Re: Steering Wheel Shaking

[alex.fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxx]

"Manny Nolasco" <mnolasco@domain.elided> wrote:
>
> After I took my 1999 323i to the dealership, and they suggested
> to rotate the wheels ($40 fees), the car is shaking at high speed
> and especially when I hit the brakes.

Manny,
Your front rotors are warped and your tires/wheels may or may not be out of
balance (a wheel could be bent).
The dealer should replace the rotors under warranty. If they don't
volunteer this procedure, raise hell and they will.
Also have them refund the $40 you paid to rotate the wheels. Any tire store
(or Sam's or Costco) will do it for free. Charging for rotating the wheels
for no good reason is a rip-off. This should also be taken as a hint to
_never_ go to the dealer for tire/wheel work.

> Is this due to uneven tires or I need a wheel balance job.

How many miles on your car/tires?
Have you always had this issue from day one? Have you hit anything hard (a
major pot hole) or run over anything (a curb) lately?
If not, it's unlikely to be the tires or the wheels.

The increased shake during braking is a sign of warped rotors.
If your steering wheel shakes when not braking, it is probably
wheels/tires.

> The tires still look good.
>
> I could think of 3 options:
> 1. get new tires

How many miles on the old ones?

> 2. rotate back the tires

If rotating them in the first place did not effect the shake, than either
both front and rear wheels are bent/out of balance, or it's something else
entirely different.

> 3. get a wheel balance job

Probably.
Definitely NOT at the dealer. Ask around at your next BMW CCA chapter
meeting for a reputable tire place recommendation. You are a member, right?
If not, go here: www.bmwcca.org
Check with your local tire chains. DiscountTire will balance the
wheels/tires for around $7 once and $10 lifetime. They will also rotate
wheels and patch holes gratis. And since they have a lot of tire work
traffic, they are much more likely to have their tire balancing machine
properly calibrated. A Hunter 9700 balancer (or any 9000+ machine) is a
sign of a properly equiped shop. But the best equipment is just an
expensive paper weight unless it is properly calibrated and operated by
knowledgeable staff.

alex f

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