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Steering Wheel shake - Need Help (Warning - Long Story)
Hi everyone, I have steering wheel shake problem, its only on the highway 75-85mph, that the dealers can't seem to isolate. It doesn't happen when I break. It does appear to happen only when going in a straight line. Around curves on the highway, it smooths out.
I would some members input here, maybe someone else had the same issue.
Heres the history of it.................sorry its the long version.
14mo ago I bought a 06 Rio base. Drove it 1K miles back home, from SC to MI. The whole trip the steering wheel shook. Took it to the dealer the next day, they said the tires were over-inflated. They also commented that since these are the basic steel wheels, that I would need to check the tire pressure everyone couple weeks. Kind of odd, but what do I know, I'm just the customer.
I take the car in for oil changes + rotations every 5K. I've had the dealer re-balance the wheels twice, and once more by a local tire shop. It seems to alleviate the problem for a day or two, max! So 20K miles later, I just can't take it anymore, the vibration is just bugging me. I figured I would replace the wheels with alloys. So I take it Belltire, buy four new Sendel S08, 14in alloy wheels, drive home later that day, problem is still there. Belltire says that my stock tires are cupped. Which makes sense, and I believed it. So I let it go. I figured I'll just buy new tires when these are gone.
So, 10K miles and another two tire rotations later, the dealership says "don't bother rotating these tires anymore, they're toast". Driving in the rain was getting downright scary. So I go to Costco to get new Michelin X Radials put on. Definatley not cheap, and not junk tires. Costco says they won't touch my car because it doesn't have hubcentric rings. Apparently Belltire didn't sell me any in the my wheel package. So I had a 13mm gap between the two hub diameters. Could this be the cause I thought? Nope! Bought the correct rings, Costco puts them on. Take the car home, still shakes. WTF! Belltire even tried to tell me these were lugcentric, when in fact they were clearly hubcentric.
So now its time to go back to the stealership. But I took it to a new dealership, one I've never been to. They keep my car for 3 days. Only thing they come up with is one of my after market wheels is warped. So I have them put the stock steelies back on, with the new tires. Everything balances out perfect. I even asked them, are the stockers bent? The answer, "no". They even performed a four wheel alignment, and re torqued the engine & transmission mounts cause they were out of spec.
Drove the car home, 40mi, perfection. Car never felt so smooth before. Took it up, well as fast as a Rio can go, and still smooth. Well, 24hrs later, go to work in the morning, problem is back, right at 75-85mph.
I take the car back to my original dealer, thinking there has to be something in the drivetrain, bad universal, out of balance half-shaft, dunno, but something. Maybe they can fix what the other dealer couldn't. 4hrs into, they tell me I have two warped factory steel rims. So the car is still being looked at as I'm typing this. In 15 years of having a drivers license, and have 16 cars in that time, I've never had this much difficulty getting a vibration fixed.
In the past, I've ran over parking curbs at 40mph and busted sidewalls of tires before I've ever bent a rim.
90% of my driving is highway, and never once have I hit a pothole bad enough, nor fast enough to bend a rim. Not saying I have never hit a pothole, that's impossible in Michigan.
Has anyone had similar vibrations in their Rio before? Was it related to anything other than a wheel issue? I just can't believe I've bent three wheels in less than a year with normal driving conditions. I used to drive my mustang the same route for 1.5yrs before my Kia, and never had a problem, still drive it in fact.
Sorry for the rant here, but I really would like to hear other peoples input on this.
Hey Doc, Tires will misshape above 60 mph so I'm guessing the quality of tire may play a part in the vibration at your running speeds. Another test I would do is to put the vehicle on stands and run it to the same speed and see if you get the same results.
(Retired mechanic Ford and Kia) My two cents worth... James
I had a similar problem with an old 97' grand prix of mine. This may not be your problem but, this is just a similar scenario. I had the high speed vibration but nothing at low speeds or when stopping. Turned out to be the control arm bushing, granted this car had tons of miles and it may not even be the same problem you have. Im just giving a possible idea for you to look into.
