Why Your Steering Wheel is Shaking

Why Your Steering Wheel is Shaking

A car’s steering wheel is one of the most crucial components to driving properly and safely. In other words, it ALWAYS needs to be always working. If your steering wheel starts to shake whilst driving, your car is telling you something is wrong. Something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

Now there are a myriad of reasons for why your steering wheel is shaking but here are the three most common reasons for what might be causing it:

3 Most Common Reasons

1. Tyres out of balance 

This is the most likely and common reason for what might be causing your steering wheel to shake whilst driving. When tyres are out of balance it can cause a vibration through your car and steering wheel.

If this is the cause for the problem, you’ll likely notice the shakes at higher speeds rather than slower speeds.

2. Problems with brake rotors

If you notice your steering wheel shaking whilst you brake, this might mean that your brake rotors are starting to show signs of wear.  When the surface of the rotor is inconsistent, due to warping or grooves, you will feel a pulsation in the brake pedal when braking. 

Usually, a brake rotor warps due to overheating which can be caused by excessive braking. Warping may also occur from the breakdown of other brake components such as when the hydraulic component that applies the brake pad to the brake rotor, or the calliper, is sticking.  

Machining the rotors grinds the surface down to return it to a flat, usable area for the new brake pad. As material is removed with each service, the rotor’s ability to dissipate heat diminishes, which can eventually cause overheating and warping, requiring replacement.  Seeing how the brakes are an extremely important part to your safety whilst driving, it is very important to get this issue looked at as soon as possible.

  3. Worn suspension components

With older cars, shaking of the steering wheel is likely to be caused by a worn ball joint or tyre rod. Older suspension components can become loose which may cause fairly serious vibrations once you reach speeds above 70km/h.  

The bottom line is, if you are experiencing a shaky steering wheel, it is best to take your car to a service centre to have a trained mechanic take a look at what is causing the problem. Here at Bigbox Service & Tyres we have a team of highly experienced and trained mechanics that can diagnose and fix whatever may be causing your shaky steering wheel. If you're experiencing a shaky steering wheel whilst driving, get in touch with us to book your car in for an inspection.