Why does my steering wheel shake when I drive fast AND hit the brakes?

Question

When i'm driving relatively fast (65 mph or faster) my steering wheel starts to shake. It also shakes when I hit the brakes from fast speeds (for example, when I am getting off the highway). Any ideas on what that is?

Other symptoms my car is having and all seemed to start at the same time....

When I drive on a bumpy road at slow speeds I can hear something bumping under my car.. sounds like metal bouncing up and down... loose exhaust?

When I turn the wheel all the way to the left it makes a metal grinding noise (imagine turning the wheel all the way to the left, and start driving slowly from a complete standstill).

Any ideas? I don't know if ALL of the above has to do with eachother.. but it all seemed to start at the same time.

Answer 1

check break roters and C V joints

Answer 2

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Guy above me is correct, once you start hearing a deep grinding sound, your car ( or truck ) is in TROUBLE. If you only drove it a few miles, with light braking, you might get away with it. If you drove the 200 miles in stop-and-go traffic, you could have done significant damage. Rotors can run anywhere from $50 to $500, depending on whether front-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, etc. If you have a front-drive car, sometimes the rotors are mounted specially to the drivetrain and are EXPENSIVE to replace. If they come off separately, then then can be cheaper. 50k miles for brakes sounds about right, depending on usage. Brakes are usually cheap, but it's the rotor replacement that runs the bill up, and more so for 4x4 or front-drive cars. if you replace one side, you should (to be safe ) replace the other to match. So, it all depends now on how deep the scoring is on the rotors. They may can be saved, IF you drove conservatively. If you drove fast up to a light and hit the brakes hard constantly, you've probably toasted at least the worst one. You won't know until you get it to a repair shop, hopefully one you can trust. yes, the shaking and the grinding are related, as either the pad was partially ground thru, so part of the rotor had a pad, the other just metal, which would make it try to stop turning at different rates, and cause the shaking. Once the entire pad is gone, it would just be grinding. Plus, if one side has lost the pads, and the other still has some, it'll brake at different rates, and cause the vibration as well. Good luck!

Answer 3

Shaking/pulsating when hitting the brakes are most likely warped rotors. If you can feel it in the steering wheel, it is the front. A good way to find out which (front or rear) is hold the parking brake release button, and use the parking brake to slow down. If it shakes, it is the rear rotors/drums. Be sure to apply the parking brake slowly, and make sure nobody is behind you, as your brake lights will not come on while doing this.
If you have shaking WITHOUT applying the brakes, and it only happens when you reach a certain speed, it is most likely tire balance. Get your tires balanced and rotated. Good luck.

Answer 4

steering wheel shakes at higher speeds are often caused by your tires getting worn, warped or just mismatching. Getting new tires often solves this. The shaking when you're braking can be caused by warped brake pads or bad rotors or bad calipers needing adjustments. You need to redo or check your front brakes specifically.
These are just the most likely things in my opinion

Answer 5

For the shaking steering wheel its your ties. The bump is probably a shock that needs tightened up. And when you turn its your tires rubbing the inner wheel well. My brothers truck does the same thing. Go to a mechanic and get it all straightend out.

Answer 6

with the steering wheel shaking it sounds like your front brake rotors are warped. you can either get them cut down or buy new ones.

more than likely they will need to be replaced.

as for the grinding noise... can't help ya with that.

Answer 7

It could be one of two things, or both. First is you likley have a warped disc on your front brakes. Second is you might have tires that are out of balance. I'd get it looked at--bad brakes are dangerous and not something to leave unfixed. Good news is none of this is likely to be super expensive.



Kent iN SD

Answer 8

you have different problems the shake at 65 -tires need balanced the vibration when braking is warped brake rotors you should have them machined if possible or replaced and the noises of the front sounds like strut mounts/bearings

Answer 9

Lost a wheel weight and your tire is out of ballance.
AND
You have a warped/cracked brake rotor.

Answer 10

First thing is your tires are out of balance .Second sounds like your shocks are shot, And third your aliment is out. The grinding you here maybe your brake pads are low, Have them checked out, hope this helps.

Answer 11

You need an alignment and tire rotation, assuming your tires are good. Re: brakes... your may need new brake rotors.