Buick Lucerne Vibration Problems

imidazol97 · March 2007

Please click on the above link and then read the next several posts. The motor mount was absorbing the normal motor vibrations and the floor of the car and firewall vibrate from the transmitted forces.
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Post #97

eecne · March 2007

the link doesn't work, can you send it again?

imidazol97 · March 2007

Done.
It's post #97 in this discussion.

eecne · March 2007

When was your car made?

how123 · March 2007

Purchased new lucerne gas pedal vibrates. Dealer replaced one engine mount. Less vibration in gas pedal but now brake pedal vibrates. Were all engine mounts replaced to stop vibration?

how123 · March 2007

Purchased new lucerne gas pedal vibrates. Dealer replaced one engine mount. Less vibration in gas pedal but now brake pedal vibrates. Were all engine mounts replaced to stop vibration?

joeduxbury · April 2007

I brought my car into the dealer to examine the motor mount and the dealer said there was no problem with them. Instead he made corrections to the dampener, pursuant to a service bulletin. This made no improvement.

Are ready for this: I recently installed 23 cent rubber washers on the bolt-nut assembly securing the gas pedal to the floor board and that virtually eliminated the vibration in the gas pedal.

GM does not belong in the automobile business. After 100 years of mass producing cars, it can't manufacture a $35k luxury sedan without vibrations. And even worse it won't correct the problem, after customers report it. Instead, they say, Lucernes "do that". But I don't recall any ads for the Lucernes promoting vibration. "Beyond Precision"--what a joke.

Instead customers have to resort to their own jerry-rigged solutions. The dealers are utterly clueless without a service bulletin addressing the problem.

And the tires on the CXS don't help, they have serious flat spotting issues. Stay away from GM!

chuck21401 · April 2007

A number of articles on the internet name Ed Zellner as
"Buick's chief engineer." Let's write a letter to this guy and get his thoughts on the matter.

imidazol97 · April 2007

>And the tires on the CXS don't help, they have serious flat spotting issues

GM doesn't make the tires.

joeduxbury · April 2007

Are you kidding me--of course GM does not make the tires. GM picked them and mated them to this car and does nothing in response to numerous customer complaints re: their performance. This was okay in the 70's when they had 60% market share. You can't get away with this when Toyota is breathing down your neck for no. 1 car producer in the world. Don't defend these guys at GM--they have broken an industrial icon.

imidazol97 · April 2007

What brand are the tires?

Have you been to the tire manufacturer? Since there's a problem with flatspotting, I'm sure they'll want to handle the tires and replace them.

If you're not getting response from your dealer, perhaps you're over emotional as you are in your post to me. I don't care what Toyota is doing. This topic is Lucerne.

joeduxbury · April 2007

Yes the topic is Lucerne--and no one on this string is happy with the car. The vibration issues are well documnted in this column and disappointing for the car GM expects ot compete with Lexus.

I'm betting you're a GM employee or retiree. Because your response is the same as theirs: blame the cusotmer (he's over emotional), don't address the problems.

imidazol97 · April 2007

Since you didn't tell me the tire brand, I have to question whether there is a car involved here.

The topic attracts people who have problems and you'll find many people are happy with the car. Problems can be solved. Some have used different dealers. Some have kept on their dealer and gotten things fixed to their satisfaction.

You can catch a lot more flies with sugar than with vinegar.
Good luck with your problems.

moonjoker · April 2007

I spent 4 months telling the dealer what to try, then I took my car to another Buick dealer. I always said please and thank you. The second dealer verified the high speed shimmy with the original equipment Continental tires. GM finally replaced these with Michelins after I went to the executives. Finally GM has bought my car back but I had to replace it with another buick from the same dealership. Since all the other Lucernes on the dealers lot had vibration problem I settled for a Lacrosse. I immediately traded it for a Lincoln MKZ. Now I have a comfortable car that does not shimmy and has a memory seat. All I ever wanted was GM to fix my car so I could drive it at 65mph. I got so much Bull S... that I have to use vinegar to stop the odor. If you want to buy my car contact GM. I'm sure they will give you a good price if you sugar coat it.

imidazol97 · April 2007

Good luck with your MKZ. For those who think only one car has minor problems, read about the Toyota Camrys from the best car company on earth,
Camry link
Earlier in this discussion flat-spotting on Contis is a problem Contis

hjw1 · April 2007

We just received our new Lucerne CXL W/3800 engine on Monday. The car was built a couple of weeks ago, and came with Michelin tires. The car is as smooth as silk.

