vibration when accelerating

[stoneweed1]

when i begin driving my '01 330xi (91,000 miles) w/tires that are 6 months old, i recently started to experience an annoying vibration particulary throughout the car, but more so from the gas pedal (because its probably coming from somewhere under my foot) when i hit 65-80 MPH and upwards.

now after about 15 minutes into the drive, this vibration will occur even at 40 mph upon accelerating.

when i release the gas pedal and coast, i do not experience this vibration, and very light press on the gas pedal does not bring out the vibration. it really is noticed when pushing a gas pedal a bit more.

so this vibration is an acceleration only occurance, initally at 65 mph, but once the car has been moving for a while, it occurs even at lower speeds. its a considerable vibration and quite unpleasant.

now, i knew i had one slightly bent rim in the driver's rear of the car (which never gave me any major trouble before and was able to be balanced), and took it to the tire place and they balanced all my tires and rotated it. so the bent rim was then placed to the front driver's side.

this did not make a difference as the car still vibrated. so next I took the trunk spare rim/tire and exchanged it with the front driver's side (bent) rim and still this vibration occurred and it didn't seem to change anything.

I am wondering if its a wheel balance issue or something else (bushing/transmission/ball joint?).

Any advice would be greatly helpful. Thanks

[unknown01]

Does it sound like your engine is running roughly?

[Phypha]

Do you have a cold air intake? I had this problem before my honda hydro-locked... though that's a honda..

[jetflyer]

Most likely when vibration occurs on acceleration, problem is with flex discs(guibo`s) or center supporting drive shaft bearing , but I would point on flex discs , they often fail at this milage.

[stoneweed1]

i don't have a cold-air intake

doesn't really feel like its the engine, seems more like something coming from underneath the car

[jetflyer]

i don't have a cold-air intake

doesn't really feel like its the engine, seems more like something coming from underneath the car

Did you read my post above ?

[ice10]

Is your car manual? I had the same problem in my 300zx, where it began vibrating around 35-55 mph. The mechanic put sensors all around the car and took her out for a spin... he found that it was the driveshaft, so I'd suggest you take a look at it.

[CrazyIsland]

I think I have a very similar problem. I have a 2001 330xi (98k miles) and it starts vibrating all of a sudden without any notice while I am driving and it will go away after some time automatically. It shudders only when I press the gas paddle. When it happens it happens even at lower speed but the intensity of the vibration depends on how much I my pressing the gas paddle. Some times the shudder is very intense (feels like I am driving with a flat tire) and sometime it will be mild.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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The car will run fine for 2/3 days then all of a sudden the shudder starts while I am driving. Recently I am experiencing this problem more frequently.<o:p></o:p>
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I took it to the dealer twice and had one of the mechanics drive the car for half an hour on both occasions but unfortunately the car ran smoothly the whole time so we couldn’t recreate the problem. <o:p></o:p>
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I have brand new 4 tires and they are all balanced. Initially I thought it's a tire issue (balance or air pressure) but after few weeks I am certain it's not a tire problem since it does not happen all the time. It's not spark plugs since the car is very smooth at idle and again it does not happen all the time. <o:p></o:p>
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Is it some kind of sensor problem that is sending wrong measurements? <o:p></o:p>
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Any help would be greatly appreciated.<o:p></o:p>

[r2, 3 dude]

I have a similar problem with my '01 330XI Automatic. Mine has only 53K miles. The pedal vibrates and makes my foot numb. Sometimes it is more noticeable than others and I usually notice when traveling over 60 miles an hour on the highway but have noticed it in around the town driving as well.


I cant sense that the whole car is vibrating, but this could be the case. I really just notice the numbness from the pedal vibration. I doesnt feel like its a problem with the engine.


I've been told that since the car is drive-by-wire, that the pedal should not be connected to any moving parts, which does lead me to think maybe its the whole car vibrating.


Still looking for more input.

[Bobbo1111]

I think I have this problem also. My wife has a 2003 325xi. COming home the other night it started to vibrate so she pulled over and I came out to drive it home. I felt just like it had a flat tire, but only when you were on the gas. When off the gas it did not vibrate at all. The next day it wouldn't do it at all. I took it into a local shop and they thought it was the front left axle, so they put a new one in.

Today it was fine until after she drove about 15-20 miles, and then it started again. The vibration starts around 20-30mph, and only when maintaining speed or accelerating (give the car gas).

Sounds like I should check out the flex discs or center supporting driveshaft bearing from what I've read here.

Does anyone know of other things that could be wrong?

[Shab]

Catching this kinda late...
I had the exact same problem on my last benz, the vibration felt awful and only occured on the exact same conditions.
The problem: a broken bolt on the yolk of the driveshaft.
Cost me 2 bucks to fix what seemed like it would a horribly expensive problem. Took me less 3 minutes to fix.
Hope you're having the same problem!

[Bobbo1111]

I hope that's my problem! Between now and Thanksgiving I hope to have some time to get it up in the air and take a look to see what I can find.

[Critter7r]

Vibration on acceleration means problems with driveshafts. I had the same conditions you speak of and it was a FRONT (right side) half shaft that needed to be replaced on my Xi. Grab the halfshaft and move it up and down. You should get very little or no movement (less than 1mm). Anything more than a tiny bit of movement means you need to replace the shaft.

