My steering wheel has started to shake when I go over 70 mph (I know I know, I shouldn't be driving over 70 but I do). It doesn't happen at lower speeds and goes away when I step on the brakes. Could it be that my wheels need to be rebalanced?
I know if I take it into MINI they are going to tell me they can't test drive at those speeds, so any suggestions on what it could be would help.
Has anyone else experienced this?

 

wheel out of balance or bent


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I believe it could be a misbalanced wheel as well

 

But then wouldn't the steering wheel shake all the time?

 

Not necesarily. The vibration/resonance of a tire/rim out of balance is more evident at higher highway speeds than it is at speeds under 50 MPH. I have driven cars with totally out of balance tires that feel normal in city driving and shake/vibrate badly in the expressway.

Take the car to an independent and reputale tire shop. For about $20-$30 you can get all 4 tires re-balanced. Make sure the shop uses a ZERO balance machine and that the proper weights are placed in accordance to recommendations issued by the tire balancer machine. To ensure an absolute smooth ride and proper tracking all tires must be balanced to zero.

If the tire balancer can't balance one or more of your wheels, then you'll know whether you have a tire/rim out of round or bent which will have to be replaced.

Careful when driving and always be on the look out for potholes.

 

Actually, jsut tell your service advisor that you had made a trip to a (insert state here w/ 70 mph speed zones, like AZ or NC) and say you noticed it then... tell them you asked online and they said it was normal... seem sperfectly reasonable ( and legal) for them to look at then..

 

Why can't you drive over 70?

But ya, your wheel is bent or something making it out of balance. Discount tire can balance it for you and let you know if the damage is just minor or more serious.

 

Thanks everyone. I am gonna take the car to have the wheels rebalanced this weekend. Keeping the fingers crossed that this works.

 

Maganoo, hey my steering wheel was doing the same thing, then I switched to
decaf coffie and all is well.

 

Could just be a bent or misaligned wheel, but it could be a lot worse. I had an '86 Mercedes 300E that began by shaking only at high speeds, but quickly developed into shaking at lower and lower speeds. Within only a few days I discovered a wee problem when a huge chunk of suspension fell off (sorry I can't be more precise--I was young and innocent and knew nothing about cars then). Steering wheel shakes could be caused by bad bearings, screwy steering linkage, or quite a lot of other things. Get yourself to a mechanic sooner, rather than later! :smile:

 

My car had wheel shake between 65 and 70 mph, it was resolved by having the wheels balanced. I had 14,000 miles on the clock so it wasn't covered by warranty. It cost $125.00 at the bmw dealership, I know it would cost maybe half that at a good tire place. I wasn't happy cause the problem was there early on but I decided to wait untill the car needed service, bad move on my part. Good luck.
:smile:

 

>>My steering wheel has started to shake when I go over 70 mph (I know I know, I shouldn't be driving over 70 but I do). It doesn't happen at lower speeds and goes away when I step on the brakes. Could it be that my wheels need to be rebalanced?
>>I know if I take it into MINI they are going to tell me they can't test drive at those speeds, so any suggestions on what it could be would help.
>>Has anyone else experienced this?
maganoo, I see your in NY, it's been snow, ice and pretty cold up there right.
Have you checked to see if you have ice or snow built up in the wheels.
This will cause your wheel to be out of balance. I have had this happen on other cars. As you drive around at lower speeds on you don't notice a thing, then you get out on the highway and up to speed the out of balance causes car/steering wheel to shake.

 

Wheels are all clear of snow and ice. That was the first thing I checked, because I have had that happen on other cars.
I have hit a few gigantic potholes over the last few weeks (thanks to all the snow and ice), so I am hoping that I haven't damaged a rim.

 

as my experience w/ my old car. the wheel start shaking when u go over 70mph means one/both of ur front rims are bent. you can feel from ur seat if u bent the rear rims. jux my experience

Ed

potholes kill 17" rims

 

bent rims or wheels in need of balancing... or both

I just hand my new rims rebalanced (2) times..... as the 1st place did a crappy job... It was a local STS auto shop by my new gig.
I then went to my regular guy....a speed shop here in Valley Stream...but he's REAL....pricey.($15/wheel)
The upside is the car runs like a top :smile:

Peace,
D