So just last weekend, when I took my 08 G35S to the highway, my steering wheel vibrated a little when I hit around 80mph. I only put ~6000 miles on my tires so they couldn't be out of balance. Then I hit the brakes and my steering wheel again vibrated. After that, I started to pay more attention to my steering and my front definitely feels looser than even a few months ago. I have 16k miles on it now in about 11 months.

My last car was e46 330Ci and those had infamous control arm bushing problem and my G is starting to feel like that. The steering isn't quite straight in the highway, it shakes when braking from high speed, steering/handling isn't quite 100%, the front clunks a little when I go over a bump, etc. Anyone else have/had this problem? It seems so early to have any suspension component failure on these cars. I'm careful on/in where I drive and have never hit a curb and have only hit minor potholes.

I guess I'll be bringing my car to the dealer - first time since the purchase. I currently have after market wheels (18" ASA AR1) and all-seasons for the coming winter. I'm hoping the dealer won't just try to blame it on them, will they? This is also my first time in about 10 yrs bringing a car to a dealer for repair as I've always bought used, out-of-warranty cars.

Your thoughts?

 

resurface your rotors...

 

You might want to check the tires for abnormal wear or broken belts. It's rare but it does happen. It can be hard to see when the tires are inflated but when it's on the lift, all the tech has to do is deflate them completely and inspect the entire tread area. A broken belt will show up as distortion in the tread area, wrinkling or waviness. It can be really dangerous because it's so hard to detect and means the tire is ready to fail.

 

Thanks for your responses so far.

I'm pretty sure my tires and rotors are fine because I switched over to my winter wheels and tires yesterday and have the same problem. I looked at my rotors while I had the wheels off and saw no signs of break imprints on them ("warped" rotors are a misnomer) Plus either wouldn't explain clunks over bumps or slightly loose steering. I'm hoping I'm not the first second gen sedan owner to go through this.

 

Gt Spec STB anyone?

 

...are ur wheels tight? maybe ur lugs are coming off/loose my car felt like that when i had aftermarket lugs when they weren't compatible with the oem 19's

 

Yeah, my lugs were torqued to 80 ft-lbs as recommended by the manual. I had the same set up last winter as well and didn't have this problem. I'll check them again just in case when it stops raining.

 

I have about 1,500 miles on mine and the steering does feel looser than when I first got it. However, I don't have the vibration issues like you have, but rather when going over rough payment, I can hear rattles in the steering wheel. Sounds almost like metal on metal and it appears to be coming from the horn covered area. Anyone else experiencing this rattling noise from the steering wheel?

 

Hmm, I don't have any rattles. My lugs were fine. I just noticed that my front-left tire is feathering little bit. I'm guessing the ball-joint or control arm is off. Just made an appointment with the dealer. Hopefully they'll fix whatever is wrong with it smoothly.

 

I have that noise on my 04 when I hit some bumps hardly. What could be the cause?