Ford Mondeo (newer 2007 model) - the strangest thing happened yesterday...

tightropetom

Ok - not sure exactly what has happened yesterday but I cannot come up with a rational explanation for it so I'd welcome any thoughts.

The missus and I were driving on an icy (on the verge) but well gritted and clear road yesterday (she was driving). We had what I could only describe as a weird speed wobble which both of us put down to maybe a patch of black ice. It happened a couple of times more, even on a straight sretch which woudn't make sense if it were just ice. Also the ESP didn't kick in. Further down the road however the same thing happened and continued to happen so she pulled in. It felt as if there were a rear puncture or something. All other traffic was managing to drive fine and overtake at speed without any visible trouble.

I got out and checked all four tyres and they seemed fine.

We switched over driving duties (as she really wasn't comfy) and reached a well gritted road with no visible ice on it. As we sped up towards 70-80kph the car got another 'wobble'. To me, it felt like a rear kerbside puncture, or loose wheel or something. Got out again, checked the wheel. Nothing. Limped to a parking area and called roadside assist. They couldn't find anything wrong so they suggested we drive to our nearest garage with them behind to see what happens if it goes again. Nothing happened for the rest of the trip. He left and we went home, having booked the car in.

Took the Mondeo out for a drive today to see, nothing hapenned.

Any ideas?

Theories:
??block of ice frozen to the brake mechanism
??some sort of pothole damage that we hadn't noticed
??slight uneven pressure in the tyres (the kerbside rear was about 5 higher than the others
??ESP malfunction - unlikely
Checked all wheels, firmly attached.

eh i dunno

Black ice i reckon. Hit it the other day on a busy straight road and had the back of my car wobbling big time.

Nonoperational

Something to do with the road surface I'd say.

tightropetom

Definitely wasn't the road surface.

The second road we were on was completely clear, and the wobble felt more akin to a blowout than black ice. Also it happened while driving straight on a clear stretch of road. Other cars were overtaking on the same stretch. The first road definitely had fresh snow/slush, but the second road had had no fresh snow.

If it were a skid, surely the ESP would have lit up?

EPM

Been driving my fathers Mondeo last few days and I noticed some strange behaviour this morning on frozen roads. But the ESP light was showing then.

If the car is wobbling like you say you're better off getting it checked out.

tightropetom

EPM wrote: »

Been driving my fathers Mondeo last few days and I noticed some strange behaviour this morning on frozen roads. But the ESP light was showing then.

If the car is wobbling like you say you're better off getting it checked out.

Yeah, gonna get it looked at. If nothing obvious is wrong, then it must have been black ice...

eagle10

tightropetom wrote: »

Yeah, gonna get it looked at. If nothing obvious is wrong, then it must have been black ice...

Bring it to tom mac motors I'll pm you his contact details

Jimbob 83

Snow packed/jammed in behind the rear mudflaps maybe ?

Poly

Check your nuts (wheel nuts)

homer90

I would think it was black ice.
The same thing has happened to me during the cold snap. Its a wierd sensation.

johnos1984

homer90 wrote: »

I would think it was black ice.
The same thing has happened to me during the cold snap. Its a wierd sensation.

Same thing as me I reckon black ice as it happened on the motorway which appeared to be well treated.

Its not happened since the weather improved.

smokie2008

I'm really interested as to what it was so please come back and let us know.
I'd think black ice too but the esp light not coming on is kinda throwing me off a tad.

garhjw

could it be the tyres are worn and need to be replaced? poor road conditions and worn tyres might explain it?

Nissan doctor

2 Things I would check... First of all have you got the same brand/model of tyres all round or have you any odd tyres? This can cause very strange handling on ice as, if you had a different brand of tyre on each side, there is different levels or grip on the same surface, I noticed this with the daughters Clio a few weeks ago when I drove it. It used to weave from side to side slightly on ice(not touching the brakes or steering) where my car or the wife's car stay level

Second, modern esp systems can make fine adjustments without the light flashing, the corrections can be exaggerated on black ice as it has zero traction, the esp system can apply gentle pressure to individual wheels if it picks up a lack of grip(slower rotation) on the opposite wheel.

muckwarrior

I hit a few patches of black ice a few weeks ago. It basically felt like the wheels had suddenly turned to jelly.

tightropetom

It seems it must have been patches of black ice - car is perfectly fine, no structural or apparent electrical problems. Tyres are new, decent treads on them.

What made it confusing was the fact that people were overtaking at 100km/h, apparently with ease. I guess they were just being careless.

zapata

This might sound odd but was it the abs kicking in trying to prevent wheelspin when you travelled over patches of black ice. ESP\TCS\ABS are all linked. ABS makes noise and causes vibrations. Passing cars probably didn't have the same technology.

tightropetom

zapata wrote: »

This might sound odd but was it the abs kicking in trying to prevent wheelspin when you travelled over patches of black ice. ESP\TCS\ABS are all linked. ABS makes noise and causes vibrations. Passing cars probably didn't have the same technology.

Defo not ABS - wasn't braking at the time + ABS feels different to this one. No vibration or noise. It literally felt like a puncture (albeit transient). Tyres new + ok. May have been a loss of grip on the back wheels

highdef

Black ice for sure. I experienced it a few times in a Focus on the R148 between Kilcock and Enfield during the last cold spell. It was like a shimmy and would occur when travelling at anything above about 70. There were some visible patches of ice here and there but it seemed to occur where the road seemed completely dry. I would say there would have either been a very thin layer of ice or some sort of frost on the surface. I never lost control or anything but always felt this little wobble. A little bit of a slow down would solve it most of the time. Also, the ESP light never came on for it but I don't think it would be a severe enough shimmy to activate it.

CarMuppet

Question to OP: When you turn-on/ start your car does the ESP light illuminate at any stage?

i.e. does it come-on during the start-up cycle and then go-off after the engine is running?

tightropetom

Yip, everything flashes up as normal then goes off again

Mech1

i recon your handbrake cables are split and causing the calipers to stick on, making the rear wheels or at least 1 of them to lockup on slippery surfaces. I have fixed 2 mondeos in the past cold period that had the exact same problem.

tightropetom

Mech1 wrote: »

i recon your handbrake cables are split and causing the calipers to stick on, making the rear wheels or at least 1 of them to lockup on slippery surfaces. I have fixed 2 mondeos in the past cold period that had the exact same problem.

Buy that man a beer.

That's exactly what was wrong with the car - the handbrake was worn, not releasing, so whenever we hit a slippery surface the wheels failed to turn properly, hence loss of grip/control.

Thanks bud, have gotten it sorted now!