First of all mods, if you feel that this thread should be combined with any of the 1000 shimmy threads that's ok with me.

I took my 2004 SL into the dealer yesterday for them to do the TSB for the shimmy fix. I had the Max in a few years ago and the dealer reported that they did perform the TSB but it never made a difference. Since then I've replaced just about every suspension part; struts, springs, end links, rotors, tires, axle, bearings, spring isolators and rims.

Prior to taking it to the dealer I tightened the two U joints in the steering column and the center bolt to the steering wheel. Those did help eliminate some play in my steering. I also used a 24mm wrench on the steering rack adjustment bolt and I was able to get approximately a 1/8 turn. I did not take off the sway bar because it was too hard to do. The dealers service manager told me that the tech was able to get about a 1/16 additional turn on the adjustment bolt, so in total, it was almost a 1/4 turn. They also rotated my tires and had to rebalance one of them. The other three were good.

I took the car out for a drive with a huge amount of skepticism that my problem was solved. After driving on the stretches of road that would always give me the shimmy I did not get any. I drove about a total of 60 miles searching for a shimmy but was pleasantly surprised I couldn't get one. Now as a point of clarification, the steering is not absolutely still, I do get road feel but it is the same as I had in my 02 Max SE. It is not like my 2010 Acura MDX which has zero road feel but the Max gives the sporty feel of the road. I finally feel that after 5.5 years of owning this car that it rides like it was meant to. I will report back any changes to the ride quality over time. So for now I am very happy. I think I will take the Max out now for a quick spin before bed.

 

i really hope mine is b/c of my bent rims (but im guessing it wont be the end of it even after i get new rims LOL)

As of now, my Max feels like a 3K car with the shimmy
My Sonata feels like a CLS with virtually 0 shake, shimmy, movement of any sort.

 

Nice. Hope to hear some positive updates in the future. Any pictures of said work?

 

Can they do a TSB after warranty is up??

 

They covered it free and I am not sure but I think the TSBs are not limited by mileage/age of vehicle.

 

If you have problem that is mentioned in the TBS and if you give them that TSB and complain about your problem then:

1) They will start the rap song "Nothing is wrong with your car" and try to push you back (not really if you go hard) if.........you're under warranty.

2) They will more likely agree with all what you say (not always though) and like to perform the TSB work with healthy labor rate if.....you're over the warranty.

Exception always exist though.

 

This. Any way to get pics of where/what you tightened?

 

what was the problem with your car ? My 2004 drives straight....

 

Shimmy is one reason I traded my max dam I miss that car

 

There is no shimmy.

 

With the warmer temps I will see if I can crawl under to take a pic of the bolt that was tightened. It is a 24 mm 6 sided bolt. I couldn't get to it all the way on my own because of the sway bar is in the way and I was not about to remove it myself. The dealer tightened it per the TSB.

 

Impact the hell out of it.

 

I been noticing some shimming too... Waiting on pics

 

What is a TSB?

 

TSB

Technical Service Bullitin

 

Do they include/report maintenance that needs to be performed on your car? If so, where would I find these? I've never heard of these before and I have a shimmy in my steering wheel too. If this is something that can be fixed by a dealer for free, I'm in!

 

What model years does the TSB cover? I have a slight shimmy in my '07 SL. I think it is more of a tire balance issue, but it wouldn't hurt to check these bolts that are mentioned.

 

Is that all the problem is; tightening bolts? @hmr1979, how did you bend your rims?!! I"m thinking if you hit something hard enough to bend rims then you may have other bent parts.

 

If I wanted to tighten the u joints and steering rack adjustment bolt, where would I find them? Pics maybe?

 

Is this the part that needs adjustment, couldn't find any pic so I took this one

 

Sorry, this is really late lol

hmm, wear and tear, if a wheel is slightly out of round, it will shimmy.

I mean there are small factors that are kind of a b*tch when it comes to steering wheel shimmies.... un evenly worn tires, out of round rims, yadi yada

 

Yes, the big 6 sided bolt just below the swaybar. It is a 24mm bolt that is next to impossible to get to thats why I had the dealer do it.

 

Thanks for the pic. But where is that bolt located? As in where in/on the car?

 

The picture is taken from behind the drivers side front tire looking toward the front of the car. The gray horizontal bar is the front sway bar. The bolt that adjusts the steering rack slide force is the big one to the top left. My bolt was tightened about a quarter turn and my shimmy has disappeared. I even showed my service tech my iPhone video of my steering wheel shaking and he couldnt believe what he was seeing. They didn't charge me as they performed the work under the TSB for this issue.

 

There are two u-joint links in the drivers side footwell. I believe they are 10mm bolts. You gotta kinda lay upside down with your head under the dash to see what you are doing but it only takes a minute to complete.

I did unplug the battery cables so that I could take off the drivers side airbag and tighten the center bolt for the steering wheel too. I was able to get a full turn on that bolt. Deus had a write up on removing the steering wheel when he changed his to a non OEM one and that's what I followed for this task.

 

Thanks for all the speedy replies, gotta love the forum. I will try all of these things tomorrow afternoon and let you all know how it goes.