Is Your Car Shaking? Common Causes

Unless you are making stunts in your car while driving, you don’t want to find yourself in a shaking car. If you experience a shaky drive, it is a signal that your car is having mechanical problems and that it needs immediate attention. Noticing is one thing and understanding the cause of a shaking car is another. Most importantly, if you understand what is causing your car to shake, you can address the issue before it worsens more causing more trouble. Let’s learn and appreciate what these causes are.

Accelerating your car to about 50-60miles/h worsens the shaking.
Image source:www.6wheelz.com

Unbalanced tires

When you accelerate your car to about 50km/h and beyond, it starts shaking terribly. If that happens, then chances are that your steering wheel will also start shaking. You are likely to lose your grip of the steering and the control of your car. This problem may be traced to unbalanced tires. You would want to pullover and check them out, fix the situation if possible before proceeding with your journey. You can increase the acceleration beyond 60km/h speed to regain control of your driving especially when you are in secluded places. To avoid the occurrence of the shaking, purchase high quality tires and make sure they are well inspected whenever you take your car for the usual preventative maintenance service.

Problematic braking system

Sometimes you may experience increasing vibration on the braking pedal. At other times, it is the shaking of your steering wheel when you attempt braking. If this is the case then the braking system of your car may be the problem. In such a case, you would want to check if the braking caliper is still intact. Sometimes, you may smell a burning odor when you pullover. This should be a confirmation that indeed, your car’s brake caliper needs repair. You can avoid the inconveniences that might be caused by such an occurrence by including brake caliper services, especially if your car has over 75,000 miles of mileage to its name. An early signal of braking caliper sticking out, you should be checking if the front or rear braking pads are wearing out in unsystematic manner. If the either of them wears out faster than the other then the braking caliper will stick out.

Problems in the fuel system

You may notice your car start shaking when the engine is idling. This is mostly a signal that something is broken. You should check the fuel system. Sometimes, if your car’s engine RPM drops suddenly, it may cause vibrations making the car shake. You may have to troubleshoot your engine for faults. Remember to check the car’s motor because a broken motor mount may cause your car engine bounce regularly. The situation gets worse at low engine RPM. In most cases, if your car is shaking, you want to schedule a major or minor repair as fast as possible.