My impression at this point is that it is a wonderful car.

kcwolfpack59 · April 2007

Congrats. Which Michelin model did they come with?

imidazol97 · April 2007

I can guess they are Symmetry tires. GM put them on STS, Devilles, LeSabre Celebrations, etc. Mine on LeSabre have lasted 52000 mi with lots of tread left for this winter so I didn't buy two new Harmonys.

Michelins are roundest under load of tires 3 years ago according to my service manager when using the Road Force balancing to smooth out my ride (I'm picky about out-of-balance).

kcwolfpack59 · April 2007

Yes, I have seen the Symmetry fix on these cars. I was just curious if on the 17" tire they had gone to another Michelin. And IMHO, the Michelin does give the most vibration free ride. I am surprized that Buick did not address this until recently. I think a big part of the future of Buick rides on the success of the Lucerne. Sorry about the pun.
I am so sold on the Lucerne that I am going to get one this summer. I will just make sure to take a nice long test drive on smooth pavement before I sign. I am so glad they changed to the Michelin.

imidazol97 · April 2007

I've used Michelins on my 67 Mustang till now. My grad school roommate convinced me about the Michelins since he was from Shaker Heights and they were sold in the Cleveland area; I bought the ones Sears had. They had inner tubes and were fat where they met the road. People were always stopping me to tell me my tires were low.

I bought the particular LeSabre Celebrity model because they had switched to Michelin Symmetry from a Firestone tire they used at first. It was the only way to be sure of getting Michelins on a LeSabre 03. And it was Crimson Pearl Red and my wife made me trade in my 150K mi 93 Lesabre.

polarone · April 2007

I have been searching the web regarding the shake in my Lucerne and came across this site. Once the car hits around 50 mph, the car seems like it is going over railway tracks.
I have lost count how many times the dealer has had the wheels off and balanced them. They finally replaced the Continentals with Michelin MXVs, and the car still shakes. I have had the wheels balanced at several different places, and the car still shakes. It seems to be in the rear, as I feel it in my seat, but sometimes in steering wheel vibrates. Funny thing is I can go over the same road, at the same speed, on different days, and one day it will shimmy like crazy, and the next it will not be so bad.
I have bought Buicks all my life, and this Lucerne is the worst and my last Buick. It has been back to the dealer more times than all my previous Buicks put together, and not just for the lousy ride. I hate driving this car on the highway, I will trade the piece of crap in for a Lexus very soon.

imidazol97 · April 2007

If your car's under warranty and you complained about wheel vibrationn before 12000 miles and have the printout for that service, the dealer should use Road Force balancing.

Put your zip code in this page from Hunter 9700 to find the dealers or shops in your area. If you servicing dealer doesn't have a 9700 that may be why they didn't fix the problem. I thought they were just about required for dealers any more.

Hunter 9700 locations

You shouldn't be paying shops to spin balance because it's a warranty problem. Has the alignment been checked and everything set to dead center of the required settings. Close or within the tolerance ranges won't work.

How many miles on your car?

polarone · April 2007

Thanks for the reply. The vehicle is under warranty and now has 5000 miles on it. I don't know if the dealer has a Force Balancer, but besides a regular one, they do have a laser balancer. Is laser and force the same? I only took it to other places to ensure their balancer was not out of calibration. Frankly, the car shouldn't need a special balancer, my Park Ave, LeSabres, never needed any special balancer to achieve a beautiful highway ride. Yes, the car has had two alignment checks, all was within specs. (I will tell them it should be 'dead center'). They told me because the car has 17 inch wheels it will ride rough. I say BS. I have copies of all my correspondence with the dealer, service records, etc. so GM is my next course of action.

imidazol97 · April 2007

The larger diameter the rim and the smaller thickness on the tire, the rougher the ride. My 03 LeSabre rides much better than the regular tires with the Michelins on the 16 inch rims. I wanted the better feel for my likings.

A laser balancer is not a road force balancer.

See if your dealership's name is on the list on the page I sent you. Put in your zip code and it will list lots of places close to you. The more experience a technician has on using the Force Balancer the better results you'll get. My service manager set it to zero tolerance or something like that to balance it very closely.

Park Avenues, Cadillacs, STSs, Auroras all had some problem with feeling the vibrations that used to be absorbed by the A-arms and chassis. The newer and stiffer chassis and light alloys in the A-arms lets the vibration transmit through.

