Car shaking at high speed

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Hi,

On my 2004 Acura Mdx, someone sideswiped on my car while it is parked a few months back and ever since then I noticed shaking on the steering wheel when driving at high speeds in the highway. I tried rebalancing the front tires and it still have problems (though it is a little better than before.) The rear tires are fine. Not sure what I would look next, and how would I ask the car repair guy ask how to fix the problem. I heard that it might the CV joint might be bad, but not sure how much it cost to replace it. Anybody have any advice, I would like to know. Thanks.

2

I suggest you have a good mechanic put it on a lift and inspect all of the suspension components. It could be any number of things.

But I suspect the car is unsafe to drive. I’d only drive it very slowly to the mechanic’s.

Do you have insurance, it may cover this damage ?

3

Bent wheel, wheel hub, or even steering arm may cause this. A balance job may identify a bent wheel IF the tech pays attention. Agree with @BillRussell you need to have a knowledgeable mechanic look at this.

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4

Good advice.

NOTE: the problem might be as simple as a weight having gotten knocked off the wheel or a bent rim, but Bill’s right in that until the actual cause is diagnosed you absolutely should consider the vehicle unsafe to drive. The cause of the shaking could also be a damaged ball joint and the wheel could be on the verge of tucking itself under the car.

5

Thanks everyone. The mechanic fixed a few things at the time but didn’t think the front steering wheel is the problem. I don’t think the problem is the rim or the tire because it was balanced. I will ask the mechanic to look at the car if there was any other issues.

I did have insurance, but not on my car, since the accident was an hit and run and police couldn’t identify who hit my car.

6

I agree with @BillRussell

A bent rim can cause that shaking on the freeway

Even if you throw it on the balancer, and get the machine to read zeros, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s bent, and the problem will remain

Some guys don’t realize there’s more to it, than just getting the machine to read zeros :frowning2:

7

I guess the first thing I"d do if I had that problem is put the car on a lift (or a jack a wheel at a time & place on stands) and turn each wheel by hand, watching carefully from behind for any signs of the wheel wobbling side to side. Next, I’d look at the bottom of the tire to see if it was going up and down at all while turning by hand, indicating the tire was out of round. I’d also check for any obvious play in the wheel bearing.

Sometimes if I’m not sure whether or not I’m seeing side to side or up and down movement of a wheel or tire I’ll screw a bolt into a threaded hole in a scrap piece of metal, and clamp that metal piece somehow so I can get the end of the bolt near to the tire or rim I’m watching. If there’s wobbling, the edge of the tire or rim will hit the bolt on and off as it wobbles.

1 Like