6 Things That Can Cause Your Steering Wheel To Feel Shaky: Capitol Subaru Auto Care Articles

April 24, 2020

It can be irritating having to deal with maintenance problems on your car, but getting a shaking steering wheel fixed is important. After all, a wobbling steering wheel doesn't exactly inspire confidence. We want you to be safe on the road and we want you to drive with peace of mind that your car is in good shape. If your steering wheel shakes as you drive, that's a problem we can fix in our service center at Capitol Subaru! Here are six possible causes for this problem below. Head to our service center so we can diagnose your car and recommend a long-lasting fix.

 

6. Rough Pavement

Sometimes, a poorly paved road or an older road surface can be rough and that can be felt in the steering wheel. If you notice your steering wheel seems to vibrate occasionally, pay attention to the road surface. If the roughness goes away when the pavement changes, it may have been just an unusually rough stretch of road. If it doesn't, we'll look for one of the conditions below to identify the problem.

5. Warped Brake Rotors

Does your car's steering wheel only shake under braking? It could be warped brake rotors. If your brake rotors are damaged, warped or simply out of true with the rest of the wheel and brake assembly, the steering wheel may shake and vibrate as you brake. This is due to the uneven clamping force of the brake pads on the uneven brake rotors. However, if your car shakes even when the brakes aren't being applied, you may have one of these four other issues instead.

 

4. Flat Spots On Tires

If you've got a garage queen that rarely sees the open road, or just a beater that doesn't get driven much, it could develop flat spots on its tires from sitting stationary for extended periods of time. Tires can also develop flat spots from panic stops that lock up the wheels (though modern ABS systems prevent this) or from wear known as cupping. Cupping wear occurs in scalloped patches across the tire's surface, and is usually due to a worn suspension.

3. Worn Suspension

Suspension parts are designed to keep you connected to the road, yet isolated from bumps and cracks in the pavement. As these parts wear out, it'll introduce some additional bouncing and shaking to your driving experience. If your vehicle's shocks, struts or other suspension components are worn out, your car may shake or bounce excessively going down the road.

 

2. Incorrect Wheel Balance

Perhaps the most common reason you might detect shaking in your vehicle's steering wheel is due to bad wheel balance. Believe it or not, the wheels on your vehicle have to be balanced just right, sometimes by repositioning small lead weights around the inside of the wheel. This little change can make a big difference at speed! Even a small variation in wheel balance will cause the entire vehicle to shake once you get moving. That's why getting your tires professionally installed and balanced by trusted professionals is critical. Thankfully, rebalancing tires is a fast and easy procedure for our technicians at Capitol Subaru!

1. Poor Alignment

Most of the time, you'll detect other problems, like uneven tire wear, an off-center steering wheel and a pulling sensation to the left or right as you drive, if your vehicle's alignment is off. That said, if the alignment is off by enough, it can even cause your vehicle to shake! As the front wheels right with the rest of the car, vibrations can develop which travel up the steering column and rattle the steering wheel, shaking you in your driver's seat. If your steering wheel shakes and you detect other symptoms of poor wheel alignment, we'll begin with an alignment check on your vehicle.