Steering Wheel Shake at Highway Speeds - Doesn't Appear to be Wheels/Tires

Hello, I have a steering wheel vibration at 55-60mph and higher. The wheels/ tires have been balanced, and the issue still exists? My mechanic took a look at the suspension and didn't notice any issues? Any idea what could be causing this? Could it be rust on a rotor? Thanks

It COULD but I expect you need to readdress the balance and runout of the wheels and tires . Try bedding the brakes well until the rotors are nice and shiny though.

Have you checked the tires for flat spots? I had a set of Conti ExtremeContact DW that had a flat spot on one of them, drove the shop CRAZY until they checked them for being round, they replaced at no charge... Still like the DW a lot (the price can't be beat)!

Or warped rotors lemon

Agree. I found an installer that had a "Road Force" balance machine. With my last set of rear tires ordered online, the installer rejected 3 tires that were out of round before receiving two that were within spec. Extra cost of shipping and labor for mounting/balancing (except weights) were refunded.

Not sure, but I found all my cars started to do that as they got older. Sometimes it was just that the road was bump (looks flat sitting in the car, but if you got out and looked at the pavement, you'd see small frequent waves). I'd see if it does it on all roads.

Were they balanced on or off the car? If they were removed try taking it somewhere that will do them in place as this can highlight any other issues contributing to the vibration.

While I dont think steering wheel excessive shake is normal, try to remember that these cars have great road feel. So any inconsistencies in the tarmac will be felt through the wheel. I have found driving on different surfaces changes the shake considerably from none to moderate at 60-75 mph. I would check the front tires by taking them off and running a hand over the tread to check for flat spots, then I'd check the wheels inside and out for damage (bent wheels will cause vibration). If thats ok and the car has been sitting, especially in the cold, take it for a long drive and see if the problem goes away. If it doesnt, try to rebalance on the hunter machines. There is a lot you can do before you take the car somewhere and drop your cash. Plenty of people have done that and their problem remained

Take a close look at front suspension bushings. As the materials wears it can cause shake especially when braking which feels exactly like warped rotors, but isn't.

the LCA bushing may be worn out as well. there is the kick the tire test..ill try to dig a video for it. lemon

Have someone who knows what they are doing check the front 2 wheel/tire assemblies to make sure they are balanced, PROPERLY. I am 99% sure this is your issue. Dynamic plane, with no cross balancing, proper wheel OD/ID measurements (machine), and no errant weights left on the wheel opposite one another etc (trust me I've seen it all). Make sure everything reads 0 oz on both planes when finished. If the balancing machine is calling for more than 3oz anywhere I would break the bead of the tire, mark its relation to the wheel with a line, and rotate it 180* degrees on the wheel surface. Air the tire back up, and try balancing again. Sometimes tires aren't perfectly uniform (although they appear to be), and changing their location relative to the wheel can play a part in reducing mass needed to bring the assembly in balance. While on the balancer, I would watch the inner lip of the wheel as it rotates to make sure there is no slight wobling or movement off the centerline--which would indicate that the wheel is bent (from impact). You CAN balance out a bent wheel/tire assembly to zero, and still feel vibration at speed. Then i would move to checking the tires for "chop". Run your hand over the tire surface in the direction of tire rotation, it should feel smooth with no ridging or bumpiness. If it is not, you can bet your alignment is off, and/or the tire has flat spotting from non-abs braking. Tire "chop" will cause steering wheel vibration even if the assembly is balanced properly. Lastly, if those things pan out, like others said, look at suspension components and bushings (tie rods especially). However, given that you say this is a problem that appears at certain speeds, all signs point to an unbalanced rotating mass.

You should ask your shop to calibrate the road force balancing machine before they check your wheel balance.

