# Steering wheel vibration



## tarheel01 (Mar 30, 2005)

I've got a 2001 Maixima (35,000 miles and 2001 Pathfinder (45,000 miles). Been having balancing problems for a while with both. Have had new tires, checked out the front-end on both (no problems), road-forced balanced both. Things are better but still get a slight vibration at 60+ mph. I do have slightly warped rotors on both (shaking when I brake at high speeds).

Question: Could my vibration when I'm not braking be the rotors as well? 

Thanks.


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## cardana24 (Oct 15, 2003)

tarheel01 said:


> I've got a 2001 Maixima (35,000 miles and 2001 Pathfinder (45,000 miles). Been having balancing problems for a while with both. Have had new tires, checked out the front-end on both (no problems), road-forced balanced both. Things are better but still get a slight vibration at 60+ mph. I do have slightly warped rotors on both (shaking when I brake at high speeds).
> 
> Question: Could my vibration when I'm not braking be the rotors as well?
> 
> Thanks.


the roters would not cause your problem if you are not touching the breaks, unless you have a pad that is rubbing on both or your vehicles...which I doubt. Make sure your lugnuts are tight.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Warped rotors could be the cause, but it's unlikely.
it certainly wouldn't hurt to have them turned and keep going. honestly it's going to be the cheapest thing to check. cost you about $10 per rotor to have them turned.

next thing to check is suspension bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, and drive axles for bending/damage.
I've gotten some replacement axles from the parts store that were slightly bent and caused vibrations while driving. replace them with other joints from the parts store and it went away.

worn suspension bushings, ball joints, and tie rod ends can also cause vibrations in the car but not be easily detectable when you put the car on a rack in the shop. If you have 100k miles on them, then it's likely time to replace them. but that's not always the case.


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## tarheel01 (Mar 30, 2005)

Thanks. One thing I forgot to mention is that my ride seems to be pretty bumpy. The passenger seat shakes pretty good at higher speeds and I can feel quite a bit of the road in the drivers seat. Typically, I would think that would be the tires but I've had them checked numerous times. With 35K miles on the Maxima, I wouldn't think I have a shock/strut issue. Am I missing something else?


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## 98Midnight (Apr 23, 2004)

Make sure none of your wheels are bent. A bent rim may not show up when you get your tires balanced. Even a slight bend on one of the wheels can cause serious vibrations.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

98Midnight said:


> Make sure none of your wheels are bent. A bent rim may not show up when you get your tires balanced. Even a slight bend on one of the wheels can cause serious vibrations.


Yes I agree, and ask them to check the run-out on the tires as well as the wheels. The tire specs are very bad, +- 1/8 and the car will wobble at low speed and shake at high speed. 
Been there, done that, and tough to get the tire place to inspect and measure, never mind replacing them. ditto for bent wheels. 
Check for uneven tire wear, the tread will wear thin in the high spots. 
Hope that helps. BTW I have had bad rotors on several cars and have not found that to cause shaking without braking.


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## tarheel01 (Mar 30, 2005)

I got brand new tires about 1,000 miles ago and also have had the rims checked twice. I took the car back after they put the new tires on and they replaced both my left tires with 2 new ones. The guy said there was some runout and went ahead and gave me 2 new ones. He also Force Mathced my right tires. I still get a slight vibration around 60-65, no wobbling at low speeds so I wouldn't think bent rim (I thought it was a rim at first myself) since I would feel that at any speed.

I'm going to just drive it for now and see if after I get some more miles on the tires, it works itself out. If it is something more major, it will only get worse and then maybe somebody can detect the problem.

Thanks for all the help. It seems like I'm not alone with these issues.


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## aaron629 (May 4, 2005)

*bent rim*

I had the same problem with my 01 sentra. It was a steering wheel vibration at 60+ MPH. It was a bent rim. Only it was easy to spot. Killer pot hole. I doubt its the rotors, tie rod or control arm. Good luck dog. hope you find the problem.


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