Vibration Diagnostic Process
WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2003 Pontiac Aztek and 2003 Buick Rendezvous. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
Important: Using the following steps of the vibration diagnostic process will help you to effectively narrow-down and pin-point the search for the specific source of a vibration concern and to arrive at an accurate repair.
- Gather specific information on the customer's vibration concern.
- Perform the road testing steps in sequence as identified in Vibration Analysis - Road Testing in order to duplicate the customer's concern and evaluate the symptoms of the concern under changing conditions. Observe what the vibration feels like and what it sounds like. Observe when the symptoms first appear, when they change, and when they cease.
- Determine if the customer's vibration concern is truly an abnormal condition or something that is potentially an operating characteristic of the vehicle.
- Systematically eliminate or "rule-out" possible vehicle systems.
- Focus diagnostic efforts on the remaining vehicle system and systematically eliminate or "rule-out" possible components of that system.
- Make a repair on the remaining component, or components, which have not been eliminated systematically, and must therefore be the cause of the vibration.
- Verify that the customer's concern has been eliminated or at least brought to an acceptable level.
- Again perform the road testing steps in sequence as identified in Vibration Analysis - Road Testing in order to verify that the vehicle did not have more than one vibration occurring.