can be many things but did you reset your transfer case and transmission settings after fluid change? If dealer or shop said they did, you should try again yourself. After I changed all my fluids, it felt like something was not smooth until I reset everything. I retuned just my xhp tune again, hoping it reset everything on transmission and transfer case and I think it did, as it felt perfect again. My guess is the xhp tune resets everything once you retune(?) Just left the bm3 tune as is. If you don't have any tune I believe you can use ISTA as well or goto a different shop.

As far as road force, if you have a slight slight dent on the inner rim it won't register under 20 on road force tire fit, no matter how many times you rotate the tires on the rim trying to get it right. A lot of shops get lazy after one try and just passes the tire road force even if it should of been dismounted and tires rotated a bit again.

It can be other things too, good luck and let us know what you find.

[Blue By You]

Originally Posted by X5MNY

Just by reading it can be many things but did you reset your transfer case and transmission settings after fluid change? If dealer or shop said they did, you should try again yourself. After I changed all my fluids, it felt like something was not smooth until I reset everything. I retuned just my xhp tune again, hoping it reset everything on transmission and transfer case and I think it did, as it felt perfect again. My guess is the xhp tune resets everything once you retune(?) Just left the bm3 tune as is. If you don't have any tune I believe you can use ISTA as well or goto a different shop.

As far as road force, if you have a slight slight dent on the inner rim it won't register under 20 on road force tire fit, no matter how many times you rotate the tires on the rim trying to get it right. A lot of shops get lazy after one try and just passes the tire road force even if it should of been dismounted and tires rotated a bit again.

It can be other things too, good luck and let us know what you find.

Thank you.

Definitely not the resets/adaptations because it's been present all the way through and for the past 10K miles.

I've always suspected that it's an issue with my wheels. But it's so faint and I don't expect anyone to drive fast enough to test it.

I'll keep at it and report back if I figure it out.

[Chilled]

From reading around, if it was the TC. It look's like your issues would be more lurchy/crunchy/ rough ridding, and this would be from start at all speeds.

The rear diff reset, from what I can tell is purely a oil life (KM) thing. Nothing to do with the actual clutch packs.

The transmission would be the same as the TC. would be rough all the time. When I did my gearbox oil change, I didn't reset the adaptation on it. And it is butter smooth.


As you only feel it at speed, I would say it is something that is spinning. That list is long. Start with the cheapest and go from there.

Try a different tire place, make sure they properly balance them to a decent speed (here most places only do to a low speed. So over 220kp, or over it starts to shake).

If its audible, get a friend. See if they can pinpoint the side of the noise.

[Blue By You]

Originally Posted by Chilled

From reading around, if it was the TC. It look's like your issues would be more lurchy/crunchy/ rough ridding, and this would be from start at all speeds.

The rear diff reset, from what I can tell is purely a oil life (KM) thing. Nothing to do with the actual clutch packs.

The transmission would be the same as the TC. would be rough all the time. When I did my gearbox oil change, I didn't reset the adaptation on it. And it is butter smooth.


As you only feel it at speed, I would say it is something that is spinning. That list is long. Start with the cheapest and go from there.

Try a different tire place, make sure they properly balance them to a decent speed (here most places only do to a low speed. So over 220kp, or over it starts to shake).

If its audible, get a friend. See if they can pinpoint the side of the noise.

Yeah, I'm starting to suspect the wheels again.

Specifically I know that one wheel was cosmetically repaired under the last owner. Maybe it needed more work and never came back to 100% true.

It's very faint, but I feel it and it bugs me. Maybe nobody is balancing these wheels the way you specified.

The last thing I want to do is "test" this issue by spending $6K on a set of BC Forged and tires for my summer setup and keep these wheels for winter. But I'm reconsidering it, we'll see...

Thanks for the insight.

[Chilled]

Originally Posted by Blue By You

The last thing I want to do is "test" this issue by spending $6K on a set of BC Forged and tires for my summer setup and keep these wheels for winter. But I'm reconsidering it, we'll see...

Thanks for the insight.

You must absolutely test that theory. It would be irresponsible, not to. Get them in 11" (i think) and 13" so you can go 295 and 355.

