Weird vibration - 2014 Auris hybrid

[sportse]

I've been experiencing a weird vibration since yesterday.

At first I thought I might have a puncture as the vibration is very similar to what you would get initially with a tyre deflating, but:

- it's remained at the same level, despite the tyre pressures all being fine

- the vibration doesn't change with speed, it's the same between 50 and 70 mph

- you feel the vibration through the body and slightly in the wheel but the steering wheel doesn't visibly shake

Accompanying it has been a slight burning smell. The engine seems very slightly rougher too.

Has anyone had anything similar?

Perhaps the power steering failing, or could be drivetrain related? It's not something I've come across before.

 

The only thing done to the car recently was fitting the Toyota tilt alarm, which plugs into the wiring at various points.

 

[Gerg]

I've not had anything similar on our car.

Thinking of the simple things first, this sounds like a wheel balancing weight might have fallen off one of the wheels, especially at the speed given. Obviously, this doesn't explain the smell.

Does it make any difference to the problem if you apply more or less throttle/revs?  What about when the engine is cold (er)?

How many miles has the car done?

How is the car at slower speeds?

Are there any noises at all associated with this?

Have you very recently filled up with (perhaps dodgy) fuel?

When the steering wheel isn't being turned the (electric) power steering system isn't really doing anything.  The motor is built in to the steering column and is geared to it.  So no oil, pump etc. on this car - unlikely to be this.

By the way, how is the new tilt sensor? Are you happy with it? Did it cost you much?

Cheers.

[sportse]

Thanks, it's a weird one - I was convinced it was a tyre deflating as it happened 15-20 minutes after starting driving at 50+ mph. I was expecting the vibration to continue getting worse and then the tyre warning light to come on.

It's not speed dependent, usually a balance weight would give you vibration at specific speeds - this seems noticeable at any speed from 50 up, on smooth roads. The frequency of the vibration stays the same.

Cruising, decelerating and accelerating don't seem to make much difference but I was mostly doing a steady 70mph.

I first noticed it yesterday, but haven't driven since. Will likely go out again later in the week and try to see if it's more noticeable whether accelerating/decelerating.

Car has 59k miles on it.

The Toyota tilt sensor was £250 fitted. Reasonable when you see the pages of fitting instructions and how it's wired into the electrical system and a separate alarm horn fitted under the bonnet.

Although the number of connections to the cars wiring could mean it's possibly causing some sort of electrical issue perhaps with the motors/ice.

[Gerg]

1 hour ago, sportse said:

a separate alarm horn fitted under the bonnet.

This is a bit of a long shot - I wonder if the new alarm horn is resonating/vibrating in the airflow?  I have no idea where this second horn is supposed to be fitted, could it be knocking against something else, or just oscillating on its mount? 

The alarm installation is much more involved than I had expected.  I thought it was a bolt-on the the existing system. 

[sportse]

Thanks. The alarm horn is mounted up towards the top of the suspension under the bonnet so well away from the wind - the vibration is more the whole car feeling off. It's weird because it's almost identical to the early stages of a tyre going flat.

I think they mount the second alarm horn up high as I've heard of the ordinary horn wires being easy to cut from outside.

Yes, the installation is pretty involved. I've seen DIY ones where you just add a sensor to the interior light, but this involves control boxes being mounted securely hidden away as well as running wires through the firewall and connecting to the car's electrical systems. Also removing a fair amount of trim during installation.

I'd thought £250 seemed high initially compared to the DIY installations but there's a lot of work in fitting it, as well as the component costs.

[Saxmaniac]

Any loose or missing fixings for the many underbody covers and even bumper fixings?

There's no chance it could be a misfire? (Very long shot I I know)

[sportse]

Yes, I think there's a chance it could perhaps be a misfire/motor/abs/traction control issue, as the alarm plugs into the ECU I believe.

I've booked it in to be looked at - I double checked all the tyre pressures today and they are still fine.

[TonyHSD]

Hi, I  don’t want to stress but finding the source of vibrations in Toyota cars could turn into mission impossible. I hope you find out easily and share with us. Could be something not connected to the sensor installed. Motor mounts are very often the reason for unexplained and difficult to find vibrations. You have also another possible source of vibrations, egr cooler, if this thing got blocked can cause misfires and bad vibrations but those comes together with loud engine knocks and on slower speeds or idle. You can check brakes too, stuck callipers also cause vibrations. 

[sportse]

Thanks

Hopefully this one will be able to be sorted as you can feel it through the steering on the motorway.

I used to have a Yaris hybrid before. Despite the Yaris being supposedly a lower group car, I thought it was better built than the Auris.

[sportse]

Drive the car for an hour today to try to find out more about the issue- does seem to be electrical.

It's most noticeable at speed on smooth roads, but the frequency doesn't change with speed.

Cruising, accelerating or decelerating don't seem to affect the constant issue.

Almost seems as if the electric motor might be stuttering/surging very slightly.

It's a constant slight feeling - Car feels as though it's on a bumpy road when it's not, you can feel through the steering and car.

Perhaps the wiring for the tilt sensor has affected something?