Things have changed. There are many other cars with balancing problems.

polarone · April 2007

Thanks once more. I believe the Lucerne is built on a Cadillac frame so maybe it has a design problem. Unfortunately I am in Canada so the Zip codes will not help. That said, my wife is from Connecticut, and we drive there frequently, and should be there for Memorial Day weekend. Will check the zips for CT. although I really hate to drive the Lucerne for eight hours on the highway. My 2000 LeSabre has aluminum (alloy) rear trailing arms, and it rides beautifully, my wife still drives it. Anyway, I really appreciate the information and help. It is back to the dealer with some new information, write to GM, and if I still have it for Memorial Day, will look for a Force Balancer. Thank you very much!!!

imidazol97 · April 2007

This link lets you find the representative for Canada who can tell you who has them close to your location. You enter your six digit postal code.

Hunter rep for Canada

polarone · April 2007

Thank you very much. I am going to look into this first thing Monday. Will be back and let you know how things are.

kcwolfpack59 · April 2007

How about a rim being slightly bent? I had to get a new one after hitting some piece of metal in the road that a truck kicked out in front of the car. It did not damage the tire. Rims on newer cars are made out of light weight alloy and I think are less forgiving to this kind of damage than older heavier ones.
I took the car around to several shops and only one spotted the bent rim. I bought one off the internet that was guaranteed and reconditioned. The rim was swapped and that was the end of the problem.

evandro · April 2007

Believe me, I've been over all these possibilities. The nice chassis of Lucerne's is pretty rigid, but it's resonance frequency matches that of the wheels spinning at about 70MPH.

It's the same chassis and suspension as my '02 Bonneville's and the solution came in the form of new Michelin MXV4+ tires. Here's my saga: post #32.

HTH

imidazol97 · April 2007

I went back this time and read your 4-post saga. I suspect the difference between vibration pulling vs coasting is just like mine--alignment variation due to flexing at bushings or something like that.

hjw1 · April 2007

The tires are Michelin MXV somethings. The car is not with me so I can't be more specific.

I couldn't get on this site from home over the weekend, but I could go anywhere else just fine. I'm at work now and I got on, no problem.

how123 · April 2007

does anyone know who has a vibrating gas pedal is it only on the 6 or does it happen on the v8 also

polarone · April 2007

" Feel your pain" for I too, have been all over this, however the replacement of the Continentals with Michelin MXV4s, only improved the ride slightly for me. These Michelines cost the dealer almost $1000.00 CDN. I know, I bought them and sent them the bill. Anyway, I called the Regional Manager of Hunter who makes the Road Force balancer, and am waiting for a reply on who has one near me. I will try this as a next resort, even though it seems the cost is about $30.00 a tire.

Someone mentioned the possibility of a bent wheel, well I have never hit anything, and those wheels have been off more than the panties of a lady of the night, so surely someone would notice a faulty rim. Anyway, we will see what the Force balance does. "I'll be baaaaak"

imidazol97 · April 2007

I'm surprised the Buick dealer doesn't have a Road Force balancer. Our vocational school for the area had one 5 years ago when I toured the facility.

polarone · April 2007

I don't believe the dealer even has a balancer, as they sent me across the road to a non-related tire shop three times for balancing. I called them today to see if they had a force balancer, but was told they had just a regular balancer with a laser for checking roundness of the tire.

waynenovotny · April 2007

Half axles, yeah .. something's gotta drive the wheels. haha

Over 10,000 on my '06 CX with no vibration problems. Only thing we've had to do was have the speaker in the passenger side door replaced, is buzzed, other than that all is well.

polarone · April 2007

Thank you so much, imidazol97, for all of your Road Force info. Contacted Hunter in Canada and they directed me to a Nissan dealer. (pretty bad to have to take a GM car to Nissan) Went there today, and all four tires were out of balance from .25 oz to 1.50 oz. Two tires were at 4 lbs force, one at 6 lbs, however one was at 17 lbs force. Apparently 15 is the maximum. Anyway, they balanced them all, gave me printouts, and said I should take the one listed at 17 back to Michelin for a replacement. Anyway, it was well worth it, in time and money; the Lucerne rides just about perfect. Even if I don't get the 'bad' tire replaced, the car rides nice. I am a "happy camper again".
So again thanks to you and the others who offered assistance.

imidazol97 · April 2007

Jackpot!

I'm glad my experiences helped find the problem. The 4 lbs, 6 lbs are really good ratings. I assume the one at 17 couldn't be reduced by moving it on the rim. On one of mine they checked the bare rim and then moved the tire and it minimized really well below the limit. But Michelin should replace the tire.

