I have a 2014 XF with 111,238 miles, and a good repair shop. The steering wheel continued to wobble after rotor replacement. The shop replaced them again, and the wobble remained, more subtle at first, but now quite noticeable. Any ideas?

 

My first suspects would be the front lower control arm (LCA) bushings. As the rubber softens, deteriorates and cracks, they lose their ability to maintain proper steering geometry. The front wheels can wobble independently from side to side in response to road imperfections, accelerating and braking. You will typically notice this effect most when braking from high speed, such as on a highway exit ramp.

Have your shop inspect the front suspension bushings visually and while prying on various suspension parts with a long bar, which will often reveal softness or cracks that aren't apparent just by visual inspection.

Here's a photo of the front rearward LCA that clearly shows the three black rubber bushings:




The front forward LCAs have two bushings, and the upper control arms (UCA) have two bushings and a ball joint. We typically only get about 10 years out of the rubber bushings.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks, Don! The car is at 11 years, so the timing fits!
We'll take a look.

 

+1 on the lower control arm bushings, also to confirm, it's only wobbling while braking right? Or all the time? If all the time, then the rotors can't be your culprit.

Could also be something like a wheel hub that is no longer straight or starting to develop play in the bearing. A good shop should have no real trouble finding any of these things with some basic checks.

 

Check the tires. Could be that a belt separated. Put the car on a lift and spin the tires. There should be no wobble.

 

Good insight, RoverJoe. Yes, it only occurs upon braking. A couple of years ago I ran into a long stretch of highway construction that bent the wheels. We straightened them out, but maybe missed a core issue — it's quite possible that is when the wobble problem began. I'll look it up on the repair invoices.

 

I appreciate the reply, Maynard. We'll give the tires a spin and see what they tell us!

 

Are you breaking in the pads and rotors when replaced? "Jutter" when braking is a common problem with improperly broken in rotors and pads for all cars .... especially if your driving style (late braking) or environment (freeway stop and go, mountain roads) is conducive to uneven pad deposit on the rotors. If the wheel wobble starts immediately after rotor/pad replacement it's probably not a breaking in problem. If it doesn't start immediately but progressively gets worse it probably is a breaking in problem.

 

I'll talk to my shop about that, Mleskovar. I do some highway driving, as well as a lot of stop-and-go city driving, which would have been the breaking-in environment for both rotor installations. The steering wheel wobble has been immediately evident each time, but it also has become worse over time.