Steering Wheel Shake at Highway Speeds

[DJG]

Anyone else experiencing fairly significant wheel shake when driving at highway speeds when letting go of the wheel? I also have a slight rightward drift alignment issues (not nearly as bad as others reported), which may be related.

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[NY_Rob]

Wheel shake can be attributed to:
Unbalanced tire(s)
Bent rim(s)
Malformed tire


Drift can be caused by low tire pressure on one side or bad alignment/bent component.

 

[DJG]

Wheel shake can be attributed to:
Unbalanced tire(s)
Bent rim(s)
Malformed tire


Drift can be caused by low tire pressure on one side or bad alignment/bent component.

Sure, that I know. I'm wondering if others have seen it and diagnosed it so that I know which one and how urgent it is to correct.

 

[cohall]

Anyone else experiencing fairly significant wheel shake when driving at highway speeds when letting go of the wheel? I also have a slight rightward drift alignment issues (not nearly as bad as others reported), which may be related.

I have a shake at 70mph+. Gets worse the faster I go. I'm attributing it to a wheel balance issue that I plan on having service address when I schedule an appointment for a few other small items as well.

No drifting in either direction that I've noticed.

 

[ResidualReality]

Anyone else experiencing fairly significant wheel shake when driving at highway speeds when letting go of the wheel? I also have a slight rightward drift alignment issues (not nearly as bad as others reported), which may be related.

I get this also and currently have a service ticket in for it. Regardless of the reason, it came this way, so I expect them to resolve it. It's not terrible or dangerous but is annoying.

 

[2020]

Interestingly I just noticed the wheel shake a few days ago. No drifting or veering. Not sure if I should have the tires balanced or wheel alignment. In terms of wheel alignment, could a standard shop do this or does the RT1 need specialized equipment.

 

[nomis]

Sure, that I know. I'm wondering if others have seen it and diagnosed it so that I know which one and how urgent it is to correct.

As long as its not a death wobble (per the video below) I wouldn't say its terribly urgent to address. Likely a wheel balance issue, which is easily fixed. Bad alignment itself, is rarely the reason for steering wheel wobble. Bad alignment could lead to feathered tire wear, which would then cause steering wheel wobble, but being a new vehicle with <5000 miles, I doubt it is feathered tires.

 

[electruck]

Interestingly I just noticed the wheel shake a few days ago. No drifting or veering. Not sure if I should have the tires balanced or wheel alignment. In terms of wheel alignment, could a standard shop do this or does the RT1 need specialized equipment.

Bad alignment doesn't typically cause this.

If you don't notice any abnormal tire wear, it's most likely a tire/wheel out of balance or a defective tire. 99% of the time it's going to be a balance issue. This can be due to an improperly balanced wheel/tire, weights that have been knocked/thrown off, or a foreign object such as heavy mud caked on the barrel of the wheel, a bolt or other item that has punctured the tire or possibly just stuck in the tread.

For completeness of the discussion, in colder weather, certain materials (eg, nylon fibers) used in some tires can be prone getting stiff when cold which can cause the tire to flat spot. This can also cause a vibration that will go away after a little driving causes the tire to warm up and the fibers to relax.

 

[cohall]

As long as its not a death wobble (per the video below) I wouldn't say its terribly urgent to address. Likely a wheel balance issue, which is easily fixed. Bad alignment itself, is rarely the reason for steering wheel wobble. Bad alignment could lead to feathered tire wear, which would then cause steering wheel wobble, but being a new vehicle with <5000 miles, I doubt it is feathered tires.

Nothing close to that bad, at least in my case.

Apologies for the graphic hairy legs...

 

[nomis]

oh interesting. Anyone with the wobble, have you guys tried changing driving modes and see if the wobble changes? Wondering if stiffer suspension driving modes is translating road imperfections into the steering wheel...

 

[cohall]

oh interesting. Anyone with the wobble, have you guys tried changing driving modes and see if the wobble changes? Wondering if stiffer suspension driving modes is translating road imperfections into the steering wheel...

Haven't tried changing modes to see if there's an impact. I keep mine in All-Purpose, Soft 99% of the time.

 

[Dark-Fx]

My wobble doesn't seem to be consistent. Service didn't eliminate it the first time I took the truck in. Somewhat wondering if it might be related to the independent drive wheels.

 

[bdavis171]

Nothing close to that bad, at least in my case.

Apologies for the graphic hairy legs...

Looks exactly like mine. Wondering if I should submit a ticket as well

 

[Ripped]

That does not look like any kind of front suspension issue that I've come across yet. From death wobble to warped discs, bad wheel bearings, bad tires, rut steer, bump steer.

It does not appear like alignment, a bad tire, wheel or disc but the simplest step is to take the front wheels off and have them run up on a tire balancer (go to a performance shop so they can check properly.)
Next step is a fully equipped frame and alignment specialty shop will be able to spin the wheels while still mounted to the vehicle (not sure how this works with an awd electric truck)

I won't have my truck for a year or so, but in looking at the short video my money is on suspension bushings or mounting of the control arms. Unusual, but maybe there is some induced chassis vibration. Could even be the steering wheel to chassis mount. I'm not sure how the vehicle steering assist works on this, but I think one would notice that throughout the speed range.

Lastly maybe the steering rack mounting is vibrating at speed.

Hopefully tech dept figures it out, as vibration sometimes can stress/loosen parts over time.

 

[FL_EV]

Just got mine back from SC and they said it is normal for the R1T to have slight wobble if you let go of the steering wheel. They did no repair to mine.

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