What would cause my Car to Vibrate?

When driving your car, shaking and vibration can become two of the most nerve wrecking experiences. As motorists, we are not experienced enough to be able to diagnose what causes this.
While the reason your car is vibrating or shaking could be totally harmless, it could be extremely dangerous to ignore the warning. The only solution to this is to have a professional technician at the nearest car servicing centre in Cape Town to do the diagnosis on your behalf. Please be aware that the vibrating or shaking should not be taken lightly.
Herewith some pointers that could be causes to the problem:

TYRES
Out of balance tyres – Should you notice that your car starts vibrating or shaking at speeds above 90km/h, this is reason enough to alert you to the fact that your tyres are out of balance. Inspecting your tyres for flat spots would be a good idea, and dependent on the extent of the damage, based on your observation, it would be advisable to take your car to the nearest car service company to have your car tyres rebalanced. However, this might be the time to replace them.

Underinflated tyres – If after checking your tyres for flat spots, it would be a very good idea to check that the air pressure in your tyres is in keeping with the recommendations in the car owners’ manual. Be aware that driving with underinflated tyres can cause a tyre to have a blowout. SAFETY FIRST!!!!!!

Uneven tyre wear – In our country where we are roads are in dire need of repair in many provinces, the wheel alignment could easily be knocked out, which causes the tyres of the cars we drive to wear unevenly, e.g. cupping (a wavy surface on the tyre thread) or excessive wear on one side of the tyre. Checking the tyres for damage and replacing or taking your car for an alignment service, would take care of this.

Tyre defects – Sometimes when we purchase tyres they could come with manufacturing defects, e.g. misshaping or out of round, which can cause the car you are driving to vibrate at speeds under 30km. It would be advisable to get professional advice from a car service company in Cape Town to inspect your tyres and advise what to do next.
Bald tyres – Bald tyres that have little or no tread are hazardous in all weather conditions, causing skidding and limiting stopping, as well reduced cornering ability and poor traction.

THESE TYRES NEED TO BE REPLACED AS THEY HAVE EXCEEDED THE TYRE DEPTH SPECIFICATION WHICH IS A MINIMUM OF 1.5MM ON THE LOWEST PART OF THE TYRE TREAD.

Car Rims – Damage to the tyres on your car could be caused by rough driving, potholes, hitting huge bumps in the road, thus causing the rims to bend, in turn causing tyre damage.

Wheels/Rims
Should all not be well with your tyres, it might well be a good idea to check your cars rims.

Unbalanced/Bent wheels/rims – This could be caused by hitting a deep pot hold or the pavement which might not have necessarily damaged your tyres. In cases like this it would be well worth your while to visit your nearest car servicing centre in order that a shaking/vibrating diagnosis takes place.

Wheel Bearings – While wheel bearings should usually last the lifespan of the car, it might not always be the case. Off road driving, high mileage or a hard driving style could result in compromising the lifespan of the wheel bearings. The symptom of this is a vibration that is felt through the steering wheel.

Should these initial diagnoses that have been performed, not present with reasons why your car is shaking and vibrating, the technician at you nearest car service company will take further steps to find out why this is taking place. These include the following:

Brakes – discs, calipers, drums
Steering – Loose components, power steering
Suspension – out of alignment, loose components, worn components
Axle – bent, damaged driveshaft, worn components
Engine – spark plugs, air/fuel filters, loose hoses, broken engine mounts, faulty timing chain

In light of all the information above, regular servicing and maintenance of your car is of utmost importance. Thus preventative maintenance rather than corrective maintenance would prevent these issues from happening.