Lexus SC430 :: Steering Wheel Shake At 60-65 Mph - Wheels Shimmy
May 31, 2013
2002 SC430 with 50k miles. I have a set of aftermarket Dolce rims that are 18" with the stock size tires. I have the eccentric spacers on them as well. They have been mounted and balanced. I also have a set of Dunlop snow tires on my stock rims. Obviously I do a seasonal change over.
With either set of tires I am getting a steering wheel shake at 60-65 mph. By 80mph its gone and the car glides perfectly. There is no pulsation in the brake pedal and there is minimal wear on the pads. Below 60mph there is no issues as well.
Tires are wearing evenly. Some roads will make the movement worse, but it always goes away at around 80 mph.
Now both sets of tires were mounted and balanced by the same shop. I assume that could be it...there machine is faulty. But I would like some other possibilities before I try somewhere else.
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For the past few months when the vehicle is cold (by "cold" I dont mean physically cold, just mean it has been sitting all night in my driveway and it's still 90+ degrees outside) and I start driving, I seem to have this shimmy or shake in the tires/steering/steering wheel. Once my car seems to "warm up" (driving a mile or two) it goes away and my car is extremely smooth.
Could it be tires (I've tried rotating)? Suspension? Wheel bearings? I'm lost for even imagining what it could be. I don't believe it is engine/trans related, as it idles/revs just fine and shift perfectly...
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My wife just purchased an 04 w/27k miles in superb condition two months ago. This is a California car that had no mountain or winter weather service.
We live in Colorado & do a lot of mountain driving. At speeds above 65mph going down hill the steering wheel slightly vibrates or shimmies under heavy braking. The car is always heavily loaded.
Original brakes w/ well over 50% lining. I have not put a dial indicator on the disc surfaces.
CV joint boots are tight & no grease leakage.
Tires are wearing perfectly, so I do not think it is an alignment issue.
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Car: 2004 Mini Cooper, 103k miles
Issue 1: car shake- At about 70 mph the whole car (pedals, steering wheel, seats) has a shimmy. Car has 4 new (balanced) tires and the front wheel bearings have been replaced. I've been told possibly motor mounts.
Issue 2: clunky sound- we have the requisite pockmarked roads. When the car is cold there is a sound of something loose in the back end. Nothing has been found to be loose but the sound is... annoying. I've checked the spare tire and it is secure. What that could be?
Issue 3: violent wheel shake- Not exactly the most replicate of issues. Started a year ago in June - three times total now. When traveling at higher speed (65 plus) for longer times (75 min or more) when I'm not accelerating the steering wheel grabs and pulls to the right. It almost feels like the brakes are grabbing on one side but there's no noticeable wear on the brake pads. It takes quite a bit of strength to hold the wheel straight and when I accelerate, it dissipates. What could that be?
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My car has a little bit of a shimmy between 65 and 80, can feel it more when changing lanes slowly, after 80 slows down to almost nothing and by 100 is gone. Road force and high speed balanced, new set of tires (Mich. PS2) still does it. One more detail, the steering wheels is slightly tilted to the left when driving straight, anything to do with this? I'm suspecting the rotors too, but I only have 3,400 miles on my car.
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Had the shaky steering wheel @ 50-65 MPH. I remember this happened to my other car after the brakes were inspected. The tech put the rim on without cross tightening the lug nuts.
Anyway I took off the wheel and noticed the brake rotor was not lined up with lug bolts. In other words the bolts were not centered on the holes of the brake rotor. So I broke the rotor free and lined up the holes. Put the wheel back on and now no shakes at 50MPH. I do get just a little of shake on braking at high speed but thats all.
I think the rotor can get stuck on the edge of the bore and not able to seat firmly on the spindle.
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I recently purchased a low mileage 2002 SC 430. The steering will starts vibrating at about 65 MPH, and it lessens, or even quits vibrating at about 80. I am not sure if it is the tires needing balancing, or the current set of tires not being particularly good. I think the tire brand is Rotalla, or something very similar. I would like, when it is time to put a new set of tires on the car, to get some non run flat tires (I am not sure whether the current set are run flats or not), as I read on this forum that the ride is much better on non run flats. However, I do not have a spare in the trunk. Are the small, temporary spares easy to come by? Does Lexus sell them and how much? Is there any other alternative to consider as I do not particularly want to get a flat when driving in the country without a spare.
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I had a issue today and it made me scared to drive the SC ever again. While I was driving this light came on that kept blinking and making a beeping noises, after a while of blinking (approximately 30 seconds) the steering wheel jerked to the left and right really fast, luckily there was no car around me. I immediately pulled over to the shoulder. After a couple minutes I drove home on the service road without incident. Why this happened.
