[NRL]

Hi guys,

I have a 2016 BMW 528i xDrive with 83k miles. I bought it CPO about 6 years ago. The car has been reliable overall—I’ve only had to replace the valve cover due to an oil leak, and everything else has just been regular maintenance.

A few months ago, I started noticing a vibration that becomes noticeable around 60 mph and progressively worse at higher speeds. It’s accompanied by a humming/cyclic noise throughout the cabin, and the steering wheel also shakes near 80mph.

I first took the car in for an alignment and tire balance. The shop found that my control arm bushings were completely worn and my tie rods were seized. They performed the balance and alignment as best they could but recommended replacing those components before doing a proper alignment.

I then had the control arms and tie rods replaced with OEM BMW parts at a shop. After that, I returned to the tire shop and had the alignment redone. Unfortunately, the symptoms remained—vibration and noise over 60 mph.

I went back to the shop that did the suspension work. They inspected the wheel bearings, suspension, driveshaft, and several other components. They even ran the car on a lift but couldn’t find any mechanical issue. Their conclusion was that the problem is probably tire-related.

I then took the car to a German/European specialty shop. After inspecting it, they suggested the issue might be a “bad tire.” They rebalanced the wheels (only one was off by about 1 oz) and advised me to drive it for a few days. If the problem persists, they recommended replacing all four tires with a different brand. The tires still have a lod of thread, they were installed in Jan 2024 and are Continental Pure Contact LS 245/40R19V.

At this point, the tires/wheels have been balanced twice. My question is: is it worth pursuing another balance at a shop with road force balancing, or could the severely worn control arms have damaged the tires beyond what balancing can correct?

[Hoa]

Most likely the tire needs replacing. Problem is that it has worn in the wrong way so once you have fixed the suspension issue and alignment, the tire is still damaged from it. It will still make that noise because tire needs replacing as well. You would’ve gotten rid of the noise right off the bat if you replaced just the tires but it would wear uneven and produce the noise down the road. What you have done so far is the proper step to fixing the issue then new tires.

[valmon]

A wheel might be bent.

Jack up the car and rotate the wheel while checking that the edge of the rim does not move in and out compared with a fixed object.

If the wheel is bent you will see that the rim is moving towards and away from the fixed point.

Set up something that holds a metal rod close to the rim. and spin the wheel.

[DarkgraphiteNYC]

Have you checked the guibo?

[NRL]

Thank you for the replies!

The guibo has minor cracking, but I was told it’s still fine. The rims are also in good condition and not bent.

Today, I finally had new tires installed (Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4). The vibration and noise are gone — I drove for about 40 minutes on the highway, went up to 80 mph, and the car was super smooth.