Hi all,

I'm afraid that I'm looking for your knowledge on a problem with my Cmax. Car is 1.8 tdci, 57 plate 51K on clock.

On acceleration, particularly when heavily loaded and in higher gears, there is significant vibration thr' the steering wheel and seats. Also vibrates to a lesse extent when travelling 50-70(ish). Clutch seems fine and no slipping etc. Wheels have been tracked and balanced (3 times for balancing!), no noise from driveshaft when turning and no (unusual) noise when starting or turning off (hopefully not dmf).

It also vibrates badly when braking quite hard from high speeds. Vibrations are worse when braking if wheels aren't straight (particularly steering to the left) and also if foot is on the clutch.

I'm at my wits end with the problem, local dealer very good and helpful but no suggestions! They've checked for play on shafts, brake pads/discs and also checked tyres for deformity, balance etc.

I sold my last cmax when it developed a similar problem but I don't want to sell again, surely I can't have had the only 2 with this problem!!!!! I'm not a 'hard' driver (get 55+ mpg on rural roads)!

Thanks for any suggestions, if you need any clarification please let me know.

Thanks again

Will

Have you had your brake discs checked?

Even a very small warp can cause vibration.

Hi, thanks for that. They have been looked at but it's going back in next week so I'll get them to have another look. Could they cause a vibration even when the brakes aren't on?

Meant to say that last service they said that the front bushes 'are starting to split' but don't need replacing yet - is this a potential issue?

Thanks

Will

yeah, even a small vibration throws things off, so a straight disk when it spins has a perfet centre of gravity, if you knock it out, it loses its COG and wobbles, it would then potentially wobble enough to brush against the pads, and wear them down also.

Hi, thanks, makes sense, I'll get them to have a particular look at the discs. It used to just vibrate when driving, the brake vibration is more recent, maybe they have got worse over time.

Thanks again,

Will

Just for info if anyone comes across this thread.

Turned out to be front suspension bushes. Not the cheapest things to replace but solved the problem instantly. Apparently they weren't 'that bad' but they obviously were the cause of the problem.

Will

Thanks for coming back with the info and glad you got it sorted. I'm sure it will be helpful to know in the future for someone with a similar issue.

Thanks Will, I marked your question as answered in case someone else comes along and looks for the answer!