At around 60mph car shakes badly like it’s the space shuttle about to take off. I noticed front inside of tires wearing fast, too. Any suggestions??
Yeah. Get an alignment. If the alignment cannot be done, due to damage or worn out components, they will let you know.
To expand a bit:
The alignment is causing the one sided tire wear. It is also causing the tires to wear irregularly and that is causing the vibration.
But getting an alignment is only going to fix the source of the problem. The tires won’t be wearing to one side any more, but the only thing you can do about the vibration is to rotate your tires and hope the new wear pattern erases the old wear pattern. This might take thousands of miles - and it might not completely erase the offending wear pattern. In that case, replacing the tires is your only option.
Red Flag! Park It. Until You Know What’s Wrong, This Car Is Unsafe To Drive.
CSA makes an excellent point. While the points from Busted and Capriracer are technically spot-on, I too would want this checked out before driving it again. You don’t say what year it is or how many miles, but a friend of mine some years back had a lower A-frame suddenly drop in a Taurus (ball joint broke).
It’s better to err on the side of safety. This could be a sign of a catastrophic failure about to happen. Don’t take a chance.
A Tire(s) With A Bad Belt Can Do This, Too.
It is a 2006 Ford Tauras. I got an alignment and new tires. I could tell a little difference with the alignment but the shaking is just as bad. I am going to go back to the repair shop but it would like to have an intelligent conversation as to what to look for. Should I request a full front end inspection?
My son had a 1989 Mercury Sable and had the same problem. I can’t remember the entire story, but some steering/suspension component kept the car from holding an alignment. He went through a replacement set of tires very quickly until the problem was solved. I don’t know if the front end changed from 1989 to the later Taurus/Sable cars, but have a reputable alignment shop check out the entire front end.
If the inner edges of both front tires are wearing abnormally then you either have a problem with too much negative camber, too much toe-out, or both since the former affects the latter.
Either one of those could be caused by worn suspension components or something bent during a collision.
The shaking could also be due to a collision; bent wheel, wheel hub, etc. It should be (not always the case though) the responsibility of the guy doing the alignment to inspect the front end and advise the customer of any problem areas.
The shaking could also be caused by a faulty engine mount. (The right rear is the most common failure as it takes most of the abuse.)
I brought the car about 6 months ago. I have extended warrenty (thank goodness!!). But if the car had a collosion they (the dealership) failed (right) to mention it to me. However, be it as it may, the condition exists. So from what I am understanding is that I should take the car to a auto shop that perhaps specializes in front end system. I can’t change the fact that this car may have been in a collision but I would like to have it corrected. What I should be speaking about at the shop is steering and suspension front end inspection, right?
One more thing (bear with me, guys, please) i just had the alignment done less then 30 days ago at a Ford dealership. Should I go back there?? That is where I brought the new tires as well.
thank you all for your responses I have been greatly enlighted.
Go back to the dealership and ask them to test drive the car under the conditions you describe. Ask for an estimate to fix the problem. Remind them that the alignment was done 30 days ago, and apparently something was missed along the way, because their initial diagnosis did not fix the problem you brought it in for. Point out the issue of inside tire wear (which I assume occurred after the alignment was done). Let them do the additional diagnosis, you need to supply the symptoms and under which conditions they occur.
You may want to get a couple of estimates; dealers are generally the most expensive place to get repairs.
Did your 2006 Ford Taurus come with a 3 yr/36,000 mile Bumper to Bumper Warranty?
If your odometer mileage is less than 36k (and depending on the original date of purchase), this repair would be covered by that warranty–that is, unless the car sustained collision damage to the front end. I suggest that you check your warranty coverage and your odometer reading.
I would think it would fall under the extended warranty Charrie has.
I brought the car pre-owned. I got an extended warrenty, through. If it was in a collision I was not informed. However, the suspension and steering is covered in the warrenty from what I have read.
Ok, so i will take it back to the dealership and let them know that the original problem still exists. I believe I should next begin with a full front end Tuesday and will let you know the outcome, ok. I will check back before then through to see if you have any more advice. Thanks
I hope for your sake that the extended warranty is actually from Ford Motor Company, and not from a third-party insurance company. The third-party extended warranties tend to look good on paper, but those companies almost always “disallow” the required repairs. Many of these companies have also gone out of business, thus leading to no warranty being in effect.
It could be poor alignment job and bad tire balancing (or combination of the tow), but misalignment could also be due to sagging springs, worn ball joints, or worn control arm bushings. I’d have them take a look at the suspensions parts to make sure you don’t have problems there too. Since the Taurus is notorious for broken springs, I’d have that checked as well.