I've had a similar problem, speed seems to be irrelevant. The stock tires wore out of round but had no noticeable hop and would balance fine. The dunlops rode superb at any speed but where marsh mellows. Uniroyals had the vibration quite noticeably along with some serious tone. I'm now on Michelin Hydro edge tires which cost some $$$ and although good have a hum and a slight vibration. I'd have to suspect some less then perfect rims or suspension piece at this point. If I wasn't a lazy slob I would try harder to find the source but honestly I have a tiny vibration at 60 mph on super smooth rodes. Naturally it irritates me being the puckered butt that I am.
My wifes brand new mazda5 has a very noticeable hop at 50mph all the time. Its called crap tires, they also flat spot over night which is really irritating. Every 5 I test drove had a serious lumpy ride, I thought everyone of them was broken. If you check mazda5 forums you will see what I mean.
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Last edited by RDNK4RE : 09-22-2008 at 07:32 PM.
Reason: bliry eyes
Well like JCWIT said, stay under that speed. But here's the kicker, it starts about 75mph, if I back off it will still shake while doing 65mph, but then it smooths out eventually, not right away.
I don't expect the car to ride like glass. And lack of pwr steering I would expect some feedback in the wheel. But this is more of a physical challenge. I drive over 100mi a day and my hands literally feel numb when I get home, its that bad.
I got it back from the dealership yesterday. They found that my rear swaybar link bushings were bad. That would explain the popping sound when going over bumps. Shouldn't have anything to do with wheel vibration. But its manufacturer defect and the warranty will cover it.
So those go on tomorrow. And I'm picking up a new replacement alloy wheel and having those aftermarket wheels put back on.
What I cant put my thumb on, is why did the car ride 100% smooth at all speeds last Thu after I got it from the dealer, I mean we're talking over 30mi back home, and then Fri morning is started shaking all over again. If the 2nd dealer yesterday said I had two bent rims, shot bushings, and if that's accurate, then that means the car left the other dealership last week in the same condition.
Its gotta be something in the drivetrain.
Last edited by doctorj77 : 09-23-2008 at 07:54 AM.
Got a real quick fix here. Stay within the speed limit.
Your the first person to say that. Its funny, I've taken this to 4 places now, told each place that this only happens when I go 75mph or faster. Not a one says I shouldn't be doing that.
I had a similar problem with my mustang, steering wheel shake at any speed over 70mph, Ford's first answer, you shouldn't be going that fast.......haha!
But that was a loose steering column linkage causing that one.
Has anyone checked shock struts,bushings etc. What is engine rpm at 75-85 mph.Try to get same rpm in lower gear and see if you get shake,A bad harmonic balancer on engine will cause a vibration. Also has the steerig rack been checed for loose or worn bushings
Has anyone checked shock struts,bushings etc. What is engine rpm at 75-85 mph.Try to get same rpm in lower gear and see if you get shake,A bad harmonic balancer on engine will cause a vibration. Also has the steerig rack been checed for loose or worn bushings
Thats a good idea. I didn't think of that. I'll try it out tonight when I get home.
As far as I know, the steering rack hasn't been touched or inspected.
All I know is, "from the invoice" last week, was that the brakes and suspension were inspected front & rear. One of my aftermarket wheels was identified as warped, so the stockers were put on and a realignment performed, and the car worked great, all the way home. But the next morning
Well I tried testing for engine vibration. While in 5th, at 75-83mph its anywhere from 3600-4000rpms.
I put in the same rpm range in 4th, 3rd, and 2nd and held it there. Nothing. Not saying that eliminates engine vibration but it does possibly suggest drivetrain instead.
Car is going in today for the new rear swaybar link bushings. At least that should fix the clunking noise. I've been doing some more reading, found similar issues on Hyundai forums, and also a Kia Sedona blog on Edmunds.
Very similar, for Hyundai, it turned out to be a wheel issue. For the Sedona, it was never fixed. Hopefully mine is just a wheel issue.
Steering Wheel shake - Need Help (Warning - Long Story)
Your the first person to say that. Its funny, I've taken this to 4 places now, told each place that this only happens when I go 75mph or faster. Not a one says I shouldn't be doing that.
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