The Titanic doesn't have that much rust. Really, unless you feel a pulsing when you use the brakes the brakes have (probably) nothing to do with this symptom. If the behavior came on all the sudden suspect a weight went missing. Also, check tire pressures. I have found with my Boxster overinflated -- but just a few PSI -- front tires can cause a vibration that is as near as I can tell indistinguishable from a wheel/tire imbalance. If the symptom kind of snuck up on you gradually what can happen is as the tires wear they can go out of balance. For the last few sets of tires , whenever I replace the rear tires -- with the fronts half worn -- the fronts are out of balance and I get them rebalanced. The same for my Turbo. Feel the tire tread. If you feel feathering or roughness this can be a sign of the tires being out of alignment. I have to caution you that you have to really trust the shop that it will balance the wheels/ tires or even if you decide the problem is an alignment that it really aligns the car. Be sure you ask for and get a *before* and *after* print out of the wheel/tire alignment settings. There has been at least one case where the owner chased a problem that eventually proved to be a balance problem but he only found this out when he used another shop and it really balanced the wheels/ tires . If balance or tire inflation not the solution be sure you arrange to have the car's suspension/steering checked out. While it is rare one just goes bad a bushing/component failure can cause problems.

This is an old thread, but I had steering wheel shake at freeway speed. 987.1 It was worn front lower control arm bushings. The center one on the LCA. No way to tell without removing it, but after removing the LCA it was obviously worn. Replace the steering tie rods while your in there.

I have a similar "wobble", but only at a very certain (and small) speed range, and does not happen at any other speed. I do have a small flat spot on the driver front rim, but would that not cause a wobble or vibration constantly?

I had a small wobble in the steering only at about 70 mph when I first got the car 4 years ago. 2005 Boxster with 92,000 miles. It’s was worn front lower control arm bushing. I replaced all four steering tie rods and installed bilstein B6 struts as well. Super tight steering now.

Same here: Same here, except there was no obviously excessive wear when I pulled them out. But replacing the lower arms and the caster arms fixed the shake. It's not a very bad DIY.

One possibility not mentioned here yet, that I just went through with another vehicle is that one of the steel belts may have shifted internally. Recently changed the rear brake pads on my ‘22 Land Rover Defender, which simply entailed jacking the rear, removing the tires , swapping the pads, and replacing the tires . Next day driving I could feel a wobble, but not in the steering wheel or front end, but in the seat of my pants, so definitely in the rear, so I was scratching my head at what I could have done during the brake job to cause that. Retorqued the lug nuts, checked tire pressure, no change. I had someone drive my Defender while I followed and could see an almost imperceptible ‘wow’ in the left rear tire. Upon close inspection I found a small divot in the tread and by probing it, could see the steel belts. To rule out all variables, I put the spare on and sure enough, the problem disappeared.

Yep, understood. What I meant was in my case I could not feel any play, either with a pry bar on the car or by hand after removal. So it wasn't obvious that the bushings/joints were worn, but they definitely were.

Steering shaft coupler can get loose too. Remove front wheel on driver side. Look behind rack for steering shaft. Find clamp. Tighten. No idea the torque value. Mine was barely finger tight.

oh, yes. There is another clamp under the dash. Noticeable improvement after I tightened that one up. I’ll have to look for the one you’re talking about.

Had the same issue with my 2011 Cayenne Turbo - new tires fixed it, and with my 2009 Boxster - new tires fixed it. In both cases this was after inspection/alignment/multiple-Hunter Road Force balances - it was the tires . They were about 6 years old, and while only half-worn, new ones the car feels like new again. As far as the value of RoadForce balancing - it only works if you have an out-of-round rim. The "road-force" is a roller pressed against the treat of the tire while the wheel rotates, looking at the resistance to deflection. If the system finds a hard-spot (more resistance to deflection) you then measure the rim looking for an out of round condition. The computer in the road-force system then calculates the position on the rim that will minimize the effect the difference in stiffness will cause. Unfortunately - all of my rims were about perfectly round and the RoadForce balancer simply did a normal balance to the tire/wheel combo, no repositioning suggested.