2002 I35 with 135k. Tires are Yokohama Avid V4S with 3 years and 30k miles on them. Wheels are same age, 17" Helo Tease chrome. Tires have been rotated according to schedule and there is still a good amount of even tread left on the tires.

I've had a steering wheel vibration at speeds above 55 mph for the past year or so and I've done several things to make it go away:

(1) The wheels/tires have been balanced several times from different shops and as this is the most common issue, but it has done nothing to end the higher speed vibration.

(2) I had the passenger side front hub assembly and bearing replaced. After the replacement, an alignment was done as well as an initial and follow-up balance. Vibration persists.

(3) I replaced all four rotors and brake pads because I thought warped rotors may have caused the vibration. Vibration persists.

What else could be causing a high speed vibration? Could it be some sort of broken or worn suspension piece? Could a wheel be out-of-round due to a hard pot hole hit?

Thanks guys, I'm running out of ideas.

 

you could have a slightly bent rim

 

If that were the case I don't think they would have balanced properly....
I was thinking like a bent CA....

 

Yes

Yes

It could be the tires as well. I had a set of Dunlops that I could not get to ride completely smooth. After numorous complaints to TireRack and a check with a road force machine it was discovered that all the tires had a small amount of tread hop. Not enough to for the road force machine to flag the tire as bad, but enough to feel in the steering and make me nuts.

The fix was a set of Goodyear Comfortread's as replacements for defective Dunlops. I've never had a vibration since.

 

On a road force machine anything over 12-15 lbs of runout will shake the car.

 

Most likely it is a bent rim. The only way to check is to take the wheel off at a shop and inspect. Mine was bent on the inside. Couldnt see it until the tire was off the rim.

 

Have you tried to rotate the tires on just the side you feel the vibration is coming from (tires front to back & back to front) and then try the other side if it persists trying to determine just what tire it may be, the possibility is that you may have a belt shift in one of the tires / or as others have already said perhaps a very minor bent rim. In either case rotating just one side at a time may help to pin point which tire/rim is causing the problem.

 

Check the tie rods.

Mine has the same problem, it would balance out on the machine, but show up on the road, especially at 60-65 mph.

Turns out, there is some play from side to side with the tie rods, which can cause a slight wobble at higher speeds. $250 for both sides.

 

I'm having a very similar issue with mine on the passenger side, and I also believe it to be the TieRods.

I've replaced MOST of the suspension components, new tires, brakes, etc - still the vibration persists -- and it is VERY annoying to me.

I've had my tires/rims checked several times, and balanced on a Roadforce machine (won't use anything else) and they seem to be fine every time.

I have Bridgestone Potenza RE960's with less than 10k miles on them...so I don't really suspect a bad tread/tire.

Passenger Bearing/Hub replaced about 15k miles ago, so likely not that either (but could be if tie-rods don't cure it).

My suggestion is also get the tierods done, and then go from there. It's the next cheapest fix in the chain.....

PLEASE report back when/if you get this done!!

gr