Hello Gents,

Looking for a little advise, on my 2009 XJ (X358) Portfolio I am finding the steering reacts to every bump, grove or discrepancy in the road, it tends to judder from side to side, this can be small jump.shaking to large, but without fail it reacts to everything. (Standard on this car is 20" inch wheels)

I have complained about this problem with jaguar for a few years now and last time round they checked all the suspension and their solution was to balance the wheels, now this seems to be their normal answer, tyres, wheel balance or alignment, however it does not rectify the problem.

What I want to understand is this normal for the car, or is it a problem, and if a problem any ideas what it could be, few points below:

Suspension ok, shocks, bushes, arms all checked.
A few components replaced over the last year, bushes, arms, etc when complaining (all under warranty)
Tyres previously where pirelli, these were to blame (Jaguars opinion) last year, replaced with Mitchilin, smoother ride, however steering still jumping around.
Wheel alignment was done 4 times last year.
Wheels balanced last time and twice last year.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

The 20" wheels will give a harsh ride, and what you describe is typical unless you're driving on very smooth roads. Have you thought of downsizing to 18" ?

 

I have the same car. I had the same problem as you did with the factory 19" wheels. I recently changed all four wheels and tires to 20". The vibrations, shaking, wobbles all gone. Weird I didn't downsize I went up and the ride is now smoother with less rubber.

Im confused but the new set of wheels and tires eliminated the issues. So therefore the problem has to be within the four wheels and tires. I thought maybe off balanced, suspension components, or possibly a motor mount, but wasn't the case. Check for uneven wear.

 

My 2006 XJR has a little steering wheel knock on rough pavement. More than any vehicle I have driven. It had all the bushings and tie rods ends done a year ago.
It got worse with new tires. Then I found the lugs were loose. Retorqued and it got a lot better. But still too much. Just retorqued last night.
It maybe my wheels. Factory forged five spoke 19". The only other part not replaced is the wheel bearings. These are ball bearing and not roller like most vehicles. It aligned fine.
If you find your issue let us know.

 

Evan, in your care (Now mine), & it could be the same with the OP, but the tires were just bad. I just ordered new ones. But that's why the shakes & vibrations in this case were happening...

 

The steering wheel chatter or knock only occurs on rough surfaces. At any speed. On smooth pavement it feels fine at any speed up to around 80 mph. I have not driven over 80 mph in many years.
If it was tire balance or eccentricity the steering wheel shimmy would occur on smooth pavement too. And be speed related also.

 

You might want to get you wheels checked for buckles and bends

I recently bent 2 rims
Neither were bad enough to cause a leak but I was getting vibrations from 100kph up
Had a wheel repair company repair and refurbish the paint

I also checked the other 3 rims. While none of them caused vibrations they all were less than perfect

To check them I used a spare front wheel hub and a dial gauge
I checked the runout inside and on the lip (x and y directions)

As I was getting all of them refurbished anyway I had them all straightened and balanced (tyres off to do that)

Its worth checking them with a dial gauge (tyres on) and if you find anything have them repaired

Cheers
34by151

 

My car also has rattling of the steering column when I go over sharp ridges or rough roads, and a check shows this is in the upper column, probably the telescopic section. I have been offered a used column to replace it but at the moment, its a bit too much money as I'm going on holiday, (in the MG TF !!)

 

Thanks for the advice guys, few notes, on smooth surface it is fine, I have already replaced the tyres and no real change, it seems to come and go.

One wheel bearing was replaced last year, would this cause any problems?

Car rides straight, like I said, just on rough roads, ever bump indentation makes the steering jump, even minor changes which you dont feel in any other cars...