[bvpettit]

Car vibrates like a tire is out of balance at speeds above 60. I have had all wheels balanced twice. My dealer says that the 2003 Northstar engine does get a vibration when getting worn and is not covered under warranty. Car has 41,000 miles. Has anyone ever heard of this? Please respond ASAP. Leaving for Florida on wednesday, 2500 miles round trip.

 

[caddydaddy]

That's a common problem on the Sevilles. Have the dealer do a road force balance, that should fix the problem.

 

[EcSTSatic]

The problem is over different platforms too.
Try the balance as suggested but many members say they can't get rid of the vibration. My '99 is smooth but other 99 owners have had problems.
Hmm, maybe your machanic is on to something although I don't think a "worn" engine is the problem. Perhaps engine mounts?

Good luck with this, and have a safe trip.

 

[Ranger]

I just bought an '02 SLS and had the same problem and response from the dealer. Like you, a spin balance did nothing. Road force balance cured the vibration. This site explaines it and has a locator for one near you.
http://www.gsp9700.com/

 

[EcSTSatic]

Thanks for the link Ranger.:thumbsup:
Should this be a stickie or under the "tips" section?

 

[bvpettit]

Thanks everyone. I have scheduled a road force test for tommorrow morning along with a motor mount inspection.

Off to Florida with the mother-in-law!

 

[sjwoodruff]

Thanks everyone. I have scheduled a road force test for tommorrow morning along with a motor mount inspection.

Off to Florida with the mother-in-law!

Have the technicians put the tire(s) requiring the most adjustment on the rear of the car after the RFB. I recently had my car done and it made a world of difference - hardly any vibration now. I have two rims that are bent, but not visibly. The RFB all but cured my vibration and the shop put the two worst wheels on the back of the car for me.

 

[MACTICULOUS]

The road force balance does an amazing job as long as the tech does it correct. I had mine done last Wed. along with changing the tires, no vibration any more. I am more than happy with the way my 99 SLS feels. Good luck and let us know how it comes out.

 

[Kev]

While I'm not familiar with road force balancing I will share an old trick we used to do. When a good tire pro had trouble balancing a tire they would sometimes turn them on a tire lathe and true them up (old racing trick I think). Tires sometimes come from the factory just a little out of round, enough to spoil most attempts to get a good balance on them. Once they'd been trued up it didn't take much counter weights to get them properly balanced.

Something to think about, especially for those who like to see how fast their cars can go.

 

[Ranger]

Thanks for the link Ranger.:thumbsup:
Should this be a stickie or under the "tips" section?

Tips section might be a good place for it.

 

[bvpettit]

Thanks for the tip. The Road Force Balance test did the trick! I had it done this morning and she rides like a Cad again. Thanks for your your help. The mother-in-law will enjoy the ride to Florida, and hopefully, so will I.

 

[NickySantoro]

I just bought an '02 SLS and had the same problem and response from the dealer. Like you, a spin balance did nothing. Road force balance cured the vibration. This site explaines it and has a locator for one near you.
http://www.gsp9700.com/

Great link! Many thanks
NS

 

[eldorado billy]

Hi,where did you have the road forced balance done?,and how much did it cost?
I just got 4 new yokohama tires from mavis tires,and i think i have some vibration myself.

 

[MACTICULOUS]

Just go to www.gsp9700.com and enter your zip code into the box to find the nearest one to you. I had it done and overall, it cost me $104. I bought new tires from tirerack.com.

 

[CERTS37]

I had the same problem on my '99 SLS
I had about 35000 miles on it when the vibration started
I bought a set of new tires and the problem disappeared. Don't buy the same tires that Cadillac put on stock (Goodyear Integrity). I made that mistake and they wore out too fast. I got the more expensive but much better Goodyear Assurance ComforTred and the car feels like new

 

[KingMouse]

My 99 SLS was real bad. My 03 STS is just starting to act up. Did a search and there are a ton of these machines locally. Thanks for the info!

 

[bvpettit]

The car was great for a week and the vibration started again. As for the roadforce balance, as the other guy said, I seached the website and found a mess of dealers thathad the tester. It cost me $79.99. I should have taken the minivan to Florida, it would have been a much more enjoyable ride.

 

[Alekto]

Interesting, I took home my STS 2 weeks ago and found the same vibration above 60, read up on this known issue and took it back to the dealer and told them to balance the tires. Got them back, they were balances out to no more than 1/2 oz on each tire, took it out for a test, it still vibrated. Went back to dealer and told them to get it as close to zero as possible. And take off the lock nuts on the wheels (they break sometimes, when removing the wheel). Got them back with close to zero as possible on each tire.

No vibration at any speed... I was happy, $125 well spent ($75 for the speeding ticket(cop gave me a break from 50 over the limit to 20 over), $50 for the balance job).

This reinforces what I have read, that caddy's are very sensitive to tire or wheel issues.

 

[EcSTSatic]

The car was great for a week and the vibration started again. As for the roadforce balance, as the other guy said, I seached the website and found a mess of dealers thathad the tester. It cost me $79.99. I should have taken the minivan to Florida, it would have been a much more enjoyable ride.

Did you lose a weight on one of the wheels?

Went back to dealer and told them to get it as close to zero as possible. And take off the lock nuts on the wheels (they break sometimes, when removing the wheel). Got them back with close to zero as possible on each tire.

When I bought my TurboCoupe with the wheel lock option, it came with a weight that was supposed to be mounted 180 degrees from the lock. Moral of the story, they have an impact to wheel balance.

 

[Alekto]

I asked about missing weights, he said they were all there (as far as he could tell) the tire was balanced within spec the first time which did not correct the issue, when they balanced it real close to perfect, it made the difference. I watched him remove the lock nuts from each of the wheels and replace with the regular wheel nut, he did not take off anything else.