My car shakes when I’m driving at 30-50 mph

[Notch7]

Car:
Vauxhall Corsa 1.2L 2008 50000 miles


My car shakes when I’m driving at 30-50 mph.

I feel it mainly under my seat in 4th gear and low revs 5th gear, but my phone on my dash board also shakes, it’s a powerful rumble, but no difference to noise. It doesn’t shake more when I brake/steer.

I pumped my tyres up and it didn’t help, my hubcaps had small cracks in them so I took them off but the shaking persisted. I’ve checked each tyre and there doesn’t seem to be any tread wear/uneven tread.

I’m assuming it’s my wheels as steering and braking doesn’t seem to cause the shake and if it was the engine then I’d expect the car would shake worse at high speeds or high revs which it doesn’t, it’s the worst at mid-speeds.

Anyone know what my next port of call is before I take it to a garage? What should I inspect? Cheers.

it could be:

unbalanced wheels
worn tyres -all season tyres tend to get a bit ribbed
bad driver
knackered alloy wheels that have been kerbed badly

wheel bearing would only really show when turning

 

[Lower]

So if my driver seat is shaking, does that mean the off balance tyre is likely on the rear driver side? I don't know if you can feel the vibration in the passenger seat. How would I be able to differentiate which side the off balance tyre is on? I assumed you could feel the vibration in both the driver and passenger seat

You can't tell which side the vibration is from. Just take the car to a tyre place and ask them to rebalance both rear wheels. Its not expensive.

 

[AshBeech01]

Check every wheel still has tight wheel nuts. Hold front wheels at the Five minutes to One postion on a clock face and pull and push the tyre, can you hear or feel anything?

Hi, I’ve done this and no issues here, thanks for the reply

 

[AshBeech01]

You can't tell which side the vibration is from. Just take the car to a tyre place and ask them to rebalance both rear wheels. Its not expensive.

I’m gonna do this soon. Only thing is, my rear wheels will soon not have enough tread, they were low the last time they were checked a few months ago. Is it worth balancing the tyres for the last few months I have them or shall I just leave them? As in will unbalanced rears cause any mechanical damage if I leave them unchecked. Cheers

 

[Munroast]

I’m gonna do this soon. Only thing is, my rear wheels will soon not have enough tread, they were low the last time they were checked a few months ago. Is it worth balancing the tyres for the last few months I have them or shall I just leave them? As in will unbalanced rears cause any mechanical damage if I leave them unchecked. Cheers

that would depend upon how much they are vibrating - but either way you need to ascertain what is causing the problem, it is very likely it is a wheel balance problem but it could be something more serious.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I’m gonna do this soon. Only thing is, my rear wheels will soon not have enough tread, they were low the last time they were checked a few months ago. Is it worth balancing the tyres for the last few months I have them or shall I just leave them? As in will unbalanced rears cause any mechanical damage if I leave them unchecked. Cheers

Unbalanced can upset the cars handling, it can also cause extra uneven wear on the tyre and the suspension components, especially the shock absorbers.

I think your priority ought to be to be worried about the cause and at least confirm it is a result of an unbalanced tyre. If not, then it is potentially a quite serious defect.

You have had it explained to you the simple, no cost, minimal amount of effort method, of how to confirm it is simply an out of balance wheel.

 

[BlueLoo]

I’m gonna do this soon. Only thing is, my rear wheels will soon not have enough tread, they were low the last time they were checked a few months ago. Is it worth balancing the tyres for the last few months I have them or shall I just leave them? As in will unbalanced rears cause any mechanical damage if I leave them unchecked. Cheers

Get yer tyres done.
It will sort out the balancing and its winter anyway so good tyres are a good idea.

Just take it to a tyre place and tell them to sort it. Job done.

 

[Old Salt]

I had a rear wheel balancing issue, the tread was separating from the carcass, but it only showed up under a strobe light. Get yourself down to a disco and get them checked. I would check the driveshafts too, wheel bearings and suspension mounts.

 

[AshBeech01]

Hi everyone,

Since my last post, I switched each individual tyre and drove between each swap, however there was no change in vibration, still felt it under my seat and around the footwell, not in the steering wheel. I don't know if this means I rule out wheel balancing yet. A couple of my tyres looked relatively underinflated so I pumped them up and drove straight away, there was still vibration so I deduced it couldn't be a slow puncture either. Recently my car has also started to make a bumping noise from the wheels when I'm going slow in second gear (about 10-15 mph) - its a fairly slow bump, like its happening on each turn of the wheel. The car is getting serviced soon, hence why I'm not rushing to get it to a garage before this, but I'd really like to be able to diagnose it myself first. What do people think?

 

[AshBeech01]

Hi everyone,

Since my last post, I switched each individual tyre and drove between each swap, however there was no change in vibration, still felt it under my seat and around the footwell, not in the steering wheel. I don't know if this means I rule out wheel balancing yet. A couple of my tyres looked relatively underinflated so I pumped them up and drove straight away, there was still vibration so I deduced it couldn't be a slow puncture either. Recently my car has also started to make a bumping noise from the wheels when I'm going slow in second gear (about 10-15 mph) - its a fairly slow bump, like its happening on each turn of the wheel. The car is getting serviced soon, hence why I'm not rushing to get it to a garage before this, but I'd really like to be able to diagnose it myself first. What do people think?

I also don't think its the bearings as the vibration doesn't show when I'm steering, only when I'm driving at certain speeds.

 

[johnny2007]

When's mot due?
The examiner will point out any trouble with suspensions.
Track rod end could be the culprit and easy to diagnose.
Just grab it, move it and see if the joint plays.
It would be obvious.

 

[AshBeech01]

When's mot due?
The examiner will point out any trouble with suspensions.
Track rod end could be the culprit and easy to diagnose.
Just grab it, move it and see if the joint plays.
It would be obvious.

Had the MOT a few weeks back, but vibration started after the MOT annoyingly. I’ll have a look myself though, thanks!

 

[norseman]

'A fairly slow bump with each turn of the wheel' will most likely be a faulty tyre that has developed a 'carbuncle' in the tread or sidewall that may not be visible to the eye. This is a dangerous situation & should be professionally checked out immediately. I'm in total agreement with Old Salt's (#23) post on this.
As for your statement regarding tread depth, I change tyres when they are down to 3mm as the current legal 1.6mm over three quarters of the tread width is a joke, especially in winter.

 

[Burnerman]

If you want to check out things for your own interest.....
Jack each wheel up in turn
Place a block or whatever very close to the rubber so it's just not touching
Spin each wheel, look for any gap between block and tyre changing.
I agree with all of the above points - the common causes being a buckled alloy wheel; a tyre that is out of round or damaged.
Look at the driveshafts when you spin the front wheels at the same time.....bending is unusual but not unknown.
John

 

[Old Salt]

Find an empty car park, supermarket after hours or some such. Put the car on hard lock and drive in a circle, then the other way and see if it changes or stays the same. I still think its drive shafts, wheel bearings, or suspension components, track rods etc.
Easy to check, jack it up and using a prybar poke it in any gaps and give it a wiggle, you are looking for any movement or slackness.
Or take it for another mot, £45 for diagnostic is cheap nowadays or kwikfit for a free steering/brake check, you don't have to let them do any work on it.