TX Rumble issues

Hey guys. I was wondering if any TX wheel users are experiencing the random rumble/vibration loss on forza 5? The force feedback works fine but It seems to randomly loose rumble in the wheel during long races or in between races. If I start the race over the rumble comes back for a bit. I contacted thrustmaster and they claim it’s an issue with Turn 10. Can anyone confirm this? Is there a patch in the works? Also is there a possible work around? Any help or comments will be much appreciated. This is killing my forza experience. Thanks

It still happens and nobody is taking ownership of the issue. Thrustmaster say it’s T10 / Microsoft, but neither T10 or MS will comment on it. Until we get another racing game on XB1 that has the same issue we’re at a loss.

This is what Thrustmaster say on it:

“We are aware of this problem and we have managed to reproduce it ourselves several times in the test we have done so far with the unit and the Forza 5 game. We have already informed Turn 10 and Microsoft about this problem and we are expecting that their new updates will address this problem.
Since the unit is a plug and play and both the Rumble Force and Force Feedback effects are generated based on the inputs received by the wheel from the game and the console the problem is not related with the actual steering wheel.”

This was reported pre MS XB1 April update so there have been 2 major MS XB1 updates and numerous T10 patches and it’s still an issue.

Thanks for the reply Owen0501. I got the same message from thrustmaster as well. It would be nice to know that Turn 10 and Microsoft was aware of the issue. I don’t understand why more people are not speaking of this issue that own the TX wheel. It makes me wonder if the problem is with just some units. It would be nice if more people posted that had the issue so I know Thrustmaster isn’t giving me the run-around. It drives me crazy when I’m in a long race and the rumble just disappears and I have to re learn the handling of the car mid race. I emailed Turn 10 about the issue months ago but just got the auto response back.

Happens to me as well. To re activate, so to speak, I hold the power button the wheel and turn off and turn back on. Sometimes I have to turn the gamepad off as wel(I use it for my Turtle Beach’s)
It’s very annoying :frowning:

@Nelor, Yep that’s what I have to do as well., but sadly that’s not an option when it goes mid race especially when racing in an online league. So annoying.

The Mad Catz wheel gets released next week - let’s see what rumble feedback we get on that - slight play on words there :slight_smile:

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Come on guys! If you are having this “rumble” issue please chime in. I’m not asking for anybody to complain about it, I just would like to know if it’s happening with all the TX wheels or just some. I’m curious to know if the new TX wheel with the external power supply is also having the same issue? I do have to say I absolutely love the wheel when it is working. I personally think it’s much better than the standard CSR wheel I was using with forza 4. I couldn’t speak for the CSRE though. I’m currently using the basherboards mod with fanatec pedals. When the rumble works… Man it’s great!

Forza 4 had the same issues with the crappy MS Wheel for the Xbox 360… Think this is a Forza issus as my wheel works MUCH better while playing PC games… Just my 2 cents…

I have not felt it my wheels, i have had both internal and external power supplies,but i don’t play fo real long periods. Rumble has been fine for me,running 90% rumble and 60% FFB.

When I did the Silverstone 1.5 hr race the other weekend, about 45 mins in, my rumble stopped (my wheel does it all the time when I play for a long time). Ten minutes later, the rumble came back for the whole race. I don’t cut mine off to get it back. Once internal temp comes down, everything works fine. That’s my experience. I run 75% vibration and 100% Force Feedback. So my internal temp is always hot. LOL I’ve driven over 10k miles on Forza 5.

Not a issue to me. Vibration comes back after 5-10 minutes of racing. Force Feedback does drop off a little. But comes back when temperature comes back down. I think my fan works good. I definitely be putting miles on it.

How many miles have you put on your Thrustmaster?

From Thrustmaster TX FAQ on cooling fan. This is your answer.

Note regarding cooling fan operation and motor cooling

• The wheel’s cooling system is composed of a heat sink and a fan.
• A thermostat monitors the wheel’s internal temperature.
• When you are using the wheel in a game:

  • The cooling fan starts up when the wheel has reached a certain temperature. (= after a few minutes of gameplay, depending on the strength of the Force Feedback effects used)
  • The power of the Force Feedback effects automatically decreases as soon as the wheel reaches a much higher temperature level (to protect the motor). The power of these effects automatically increases as soon as the temperature slightly decreases.
    • When you’re done playing: due to the motor’s thermal inertia, the cooling fan continues to operate until the temperature drops below the fan’s startup level. Your wheel has been designed in this way in order to facilitate cooling, and to protect the motor. (= this may take from 5 to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature reached while using the wheel in a game)

Note: The USB ports on the Xbox One are always On (even when the console is Off). When the console is Off (the LED on the console and on the wheel is Off), the wheel is in standby mode, and not completely Off. You may hear a very small noise coming from the wheel because the wheel is still powered by the console’s USB port. The wheel’s fan does not turn Off if it was On before the console turned off (the wheel is always powered by the console’s USB port, and the wheel’s temperature sensor that manages the fan is inactive). Unplug the USB connector from the wheel. The small noise will completely disappear, and the fan will turn off.

