yesterday i'm riding shotgun in our 2010 Odyssey EXL, just normal suburban driving, and when it upshifts (3-4 or 4-5, not sure which), the steering wheel jumps and Ody darts left. I say "Mama, WTF?!?!" and she says "it did that yesterday too."
so i took the wheel and it's pretty repeatable, independent of road condition, driving in a straight line, mild acceleration then lift to constant speed at about around 35-40 mph, when it hits that upshift the steering wheel jumps about 30 degrees and it darts left. doesn't do it on any other shift, doesn't do it under power, doesn't dart back to the right when chopping throttle. give it enough gas to downshift and the steering wheel jumps about 30 degrees and it darts to the right when it downshifts. lift to constant speed and it darts left on the upshift.
i changed LCAs and got front end alignment a couple weeks ago and it drove like new. i'm going to put it on the hoist tonight and check fasteners, but i'm WTF'ing over the association with my observation that it happens when the trans shifts.
anyone got Ody-specific knowledge on an issue like this?
My first guess would be bushings. Something is loose somewhere.
Engine/trans mount?
Shift of gears causes shift of mass (engine) resulting in dart to side?
Ditto on a mount as those are pretty suspect. Double check on anything that was changed recently is a good idea as well.
My old Shadow Turbo would do that when I would shift or the boost came on song.
Found out the steering rack bolts had loosened and worn the holes out on the K-member. Had about a 1/4 turn of slop by the time I fixed it.
So yeah, bushings, mounts, K-frame, etc. is all suspect.
OK, i'm glad nobody (so far) said "internal transaxle issue, you are berkeleyered." action plan is:
1. check the last thing i worked on (LCA attachments to chassis)
2. check the last thing anyone else worked on (outer tie rod end jam nuts)
3. check everything else in the area (strut pinch bolts, rack mount bolts)
i'll have it on the hoist tonight after work, will update with what I find.
there are no clunks or rattles at all, and there is no appreciable slop in the steering. I replaced the LCA assemblies, outer tie rod ends, and sway bar drop links because 170k miles and there was some clunking going on. after that one parts cannon blast, i took it to the local tire shop for alignment, and it was great until it wasnt. it's possible that i didn't torque the forward LCA attachment bolts.
My RX-8 had electric power steering, and when the rack went out it would turn right all by itself.
do you have a place you can drive next to the van while your wife drives so you can see if the suspension is doing anything weird? I once saw a Taurus shift it's wheels several inches forward when it accelerated away from a stop
If you need an extra set of hands or maybe an odd tool, gimme a ring. I'm only a few miles from you.
Im also interested in what you find because Ms. wawazat drives a 2010 Oddity.
My old Maxima used to act like that due to a bad ball joint but you changed those in the a-arms.
wawazat said:
If you need an extra set of hands or maybe an odd tool, gimme a ring. I'm only a few miles from you.
and you definitely qualify as an odd tool.
sorry, it was too easy to pass up. ;-)
Not the worst I've been called today.
Everybody say it with me:
AC, you're an shiny happy person!
I didn't torque the LCA forward bushing bolts because the suspension was in full droop. I planned to drive onto the 4-post and torque them at ride height, but I forgot because I was tired and hungry.
Bolt on LH was fully disengaged from weld nut, and was held in by side force through inner sleeve. Not sure how many more load cycles it would have taken to allow it to fall out. I'm fortunate nobody got hurt.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
It happens to us all. Glad you caught it when you did.
I once got a few miles down the road on a test drive, with the car's owner in the passenger seat (a friend of mine), and I said, out loud, "Wait." and came to a stop. I hadn't torqued the lug nuts and that face just occurred to me as I felt an interesting vibration. I inched onto a residential side street and used the lug handle in the trunk to tighten them. Yep, just finger tight.
You're not alone.
Good thing you didn't kill your wife
AngryCorvair said:
Patrick said:
Good thing you didn't kill your wife
True
She'd probably never let you hear the end of it if you had.
Glad you caught it when you did!
In reply to AngryCorvair :
Close call but be proud that you had the smarts to root cause the problem.
I recall forgetting to tighten lugnuts on one side of the car. My friend left telling me he just did them finger tight. But I forgot. Back then the quiet quick loop I did took me over a freeway overpass a couple blocks over. As I left the light to cross the overpass I realized the wobble were the wheels. Stopped on the normally empty overpass just to tighten them up. Popped trunk grabbed OEM wrench. I was surprised as I closed the trunk that a state trooper was rushing towards the front of my car and another was coming behind me. One pulled his weapon and the other calmly asked if he could help. Talked them down while holding my metal wrench. Then they didn't offer to help and just rushed away. So not forgetting to torque my wheels is rather burned into my mind.
And just like that, the Ody needs front end work again. Someone slid through a red light and tagged Mama just aft of the center of LF wheel, which rotated both cars enough for his RR to hit the LR of the van. Mama is fine, thanks for asking.
So much toe out:
(sorry it's kinda hard to see in this pic, I'll update later)
body damage is not bad IMO. Doors open and close fine.
Happened about 6 miles from here. Mama drove it home, policeman followed her to make sure she could keep it on the road. She said it was pretty dicey, 20 mph max and fully white knuckled.
I doubt it will exceed our $1000 deductible.
And yes, it's February and I haven't taken down the lighted wreath. I think it's pretty. berkeley you.
