2006 Vauxhall Vectra SRi from UK and Ireland - Comments

ALL fine... Read below though!

Love this car, had one before, many comments on this site mirror my own... but this car has a problem which is driving me mad & I hope someone out there could advise..

At speeds of between 75-90 mph, there is a slight vibration felt through the steering wheel, nothing major now, but enough to distract from the driving pleasure.. my previous SRI did not have this!

All the obvious attempts to rectify have been addressed, All FOUR wheels have been off, tyres checked for obvious fault, tracking, balancing, front swapped for rears etc etc.. numerous times.. but with no cure!

I have taken the car to various dealerships, as only 3 months old, each time the answer is.. " nothing wrong".. but there is!!.. I feel embarrassed to keep pursuing

The car has not been kerbed, thumped from the underside or anything like that.. but the steering "juddering" is there, but only when I drive it!!

I am used to the Vectra "C", I have owned many, & I appreciate and except the SRI has lowered suspension and a firmer ride, but none have exhibited this vibration... and I ain't making it UP!

Ideas anyone??

Paul!!

Try www.vectra-c.com they're very knowlegable.

150 CDTI 16V very quick, plenty of torque, excellent MPg and effortless driving, but the non existent suspension and over hard ride does not make up for the excellent handling capabilities.. the balance is not quite right, and makes this car a pain to live with on a day to day basis! Interior quality, space, build, audio and navigation all first rate though!

Hi, I OWN a 150 cdti Sri, & I also find a little steering wheel vibration at high speeds!, like the original reviewer, been taken back to various dealerships, but always found to be no obvious problem, with all tracking, wheel balancing, tyres etc OK?. Not a major problem or major vibration, but it is there, so NO, you're not going mad. I was told the heavier diesel unit coupled with the 17's create this intermittently, depending on the road surface, and is "normal" for this car?..other Vectra C SRI CDTi owners comments on this would be appreciated, just in case only two of us are experiencing this!!

Hi.

I reprint the advice from Jan 07 that l gave to an earlier reviewer having a similar problem. It seemed to work for him! If you've already seen it, then apologies and no harm done. Here it is and good luck:

It's a process of elimination, but Vectra's are known for being hard to balance correctly.. and most quick-fit centres don't seem to get it right. From my own experience, what l assumed was vibration coming from a front wheel turned out to be a back wheel.

My source for following information is.

http://www.forum.vectra-c.com/

One approach is to:

1. get the tracking sorted.

2. swop the wheels (rotate front to back etc)

3. balance the front wheels.

Many people using wheel balancers haven't got a clue how to operate them properly. With even the most basic digital balancer they need to be calibrated once a month or so. A good tyre depot keeps a wheel they know is perfectly balanced just for this.

They should always input the rim width and the size of the wheel being balanced. They should then select whether they are using knock on weights on the rims or self adhesive weights. This is done on the control panel.

A good fitter will balance to 0 grams. A bad fitter will balance to +/- 5 grams which is within tolerances. The biggest single mistake that is made is counter balancing. They add weight where told to do so by the machine and check the wheel. They then find it still isn't balanced so they add more weight where told to do so etc etc. They end up with weight everywhere. A good fitter will move the original weight a fraction around/in/out on the rim and will achieve perfect balance. Watch next time your wheel is balanced and see which category your tyre fitter falls into!

I had exactly the same problem with my Vectra vibration and pulling 2006 1.8 SRI.

The supplying dealers had it on five separate occasions, and to be honest they were useless.

In the end I paid £135.00 for a Full Wheel Alignment Check report and set up where camber balance and alignment was done, and it was worth every penny.

Don't waste your money on tire fitters to set up the alignment, when it seems in my experience they just play at it, and charge you £30.00 for the privilege, and it's usually no better.

I have a Vectra 2006 SRI 2.2 Direct. I have also experienced the vibration in the steering wheel and had no luck in getting a main dealer to listen. I had new tyres, new brakes, new wheel bearings and still nothing resolved the problem! At least I know I am not going mad now I have read posts from you guys!

Going to try the four wheel align and will let you know how it goes.

The Vectra is very sensitive to wheel balance. I had the vibration after I had the factory fit front tyres replaced, put the rear wheels on the front (still running factory tyres) and the vibration stopped. Took the wheels with the new tyres to get rebalanced, still had the vibration. Took it to a place that does wheels and tyres for motorsport, got them to balance them on their machine and problems solved.

I think most places balance wheels so they're fine at 60mph, if you go over 70 then the vibration starts to come in. You need to find somewhere with an accurate machine and an operator who's aware you need a very accurate job done.