Hey everybody,

Several months ago, I noticed that my steering wheel started to shake, or shimmy depending on who you ask, at around 60-70mph.

It’s gotten worse lately to the point that it’s annoying to do highway driving for any extended period of time. I talked to my local Meineke mechanic and they said that it could be my tires, which at the time, were running low on tread.

Well now I am on a fresh set of tires that I literally got last week and the problem has persisted. If anything, it’s worse than before. I can feel it in the car quite a bit and my passenger seat is wobbling a lot too at faster speeds. Weird thing is it only becomes an issue above 60. There’s nothing weird going on below that.

As anybody ever encountered this issue before? Any ideas as to what might be causing this? It’s not the tires, or brakes, since both have plenty of life left. I thought about a bent wheel possibly, but I would think that would cause shaking at all speeds. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Your wheels are likely bent or not balanced. I have the same issue, but at 80, and I know at least one of my wheels is bent. Did they put the wheels on a balancer?

Ilya is right. Wheel weights can fall off over time, and if your tires have uneven wear, high speeds will cause a vibe. It's also possibly a warped rotor or a brake caliper that is not releasing completely - or even a tire defect. Check the inner and outer side walls of each tire. Best to take it to the dealer for your next oil / filter change. They will inspect tires and brakes (among other things) for free. At least you will be able to rule out brakes and tires.

A slight shimmy that only shows up at high speeds is usually something out-of-round. If you're far north, it could be ice build-up on rims. Shimmy in front wheels can be from unbalanced or bent rims, but wouldn't swapping front/back tires fix it, assuming only 1 of them (per side) was out-of-round? Otherwise, it's possible that excess play in wheel bearings, a loose ball joint, control arm bushing, or tie-rod end could cause shimmy, at speed. Not much else would.

A few of us have also experienced stuck/sticking front caliper slides, which is unlikely to have gone so long without fully seizing, but I suppose it could possibly result in what you are feeling. Are any of your rims hotter than the others right after stopping (after a few heavy braking applications right before you stop to check)? Sticky brakes will heat up a rim. I had a sticking caliper slide that looked really bad but I never felt a thing other than a warmer rim after "spirited" driving. Not a single shake in the steering wheel.

Ilya wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 15, 2020 4:15 pm

Your wheels are likely bent or not balanced. I have the same issue, but at 80, and I know at least one of my wheels is bent. Did they put the wheels on a balancer?

I suppose one of the wheels could be bent. I just didn't think that would result in shaking at certain speeds only. They should be balanced though. When I got new tires a couple weeks ago, they did an alignment and balancing on all four sides.

I'll know for sure when I take the car in next week to get checked out.

Larz wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 15, 2020 6:06 pm

Ilya is right. Wheel weights can fall off over time, and if your tires have uneven wear, high speeds will cause a vibe. It's also possibly a warped rotor or a brake caliper that is not releasing completely - or even a tire defect. Check the inner and outer side walls of each tire. Best to take it to the dealer for your next oil / filter change. They will inspect tires and brakes (among other things) for free. At least you will be able to rule out brakes and tires.

Highly doubt it's the tires, as they have less than 500 miles on them so far. Plus, it was happening before I had the new ones put on. I'll definitely mention the brakes/calipers when I take the car to a highly rated shop in my local area. I haven't had great experiences at the Infiniti dealership over 2+ years of ownership.

Wheel hub ?

Just to provide an update to this whole situation,

I ended up taking the car to my local Infiniti dealership since it was just a few minutes from my work. They took the car for a drive and put it on a balancer to make sure everything was aligned. Turns out, some of your guesses were correct and a wheel was bent. Actually, it ended up being three wheels...all but the one on the front drivers side. The downsides of low profile tires I guess haha. They recommended a nearby shop that specializes in fixing wheels and I’ll be giving them a call tomorrow to finally get the issue resolved. Looks like the rates are pretty reasonable. Thanks for the input everyone!