My car vibrates at 45-65 mph. I have new tires.?

Question

It feels like I'm going to have a blow-out. It doesn't do this all the time but I have had two episodes in the last week. Steering wheel and front end seem to shake violently.

1998 Toyota Camry

1998 Toyota Camry

Answer 1

Normally I would say tire balance with an issue like this but if it is tire balance, it shouldn't be that violent and it should happen anytime you are at those speeds, not just sometimes.

A few months ago I had a Lexus in the shop with similar symptoms and we kept chasing it as a tire balance problem until I finally got in and drove it. During the test drive I discovered that if I used the brakes, then quickly accelerated back to highway speeds the front end would shake but it did not do that if it took me a while to accelerate back up to highway speeds. Also, the violent shaking would go away if I just tapped the brake pedal.

What we had was a warped brake rotor caused by a "lazy" caliper that took its sweet time retracting when the brake pedal was released. An inspection of the brakes confirmed it. And interestingly, the pulsation did not show up under normal braking but only when the caliper dragged on that rotor at highway speeds after the brakes were released. Tapping the brake pedal caused things to re-orient a bit which made the pulsation go away.

Perhaps not the problem you are having but worth checking out at any rate.

Answer 2

If it started after the new tires were put on then it is most likely that the tires were not balanced correctly. Take the car back to the place you got the tires from and tell them to re-do the balance - a high speed balance.

I've had this occur after getting new tires a couple of times. Another weird problem that happened once was a new tire that had a flat spot in it, but that you noticed at all speeds.

Answer 3

Check and see if the balance weights on the rim of the wheel did not fall off. If they are gone take them to the shop and get them balanced. And if they are there i would get the rebalanced. There could be a chance that the screwed up the balance in the first place. I would rather be safe then sorry.

Answer 4

Check the fuel pump pressure, your fuel pump may be failing. If a major tune up has not been done recently, this could be the cause of your problem. Replace the spark plugs, plug wires, fuel filter and air filters, etc. Also, replace the primary oxygen sensor. In addition, clean the carbon deposits from the throttle bore and idle passages. Although some manufacturers recommend 100,000 miles between tune-ups, we have found that many cars need tune-ups before the magic number.

Answer 5

Sounds like it needs to be aligned to me. My friend payed for her alignment when she got her new tires, but they didn't do it. You have to really watch the guys in the shop and make sure they are doing what they are supposed to do. Never "drop-off" your car and trust that they will get the job done. Most work off of commission, so they get the vehicles out quickly so that the next one can roll into the bay (even if it means omitting certain tasks).

Answer 6

Front end is messed up. Check and make sure your joints are tight. Any real loose joint will vibrate real bad.
Lift the vehicle off its suspension and let the front end hang freely, and then check the fittings.

Answer 7

Put some air in your tires, read on the sidewall what the maximum PSI is and put that amount into all your tires.

Answer 8

well if it's a jeep grand cherokee it could be death rattle...which can be caused by various things...but if it's not a jeep then you should specify what vehicle your driving..