GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello Everyone,my 03 vibe has a steering wheel vibration and shimmy at speeds over 70 mph. I had the tires rotated and balanced and it still happens. The shakes also happens when braking hard at high speeds as well. what do you think the problems could be?thanks,mike

My guess would be you need a wheel alignment.

It can also mean that you need to balance your tires and if it shakes at braking then you may need new rotors.

try a dynamic tire balance not a static one. And make sure the wheel weights are new and attached securely. I have had this at those speeds and found the above fixed the issue. Also a wheel may be bent or if you are really unlucky...the tires are delaminating internally,that was a complete new set for free when that happened. |Doug

When your braking and it shakes, does it do it at all speeds or just high speeds?

as an owner of a car that burns through them like a fat kid looting a candy store, shaking when braking (that rhymes) is the rotors being warped.also, where are all the do-gooders looking to criticize this guy for posting this in the engine and transmission section? have i been away that long?

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »as an owner of a car that burns through them like a fat kid looting a candy store, shaking when braking (that rhymes) is the rotors being warped.also, where are all the do-gooders looking to criticize this guy for posting this in the engine and transmission section? have i been away that long?HOLY MEMBER BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!! 0.o

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »as an owner of a car that burns through them like a fat kid looting a candy store, shaking when braking (that rhymes) is the rotors being warped.also, where are all the do-gooders looking to criticize this guy for posting this in the engine and transmission section? have i been away that long?Some of us work 6-7 days a week....

I had very similar problem on one of my cars. It turned out that some of my alloy wheels were bent 3 of them to be exact. I think the previous owner must have gotten a little overzealous in his/her driving maneuvers and hit something at some point. I'll never know what really happened but at least I became informed after going in for a balance that my wheels were bent. The vibrations got a little better after getting the balancing done but a more permanent fix would be to replace/repair the bent wheels. If your wheels were bent though the tire shop who did the balance should have told you that so either they forgot to mention it or maybe its something else.

my 04 vibe does the exact same thing, it needs an alignment, so im hoping that fixes it

I too have a problem with the steering wheel shaking.
It shakes around 63-72 mph. All in the steering wheel and front suspension. To the point that it cupped the tires on the front. I had the front and rear suspension alligned and the wheels are in balanced and both have been verified by two shops. A Chevy dealership and a Pontiac/GMC dealership.
I think it is in the rack and pinion maybe a connection link that goes to the steering ball joint.
Any body have a simular problem please share if you have had this remidied.

Bent rims, warped rotors, bad struts

mine i think is the rotor i think my driver side front rotor is warped sometime if it rains i can hear it hitting and my steering wheel shakes under braking and it sometime shakes at high speed

WARPED ROTORS! had this problem. I believe it was due to over tightening of lug nuts when changing rims. Be careful who you let change your rims.

Same problem only it sounded like someone was giving birth in my wheel well so I assumed it was the wheel bearing. When I went in to change it I saw the tell-tale uneven-but-consistent material transfer pattern. Cleaned it all up so my pad would quit dragging but the damage was already done. Time to spend some money!