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My Sc430 with 95k has a steering wheel wiggle . Tires balanced, worn lower ball joint and front end alignment been done. Seems to come and go at various speeds.
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2002 sc430 73k miles.
I have a slight steering wobble (not really shaking/vibration) at higher speeds and only when I turn the wheel to the left or right a little (maybe a 1/2 inch). If I am driving straight down the highway it is smooth at any speed 40-90mph no issues. If I move the wheel to the left or right I feel the the wobble in the wheel. If I go back and forth a little, constantly, with the wheel it continuously wobbles.
I had recently addressed some other vibration issues by installing new LCA #2, continental DWS tires, and had the front end aligned (front -.3L and -.5R for camber, Rear -1L and -1R camber, front and rear toe set to -.07, if I recall). I couldn't really remember if I felt this wobble before because the tires and LCA's needed to be done badly. I am not sure if I should replace the struts either since ride feels good.
My steering feels darn good and responsive at low speeds and does not wobble when turning the wheel slightly. I have purchased new oem steering rack bushings but have not installed them yet (purchased as a preventive maintenance part when i had some free time, before I discovered this issue).
I have read a few threads about alignment of the steering rack causing issues if it is not perfectly centered. Not sure if that would cause anything like this. Love driving the car but the wobble is rather annoying when i turn the wheel a little to change lanes at 75mph.
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I have noticed that when pressing on the brakes at 50 MPH and higher my steering wheel starts vibrating and it feels like the car is being tugged a little to the left. This started a couple of weeks ago, what might be causing this?
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I bought Lexus SC430 and am finding this weird thing whenever it hits a bumpy road wheel loses control and go right and left without much of my control. SC430 2003
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My friend with an 07 with about 109k miles on it now has started getting a "groaning" noise whenever the wheel is cut hard to the right or left, either sitting still or rolling. A local repair shop (not the dealer) checked it out and said there was some "stuff that needed to be lubricated". Not trusting this opinion he went to a Toyota dealer where he was getting new brake pads installed on all 4 corners (no Lexus dealer in the city where he lives), they diagnosed the car as needing 4 new struts and a new balljoint.
If in fact he does need the struts and balljoint, I am thinking chances are there will be a bunch more suspension stuff that should really be done at the same time when everything is apart anyway - perhaps bushings, endlinks, etc?
Is he better off sticking with the OEM strut replacements or should he go aftermarket? He's not looking to slam the car or anything, and is more of a ride comfort guy than handling enthusiast.
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drive an '05 sc430 and the steering wheel shakes at above 50mph when I lightly step on the brakes. I have recently had my brakes done and an alignment done as well as both rear shocks replaced.
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Strangely, after my battery died and the car was jump-started the volume control on the steering wheel is not working correctly. When I press the volume up switch, the sound actually decreases, and the volume down button does not function. The manual volume control on the radio works fine.
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I have a bad wheel bearing but on the highway my steering wheel shakes. It is only on the highway not down residential streets. I'm pretty sure it is the driver's side wheel bearing. I already balanced my wheels and everything.
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I've got a 2006 Camry (4cyl) with 136K miles. Yesterday, I noticed a mild shimmy in the steering wheel around 35 mph. If I take my hands off the wheel it shimmies back and forth about 1/4 inch or so. I pulled over and checked my tires, but didn't find any obvious defects. The shimmy goes away at higher speeds, and drives fine at freeway speed.
I am somewhat certain that I need new struts pretty soon because there is some slight inside cupping on the front tires.
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2004 Dodge Intrepid. 70000 miles. Shimmy in steering wheel. Seems to come and go at about 7 second intervals. Suspension, tires, balance, alignment all check OK. One mechanic suggested steering rack valve problem. Could the computer possibly have anything to do with the 7 second interval?
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2003 Honda Civic. Any speed between 30 and 50, car suddenly starts pronounced steering wheel shimmy, too intense to ignore. You can park, start up again and it's gone.
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I'm wondering if I have a problem or if its a matter of not used to this new "fly-by-wire" steering system cars are going to.
When I put my hands at 11 and 2 on the steering wheel and slowly slide my hands down to 9 and 3, the steering wheel has a shimmy/vibration. Doesn't happen while driving, turning, or anything. Is this normal? I could get the camcorder out and do a small video of it.
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I have a 2005 Subaru Legacy and the steering wheel shimmies all the time. My Subaru mechanic can't find a reason for this. I did try another general mechanic, without telling him that this appointment was really a 'second opinion' and after rotating all the tires, numerous test drives he couldn't figure it out either and referred me to my original mechanic, telling me that he's the best Subaru guy in town.
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