Ive noticed an odd problem, with the steering wheel vibrating/shaking probably 2-3cms each way, that seems to be related to first use of the day when cold/warming/warm and at speeds above 55 to 70 but not whilst accelerating.

It also doesnt always seem to do it.

Today ive made sure the nuts are all torqued and pressures are correct...im leaning towards tyres needing rebalancing - ill see if it does it tomorrow...thing is i really dont want to take it to the dealers.

any thoughts Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

Its a good chance its just the wheels that need balancing,

SWMBO hasn't curbed it has she?
I was in with mine in her car the other week and she went up a huge high curb at over 20mph to park on the pavement and put a huge dink in her steel wheel didnt help her pressures were all 10psi down when I checked them the next day MY2011 HSE Santorini/Ivory/Piano Black/Privacy Glass/TV .Sadly gone.
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Im hoping it is the balance...ill have to ring the dealer tomorrow.

No, no one but me drives this - the other cars are for that...not hit a curb or pot hole; if i was to guess it probably started at about 600 miles and its now done 900.

hopefully they can do a quick balance check if i drive past - although not with this dealer, my experience with them tends to be give them one problem and get 2 back

Ill let you know, thanks Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

Wheel balance, steering rack, shafts or diffs....could be any of them.

There is a fix that has worked for some that is the 25 Kilos of front axle weights they strap on , also known as a bodge fix. They tried new wheels , new ball joints , new rack,new column new bushes,released the whole front engine mounts and suspension and torqued back up still no joy. 2014 5.0SC AB

Gone 5.0 SC

Last edited by Tboner on Thu Jan 16 2014 12:42pm. Edited 1 time in total

I need to run a test tomorrow but it seems not to have been there on both todays journies by difference in tyre pressures

Now if it was a fixed, i did 3 or four things at once (torqued, cleaned, pressures) but ill hold judgement until tomorrow.

Its only the steering wheel that was wobbling side to side more than vibrating which in the past has been balance...ill see what tomorrows journey brings. Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

Have you driven through any mud recently? If you have and you haven't taken the wheels off since it is possible you can have hardened on mud at the back of the spokes that can put the wheels severely out of balance as it acts as additional balance weights 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
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Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

hello bud
mine does the same intermittantly, I live near a bypass so always go on from cold, It feels like the whole car is shaking, Pull up and stop then the car is ok. From having landys a few years i have put it down to the drive shaft/prop slightly sticking when cold (causing it to be marginally offline), then only coming loose as pressure is released from the drive train.
I assume the splined shaft is not sliding as it should, the cogs should be tight but there should be movement in to the housing. I would recommend greasing the ends of the prop and drive shafts. should fix the issue

Apart from the obvious wheel balancing etc they guys have mentioned you might check the circumstances.

If you have parked the car straight after a motorway or other reasonably high speed run the warm tyres can 'relax' a few hours later or by the following morning they can have flat-spots. It can take a good few miles at a reasonable speed before the tyres warms up again and the flat spots disssappear. It can also occur if the car has been parked for a few days or parked for a few hours in sunlight.


The tendency can be worse on low profile, soft compound tyres.

Some good suggestions here - thanks guys

Sheep - your description is closest to mine...(although not this morning) did your fix work.

Drdelrrs - that could be likely...I'll admit to not being used to low profile tyres...usually I've had bigger chunky tyres - may also explain as yesterday I moved it around a lot to move the other cars.

I'll see tomorrow and report back...it could be a mix of things...I'll see, thanks - I'll be back! Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

hello mse
Mine only happens once every blue moon, so i have not re greased yet due to not having time,but it is deff a drive shaft prob, if it was balancing or tracking it should happen all the time. did happened on my 90 quite regular, removed shafts and greased, all fixed
If your issue is the same as mine it eliminates the tyres, due to, as soon as the vibration starts, if you stop immediately, take strain off of drive, put in neutral, then set off again it goes.

Last edited by shepp on Mon Apr 11 2011 8:27pm. Edited 1 time in total

shepp wrote:

hello mse
Mine only happens once every blue moon, so i have not re greased yet due to not having time,but it is deff a drive shaft prob, if it was balancing or tracking it should happen all the time. did happened on my 90 quite regular, removed shafts and greased, all fixed

I have a 2009 RRS HSE - purchased only 5 months ago - initially the wobble over 70 mph was awful. And from early morning start - the wobble at 60 mph is not good.

LR took it back and whilst car was still under warranty replaced some of the roll bar rubbers, did the 4 wheel tracking and put one new tyre on ( an assymeterical tyre - when the rest are all standard!). Improved the car - but still not entirely solved...the wobble does eventually reduce - but the steering wheel feels fidgety on all but the most smoothest of roads.

I then asked for the wheels to be balanced by LR - they did this - and it felt ok - then again early morning - back to its old self again.

I am convinced there is an issue relative to either flatspotting or something else when the car is cold! I have since had the front and rears re balanced independantly - and then the assymetrical tyre swapped onto the rear axle so I have two matching tyres on the front - marginally better. I have tried another dealer - who did not find any fault - and then I drove it with a tester - which is when he advised we swap the wheels round.

I honestly don't think I will be able to eliminate the tyres until I eventually replace them all...The car was owned by an old couple and to be honest had only done 20k in 3 years so I think it has stood around a lot! JeffP
Learnt to drive in an ageing Defender.
Currently in a 2009 HSE RRS - Lucerne Green

I had similar problems with my MY06, irrespective of Steering wheel changes. Bushes, rehydration front diff changes etc etc, the LR dealership could not pin it down. My friendly LR independent who was servicing the vehicle noticed a slight difference in the tread pattern on the front tyres although both were Goodyear Wranglers.. one had more grip (on road) than the other, so basically caused more bias in terms of direction and consequently the steering wheel to vibrate.... Assuming you have discounted the tyres, then in true Land Rover sense no doubt they will go through a series of elimination based upon changing components until they fix it OR NOT...

Might be worth popping into a reputable independent and at least get them to inspect and give you a report, not undertake any work so as LR cannot get out of jail in terms of warranty Another Pommie Bar Steward down under

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