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Steering wheel is shaking...

6K views 46 replies 28 participants last post by  thefultonhow 
#1 ·
I've got an alignment done and when I reach like 60+ in speed, my steering wheel shakes. How could this come about. What are factors that contribute to a steering wheel shaking?
 
#2 ·
My friend had the same problem with her car. She had the tires rotated and that seemed to solve the problem.

I would check the tires and have them rotated.
If you have already recently rotated the tires, then I do not know what it might be.

Maybe someone else can shed more light about other possible reasons. Good luck.
 
#5 ·
Or it might just be a BENT rim if youve done everything else mentioned above.
 
#6 ·
Sadly enough mine was doing the same thing. I had a bent rim.
 
#7 ·
Shaking steering is usually caused by:

1) Wheels/tires out of balance (including weights falling off)
2) Bent/worn suspension components (especially worn bushings, tie-rod ends, ball joints).
3) Wheels installed not quite on-center. Removing the wheels and installing them to carefully seat them will take care of this problem.
4) Belts shifting in the tires or other tire damage.

It's almost never alignment.
 
#9 ·
I have the same problem myself. I just havent rotated the tires in a while, and i realy think i have a bent rim, because i fell in a hole so big my stillen front bottomed out, and i heard it!!! I got out and it was fine, thank god for polyutherane, or just the bottom of the stock bumper.
 
#10 ·
Domiken said:
Or it might just be a BENT rim if youve done everything else mentioned above.
Oh no, No bent rims here. I know where every pot-hole is in my city.

Geo said:
Shaking steering is usually caused by:

1) Wheels/tires out of balance (including weights falling off)
2) Bent/worn suspension components (especially worn bushings, tie-rod ends, ball joints).
3) Wheels installed not quite on-center. Removing the wheels and installing them to carefully seat them will take care of this problem.
4) Belts shifting in the tires or other tire damage.

It's almost never alignment.
Hmmmm. I pretty much just got an alignmnet and rotation. But my car still pulls to the right. I've been over my share of ruff roads too. My passenger front corner makes some squeaking so I'm thinking that I have maybe some worn bushings.

casual said:
what up k-dawg when this happened to me it was my tire pressure
link
plus if you go and rotate them then remember for the first few hundred miles the tread might feel lumpy cuz the tread is evening out
what everyone else suggested were very good points.
casual
Hmmm...I rarely hit potholes, but there is one thing sometimes you can't avoid. It's when to slabs ove pavement meet and there be like a big height difference. Like ____--------
 
#11 ·
Geo said:
Shaking steering is usually caused by:

1) Wheels/tires out of balance (including weights falling off)
2) Bent/worn suspension components (especially worn bushings, tie-rod ends, ball joints).
3) Wheels installed not quite on-center. Removing the wheels and installing them to carefully seat them will take care of this problem.
4) Belts shifting in the tires or other tire damage.

It's almost never alignment.
I took my car in for a 4-wheel alignment a month ago and I still have a shake in the steering wheel though not as severe as before. Shouldn't the service techs at the dealership have checked for worn/bent suspension parts in the process of doing the alignment?:-\
 
#13 ·
mattb said:
My wheel sometimes shakes when the car is in reverse. My mechanic checked it and just said that it's normal for the car sometimes, but that if it gets worse it may be something loose in the steering column that may need tightening.
Your mechanic is a monkey.

That is not normal. Sounds like worn suspension or steering components (and not in the steering column).
 
#14 ·
So what should I do then. (GEO) MY symptoms are sneezing...I mean squeeking in the passenger front, shaking steering wheel, and that's really bout it. Fix me up Doc! It's not cool when your riding in your car with your girl and your hand is all shaking and sh*t.
 
#15 ·
my steering wheel started to shake too, in fact, my whole dash feels like its shaking cus the radar dector that i velcroed to the dash mat was shaking. it only happens when i go past 80mph. i just had two front tires changed, balanced, and alignment fixed (it was fvcked up before), i also replaced the front engine mount and replaced both front rotors. since the rotors are brand new i dont think they're causing the problem. i dont really know what could be causing it since there was so much done over the last week.
 
