Twitchy steering wheel?

[Kwesi]

The steering wheel of my car recently started twitching... or rather shaking like a rickety bike wheel. It's not so bad that it affects my driving but it feels like something that just shouldn't be happening and it's definitely noticeable. Even just looking at it you can see the twitchiness. Any ideas as to what this may be? If it matters any, I'm driving a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe.

[MIJ-VI]

A wheel has gone out of alignment?

A loose tie rod?

Have you looked under the car for any obvious damage?

Have you checked the air pressure on all four tires?

[irishryno]

Check all of your tires inflation. Are 5lbs less than the recommended psi on the tire? If yes, they are fine. If not add or reduce the pressure till it is 5lbs less. How is the tread, is there any wierd cupping on the insied or outside tread? This is an alignment issue and should go to a shop. Are their wires showing? If yes, you need to replace the pair of tires. Always replace two and put the new ones in the front for better steering control. The prloblem could also be balance. You will get a shake, and can probably feel which tire its coming from. Steering wheel shake is almost always from tires or alignment and relatively easy to fix at a professional shop. I would take care of this problem immediately though. Not to sound corny, but your life is riding on your tires...ok, i did mean that. Take care.

[hover]

Is it the steering wheel itself, or something transferring up through in "road feel"? The two are very different.

It could be something small as tire balancing (minor, noticeable at speed above, say 50mph), or alignment (would be more pronounced when braking as a pull to right or left, not necessarily shaking), or a loose tie rod / ball joint (dangerous)...

Does this happen all the time? If it happens when braking, obviously get your brakes checked. COULD be a worn serpentine belt, loose, making your power steering pump go funky. Check that and your power steering fluid level while yer at it...not a bad idea.

[Selta]

Does it happen when you're moving, not moving, or both?

[elgecko]

Does it happen at particular speeds or at any speed?

Tires out of balance?

Worn tie rod ends?

Loose steering rack bolts?

Worn steering rack bushings?

[pbagley]

Great suggestions so far. I'll add my 2 cents here:

Cent #1: Did it snow recently? Is there any snow packed in the wheels. The extra weight of the snow packed around the rim will throw off the wheel balance. It is unusual, except in deep or heavy snow (or mud in the summer in SD or MT). In MN we've had a lot of snow this year, and I've seen packed snow in the rim melt from brake heat when the car was parked overnight, forming a lump of ice at the bottom of the inside of the rim. The car shakes like crazy the next morning on the freeway. A few hard stops for traffic and it gets better. Then you park for the day at work and it's bad on the way home again. Solution - go out about 1/2 hour after you park for the night, allowing the snow inside the rim to slide around to the bottom. Push the snow out with your windshield scraper or a stick. Easier if you have rims with spokes, harder with steel wheels.

Cent #2: Do you have lots of pot holes on the roads? I've seen 35 and 40 series tires get their sidewalls pinched between the rim and the sharp edge of a pot hole, sometimes even blowing out and bending the rim. Not generally as much an issue with the far less cool 60, 65, and 70 series tires.

Good luck. Let us know when you find out what the problem is.

- Paul

[CElton]

Could be a steel belt in a tire going bad.

It could also be your intermediate steering shaft. GM cars are notorious for this, I've had two with the problem.

You stated you drove a Hyundai, but worth a check.

[chokeslam512]

Tire balance, dirt/crud in the rim, if it is happening while you are braking only, your rotors might have warped.

[Waterpilot]

Could be that the infinitum millennium drive in the hurricane motor is trying to tell you something. I'd pull it out and throw some mayonnaise in it.





Others have made some pretty good suggestions too though...

[Mike N]

Being out of alignment won't cause a shake.

Look for-
Bent Rim from blasting a curb
Missing wheel weights
Shifted belt/out of round tire
Snow/ice/mud etc packed in the wheel
Loose lug nuts
Loose nut behind the wheel

[Skitch it!]

Sounds like tyre tracking to me, it will vibrate at certain speeds because of the opposite force setting up vibration, could be some damage also though, if you've kerbed it lately that is.

[warwick.hoy]

Flat spots on the tires (I like how they are tyres in the UK) from panic/emergency braking perhaps?

[SB Dog]

Have your MacPherson Struts looked at.

[MJ5150]

I've never heard twitchy used to describe a steering wheel issue. Funny.

-Mike

[Jay Ralston]

I used to be an ASE Certified mechanic. Here is what it could be without actually looking at your car. One or both of your front tires is seriously out of balance. This could have happened if a wheel weight used to balance them fell off. If you drove through mud and have an excessive amount of mud on the rim or rims, it can have the opposite effect where to much weight is on the rim and thus one or both are out of balance. If any one of those things is the case, also check your rear tires too. Next could be one or more than one of your steering linkage components. To find out which part is bad, you would need to jack the car up in the air and move each component individually. If there is play in a part, it is bad. The final thing it could be is your steering box and/or steering shaft that your steering wheel attaches too. It could also be a bad steering sensor if your vehicle has a steering sensor. For example, one of my vehicles is a 97' GMC Sierra 4x4 extended cab. I have already had to replace the steering sensor in it a few years ago. My truck was doing exactly what you described. With those trucks, it is also a common part that needs to be replaced. I forget though how you check it to see if it is bad. You will most likely need a diagnostic computer to do so. With the steering shaft, it should have no play in it so if it does, then it may be bad. With the steering box, that is another one I don't recall on how to diagnose as being bad. I remember covering it in my schooling but it is a very rare part to go out so I never had to repair one when I worked as a mechanic.