[slow_roll]

May I also suggest you test the wheel theory with a square set up of 11" wide running 305's��

[Klienfeld303]

Originally Posted by slow_roll

May I also suggest you test the wheel theory with a square set up of 11" wide running 305's��

Guys -

Check the wheel bearings. They are infamous for making slight and annoying noises at speeds above 50mph

[chrises08]

Originally Posted by Blue By You

Yeah, I'm starting to suspect the wheels again.

Specifically I know that one wheel was cosmetically repaired under the last owner. Maybe it needed more work and never came back to 100% true.

It's very faint, but I feel it and it bugs me. Maybe nobody is balancing these wheels the way you specified.

The last thing I want to do is "test" this issue by spending $6K on a set of BC Forged and tires for my summer setup and keep these wheels for winter. But I'm reconsidering it, we'll see...

Thanks for the insight.

Did you ever figure this out?!

I just got a used x5m and of course i test drove it and all but once i purchased it was able to test it in a more spirited manner and noticed the same issue with the vibrations. it also starts to pull to the right as my speed climbs up over 100. it will need new tires in the near future so i am hoping that and an alignment will fix the issue. but since i found your post with the exact same issue figured id check here first!

[Blue By You]

Originally Posted by chrises08

Did you ever figure this out?!

I just got a used x5m and of course i test drove it and all but once i purchased it was able to test it in a more spirited manner and noticed the same issue with the vibrations. it also starts to pull to the right as my speed climbs up over 100. it will need new tires in the near future so i am hoping that and an alignment will fix the issue. but since i found your post with the exact same issue figured id check here first!

Congrats!

I just installed brand new wheels and it still has a similar vibration. Although it seems less pronounced. Could be a slight interior ding in my wheel, but not sure.

Once you install the new tires and get the alignment, that will tell you more. Make sure you get a good road force balance from a reputable shop as part of this.

Good luck!

[slickgt1]

Its the stupid hubs. Trust me. You can search my post history. Was hunting this problem for months, to the point where BMW changed my entire rotor, caliper, and brakes 6 times.

To the point of voiding my brake warranty, but they still had to honor their work performed. So....

When they started cutting the rotors on their late, where the rotor stays on the car, is when shit hit the fan and destroyed their lathe. That's when they noticed a high speed wobble in the hub.

My symptoms were identical. 80mph, it would start, and then at 115 it would be absolutely insane.

I've had it over 170mph after the hubs were replaced with zero vibration.

[chrises08]

Originally Posted by slickgt1

Its the stupid hubs. Trust me. You can search my post history. Was hunting this problem for months, to the point where BMW changed my entire rotor, caliper, and brakes 6 times.

To the point of voiding my brake warranty, but they still had to honor their work performed. So....

When they started cutting the rotors on their late, where the rotor stays on the car, is when shit hit the fan and destroyed their lathe. That's when they noticed a high speed wobble in the hub.

My symptoms were identical. 80mph, it would start, and then at 115 it would be absolutely insane.

I've had it over 170mph after the hubs were replaced with zero vibration.

did it cause your car to start pulling to the bad hub side as well as speed increased?!

[slickgt1]

Originally Posted by chrises08

did it cause your car to start pulling to the bad hub side as well as speed increased?!

No, if it did, it was way less noticeable than my car trying to shake itself into a million pieces before I had to let go and not increase speed. It would sort of level off after 130, but it wasn't as smooth, ever. It was scary to continue to push the car past that speed because shit felt wrong. Instant results when they changed the pass side hub, had them do the drivers side because WTF, took them 6 months.

BMW did it all, balance, sent wheels to get checked, alignments, wheels from another x5, had engineers come and check rotors, replace every unit of the brake system a million times. It was so fucking annoying. I had a loaner for like 6 months on and off.

Funny thing is that I chatted up a mechanic in the beginning of all of it, and he literally said, its the hubs. M5 are coming back with hubs, and X5M are coming back with a ton of hubs. Just the dealers milk the brake system route before replacing hubs. And look how that turned up for me. Fuckers. I don't go to that dealer anymore, needless to say.