Why Is My Steering Wheel Shaking?

Does your steering wheel shake on Chantilly roads? The most common reason your steering wheel is shaking while driving is because of the alignment of your wheels. When your car, truck, or SUV tires are unbalanced, the wheels may make your steering wheel, and perhaps the entire vehicle, vibrate. Other issues can cause the wheel to shake as well. Some problems are more serious than others, but if your steering wheel shakes you need to get the issue fixed as soon as possible.

Answer why my steering wheel shakes with our guide. Then, make sure to bring your vehicle into our Vienna service center to have it checked out should this issue arise. Feel free to schedule service whenever it’s convenient for you.

Five Causes of a Vibrating Steering Wheel

Our service technicians know five common reasons why your steering wheel shakes. Each of them alludes to different problems your vehicle could be having. Pay close attention to these signs and symptoms. Then bring your vehicle in for service before these problems get worse. A vibrating or shaking steering wheel could be a sign of trouble if you don’t fix it soon.

• Unbalanced tires: The weight placement of your tires is important. Every time you get new tires, a technician spins each tire on a special machine to see if it’s balanced. If something is off, which it normally is due to minor imperfections in the rubber, the machine will tell the technician how much weight to add and where. You’ll see these little tire weights along the wheel. If the weight isn’t distributed evenly when the tire is put on, you’ll feel the vehicle vibrate. The vibrations may get worse over time. This is more likely the case in vehicles with lightweight suspension systems. If this problem isn’t resolved, you could have future issues with the shocks, struts, and other steering components. Simply bring your vehicle into our dealership and have the wheels checked, repositioned, and reweighted. This is a relatively easy fix.
• Misalignment: Like unbalanced tires, improper positioning of your vehicle’s wheels can cause shaking in the steering wheel at high speed. If you avoid obstacles like potholes and you drive over railroad tracks slowly to avoid damage, then misalignment is less likely to be the issue here. It’s easy to tell when misaligned wheels are the problem because you’ll notice the tread on the tires is uneven in addition to the vibrations you feel in the steering wheel.
• Bad bearings: If there is damage or not enough lubrication to keep ball bearings working properly along your axles, they will cause the bearings to rub against another surface. This leads to friction, which explains the shaking of your steering wheel. However, this only causes the steering wheel to shake when turning as opposed to when driving in general or braking. Most times a simple cleaning of the bearings can help, but if there’s damage, they’ll need to be replaced. Replacing bearings may cost up to $430 including labor costs.
• Suspension issues: If parts of your suspension are worn, loose, or imbalanced (like in the driveshaft), this could cause shaking in the steering wheel. Though these are simple fixes for a technician, they aren’t fixes you should wait to fix. Putting off this car repair could cause more damage, leading to higher repair costs. Suspensions can be major repairs the longer you put off this maintenance.
• Brake issues: If you notice your steering wheel shakes when slowing down, the issue lies within your brakes. Worn brake pads, defective brake discs, and even worn shocks can be the cause of steering wheel shakes when you decelerate. Brake pads are also an easy replacement. However, they cost up to $300 per axle depending on where you have your vehicle serviced. Because brakes are a major safety concern, get your vehicle serviced as soon as possible.

Why Is My Steering Wheel Shaking? We Can Help!

After looking over the multiple reasons that cause your steering wheel to shake, bring your new or pre-owned vehicle to our service center at Mercedes-Benz of Tysons Corner near Mclean. Our technicians will examine it and diagnose the problem. The sooner you bring your vehicle in, the better because you don’t want the shaking to get worse.

When you wonder, “Why is my steering wheel shaking?” we’ll find the issue and resolve it as soon as we can. Our team will get you back on Great Falls roads in no time. Contact us or call (703) 263-8107 to set up an appointment. We’re happy to help in any way we can!