#16 ·
Mista McCoilover said:
So what should I do then. (GEO) MY symptoms are sneezing...I mean squeeking in the passenger front, shaking steering wheel, and that's really bout it. Fix me up Doc! It's not cool when your riding in your car with your girl and your hand is all shaking and sh*t.

Perhaps it's your 600 watt amp? ;)

A lot depends upon the nature of the vibration. Sometimes things are just naturally occuring. That is why there is so much sound deadening and such in the car.

I'm not ignoring your issue, but I don't have enough to go on.
 
#17 ·
My friends was shaking too around like 60-70 mph and he got new rims and it didn't happen anymore but then he dented those too so they shake now hahahha

But he took it to the shop and they checked his rims cuz nothing was wrong with the tire wear or alignment and they said it was a bent rim.

But you can get that fixed I believe but it might be kind of pricey.
 
#18 ·
Geo said:



Perhaps it's your 600 watt amp? ;)

A lot depends upon the nature of the vibration. Sometimes things are just naturally occuring. That is why there is so much sound deadening and such in the car.

I'm not ignoring your issue, but I don't have enough to go on.
Thanks dawg. I'm going to take my car into the shop anyway cuz I'm just past 60k on my ride. I'll have them take a good look at the bushings and ball joints to see if everything is good. I have have good feeling it's something with the bushings.
 
#20 ·
My Story

When I switched over to my new Rims about a year ago, I noticed on the highway that at about 65 my steering wheel shook. If I went over 70, it would disappear. Well, recently I had a blow out, and had my tires rotated in the process. This completely cured the symptoms. Probably had something to do with the weights on the wheels and them not being properly balanced in the first place. Just wanted to offer up my info.

Peace~~
 
#22 ·
Youre first step would be to have your tires balanced again, it is cheap and could not hurt anything. My eclipse did that and it turns out i had a bent drive shaft which might be the problem too. If it gets worse when you hit the brakes its your brake rotors, they are warped and need to be turned. if your alignment was off than your tires would surley have worn unevenly and you might be able to fix it with the balancing. if the shop tells you that it cannot be balanced than it is a bent rim or the tires are too far gone and you need new ones. hope that helps.

and to reply to 91maximas ?, you can only cross rotate your tires if they are not directional tires. if they are you have to keep them on the same side of the car when you rotate
 
#24 ·
FWIW.....

I just had my pads and rotors replaced on Saturday. The steer wheel vibration/shake that I had when I braked is gone. The difference is like night and day. If your steering shakes/vibrates when you brake then I highly recommend having your brake rotors checked ASAP.
;)
Oh, BTW.....for those who won't be doing the change themselves, don't be surprised if the bill turns out to be higher than expected.:( (Firestone charged me $300 for both front left and right side rotors and pads.)
 
#25 ·
yes, having a shop do your pads and rotors are awfully expensive. i had all four of mine done several years ago at big O tires and the total was $460. i recently replaced it myself and all the parts came out to be ~$100. and Big O charged me twice for the parts when compared to what i paid at autozone.

another thing is, can bad motor mounts cause the vibration. i can feel the whole front vibrate when i get to 80+ mph and only then will it start, not when i press on the brakes or anything. i recently replaced the front mount, the most expensive one and also had tires replaced. i took it in to the shop to have the tires checked because i thought they were the cause of the problem but they were perfectly fine. the shop pointed out to me that my other mounts need replacing too, when the guy stepped on the brakes and gas it bit, the whole engine jerks up. i went and ordered the rear and crossmember mounts cus i refuse to pay them $150+ to put them in for me. also, the vibration started after i had the front mount, tires, and front pads and rotors replaced couple weeks ago.
 
#26 ·
Start with the easiest things first:

Most likely it is one of the following...easy fix.

Tire pressure
Tire condition (are they cupped?), try rotating them.

If that doesn't solve the issue, check to see if the rim is bent...you can take get the tires balanced and ask them (or look for yourself when the balancer is spinning the wheel. -OR- you can jack up the car, safely support it and run the car up to 60mph. Have a buddy view the wheels and see if they are bent. I don't recommend this, cuz it is dangerous. Probably not a good idea, but I heard others do it.

Hope that fixes it. If not, you may have a worn suspension/steering part. Like a tie rod or something similiar. Perhaps the alignment place jacked something up when they were aligning the car.
 
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