My car shakes violently when I drive, it isn’t restricted by speed but is more aggressive the faster I go. It feels as though it’s coming from the wheels. I’ve had the tires balanced 3 times. At first a balance would help but the shake would return, I also had my alignment done, but the shake persisted. I then took it to 2 separate shops, one thought it was a bent rim but i was able to confirm the rim wasn’t bent. The next thought it was a balancing issue but that isn’t the problem either. I thought potentially it was a suspension issue but it’s a constant shake that wobbles the car as I accelerate, not a bounce. There’s no metal scrapping noise associated with it. This shake will leave for short periods of time and be worse at others. All the tires, brakes, and rotors are new. PLEASE HELP! I can’t find a shop to diagnose this properly.
If you feel this wobble while accelerating at speeds between 30 and 50 MPH, goes away after releasing the accelerator pedal, the inner CV joints are worn. This is a very specific condition and you may need to demonstrate when this occurs so the technicians are not focused on a tire vibration.
Clearly, you need a much better shop working on your car. What you describe is not bad struts. What you describe is something bent, or broken.
The tires need to be checked for broken belts
The wheels need to be checked again for straightness, then the wheel hubs at all 4 corners.
The car’s alignment needs to be checked again but specifically the squareness of the car… are the wheels square to one another?.. same distance front to back? and diagonals?
All the suspension bushings and motor mounts need to be checked
Check the CV joints and axles
If you still haven’t found anything, start checking for broken welds in the structure of the car… and consider junking the car… as it is likely not safe if it has been hit that hard and fixed that poorly.
I completely agree. Moved here back in May and I traditionally do all maintenance to my car myself, but now trying a few shops here in Utah has left a sour taste in my mouth.
I was rear ended at a red light back in March. The truck hit me from a stop and I was stopped. Minimal damage, 90% cosmetic, but it feels that the wobble is coming from the passenger side front.
Was the “wobble” present prior to being rear-ended?
If not, then think about what Mustangman posted earlier:
And, as Mustangman also mentioned:
Even though you were hit in the rear, it is possible for that impact to have damaged a motor mount or two. Cars have even been known–albeit on rare occasions–to suffer internal engine damage from collisions, so damage to motor mounts is certainly not out of the realm of possibilities.
If it turns out that a motor mount or two needs to be replaced, that also means replacing the mechanics who didn’t notice the damage.
Park the car on a flat surface. Grab a tape measure. Put it on the rear of the rear wheel rim edge so the tape passes the centerline of the wheel and walk to the front. Take a distance to the BACK edge of the front wheel rim. That is the wheelbase. Now do the other side. If that measurement is more than 1/2 inch difference, that accident was more than “minor.” The car is “racked.” It likely can be fixed but it takes a frame machine and you don’t want to know what that costs even if you do all the disassembly and reassembly work.
I’ve had mud sticking to the tires cause that before. Drive through some mud, shakes while driving, then stops after the mud gets thrown off the tires. If not that, good advice above. My guess is either a suspension part is loose or some sort of problem with the CV axles. If there’s no obvious suspension problem, might be worth a gamble just to replace the CV axles and cross your fingers. Are these the original CV axles, or have either or both been replaced recently?
To find a good shop, ask your friends, co-workers, fellow church goers, etc who they use to repair their cars. Then interview a few of the shop owners, before you need them.
