Shaking in the steering wheel often starts out mild. But before you know it, you’re holding on for dear life as it whips back and forth with the frenzy of a mechanical bull. Thankfully, by coming into your favorite Springfield OH auto shop, your repair team can diagnose and fix the problem before it ever gets to that point. To help you prepare for your visit, here’s a look at the most common causes of shaking in the steering wheel.
Tires Out of Balance
Before putting tires on your vehicle, techs have to use their magic – and perhaps a few wheel weights, of course – to get them perfectly balanced. If those wheel weights take a hiatus, then the shaking in your steering wheel may start in earnest. When off-balance tires are the cause, you can expect the shaking to speed up and slow down as your vehicle does.
Broken Belt in the Tire
A broken belt in your tire can decimate its stability, leaving your steering wheel trembling in your hands. As the tire rotates, the lack of a rigid structure makes it feel off-balance, especially if that tire is on one of your drive wheels. Like the prior cause, you’ll undoubtedly notice the shaking becoming more intense at highway speeds than when you’re cruising around the neighborhood.
Bad Universal Joints
Whether your vehicle has CV joints or U-joints, when that part breaks, you’ll feel it in the steering wheel, for sure. Without that part behaving as it should, turning the wheels throws off the wheel rotation rate side to side. Then, the off-tempo wheels send a chattering feeling through the steering wheel as you simply try to move through the bends.
Warped Brake Rotors
As your rotors act as a friction point for your brake pads, they get incredibly hot and lose material bit by bit. Over time, this can cause the rotors to warp out of round, leaving the pads skipping across their surface. Eventually, you’ll feel it in the steering wheel each time you press down on the brake pedal. If you don’t deal with it by then, the next thing to go is your stopping power.
Worn Suspension Parts
Your vehicle has a series of interconnected suspension parts that keep your vehicle feeling steady as it moves down the road. As those parts start to wear, they introduce a bit of slop into the system, allowing vibrations to shimmy through the car. The wear continues unabated until you elect to have the worn suspension parts replaced, resulting in shaking not only in the steering wheel but through the seat as well.
Steering wheel shaking can quickly go from mild to wild, so be sure to come right in to see us at Zima Automotive at the first sign of a problem. With a call to 937-342-3911, you can find a great time to drop your vehicle off or request to have it picked up from your location. We look forward to helping you resolve the steering wheel shaking well before it gets out of control, so give us a call today.