Reply With QuoteSounds like wheel balance to me. Maybe a weight has fallen off.
I may be wrong, but I seem to remember my dad (who is a mechanic) telling me it's more likely a rear wheel with the symptoms you describe.
Driving home along motorway tonight, car having been parked and not driven for 10 days. Through town it was fine (max 40), but once I hit 50mph on dual carriageway I started to feel vibration through the steering wheel. Then hit motorway - fine for around 20 mins (60-70), then started juddering quite markedly; felt I might have to stop, but slowed to 50 and shaking reduced. Average 50mph stretch then kicked in and it wasn't too bad thereafter. Google search implies wheel balance is likely off. I initially thought maybe dirty fuel. Any thoughts? Never had this in my 20 years of driving. What beats me is the car was fine when last driven 10 days ago, and it's been parked ever since. Seems odd that vibration kicks in out of the blue. It's a Skoda Superb (2010), although I imagine not relevant. May pop to dealer or KwikFit in the morning.
Thanks!
Sounds like wheel balance to me. Maybe a weight has fallen off.
I may be wrong, but I seem to remember my dad (who is a mechanic) telling me it's more likely a rear wheel with the symptoms you describe.
Last edited by Cynar; 29th July 2016 at 23:24.
Im no mechanic........
Initial thoughts must be wheel/brakes related...........possibly calipers............could be a number of things though,
"Personally?" Id take it anywhere but kwikfit.
Must be some good Kwikfits about.................but none that Ive encountered.
Sounds odd - but have you driven through any mud lately?
Has the same problem about 15 years ago. Tyres and wheel balancing weights fine. Mechanic found large deposits of dried mud on the inner parts of the wheels - cleaned it off and all was well. At the time I was driving down a muddy track twice a day.
Probably unlikely but just a thought
I'm no mechanic either but as said above, sounds like wheel balance. Perhaps one of the weights which are attached on the inside of the alloys for balancing has come off.
Take it along to a tyre centre and have them check the wheel balance for you.
I'm a home mechanic and have a few friends who are real mechanics! As others have said, try getting the wheels rebalanced. I've heard people say that if you can feel the vibration through the steering wheel, it's the front wheels which are out of balance. If you can feel the vibration through your seat, it's the rear wheels.
If you go to a little backstreet tyre dealer, I doubt having the wheels rebalanced will cost a lot. If by any chance you're in Manchester, I can get it done for free.
Wheel balance seems likely. If not a missing weight, it may be that a tyre is out of shape after standing still for ten days, especially if it's an old tyre or under inflated.
As said above, it's more than likely balancing. Thought the steering it'll likely be the fronts. Slight vibration at 50 and bad at 60-70, I'd wager around 35-55g. The sudden change, (assuming you haven't had issues at these speeds before), means you've probably thrown a weight. It could be a tyre casing out of shape slightly but balancing is the easiest and cheapest thing to do first.
Unless you want four new tyres I'd avoid Kwikfit mind you :)
Could be ball joints
FTFYOriginally Posted by Dave O'Sullivan
Wheels out of balance
Wheel buckled
Tyre deformed (or pressure low)
Loose wheel nuts
Ball joints
Warped discs (would need to be really bad)
Bent suspension / geo out of shape / worn dampers
More or less in that order as possible causes.
Last edited by aldfort; 30th July 2016 at 11:09.
Almost certainly tyres have gone out of shape whilst parked and will resolve once they get warmed up a bit,used to happen on my RRS when I was away on holiday.
I presume you checked the tire pressures
I would also start with tyre pressure, wheel balance, tyre/wheel condition.
If it doesn't manifest itself under braking is unlikely to be the discs - if it does turn out to be the discs they can be skimmed in a lathe which is attached to the car to bring them back to true so don't necessarily buy new discs if this turns out to be the issue.
I had an issue for the last month with what I thought was a rear wheel bearing noise between 60-70mph ...droning on. Took it in to my local garage and turned out to be a 'distorted' tyre.. put new one on and it's quiet as a mouse now. Never had that before.
Not being mechanically minded I would scrap the car and buy a new one.
Any issues I've had with vehicles in the past, this approach has solved all manor of problems.
You are welcome.
If it's wheel balance you may be able to drive through it. Mine needed sorting recently, bumpy from 60-75 then smoothed out. Cheap fix if it is the balance.
I usually do that when the ashtray is full. Stops all problems before they start
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Brake dragging where it's been stood for a few days.
I had exactly that same problem. The previous owner of my car had put budget tyres on the back which I'd left alone as they still had plenty of tread.
I was convinced it was a wheel bearing because of the droning, which had increased gradually over time. Then I started to get a vibration and judder on the steering wheel at over 50 mph. It turned out to be a badly misshapen rear tyre. I had two new tyres put on the back and everything went away.
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20 posts so far, and not one of them has suggested that you should buy an MX5???
I don't know what this place is coming to.
Thanks all for your helpful responses (will present the replacement idea to the wife!).
Took to the Skoda dealer - they tested at speed and said wheel balancing. Agreed we'd delay this until service in 2.5 weeks. Also allowed me to wander around the watch shops in Glasgow too (sadly neither of the Rolex models in the windows I'm after).
So, you were all right. Amazed I've never experienced this before in 20 years. I'm just glad it's nothing more serious.
Most people have their wheels balanced only when they buy new tyres. However, wheels get knocked, tyres wear, weights fall off, pressures aren't checked regularly, tyres are punctured/repaired but only the wheel in question re-balanced and so on. The upshot is an unbalanced car.
Then, often only the front wheels are balanced, which actually isn't good enough.
It's no big deal to have all four wheels balanced when you feel a shake or, say, once a year. You'll notice the difference immediately.
Tyre fitters do it for less than £30.
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