Hi there,

The steering wheel on my 1.6 TDCI has just started to shake - if I take my hands off the steering wheel it visibly rotates 1-2cm each way continuously, without having any impact on the direction of the car. It's persistent, so I checked the condition of the wheels etc and there is nothing visibly wrong.

Any thoughts?

-Phil

Is it at all speeds or just specific speeds?

Most likely causes are:

1. A buckled wheel (but then you'd know if you'd hit something hard enough to do this)
2. Balancing weights falling off (which would cause wobbling at approx 55-80 mph)
3. Something adrift in your suspension (check this by jacking a front wheel up and seeing if there's any play)

Easiest option might be to drop into a tyre place and ask them to have a look. They will stick it on a ramp which makes it much easier!

I suggest that you get your front wheels balanced.

Thanks for the replies guys - I suspected balancing, but looked at possibility of weights falling off and all seems to be OK.

It happens at all speeds, so not sure if this changes anything - it is persistent from 5mph upwards.

Just hoping it is nothing to do with power steering etc!

Steering racking, it wouldn't call it a common problem but I know 6 people that have had the issue.

Dave

Steering racking, it wouldn't call it a common problem but I know 6 people that have had the issue.

Dave

If it's at all speeds it's not balancing/weights.

Possibly a buckled wheel although the wobbling would typically be less noticable if it was. After that you're into suspension or steering problems.

Steering rack and PAS system could both be likely candidates,

Thanks Dave - shall take a look at this.

Always worth trying a few things to try and eliminate possible problems:

Try swapping the front tyres to the back, then take it out for a run.

If the shaking stops then you can be sure it's something to do with the wheels/tyres (buckled wheel, lost balance weights) and not the steering/suspension.

If the shaking continues then it could still be something to do with the wheels/tyres (but affecting all 4 wheels) or more likely to be a steering/suspension issue.