As of about a week or so ago I started experiencing steering wheel vibration at highway speeds. Specifically it seems to start around 70mph. I'm going to try and diagnose the cause of the issue this weekend, but I wanted to get some thoughts and advice from you guys. Unfortunately there is a bit of a long history behind this, so I will try to explain everything that has happened so far...

I purchased the car in July 2010 from Turbotrix. From day 1 I had some steering wheel vibration which I thought was caused by bad wheel balance and/or bad wheels since they were pretty beat up. So I purchased a brand new set of wheels and tires from TireRack and had them Road Force balanced. It got better, but was still there. I then replaced outer tie rod ends, brake pads, and rotors. Still had the issue. Had the wheels re-balanced several times. Had two alignments done. Finally, on the last alignment the issue seemed to go away. The shop said they put a little bit of negative camber on the front which is what did the trick. Unfortunately they didn't print me a spec sheet, so I don't know the exact numbers. This caused a little bit of excess wear on the outside edge of the tires. This was a little over a year ago. Gradually, I started noticing some vibration when braking which I attributed to the racing Hawk pads I had on the car. I never raced the car and those pads are meant for racing so they never heated up properly and I was told this could cause the pads to wear unevenly and cause this issue. The braking vibration has gotten progressively worse, so I picked up a set of EBC Red Pads last week and installed on Saturday. Braking felt better, but the vibration is still there during braking. Before I installed the pads, I started to get steering wheel vibration during highway driving. Installing the new pads didn't affect this at all.

That's basically where I set today. I am thinking of replacing the inner tie rods as last time I checked them about a year ago they seemed iffy. There was a little play in them, but I didn't think it would really cause any issues. Also, a few months ago when I was installing a new front lip, I noticed the tie for the inner tie rod (passenger side) boot came off so dirt may have gotten in there. I checked Rock Auto and they are about $30 each from Moog. My other thought was a sticking caliper piston which may cause the braking vibration and vibration at highway speed. The car is almost 10 years old with 115k miles.
So this weekend I will check for inner tie rod play. I also want to check for sticky calipers, but I'm not sure how. What do you guys think?

 

God it's uncanny I am literally in the exact same position you are in. Honestly just read that and had to check the username because I thought it was an old post I made ahahaha it's crazy! Same car 03 I got 140k, mine had beat up wheels, I've bought new wheels and had alignments....all the same.

Anyway. To check if a caliper is stuck or dragging, I was told to drive at highway speed without braking then pull off to the side of the road and feel the rotors and see if they're hot (or use a temp gun because if they are hot it could burn you). If its hot and you didn't brake at all that's a good sign of a dragging caliper.

Also, do you notice any abnormal buzzing noise at highway speeds? If you can it could mean your wheel bearings are going which may cause vibration.

Also, have you changed your rotors? They could be warped (although I was told this is highly unlikely) or maybe you have some build up on them that's causing the braking vibration.

 

Another cause for wheel vibration could be from a CV joint binding up a bit. Been known to happen but I wouldnt change them unless you can verify a problem or just at the end of your rope and want to throw some more parts at the problem.

 

Have the tires rebalanced and get an alignment.

 

Check tie rods too. I just fixed my freeway speed issue. Tie rod was done.

 

I doubt the rotors got warped as they don't have that much use on them. Some pad buildup I could see, but I doubt it would cause this much vibration. I don't hear anything that would indicate a wheel bearing, but that's entirely possible.

It's funny, I read your comment, and then as I was leaving my parking garage yesterday I heard a clunking noise as I was turning that sounded VERY much like a worn CV joint on the driver's side. I'm going to replace BOTH front axles. It's good preventative maintenance and parts aren't too expensive.

I don't see any reason why the wheels would have suddenly gone out of balance. No weights fell off. And again, no suspension work was done to cause an alignment issue of this magnitude.

Outer tie rods were replaced about a year ago with brand new OEM pieces. The inner ones may need replacing, but I'll get to that if the axles don't fix the issue.

 

i have just under 50k miles on my evo and im on my third set of rotors! You already changed the brake pads correct but not the rotors? The vibration occurs when you step on the brakes? My mistake was getting cheap rotors before! Regardless if you dont have much miles on your rotors they could still warp upon use of short distance, temperature change, weather, and other variables.

 

He said he replaced the rotors but I wouldn't disregard the possibility of warped rotors if he didn't buy quality rotors. Especially since it went away and came back. Maybe an alignment issue too.

 

Replace the front rotors with good ones. Also for your vibration remove the driveshaft(s) and check all U-joints for any sort of binding.

 

Check for any excessive play in your steering rack by grabbing a wheel in the air and doing a quick shakedown.. If you are mechanically inlcined get under your car, safely, and do a quick check to make sure all your bolts are nice and tight (subframe,control arm,struts,etc).

If you are able to get a wheel off or have the vehicle in the air you can also rotate each tire and rub your hand across as it spins to make sure no abnormal cupping or feathered toe wear is going on. I have personally seen tires have cupping wear so bad when you roll them on the ground they bounce from being so out of round. G/L

 

did you check bullhead?
how is situation on it?
how many ml car has run?

 

Vibration while braking is warped rotors..ull feel it the most coming to a stop from about highway speeds, and axles are a possibility to cause vibration but would be more common upon acceleration

 

The rotors are proslot slotted rotors. I didn't cheap out on them. And yes, I changed the pads without changing the rotors. The car is currently on jackstands with the old axles out as I'm waiting for new ones in the mail. Upon visual inspection the axles looked ok and didn't see any play. Inner tie rods are tight, no play. Lower ball joints also no play and look good. I ordered new outer tie rods as well since I messed up both sides getting them out of the knuckle.

Everything else underneath looks good. All bolts are tight and in place. Bushings look good, etc. At this point I feel better replacing axles anyway.

 

i got the same issue, my service advisor at my dealership recommends to do a "high speed" wheel balancing first since the vibration occurs around 70 mph.

 

Hope u get it figured out but I've installed new rotors fresh out the box and the were warped and had a vibration while braking..swapped them out and vibration went away..reused the pads and all..good luck