Don't forget to keep rotating your wheels after the tires are fixed. Don't let them sit on one position more than the 6000-7500 miles per the owners manual for rotations. After you rotate you may notice more unevenness than before but it will slowly quiet down. I also felt my tires got smoother after 15-20K miles and the unevenness just didn't show up--maybe the sidewalls broke in and evened out.

Thank Edmunds for having a discussion where the problems could be addressed. Remember other cars are also having tire balance problems of a similar ilk.

lucerneowner · April 2007

I'm new to this Forum, and see that most of the discussion of vibration concerns tires, but another problem near & dear to my experience has also been mentioned: LUCERNE CX VIBRATION ON ACCELERATION, especially from a dead stop. My dealer found 2 TSBs (defective engine mount design in early models & auto-align of engine/xmission to all 4 mounts) which he implemented, but with little effect. Then they found the real problem: there is an adjustable strap that limits the amount of 'rock' in the engine on the mounts. If the 'rock' is too much (under acceleration), the exhaust system apparently touches something that passes on vibration to the chassis, etc. The solution was to take up that strap adjustment by 1/2". Problem solved!

lucerneowner · April 2007

I forgot to mention in my previous post that I got a CX because I wanted the softess, smoothest possible ride (thus, 16" wheels) and don't like leather seats. Handling is not a priority for a conservative driver like me. I did not like the original (Bridgestone) tires, however, so I opted to exchange them for Michelin Symmetries, which I had before and admired. After sitting in the waiting room for the better part of an hour, the dealer came to me and said they had only 3 (even tho the computer said 4) and offered to make it up to me by giving me the more expensive Goodyear ComforTreds at the same price. He said they were higher rated than the Michelins on TireRack.com for ride & comfort and every other category (indeed they are!). I made a split-minute decision to give them a try and am very pleased. I also opted for the White-Wall version, which nicely dresses up the appearance of the car (otherwise too much black sidewall on 16" wheels) and gives the (sporty) appearance of 19" wheels. Couldn't be more pleased.

wr_guy · April 2007

I have it on the 8 cyl too. I noticed it on the 6 cyl I test drove. Actually the whole floorboard can vibrate a little. On such a smooth car any vibration is noticable.

how123 · April 2007

Just had meeting with factory rep about my vibrating gas pedal. Meeting went no were. Hired lemon law lawyer to try and get money back. If your want to buy lucerne take for long test ride to make sure there is no vibration.

joeduxbury · April 2007

What did the factory rep say: "it's supposed to do that"?

how123 · April 2007

The meeting was with factory rep and service manager. Service manager said mine vibrates less then other lucernes after engine mount change. I walked out of meeting since they were only offering an extended warranty.

lucerneowner · April 2007

Is the vibration at constant speeds? particular constant speeds? under acceleration only? Sorry, I came late to this discussion, but have a possible solution for you if only under acceleration.

how123 · April 2007

I have the vibration all the time. The vibration is at its worst on the highway going uphill.

lucerneowner · April 2007

In that case, sadly, I have no suggestion beyond checking your tires/rims. However, uphill driving, even at constant speed, puts the engine under load just the same as accelerating on level roads, so any increased vibration problem under either of these conditions could be the same one that I used to experience, which was solved by taking up the strap by 1/2" that limits the rotation of the torqued engine on the mounts and thus limits the possibility of the exhaust system from touching the chassis and passing on vibration that way.

how123 · April 2007

Thanks for the information

kcwolfpack59 · June 2007

Has the 17" Michelins MXV4 Plus on it. It is vibrationless. I think Buick did the right thing with changing from the Continentals to the Michelin. I am extremely happy with this car.

lucerneowner · June 2007

I'm pretty happy with my 2006 CX, now that the vibration problem caused by chassis contact with the exhaust was diagnosed/fixed by the dealer (see previous post). I've used Michelins for many years and do swear by them. I went a different route with my CX, however. What happened was that I got a CX so I could have cloth seats and the 16" wheels. Why the latter? Well, I'm an old-fashion guy who likes the dressy look of W/W tires, and W/Ws on a Lucerne are available ONLY on the 16" wheel. They look great and make it APPEAR that I have 19" wheels - sporty AND dressy too! I went to Discount Tire to upgrade my original Bridgestones to Michelins, but alas, they had only 3 of them; so, they offered to give me the higher rated (for quiet ride & most every other category) Goodyear Assurance ComforTreds for the same price (see http://tinyurl.com/2fvbfo). I decided that was a deal and took them, and am quite pleased. I've never had tire/wheel vibration problems, but do wish engine noise was better suppressed/isolated- like in my 1999 LeSabre

Buick Lucerne Vibration Problems

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