After merging into the highway with your car, you suddenly notice a vibration in your steering as soon as you hit 60mph. Higher than 60mph, it is gone. As you apply your brakes, the steering vibration starts again, even more violently. What could be happening here?
For a perfectly working car, this should not be happening. Your vehicle can get to top speed and brake to a complete stop without any form of vibration felt by the driver on a smooth, paved road.
Likely Causes of Shaky Steering While Driving
Your vehicle should provide a smooth and controlled ride anytime you go for a drive. However, any form of vibration that would cause discomfort means something is off. A common cause of shaky steering is unbalanced wheels and tires. It usually occurs within speeds of 60 to 75 mph. Unbalanced wheels could result from a bent wheel, out-of-round tire, unevenly worn tires, missing balance weights, or even small stones lodged within tire threads/grooves.
Another cause of shaky steering is worn wheel hubs/bearings. Wheel bearings are wear items and thus require frequent checks. In addition, ball joints and tie-rod ends are wear-items of the suspension system.
Bent drive axles (possibly from an accident) can cause steering vibration to occur. A worn inner CV (Constant Velocity) joint is also likely to cause front-end and steering vibration when the vehicle is at speed. If you step on the brakes and you immediately experience steering shake/vibration, it simply means your brake disc rotors are warped or worn. Brake pads left unchanged when due can cause a metal-to-metal contact, which causes overheating. Finally, a bad engine mount/seat can cause vibrations at idle or at speed. In addition, engine misfires / improperly tuned engines can be a contributory factor too.
If you experience these symptoms, they should be addressed immediately. Take it to a professional service center for diagnosis and repair. You can never get it wrong by bringing it to Reliant Auto Repair, as we would ensure that your car is being diagnosed and repaired by our experts. Give us a call today, and you will be glad you did.
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