Acceleration Wobble

[frank03cent]

Hello,

I have a 2003 Buick Century and want to say thanks again for the help I got here with a blower motor resistor problem. Unfortunately, I suspect this one may be more serious (and expensive).

I'm getting a wobble when I first accelerate, either from stop or during local driving around 20-40 mph. The wobble is felt in the steering column and the cabin itself. Once I get up to 35-40 I don't notice it and the car drives fine. During braking, there's no problem. I've had the wobble for some months now; it's hard to tell if it's getting worse.

This wobble does not seem to effect the wheels or the front end while moving. If I release the steering wheel the tires stay straight ahead and feel completely normal. I also don't think it has anything to do with the brakes as it only happens during acceleration. I had brakes and bearings replaced recently and was hoping it might be related but unfortunately it wasn't.

I haven't had the transmission flushed in awhile, although the fluid is checked regularly. I'm wondering if that's a possibility. I don't know enough about the other components in the drive train to make any other guesses.

I'm resigned to having to take it in to the dealer. I'm just hoping to get some knowledge here to explain the problem intelligently and maybe avoid having more work done than is neccessary.

Thanks for any ideas and assistance,

Regards,
Frank

[maxwedge]

Hard to tell what a wobble consists of from here, I've seen this caused by bad trans/motor mounts, more commonly on older fwd cars, the inner cv joint is frozen or worn. Without a road test that is my best guess.

[BNaylor]

Possible bad wheel or tire too. Did you rotate the front tires to the back?

[GTP Dad]

I agree with Bob, rotate the tires from the back to the front and see what happens. I would also inspect the tie rod ends to see if they are in good shape. I had a car that had a wobble and even though the tie rod ends were fairly new it turned out to be the cause. Good Luck!