Swaying

i have a diesel cruze but have never noticed swaying. could be sway bar bushings or even blown struts. when you say sway do you mean you hold it straight and with a gust you move the whole car around in the lane, can you elaborate

Something's definitely not right. My family has a 2012 ECO MT, 2012 LS MT, and a 2013 ECO MT. None sway at any speed. All three are also relatively immune to wind gusts.

At 105 mph my ctd felt like it was doing 70 with absolutely no gust issues. Have you done any modification at all?

Nope. My '13 LTZ gives no hints that I'm flying down the road. Gotta keep an eye on the speedo if I don't want to see flashing blue lights behind me.

Any chance your two cars have the same tires? I've heard stories about the tread interacting with some grooved pavement.

Panda, yes, when I hold the steering wheel it feels like it kinda moves on its own.. I mean it's not bad, but I have a feeling that it's not normal.. All the other vehicles I've ever owned never did that..

No mods, and my 12 has the original continentals that came with it, and falken ziex 612+ on rears until I can afford new tires for the front. My 14 has The continentals on the driver side, and 2 different Firestone garbage tires on the passenger side. But I'm waiting for taxes to get all new tires. Both are the 2LT with the 17's.

Please also see my "auto trans shifts harder" Thx.

gCruze14 said:

No mods, and my 12 has the original continentals that came with it, and falken ziex 612+ on rears until I can afford new tires for the front. My 14 has The continentals on the driver side, and 2 different Firestone garbage tires on the passenger side. But I'm waiting for taxes to get all new tires. Both are the 2LT with the 17's.

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Mixing tires like this can definitely cause swaying, especially on grooved pavement. I know tires are expensive but get all four to the same model and tread wear. Then do a full alignment to ensure there's no obvious suspension issues that will cause your tires to wear unevenly.

check wheel bearings and possible tie rod ends. if you hold the wheel center and the car strays left and right without your input or more then the roads would normally do so maybe a component is loose or damaged

I bought the car like that.. With the mismatch.. I do plan to get 4 alike falkens and et an alignment.. As for the 12 model, I'm not sure.. The drive tires are alike and the rear tires are alike.. When should the first alignment from brand new be? Is there a recommended mileage? I take my vehicles in for alignments only right after I do anything with the steering system.. I.e. Tie rods, etc..

obermd said:

Mixing tires like this can definitely cause swaying, especially on grooved pavement. I know tires are expensive but get all four to the same model and tread wear. Then do a full alignment to ensure there's no obvious suspension issues that will cause your tires to wear unevenly.

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Mixing them front to rear is one thing - that doesn't cause much in the way of swaying - even on the **** that is grooved pavement. But one set of tires on one side and one set on the other?? That'll do it right there.

Panda, it only sways at higher speeds.. I'm still kinda concerned with both my cars. My 14 is going to the shop shortly and I'm going to bring all my concerns up. I have more than just this. When I know I will address my wife's 12 model as soon as I have an answer to the sway issue. Unless it's the electric steering (rack/pinion)

MP81 said:

obermd said:

Mixing tires like this can definitely cause swaying, especially on grooved pavement. I know tires are expensive but get all four to the same model and tread wear. Then do a full alignment to ensure there's no obvious suspension issues that will cause your tires to wear unevenly.

Click to expand...

Mixing them front to rear is one thing - that doesn't cause much in the way of swaying - even on the **** that is grooved pavement. But one set of tires on one side and one set on the other?? That'll do it right there.

Click to expand...

True. But my 12 does the same exact thing!

Are you on grooved pavement?

The only known systemic issue with the electric steering in the 2012s is a slight notchy feeling that can occur when driving without turning the steering wheel. The notch occurs only when trying to lane position after driving straight for a ways and it feels like you're trying to steer the car up onto the 1-2 inch lift in the road that you frequently see in construction areas where only one lane has the final asphalt laid down.

As for alignment - immediately after replacing any tire or any other work that can impact the alignment (shafts, tie rods, steering gear, etc) or if your car starts to drift and the tire pressures are even and between the door placard and max sidewall PSI.

No point in looking for a problem with the car until you get matched tires on each of them.

Rob

Yep. Wandering can easily be caused by mismatched or unevenly worn tires.

With a good alignment and evenly matched tires, my Cruze tracks straight as an arrow.

Yes I do agree. I'm going to buy all new tires soon for my 14. As far as my 12, I should probably look into getting an alignment done.