Why is my wheel shaking?

Discuss any problems, warranty, repair, or replacement issues you are having with your Vibe & Matrix
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MsPeacock
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Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:41 pm

Why is my wheel shaking?

Post by MsPeacock »

I just got my tires rotated and balanced but it seems like this morning on the highway my steering wheel was going to just take over itself. Help? Think this has to do with me alignment?
Mase
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Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2004 6:21 am

Re: Why is my wheel shaking? (MsPeacock)

Post by Mase »

Check the obvious first:-lug nuts (missing, loose)-FOD in your rims-pressureIf that fails, take it back to the shop to have them re-balance them. If that still fails, I guess you'll need to take it in for an alignment. I don't know how it would've gotten messed up in the first place.
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joatmon
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Re: Why is my wheel shaking? (Mase)

Post by joatmon »

Quote, originally posted by Mase »-FOD in your rimsfor the average civilian, FOD might not be a recognizable acronym but I guess there could be some foreign object stuck in the rim.I saw another thread where you said you were past warranty. Are these the original tires? If so, you may need new ones by now, most vibers' original tires don't seem to hold up well but I would expect whoever rotated and balanced them would let you know if you needed new ones. If they are replacement tires, is this the first time the tires have been rotated? Could be a problem tire, out of round, or maybe a soft spot, and was there when the tire was on the back, but is a lot more noticeable now that it's up front. Maybe they balanced a tire, and when you got to highway speed, one of the balancing weights came off, unbalancing it.Usually, but not always, steering wheel vibration at speed is a tire problem (assuming it wasn't just a bad piece of road of course)
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Ponyota
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Re: Why is my wheel shaking? (MsPeacock)

Post by Ponyota »

Try the alignment if they don't find anything wrong. My mom had the same problem that you're having. Alignment helped but didn't take all the wheel shake out.
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jbrown
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Post by jbrown »

sory guys & gals alignments will not fix tire shake or vibration problems have your tires balanced if they wont re do it for free take it somewhere else and explain your problem but unless you have uneven tire wear such as one edge of the tread worn more than the other side or choppy wear you dont need an alignment
MsPeacock
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Re: (jbrown)

Post by MsPeacock »

So this morning.. I didn't have this problem. I'm going to try and take it to the shop again this week. But its kind of hard working all day. Oh well... You know I forgot to say that it mostly did the shaking at 70+ mph. Think that has anything to do with it also. And I'm guessing the tires have never been changed but they still look new to me. I bought it about 6 months ago. This is the first time I had them rotated.
sloth
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Re: (MsPeacock)

Post by sloth »

My tires I just replaced were cupped pretty bad (wore heavily on the insides) which caused me to have problems at similar speeds.If you weren't having problems this morning it could of been a chunk of something stuck to the rim. Such as a dirt claud.
Atomb
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Post by Atomb »

if it's happening at specific speeds, i'd guess balance is the issue as the wheel hits the harmonic frequency of the off balance.i had this problem when they forgot to use the hub sleeves on my car! As for the cupping/wear toward the inside, that's an alignment issue (just replaced my tires due to this problem after 1 year/36,000km) The dealer said my alignment was fine but after talking to the mechanic, he explained that my front wheels were toed in and that caused the uneven wear.read about it here! http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=17527i'd get the balance checked and double checked based on what you're saying.
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sloth
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Re: (Atomb)

Post by sloth »

I had the same toe in problem. They were so bad that tire shop wants me to get all my rotations done there as they don't believe the dealer got it right. Which is fine by me as they are free for the life of the tires
cohocarl
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Re: Why is my wheel shaking? (MsPeacock)

Post by cohocarl »

Are they aftermarket rims? If they are, you may have centering rings that fit on the hub and center the wheel. When I bought aftermarket wheels for my Vibe, Discount Tire didn't put them on originally, and that thing shook itself to death. They put the centering rings on it and it drove like new. If you've got the stock wheels.......nevermind.
Sold 6/16/04 03 Vibe 5-speed, Hotchkis Sway Bars & Springs, Hooker Aerochamber, Panasonic Stereo, Hitch, Silverstars,04 Saturn Vue 2.2L Ecotec, 5-speed, 01 Stratus R/T Coupe 5-speed (wife's car) 85 Corvette 268 CompCam, 882 heads, FlatTops, 24lb injectors, Hooker Aerochamber true duals, 58mm TB, Holley AFPR, Siamesed intake base, Polished TPI.
MsPeacock
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Re: Why is my wheel shaking? (cohocarl)

Post by MsPeacock »

Alrighty.. I'm going to take it to be rebalanced.
AKLGT
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Post by AKLGT »

yep, mine did that too when it was off balance. took it back in and was fixed.
AKLGT1998 Subaru 2.5RS
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