At lower speeds you can still feel it a bit, even cruising in EV.

Someone not familiar with the car might not notice it at slow speed as it could be mistaken for a bumpy road, but at higher speeds on a smooth road it's more apparent.

[TonyHSD]

Did you try to go in N while cruising at any speeds that has the vibrations? Try that and see if vibrations still there. If the speed is under 40mph and you go in N then the car rolls freely without ice intervention at all. Tilt sensors does nothing with the electrics on the drive train, it’s hard to believe one is connected to the other. I also have vibrations , so far unexplained and no cure has been found. I ve changed many things and vibrations still there, they come at speeds over 30-40mph and most noticeable at around 65-70Mph. No matter if the car is in D or N, under load or braking, Free roll or anything possible tried and no success. I stopped looking into it as I am not driving anymore but when I start using it again I may dig again.  

[sportse]

Thanks, that sounds interesting - I haven't tried N at speed.

 

The other symptoms seem to match yours, but mine only started after the alarm tilt sensor was fitted.

 

The Toyota one plugs in and connects to the electrical system in several places, so it can reset on power on, and set off the horn, etc. It looks like there are multiple connections to the ECU in the installation instructions.

 

How many miles do you have on yours?

 

Maybe when they get to a certain mileage there is wear in the system that causes vibrations and it's just bad luck they started when the alarm was fitted.

 

My electric motor certainly whines more than it used to.

 

 

 

 

[TonyHSD]

Hi, I am almost sure that the alarm doesn’t have anything to do with the vibrations. The alarm uses the 12V system on your car and the hybrid system uses 240v Battery then convert it to 600v and feeds the electric motor. The vibrations are very likely coming from faulty transmission mount or something similar. My car is 143k miles, the vibrations came at 136k shortly after I hit a pat hole that damaged one of the tyres. Since then I ve changed all wheels, tyres, brakes and wheel bearings, I wanted all new anyway, I usual do 200miles a day when work so worth spending some money.  I had bad vibrations experience with Auris like yours that was only 22k miles and 3 years old I bought from reputable Toyota dealer, I returned the car the same day after only 100miles travel. The Auris was 1.4D. It is very likely the vibrations are not from engine or gearbox but something in between all that, again comes engine mounts or frame mounts or something that deteriorate with time not with mileage. Drive shafts usually can cause similar problems but on high miles cars 140k it’s nothing, before anyone says something about mine, it’s like 40k car, looks drives and feels like new. 

[sportse]

Many thanks for the detailed reply.

It's booked in next week so hopefully they will find the issue.

Car has less than 60k miles on it, mainly motorway the last few years.

[sportse]

Another weird symptom to add to the list is the power steering also appears to have momentarily lost assistance a couple of times in the last few hundred miles.


Both times I was driving at 60-70mph on a very slight bend in a straight road. Steering was light as normal, then tightened up for a few seconds before going back to normal.


Still drivable, but steering feeling was just like you had put a lexus into sport mode and it had added weight to the steering for a few seconds.

I've had the car for over 2 years and driven the same roads in it hundreds of times, but it's never done that before the tilt alarm was fitted.

Steering feel has been consistent and light for the last two years up until now.

My car is an excel with self-parking, so not sure if there is some weird feedback from the tilt alarm plugged into the ECU that's affecting the steering.

[TonyHSD]

Well in this case first thing to do is to double check the Battery terminals if they are properly tight up, and all ground connections. It sounds like you may have bad ground connection somewhere and that can cause eps malfunction as you had described, just like an idea what to look For. 
Good luck 👍

[sportse]

Many thanks.

They would have disconnected the Battery when the tilt alarm was fitted - I wonder if it wasn't tightened up securely afterwards.

[Fostel]

On 6/9/2020 at 11:55 AM, sportse said:

The only thing done to the car recently was fitting the Toyota tilt alarm, which plugs into the wiring at various points.

Can we have more details about it?

I am up to the same upgrade, just can't find a reliable sensor yet. Any advice appreciated.

[sportse]

They checked out the car and couldn't find anything, apart from a front shock absorber that had a slight leak.

I had the shock replaced but after reading about catlocks and tilt alarms not stopping the thieves I sold the car unfortunately.

Typically... a few months afterwards the local police actually start doing something about a few of the thefts, but it was too late for me.

[TonyHSD]

That’s bad to hear people are forced to sell the car they like just because it’s a target of theft,. What car do you have now? 

[sportse]

It's actually a slightly older Volvo V40 cross country polestar diesel I have now.

 

After owning both a Yaris hybrid then an Auris hybrid I was sad to leave Toyota, but I wasn't able to use my Auris as much as I wanted to as I was always worried about the catalytic converter being stolen.

 

I nearly bought an ex-demo Corolla hybrid but my V40 actually does the same mpg on the motorway as my Auris did and was considerably cheaper.

 

It should easily last 5-10+ years, so when I change it we may all be driving full electric cars by then and the prices will have hopefully dropped a lot.

 

 

[TonyHSD]

Good choice, Volvo cars are good, I like them. 
All the best. 👍