Front wheels shaking on Honda

Maybe this has been addressed before, but here’s an example of a simple fix to a big problem. The front end of our 2002 Honda CRV started shaking. It felt like the front wheel was hopping up and down. I thought it might be a bad strut, or something worse. I called the dealership and explained my problem. The service tech paused, then asked if I lived on a gravel road. Yes, I do. He advised checking the rims for dirt. Sure enough, on the inside of the wheel rim was a layer of fine silt from the gravel road. Water had cemented the dirt to the rim, causing the aluminum wheel to be out of balance. Now, I check the wheels regularly and hose off the dirt.

LOL. Good post.

This happens a lot in snow country. The problem can slowly develop over time if you just do slow in town driving and then surprise you when you hit highway speeds and the out-of-balance situation makes it feel as though the car is falling apart. I once had to put my car up on a lift and use a screwdriver to dig the ice out of inside of my allow wheels. From the outside I couldn’t see the built up ice. I’m a lot more careful these days when I’m goofing around in deep snow or mud…

I’ve had this problem more than once from snow buildup on the rims after having to drive through a plow bank while taking an exit.

One time I even had wheels improperly balanced because of ice on the wheels. The wheels had been lying in the back of the truck and the ice was solid. I told those guys to be sure the ice was off the rims before balancing…they didn’t listen…and had to do the job over.