A shimmy in the steering wheel ithe best way I can describe it. When my car is in motion, I get a bit of a back and forth vibration in the steering wheel. I figure right now that its an alignment issue. Taylor was mentioning something about Road Shock alignments only for cars equipped with Magnasteer. Did I get that term right? Road Shock? Anyhow, I'm hoping that will correct my steering shake

Then today, while doing about 180kph on the hwy at lunch time (nice lil WOT run) I began to break rather hard, and the steering wheel shook even worse, and the brakes felt..well almost like the front rotors were warping.

Now, my question is....Could bad alignment possibly force me to make the mistake in thinking it was the brakes? Or I may have a brake problem. Bear in mind I am upgrading to RSM slotted rotors and ceramic pads when I get my tires, but....if the brakes are fine, then I will hold off and save the cash.

I think I should call the dealership and find out about this Road Shock alignment.

Anyone else have any experience with steering wheel issue?

PS the car leans drifts to the left a bit...more indications of bad alignment..I just hope its no the brakes right now

If wander or poor steering stability exists, inspect for the following conditions:

Mismatched or uneven tires
Incorrect front or rear wheel alignment
Inadequate lubrication of ball joints or tie rod ends
Worn tie rod ends
Worn ball joints
Worn strut dampers
Broken or sagging springs
Loose stabilizer shaft
Incorrect power steering fluid pressure
Loose rack and pinion gear attaching bolts
Worn or binding rack and pinion gear
Worn steering column friction damper

I would suspect the tires and wheel alignment, if it were the brakes the car would only shudder on brakeing.

Thanks Pdad, I am quite certain its allignment issues, I'll look into it and post up here once I know for sure

I have a similar problem but it only happens when making turns at a slow speeds the steering wheel will shimmy like you describe if taking a turn and hitting a bump. If you're out of alignment usually your car will pull to one side. I wouldn't doubt your rotors are warped, it is a common problem. Just be careful which ones you buy, a lot of the replacement rotors out there like to squeal on our cars for some reason. Good luck.

I'll be upgrading to ceramic pads and slotted rotors.

Tires first, then alignment, if that doesnt work...brakes

You may have a tire out of balance. A wheel weight fell of our LSS this winter. Shake when braking is usually rotor. Also bad tie rod end or ball joint gives shake but you shouldnt be there yet.

Pull tire and inspect for missing wheel weight.

Car off but in neutural turn rotor by hand . I can tell just by spinning it . You can here it between the pads. You can even see it by watching the caliper. rotors warp way to easily on today large production cars.

Take it to dealer and leave many pre signed checks. They will fix it for you.

Jiim i don't remember any shimmy driving your car. It'* Definetly not warped rotors, i've driven warped rotors on many vehicles and levels, and you're good.

Balanced tires/wheels sound right.

I'll be lookin into the proper balance then....hold off on the brakes for now

fellers

When your at speed, does the shudder go away if you turn right or left? Could be a possible wheel hub. Turning alleviates the load in the inner or outer bearing of the hub (depending on which way you turn). I would balance then rotate the tires and see if it goes away.

As for the shudder at low speed (how low?) this is a common problem with GM models and is the power-steering. I find that at slow hard turns of 5-10 mph the car makes a small grinding noise and its do to the extra strain on the PS.

I would start by rotating and balancing the tires first, then go from there.