[electro]

I have had this problem for about 6 months now on my '99 323i SE Auto,been into dealers,changed torque converter no change,told me it was the diff then they said it was the gearbox but could not be 100% sure had none of these changed as yet,they have now given up and told me to sell the car.Have 4 new tyres,front lower wishbone arms/bushes changed,wheels balanced ad tracking checked all ok Recently took it to a local garage recommened by a friend and they seem to think its the rear discs distorted,having them checked soon.Will keep you posted

[LeftCoastBias]

what the hell is wrong with you people?

14 replies and not one mentions control arm bushings? THE first and most frequent cause of vibrations in an e46?

what the hell?

[Critter7r]

what the hell is wrong with you people?

14 replies and not one mentions control arm bushings? THE first and most frequent cause of vibrations in an e46?

what the hell?

Control arm bushings are rarely the cause for vibration on accelleration, but often when braking. And especially since it's a high-speed accelleration vibration and not a vibration when accellerating from a stop. However, while you're under the car checking those front halfshafts, make sure those bushings are ok.

I've found that on the Xi's, the control arms and bushings tend to last a lot longer than on the rear-drivers, since the Xi's have steel control arms and not the aluminum ones like the 2-wheel drive. But if they've never been replaced, you're at the mileage where they probably will need to be replaced.

[LeftCoastBias]

the bushings will cause vibrations anytime the car is in motion, if they are worn badly or cracked

[r2, 3 dude]

I was having a similar issue with my 330xi. I replaced the front driveshafts, control arms & bushings. i'm still having vibrations because my wheels are bent. perhaps its not an acceleration only issue. i thought this at the time too. but now i know for sure its not true. i'm pretty sure the whole car is vibrating but i still feel the vibration almost entirely through the gas pedal. not sure why, i guess its just b/c this is where i'm feeling the car the most.

i'd double check the wheels and be thorough. all of them. you can get them reshaped/refinished for pretty cheap. even if this isnt the full cause, they'll look brand new so its not a waste.

The other repairs were expensive, over $1500. I got them done b/c i broke my front CV boots and probably drove on them busted for a while, but definitely less than 2 weeks. i dont fully trust the repair shops regarding the bushing and ball joints. nonetheless, some of the work was somewhat optional and i now wonder if i needed it. wish i had known the control arms were steel on the XI. my '01 car only has 53k miles. might have put it off and just replaced the cv boots.

the car does handle better, but my alignment is now off (make sure they check it when they are done) and the wheels are bent so it still responds funny at times.

[BMDubxi]

i have the same problem with my 2002 325xi...im thinkin it could be control arm bushings....bad half shaft..or something along those lines

[woolchaser]

Had the same problem. it was some vacuum seal.

[jb61]

Just curious, but with all the DIY pages out there, do you know of one for replacing the control arms? I am a fair mechanic, but have never done this on a BMW. My BMW mechanic checked out my suspension, and said they were worn, 01' with 73K, but wants over $900.00 to do the work, and I know I can get the parts cheaper from some of the vendors here than what he is quoting me. Once I get them replaced I can always have him do an alignment. TIA for any help.

what the hell is wrong with you people?

14 replies and not one mentions control arm bushings? THE first and most frequent cause of vibrations in an e46?

what the hell?

[Bobbo1111]

Well, I still haven't figured out what's up with this car. I talked to three local mechanics today on the phone, and they all said basically the same thing.

Driveshaft/guibo/joint related would explain the vibration on acceleration, but it should vibrate whether warm or cold.
Tires would explain the vibration after warming up, but then the vibration should happen all the time, not just on acceleration.

One mechanic mentioned a possible engine electrical problem, but said the check engine light should have come on (which it hasn't).

I think I will plug in my laptop to the OBDII and have my wife drive around with me this weekend just to make sure there isn't an engine issue, but I would expect the engine is okay, it just doesn't feel like an engine problem.

Any further ideas? Are these mechanics just wrong? They are all BMW/Mercedes/Volvo specialists, and I have to assume they aren't all wrong.

Just to refresh, 2003 325xi, it will start to vibrate on acceleration after driving around 10-15 miles. Seems to vibrate less when the weather is colder. Brand new tires, brand new left front halfshaft. Alignment is fine.

[r2, 3 dude]

is this just an xi issue?

everyone who replied has an xi. any rwd owners w/ a similar problem?

[BMDubxi]

i found out wat mine was...the front right halfshaft was bad....and i do have some out of shape wheels from potholes and such before i got my car...and the tire wear is uneven........would the half shaft be covered by warranty?

[Critter7r]

BMDubXi : Yes, the front halfshafts are covered by regular and CPO warranty.

Stoneweed : Have you gone out and checked your front driveshafts yet??? Christ, you don't even have to put the car up in the air. Crawl under the front wheel, reach up and grab ahold of the f**king halfshaft and feel if there is any play in it. Then come back and fill us in on what happened. We haven't heard from you since your second post over a month ago. Part of the idea of a forum is not just to ask questions and get freebie answers, it's also posting what fixed your problem so that others can learn from it!!!