I’m not sure that’s the answer, as that is specific to FFB rather than rumble. Other wheels use this cooling method but it does not affect rumble.

FFB is reduced, but in reality it’s probably not that noticeable issue as your arm / hand strength will naturally decrease the longer you go into a stint, so the cooling effects should actually help lessen arm fatigue.

When my wheel temp goes up (vibration 75 & ffb 100), my vibration slowly cuts back & stops. FFB isn’t as strong. As fan cools my TX (without me restarting it or unplugging, then plug back up), my vibration comes back & ffb goes back full. What I just described is what happens to him. That faq is why it drops off & will come back.

They don’t necessarily mention vibration in faq, but it’s obvious that vibration gets cut back till internal temp comes down.

Buddy, I agree that it’s happening, but what I’m saying is I’m not convinced that it’s a feature of the cooling process. FFB drops off for me on both the Xbox One and PC, but rumble only drops off on the Xbox. Thrustmasters have said it’s not meant to happen and is an issue that MS needs to address - but I guess we’ll know for sure when another race sim is released, and if it does still happen TM will probably update their cooling FAQ to include rumble :wink:

The wheel rumble disappearing has absolutely everything to do with the cooling fan I believe. When i turn on my xbox the vibration works every time. The vibration will work fine for for 15 to 30 minutes depending what track I’m on and how much I’m turning. I have a few examples. #1 RBW Triton bounty challange. I could run about 20 to 30 minuties on that track from start up and when the fan kicked on and off I would loose vibration and have to finish and restart to get it to come back. Vibration would not go away as the fan engaged the first time but it seemed vibration disappeared about the 3rd time. Precisely when the fan disengaged the 3rd time. #2 2.4 Le Mans challenge. I started this challenge again from 0 previous game play with the wheel. I raced the whole race with the wheel not losing vibration. I feel I did not lose vibration because the fan did not ever kick in during the whole race due to its long straights and maybe the lower temperature of my basement. #3 nurburgriing 2.4 hour challenge. This race I had heavy usage of the wheel prior to the race. The fan was running heavily before race start time. I had to wait in the lobby about 15 to 20 minutes before the race began allowing the fan to stop running before the start of the race. The race started and I had no vibration. 20 to 30 minutes into the race as the fan kicked on maybe 3 times vibration came back in full. After 2 or 3 cycles of the fan engaging and disengaging I lost vibration after 20 minutes and for the entire remainder of the 1.5 hours of the race.
I’m not sure what all this means? This is just my experience with the TX wheel. I feel when the cooling process starts and stops it causes the problem.

Yesterday morning, I did a career bender for 1.5 hrs. I’m almost done with career. I was running 330 degrees of rotation, 75 vibration and 100 ffb. Halfway through first race my fan came on. Fan stayed on. After doing career for 25 or 30 mins, my vibration started to cut back. It cut back to nothing. By the time vibration was gone, my ffb had cut back just a little. I went out side & grabbed a smoke. 5 mins later, fan still on, I start next race. Halfway through next race I notice ffb is back full & I slowly feel vibration coming back. By the end of the race my vibration was back fully. It’s a temperature thing. It has 2 different motors in it. They both will cut back or in case of vibration (cut off) to protect motors. That’s all it is. I never unplugged my wheel or restarted when vibration stopped. Why? I knew it would come back when temp was lower inside wheel.

My vibration will come back, even with fan never shutting off, if I’m doing a long race. I’ve had that fan run constantly for 2-3 hrs straight if I’m on a hot lap bender.

It also depends on the car you are driving. Some cars have more vibration effects than others actually. All this plays a factor into the internal temp.

I agree with what you have said re the symptoms and explanation, but ask how do you explain why vibration is only lost on the Xbox and does not happen on PC? FFB effects are reduced on both.

Then it’s definitely a software issue with the Xbox One then.

We will know more when Project Cars comes out & whether or not that still happens. Waiting till Nov then. I don’t want FH2 or The Crew.