Steering Wheel Shake after patching tire.

[Ecco]

So I've leeched off other threads for awhile now trying to solve multiple issues that I've had after one specific incident. It seems after addressing each one I'm back to where I began.

The car drove beautifully on the interstate up until I found a screw in my tire. I took it to the closest mechanic where he patched it from the inside. He first shaved down the area of the tire surrounding the puncture and applied the patch. He then put the tire back on the wheel without rebalancing. I experienced wheel wobble at interstate speeds on the way home so the next evening I took the car to a tire and wheel garage that Kia Kuwait recommended. They took the wheel off and rebalanced it. I still had wobbling in the steering wheel when going above 100kph afterward. So the next day I took it to another shop where they said since the wobbling occurs between 90kph and 120kph then the rear tires need to be rebalanced. I had them rebalance all 4. They never showed me the results and did not clean off old adhesive. In fact they placed weights on top of old adhesive on some tires. The wobbling was less noticeable but then I began to feel shuddering in the wheel when braking from roughly 120kph to 90kph. So I went down the "bad pads" and/or rotors rabbit hole. Kia shaved the front rotors and supposedly part of the pads which blows my mind. Anyways braking is slightly less on point but the shake is gone. Now when approaching 120kph and further I'm having wheel wobble again.

I'm tired of taking the wheels to shops because they get scratched and more adhesive is collecting. I want to know if the car needs to be aligned and if that will resolve the issue? The car slightly veers to the right but it's so slight that my mind could be messing with me. Could the wheels be over or under torqued? If the patched tire was reversed on the wheel would that cause a wobble? The wobble isn't so bad that I can't reach 118mph, but I didn't have confidence in the steering wheel to hold that speed for long. Could the patched tire be causing the issue, is it never going to perform the same as before?

Feel free to ask for more details, I'm just describing symptoms that I remember off the top of my head

 

[SKStinger]

An alignment won’t address your shimmy symptoms.

This is a wheel balance problem as the shake didn’t exist prior to the tire removal.

Do the shops that balance your wheels have a Hunter Road Force Balance machine? Try to find a place that does and have them balance all 4 wheels.

These are much more precise than a typical balance. It’s likely that when you had all your wheels rebalanced that they’re now all slightly out of balance which is causing the vibrations at high speeds. Typically the steering wheel shakes when the front wheels are out of balance and when the rears are out you’ll feel it in the seat.

 

[eflyguy]

Ecco, please add your location to your profile. That way when people reply, they can consider your location.

 

[NS_Stinger]

So your car drove perfectly, you got a screw in a tire and a tech tried to fix it. After he "fixed" it you developed a vibration problem you never had before yet you started troubleshooting other areas of the car? Easy fix wouldve been buying a replacement tire and getting it balanced and calling it a day. Do you still have the patched tire on the car?

 

[Ecco]

An alignment won’t address your shimmy symptoms.

This is a wheel balance problem as the shake didn’t exist prior to the tire removal.

Do the shops that balance your wheels have a Hunter Road Force Balance machine? Try to find a place that does and have them balance all 4 wheels.

These are much more precise than a typical balance. It’s likely that when you had all your wheels rebalanced that they’re now all slightly out of balance which is causing the vibrations at high speeds. Typically the steering wheel shakes when the front wheels are out of balance and when the rears are out you’ll feel it in the seat.

I dont know what machine was used so I will verify and look for a Hunter Road Force Balance Machine.

Ecco, please add your location to your profile. That way when people reply, they can consider your location.

Just so you know, Kuwait is about 1 hr from one side to the other, it will fit within most city limits. The flag is enough to take into consideration.

So your car drove perfectly, you got a screw in a tire and a tech tried to fix it. After he "fixed" it you developed a vibration problem you never had before yet you started troubleshooting other areas of the car? Easy fix wouldve been buying a replacement tire and getting it balanced and calling it a day. Do you still have the patched tire on the car?

Yes I still have the patched tire on the car. I started troubleshooting other areas because they presented themselves as the greater issue. When breaking from roughly 110kph to 90kph the wobble was greater than accelerating from 90 to 120kph.

Last night I was able to hit a long strip of open road and activate cruise control. The steering wheel does not wobble, it actually shudders [the difference being the rate at which it goes back and forth, I consider a shudder to be slight and very fast paced.] The car also does pull to the right. I will look for an alignment based off the specs that Kaumaxx linked recently and a Hunter Road Force Balance Machine. If both do not resolve the issue then I will conclude that its the faulty tire and replace it.

 

[westcoastGT]

I dont know what machine was used so I will verify and look for a Hunter Road Force Balance Machine.


Just so you know, Kuwait is about 1 hr from one side to the other, it will fit within most city limits. The flag is enough to take into consideration.



Yes I still have the patched tire on the car. I started troubleshooting other areas because they presented themselves as the greater issue. When breaking from roughly 110kph to 90kph the wobble was greater than accelerating from 90 to 120kph.

Last night I was able to hit a long strip of open road and activate cruise control. The steering wheel does not wobble, it actually shudders [the difference being the rate at which it goes back and forth, I consider a shudder to be slight and very fast paced.] The car also does pull to the right. I will look for an alignment based off the specs that Kaumaxx linked recently and a Hunter Road Force Balance Machine. If both do not resolve the issue then I will conclude that its the faulty tire and replace it.

////////////////////sounds like a new tire is required , but maybe your tire repair shop should be liable .......................

 

[Ozstung]

I'm wondering if someone other than you has bent something in steering/control arm area?

 

[Josh16162]

If the bad tire is in the front, the steering wheel will shake. If it's in the rear, you'll feel the rear of the car shaking.

Honestly, it's highly unlikely that two shops failed to balance your wheels properly, especially with most balancers being computerized. An alignment won't fix the shake but would identify any broken parts.

The issue started after a nail in the tire, so assume that's the root cause of your issue and find a new tire.