Xc60 D5 2009 random vibration after front tyres changed

[TheExplores]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

No, the haldex/AOC coupling will be fine if it is healthy…

Interesting you describe the new tyres feel heavier - what can happen is due to an electrical or mechanical fault with the haldex, it “locks up”, this can be almost undetectable if the tyres are well matched but if they’re not then it causes significant tension in the drivetrain and makes the car feel heavy. It can also cause rapid wear and damage in the gearbox, angle drive and rear differential. Sometimes referred to as “wind up”, it is very rare and unusual but can happen.

To check, find a quiet car park to mess about in and do some tight turns at just above walking pace both going forwards and reverse. If the car feels “tight” as though the brakes might be binding - switch off and pull the fuse(s) for the AWD system and try again - if there is a significant difference - you likely have a locked up AOC. But I say again - it’s most unusual.

Hey Tannaton, thanks for your reply.

When I said the front tyres felt noticeably heavier, I was actually referring to the weight of the wheel and tyre when off the car. They feel heavier than the rear wheels and tyres when off the car. I wasn’t sure if that made a difference.

So the good news, blowing the tyres up to 41psi did make a big difference, you can still feel it but only very slightly now. I did blow the rear ones up to 39psi, assuming that wouldn’t make a difference.

So you only really notice the vibration / momentary shudder when you take your foot off the accelerator and the car begins to slow down and hits certain speeds.

Regarding your test, the car doesn’t feel heavy when driving at walking pace and doing sharp turns.

I am assuming that I might have a bit of wear / fault in the haldex system.

Could I get away with buying new rear tyres, knowing that at some point I should really get the haldex serviced / repaired, as everything worked correctly before changing the front tyres?

[Deck1ng]

Would the 18” wheels have been standard on a 09 xc60? Or have they been swapped during it’s lifetime? Whether that would make any difference I don’t know, plenty of people run 18” wheels for a number of reasons. I run three tyre sets, 235 65 17, every 6 months back go to front, front go to garage, and garage go to back, and so the rotation goes on, when a new set is purchased they always go on the back, I’ve never had a problem with vibration of any kind during the rotations, ( maybe I’m just lucky).

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by TheExplores

Hey Tannaton, thanks for your reply.

When I said the front tyres felt noticeably heavier, I was actually referring to the weight of the wheel and tyre when off the car. They feel heavier than the rear wheels and tyres when off the car. I wasn’t sure if that made a difference.

So the good news, blowing the tyres up to 41psi did make a big difference, you can still feel it but only very slightly now. I did blow the rear ones up to 39psi, assuming that wouldn’t make a difference.

So you only really notice the vibration / momentary shudder when you take your foot off the accelerator and the car begins to slow down and hits certain speeds.

Regarding your test, the car doesn’t feel heavy when driving at walking pace and doing sharp turns.

I am assuming that I might have a bit of wear / fault in the haldex system.

Could I get away with buying new rear tyres, knowing that at some point I should really get the haldex serviced / repaired, as everything worked correctly before changing the front tyres?

Gotcha....

Firstly - I wouldn't go buying anything until you've got a confirmed diagnosis.
I'm at a loss now as to what to suggest but there does seem to be a strong clue that you get the vibration more on overrun (i.e. lifting off the accelerator), but it's also impacted by changing the tyre pressures?

I would :

- Check the tyres very carefully for bubble or bulges

- Try the overrun test again but knock the car into neutral just as you do it (not sure whether you have manual or auto, if auto make sure you only nudge the selector forward one notch, if you do have auto also try the test in different gears in manual/geartronic mode).

- I'd also do a bounce test to check your shock absorbers are all okay

[TheExplores]

Quick update,

Firstly thanks both for your input, it’s really help steer how I tackle this.

My Volvo is a auto, it has original 18” XC alloys, it had lots of upgrades when new.

The tyre pressure at 41psi didn’t solve the issue, it actually made it worst on a long drive. So the tyres are back to 34psi.

I’m going to take it to an independent tyre shop and have them check the tyres to see if they are defective, I’m also going to see if my front wheels are bent. I wonder if the extra weight of the Pirelli tyres is just enough to reveal a alloy wheel issue (long shot).

On long straights the vibration almost feels like it is turning the haldex on and then off every so often causing the vibration.

I did try pulling the fuse on the haldex and it didn’t make any difference on a slow car park test.

One thing, when I swapped the rear tyres with the front tyres, I did notice that turning the rear wheels also turned the drive shaft, is this normal or should the haldex be completely disengaged? I didn’t try a complete turn, but I could hear the shaft moving as it was then meeting the resistance of the car being in park.

[Tannaton]

If you jack up the rear wheels so both are off the ground, but leave the front wheels on tarmac but the parking brake off you should be able to turn either rear wheels fairly freely. You might find as you turn a wheel, the opposite rear turns in the opposite direction - if so get someone to hold it or put a broom handle through the spokes to hold it - you should still be able to turn the other wheel.

It's normal for the driveshafts to rotate, the haldex is at the end of the propshaft, in front of the diff.

[NathanJPearson]

How did you get on with this. I've got the same model. Fitted 4 new ZX7s. Had them balanced twice and it's a mirror problem to what you're describing. Vibrations on deceleration (Not diff as had diff rebuilt with timken bearings) will check engine mounts but there is a slight vibration in the steering wheel when at motorway speeds. It just feels awful in comparison to the Michelin cross climates before.

[SnineT]

I've got a stupid but overlooked suggestion,

Are you carrying a heavy item anywhere in the car, like a hammer in the glovebox, jack in the boot etc and are they secured properly or able to move about enough to sound transfer through the body,

Other than that ruling out tyres, torque settings maybe they've jacked it in the wrong place and distorted the body just enough, this one is an extreme possibility btw.


1st remedy is clear the car out of personal items and test.

[TheExplores]

Hey,

So I ended up changing the rear tyres as well, however after driving it, it still felt like the haldex was fighting a bit, even though the vibration had gone, so I changed the haldex oil which completely fixed the issue.

As the drive shaft vibration mount is in the way of the motor on the xc60, I couldn’t remove it to clean the pump filter, so I sucked out all the old oil and added new, drove a short distance and then with the car not on a jack so it was level, I crawled under (just), filled the haldex until it ran over again and then removed 40ml, which is something volvoswede on YouTube suggested to do.

So what I didn’t release was the tyres are all season and are heavier, so having to standard on the rear and two all season on the front messed with the haldex. The manufacturer even says you must have all season tyres on on four wheels otherwise issues will arise.

Hope this helps someone.

[NathanJPearson]

So I sorted my wobble. Had them properly balanced at a specialist. most centres use the hub cap to secure the tyre which doesn't replicate real weight etc. Similar to road force balancing. Now she's straight and true. But she still rumbles in drive and on deceleration but flick into neutral and it disappears. So I'm thinking either get the haldex serviced now I've gone from all season to summer tyres. Or it's a half shaft somewhere. Will update once fixed!