Why does the steering wheel of my car shake at 40 mph?

Question

What a piece of garbage. It is one year old with 12,000 miles on it. Haven't had a flat or anything. Don't really drive it like a d-bag. Out of the blue the steering wheel began shaking 2 days ago. My car did get stuck in snow the night before I noticed this. WHAT THE EFF

Answer 1

Could be caused by bad tire, bent wheel or tire imbalance.
If you got it stuck , you might want to make sure there is not a lot of dirt or mud in the wheels. that will cause a shaking problem also.

Answer 2

This sounds like you lost a weight on one of the rims. If you just got your car from a dealership you might be able to have them balance the tires for free.
When you take your car to a mechanic always tell them whats wrong, not what you want done. Because that is all they will do. Case being, if it turns out to be a steel belt coming loose in the tire, "which can also be the cause", they wont find it because they wont look for it, so, if you go in and say the front and is shaking at 40, they will trouble shoot and find out why, if you go in and say balance my tires, that may be all you get, and the problem might still be there.....
Good luck
P.S. You dont need an alignment, you will know you need one of those when your steering wheel pulls to one side.....

Answer 3

First of all you need to have the front end alignment check, next have the tires checked for balance and make sure the tread and belting in the tires has not turned loose. If you got the car stuck in the snow and it was a very hard bump when you got stuck it could be any of the above items but I am leaning towards the tire going bad or being out of balance.

Answer 4

It is a hazzard of winter weather driving. Just happened to my 2004 VW Jetta in Connecticut. I drove in all that snow and Ice. My tire wells and tires were completely covered under the car with caked on ice/snow. Unless you can find a way to clean all that stuff away, the caked ice and snow, will throw things off ballance, causing vibrations, srapping sounds and such. I tried the car wash last night, and left it parked in someones garage trying to thaw it out. After if it still vibrates you might need to get the weights re-balanced because the weights get thrown off..

Try and fix it yourself... the dealer will charge you through the nose just to thaw the ice out overnight....

Answer 5

first i want to point out that none of these people have worked on tires or alignment issues in a professional capacity.

i have

first, look for the missing wheel weights (you might see the outline of dirt where it used to sit)
second, clean the rim for the mud/ice/snow that all these posers already stated
third, look for a broken belt in the tire, or a "golf ball" on the tread or sidewall... this is most likely if its violent shaking, mud will not cause violent shaking.
if all those look fine, you will have to see a professional

Answer 6

You may need new tires. If that doesn't fix the problem, then there may be something wrong with the front-end (tie rod ends, ball joints, or front-end alignment). If you replace your tires and you still have a problem, take it to a mechanic. Either way, you shouldn't drive it much until you have the problem fixed.

Answer 7

if snow gets stuck to the rim or under the hub cap it makes a the tire wheel combo out of ballance and a vibration so check if snow or ice is at falt

Answer 8

The extra ice and snow has thrown your tires off balance,thats all or the wheels have lost a weight Cost: $29.95 and NADA if its the snow and ice causing the problem throwing the balance off

Answer 9

Your car is mad at you for getting it stuck.
Have a Catholic Priest do an exorcism, or if you know any Jamacian Witch Doctors, have him cast a spell on the car's computer and engine.
If that doesn't work, go to the most expensive mechanic you can find, and your car will probably forgive you.

Answer 10

Hit any curbs, weight may have come off causing the wheel to be out of balance.