Yeah I don't want to buy the Tire Flat spot thing either. But I have to admit in my case the Vibration does go away after time but comes back a soon as the Truck sits and gets cold. So what they are telling me is I need to drive the truck 20 miles before I can have a normal riding truck.

 

Well it does in fact still happen. The new generation of Acura TL was having a lot of problems with vibrations from flat spotting Bridgestone tires. Plenty of reading here if you're interested.

http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showt...t=flatspotting
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showt...t=flatspotting
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showt...t=flatspotting
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showt...t=flatspotting

 

True, I do believe tires flat spoting is a real . I just find it hard to believe that it can have such a pronounced effect on a new vehicle and that it only takes hours of sitting still to cause them to flat spot but I could be wrong, either way the vibe sucks when it take 20 miles of driving to get rid of it.

 

Mine does not go away after twenty miles, not at all. Thus, I hope the driveshaft solves the problem.

It didnt come in today, will be in tomorrow, and they are not open, so hopefully they will install on Monday and have it done and I can tell you if this solves my problem....

Dave

 

Thanks Waldonian for the TSB info. I find it very interesting. I've have ring and pinion replaced, clutch pack work and finally the drive shaft replaced. The drive was replaced for imbalance. The vibration is back and worst then before. Anyone know what guarantee that replacement drive shafts are balanced.

 

Just picked my truck up a little while ago....hmm, after blowing me off regarding the TSBs (thanks screwsquirrel) by not 1 service adviser but 2 of them...and waiting all day for it....my truck still vibrates and is idling high. I am told by them that they don't know what either one of those analyzers are (listed as the recommended machine to test for the vibration sourse and frequency) but they have a machine that works just as well.......

Can't take it back now until next week when I am off work again.

They did a reflash on the computer (they said that the computer may have caused some of my vibration problems!!!!) and they reindexed and rebalanced my tires. What is a reindex mean?

 

Indexing means they broke the tire down and reposition it on the wheel to get it in spec.

 

Maybe when towing the vibration is somehow transmitting to the boat?

 

Toreador, I don't have any vibration in my Lariat except a very slight nibble at 65 and that seems to come and go. I mean for days there's no nibble then it may show up for an hour or two. I've even noticed it disappearing going around a curve on the highway. Seems to me it's has something to do with the tires being in sync out front. Thing is it's not enough vibe for me to let them screw with it.. They might make it worse. I'm going to get the rubber rotated in about 500 miles with the 4500 oil change. I want to see if that changes anything..before I let the dealer do anything.


Then there's this trailer vibration. I don't even know where to start with that as far as explaining it to the dealer..

 

I believe that this type of nibble was reported in one of the TSB's just released!

 

I never thought I would learn this mutch about DSB's and TSB's. I have the vibe problem (with extra reverb over small bumps) and am considerring the DSB route as well.

I have had my 04 Screw Lariat for 25 days now and just turned 1,000 miles.
Painful sequence of events:
1) Picked up truck 11/19 after DT (dealer transfer since the color I wanted not on the lot). Had to sign contract prior to shipment. Could not test drive.
2) First drove truck 11/22...MAJOR VIBE/SHIMMY
3) Brought in 11/23...All 4 wheels out of balance.....Balanced..
4) VIBE/SHIMMY still exists....Only slightly better now
5) 12/6 - Brought back in for test drive with Shop foreman and he instructed me to wait on Ford's pending TSB which addresses this vibe problem. Didn't offer to attempt fix until TSB comes in. Might be next quarter???Will get back with me when they hear something.
6) 12/10...Met with dealership Gen Mrg., Service Mgr. and regional Ford rep. We all went for a drive and they acknowledged the problem.
7) Gen Mgr stated that he could not take the truck back and swap for another since I had registered it with the DMV.
8)Ford rep offered extended warranty, 1 monthly payment for my inconvenience, and the proposed fix per latest TSB.

This is where we stand as of now (Mon 12/13).

I requested a new replacement truck since, in my opinion, I purchased a defective product that they should have know about prior to picking up. I am not requesting my money back because I love the truck, I just want a truck like the one I test drove. If I liked burgundy, I wouldn't be in this situation right now since they have one on the lot and it drives solid.

I'm not sure if I should get the proposed fix due to the possibility of a DSB member wanting to drive my vehicle. If that happens, I want it to drive just like it does right now. Do I wait on the DSB procedure and put this one on blocks (and drive my old one) or do I take them up on their offer and cross my fingers?

And ideas/opinions/advice here would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ducks, I don't think it works like that, because I'm sure they've fixed/cured the vibration in some of these trucks. No doubt you have give the dealer a few attempts before the DSB will listen to your case. Especially now since Ford came out with this latest TSB. In fact it wouldn't surprise me that new TSB has allot of DSB decisions on hold till they try the new TSB in the right order. I wouldn't burn any bridges yet. If they are going to throw you more warranty grab it and then let them try to fix it..


This internet keeps everyone informed so much better than years ago. It can also work against you in the respect of Ford replacing trucks. If they replaced your truck without trying to fix it first then everybody would want the same and would use your case as a reason for it and of course it would snowball from there. I'm sure if you look in the warranty fine details you won't find any provisions for replacing the complete vehicle.

 

Dunk, The probem I have, I guess, is with the dealer. Is it true that in my "dealer transfer" situation that I should be "stuck" with the product delivered? I intended to purchase a truck like the one on their lot while I received a "broken" truck with a promise to fix.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

I can understand your frustration. I see people going through it daily with boats and engines, but when you are dealing with major ticket items no one throws replacement's at anyone until the repair act is worn out..and even at that I've only ever heard of maybe 2-3 people in the last 20 years getting a replacement outboard engine.. I've seen all of them Merc, OMC/Bomb and Yam put 5 powerheads on an engine before they get it right.


Sadly enough even with new vehicles it's still a buyer beware situation. Warranty gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling until you find out they don't have clue how to fix the problem. I lucked out because I looked at new 150's at dealer 100 miles from home the first time and would have bought from them except I didn't want a black interrior. I drove straight to my local dealer asked him to match their deal on a blue and tan Lariat that I hadn't even walked over too to look at yet. I knew they had it and a Toreador red one from the Ford web site.. They sent me home with it overnite with dealer plates...I can't remember if I drove it over 50mph before I bought it the next morning. I lucked out because I had never heard of this site or any vibration problems on these trucks.


I used to sell Ford Trucks in Maine in the late 80's and that dealer transfer crap was always a pain in the butt. I don't ever remember putting the screws to someone making them buy it before we had it there and I know they could drive them. Then again we were fighting to get more trucks on the lot so we didn't care where they came from. We actually had fist fights on the lot between customers when they were unloading trucks off the carriers.. an automatic F150 was worth it's weight in gold.. They had big incentives on manual trans and that all they were shipping..Ford was trying to get there average fuel mileage up.(EPA)

 

I can't tell you the frustration level.....Maybe I'm paranoid but I truly believe I was deceived by the dealership....They actually drove the vehicle from the other dealership (approx 100 miles away) with all 4 wheels out of balance....LF: 1.00 oz.; LR: 1.50oz.; RF:0.75oz.; RR:1.00oz....then kept it two days to install misc options and to "check it out" before I took posession. No check out obviously done here.....Not to mention other inconsistencies in statements made from the Gen Mgr......Is it true that the Gen Mgr. cannot take the vehicle back after it has been registered or are they trying to eliminate the possibility of taking a loss? He said previoulsy that he could (and has in the past) swapped vehicles out prior to final registration.